The Indian Advocate. (Sacred Heart Mission, Okla. Terr.), Vol. 10, No. 4, Ed. 1, Saturday, October 1, 1898 Page: 2 of 28
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98
THE INDIAN ADVOCATE.
recito it for fear of divine punishment
should the slightest error be made in
the narration. At the close of the
recital the devotees send up their
prayers for the blessings of which they
stand in need after which the medicine
man again carefully wraps up the
sacred objects in the skins. Before
leaving the lodge the worshipers cover
the bundle with tbeir offerings of
blankets or other valuables which are
taken by the medicine keeper as his
fee. When encamped in the tribal
cirole the sacred pipe and its keeper
occupy a large tepee reserved espec-
ially for this purpose which is set up
within the circle and near its western
line directly opposite the doorway on
the east. In the center of the circle
between the doorway and the sacred
tepee is the sweat-house of the warrior
order. The taking down of the sacred
tepee by the attendants of the pipe
keeper is the signal for moving camp
and no other tepee is allowed to be
taken down before it. When on the
march the pipe keeper proceeds on
foot never on a horse carrying the
sacred bundle upon his back and
attended by a retinue of guards. As a
matter of course the sacred pipe was
not carried by war parties or on other
expeditions requiring celerity of move-
ment. Of late years the rules have so
far relaxed that the present guardian
sometimes rides on horseback while
carrying tjie pipe but even then he
carries the bundle upon his own back
instead of upon the saddle. He never
rides in a wagon with it. Since the
tribe is permanently divided under the
modern reservation system individuals
or small parties of the Southern Arap-
aho frequently make the long journey
by railroad and stage to the reservation
in Wyoming in order to see and pray
over the seicha (sacred pipe) as it is
impossible on account of the ceremo-
nial regulations foV the keeper to bring
it down to them in the south.
II.
GHOST DANCE CEREMONY.
The dance commonly begins about
the middle of the afternoon or later
after sundown. When it begins in the
afternoon there is always an intermis-
sion of an hour or two for supper. The
announcement is made by the criers
old men who" assume this office appar-
ently by tacit understanding who go
about the camp shouting in a loud
voice to the people to prepare for the
dance. The preliminary painting and
dressing is usually a work of about two
hours. When all is ready the leaders
walk out to the dance place and facing
inward join hands so as to form a small
circle. Then without moving from
their places they sing the opening song
according to previous agreement in a
soft undertone. Having sung it through
once they raise their voices to their
full strength and repeat it this time
slowly circling around in the dance.
The step is different from that of most
other Indian dances but very simple
the dancers moving from right to left
following the course of the sun ad-
vancing the left foot and following it
with the right hardly lifting the feet
from the ground. For this reason it is
called by the Shoshone the "dragging
dance." All the songs are adapted to
this simple measure of the dance step.
As the song rises and swells the people
come singly and in groups from the
several tepees and one after another
joins the circle until any number from
fifty to five hundred men women and
children are in the dance. When the
circle is small each song is repeated
through a number of circuits. If large
it is repeated only through one circuit
measured by the return of the leaders
to the starting point. Each song is
started in the same manner first in an
undertone while the singers stand still
in their places and then with full voice
as they begin to circle around. At in-
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The Indian Advocate. (Sacred Heart Mission, Okla. Terr.), Vol. 10, No. 4, Ed. 1, Saturday, October 1, 1898, newspaper, October 1, 1898; Sacred Heart Mission, Oklahoma Territory. (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc69772/m1/2/?q=%22Benedictine%20Fathers%22: accessed May 18, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Oklahoma Historical Society.