484 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. IV. No. 92. 



not only for defence, but for the preserva- 

 tion of internal peace and order, in tlie 

 security of whicli industry might thrive and 

 prosperity be within the reach of all. 



The He-di-wa-chi, all the details of 

 which cannot here be described, is a festiv- 

 ity of joy; the words of the opening song 

 are, ' Come and rejoice! ' The whole scene 

 vibrates with color and motion ; there is no 

 hint of sacrifice; the Thunder selected tree 

 is a symbol of Life, held in the fruitful 

 grasp of the earth, and touched by the 

 beneficent rays of the sun. 



The so-called Sun Dance of the Dakotas 

 and Ponkas seems to have sprung from the 

 same parent stem that bore the He-di-wa- 

 chi; but it shows marks of the influence of 

 tribal environment during the past few 

 centuries, as well as traces of contact with 

 other stocks. For a considerable period 

 prior to our first knowledge of the Dakotas, 

 these tribes had dwelt in the most northern 

 range of the Siouan linguistic stock, and 

 had almost lost their knowledge of the cul- 

 tivation of corn. Omaha traditions say 

 that their own tribe turned back from the re- 

 gion where the Dakotas were when first dis- 

 covered by us, because corn would not grow 

 well there, and they sought sites for their 

 villages farther south, where they could 

 raise the maize in large and unfailing crops. 



The Sun Dance and the He-di-wa-chi 

 have fundamental features in common. 

 They take place at the same time of the 

 year ; both Poles are cut from the cotton- 

 wood or the willow tree; the ceremonies 

 attending the cutting and planting and 

 decorating the Poles are practically the 

 same, differing only in the elaboration of 

 detail. Both are consecrated by and to 

 Thunder, and about both the tribe must 

 gather in the order of the gentes. The 

 special rites of the Sun Dance are performed 

 within a communal tabernacle erected about 

 the Pole. It is made of one or more poles 

 gathered from the tent of each family in 



the tribe, and covered with green branches. 

 It represents the living branches of the 

 tree, as well as the great congregation of 

 the people, whose tents enclose it in a circle, 

 often more than a mile in circumference. 



The elaborate character of this ceremony 

 precludes the mention of any of its parts, 

 except those which pertain to the subject of 

 this paper. 



The symbol placed upon the bufialo skull, 

 and drawn upon the U-ma-ni — a space of 

 ground from which the sod had been re- 

 moved, and the earth made fine — is a circle 

 with four projecting points equidistant 

 from each other. This symbol, to quote 

 from Dakota Indians who had been in- 

 structed in this ceremony, "represents the 

 tribe and the Four Directions. It means 

 that wherever the tribe may travel it will 

 be kept whole. Its circle of tents will not 

 be broken, the members of the tribe shall 

 live long and increase. The symbol also 

 stands for the earth and the unseen winds 

 that come from the Four Directions and 

 cross over the earth and bring health and 

 strength." The people were told that " as 

 long as they observed the ceremony they 

 would increase and grow strong, but if they 

 should neglect the rite they would decrease 

 in numbers, lose their strength and be 

 overpowered by their enemies." 



The dramatic character of the adjuncts 

 of self sacrifice and torture has diverted the 

 attention of observers from the true purpose 

 of the Sun Dance, which has been clouded 

 in the minds of the people themselves, but 

 has not been lost sight of by the Indian 

 priests, who still insist that the ceremony 

 is necessary to the preservation of the peo- 

 ple as a tribe. 



The torture practised at the Pole seems 

 to be a transference, to this ceremony, of the 

 ancient rite known as Hanm-de-pi, where 

 the man suspends himself while seeking a 

 vision through fasting ; or when, fixing his 

 mind upon a particular desire, he expects 



