Bowers] HIDATSA SOCIAL AND CEREMONIAL ORGANIZATION 349 



Another closely related bundle was the Bear Bullet bundle rites 

 originally instituted as a result of a vision. These rites also took on 

 a hereditary character; those Bullet rites which were instituted as 

 substitutes for the Sacred Arrows of the Bear bundles assumed the 

 hereditary character of the bundles, while those Bullet rites which were 

 instituted by visions independent of hereditary bundles tended to 

 die out. 



The data on this ceremony were contributed chiefly by Bears 

 Arm, the hereditary owner of the principal bundle of Awaxawi 

 (frontispiece). The relationship of the bundle and the rites to other 

 hereditary bundles is indicated by the sacred myth and his interpre- 

 tations of the pattern of the rituals. A condensed account of the 

 sacred myth by Bears Arm follows : 



Charred Body, a holy arrow, found a hole in the sky and looking down, saw a 

 new world much like that above. He came down as an arrow and established a 

 village of 13 households representing the 13 parts of an arrow. (See fig. 1.) 

 He returned to the sky and invited 13 different family groups to come down and 

 occupy the lodges previously constructed." From the beginning, life on the earth 

 was difficult as there were many evil spirits bent on exterminating the village. 

 First Creator came along and volunteered to be the waiter whenever a ceremony 

 was given. 



Charred Body's sister, while alone, had a visitor who forcibly removed her 

 unborn twins which he named Spring Boy and Lodge Boy but who, when they 

 grew up, were known as Two Men. They were very holy and destroyed many of 

 the gods residing in that neighborhood. Of the two, Spring Boy was considered 

 the more offensive and he was taken back into the sky to suffer ceremonially, which 

 deed led to the establishment of the NaxpikE ceremony. The two boys returned 

 to the earth, grew to maturity, adopted a son named Unknown Man, and taught 

 their son the NaxpikE ceremony. They also taught the Arrow ceremony. 



One time they prevailed on Moon's son, named Grandson, to have his grand- 

 mother. Old- Woman- Who-Never-Dies, put on a ceremony to which were invited 

 all the sacred beings who agreed to "adopt" sons in the tribe for the future, thus 

 helping their sons to get ahead. By doing that, they expected these sons to make 

 offerings to them according to the particular tastes of the various spirits. 



The Grizzly Bear, who was one of Old-Woman-Who-Never-Dies' helpers, took 

 as "son" a young man named Brave- While- Young who became a successful hunter 

 and eagle trapper after that.'* He went out for four successive seasons hunting 

 and trapping eagles, and each year he was very successful. He failed to make an 

 offering to the grizzly bears and, whenever the gods met at medicine feasts after 

 that, they teased Grizzly Bear about his selfish son who never gave him anything 

 and seemed to have entirely forgotten his "father." 



Grizzly Bear resolved to punish his son, so on Brave- While- Young's fourth 

 hunting and trapping expedition, Grizzly Bear stole the young man's wife and two 

 children, taking them to his lodge in a dense cedar thicket. A year later when the 

 young man returned, he was alone. He cried for his wife. Grizzly Bear directed 



" This traditional site is situated on the east bank of the Missouri River a few miles below Washburn, N. 

 Dak. 



'» In historic times grizzly bear bundles did not carry eagle trapping rights. These rights went with the 

 small black bear. 



