332 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. V. No. 113. 



but I will mention only three more in- 

 stances — -three words which are used in 

 connection with certain rites and customs, 

 where, while they serve to explain the cer- 

 emonies, the ceremonies themselves throw 

 light upon the psychic phenomena which 

 tiie words are intended to portray. These 

 three words are, Wa-zhiji'-dhe-dhe, Wa- 

 zhi?i'-a-gdhe and Wa-zhi??.'-ska. 



There is hardly an equivalent in Eng- 

 lish for the word Wa-zhiii-dhe-dhe, unless 

 it is ' telepathy.' Dhe'-dhe is to send, and 

 the word wa-zhiw'-dhe-dhe signifies to send 

 forth one's thought and will power toward 

 another in order to supplement his strength 

 and thereby to aifect his action. For in- 

 stance, when a race is taking place, a man 

 may bend his thought and his will upon 

 one of the contestants, a friend or rela- 

 tive, in the belief that this act of his, this 

 'sending his mind,' will help his friend 

 to win. Again, among the Omahas, when 

 a man is on the war path, a group of 

 women often of the poorer class, will 

 gather at the tent of the absent warrior, and 

 sing certain songs, called We-t09i-wa-a?i. 

 These songs are the medium by which 

 strength is conveyed to the man facing 

 danger ; the act is Wa-zhiii'-dhe-dhe. The 

 words of these songs do not reveal the pur- 

 pose for which they are sung; they some- 

 times refer to the difficult task that con- 

 fronts the warrior, or they predict the 

 bravery of the absent man when he shall 

 meet the enemy, but the omission of any 

 reference in them to the specific act of 

 which the songs are a part is in keeping 

 with the Indian's habit never to dilate 

 upon that which is to him apparent. The 

 family of the absent warrior, to whose tent 

 the women have come to sing these We- 

 to?i-wa-a?i, know what the songs are for, 

 and so do all the people within reach of 

 the sound of them. These songs, used 

 solely for the purpose of Wa-zhi?i'-dhe-dhe, 

 are well known and form a class by them- 



selves, and the belief in their power is un- 

 questioned. 



Other tribes in the Siouan group have 

 similar methods to effect the same purpose, 

 all bearing witness to the common belief 

 among these Indians that will power can 

 be projected to produce definite results. 



Although a literal translation of Wa- 

 zhi?i'-a-gdhe (a'-ghde, to place upon) might 

 seem at the first glance to indicate that the 

 word had the same meaning as Wa-zhiw'- 

 dhe-dhe (which, as we have just seen, is to 

 send will power), the word really presents a 

 very different phase of the beliefwe are con- 

 sidering. AVa-zhi?i'-a-gdhe is the will power 

 placed upon, that is the full consequence of 

 a certain line of conduct are willed to fall 

 upon the person who, of his own accord, 

 has determined on that line of conduct. 

 In ordinary speech the word is used when 

 one abandons another to the natural out- 

 come of unwise behavior, and ceases all ef- 

 forts to arrest the consequent disastrous re- 

 sults. 



This word is used to define a rite peculiar 

 to the Ha»i'-he-wa-chi. Haii'-he-wa-chi 

 means literally, 'in the night dance,' but 

 the word refers to the dream or vision of 

 the members. The Ha?i'-he-wa-chi is a so- 

 ciety composed of men who have achieved 

 the right to put the Mark of Honor on a 

 maiden. To do this, a man must be able 

 to count one hundred or more deeds called 

 Wa-dhi«'-e-dhe. When an Omaha reached 

 that point he could look back over years 

 of patient effort, of self-denial and dangers 

 ovei-come ; so long a time did it require for 

 a man to arrive at this Honor that its ac- 

 quisition was esteemed equal to the receiv- 

 ing of a vision.- It was argued that the 

 man must have had supernatural favor 

 granted him or he could not have finally 

 accomplished his purpose. This society 

 was therefore regarded as composed of men 

 possessing great power of mind and will, 

 and they were accordingly looked up to in 



