The Path on the Rainbow: Ritual Chants of the Omaha

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RITUAL CHANT AT THE PREPARATION OF THE SWEAT LODGE FOR THE SICK

OMAHA

The Stone, with the curative powers of its heat, becomes a symbol of permanency and strength.

Ho! Aged One, eçka, *
At a time when there were gathered together seven persons,
You sat in the seventh place, it is said,
And of the Seven you alone possessed knowledge of all things,
Aged One, eçka.
When in their longing for protection and guidance,
The people sought in their minds for a way,
They beheld you sitting with assured permanency and endurance
In the center where converged the paths,
There, exposed to the violence of the four winds, you sat,
Possessed with power to receive supplications,
Aged One, eçka.
Where is his mouth, by which there may be utterance of speech?
Where is his heart, to which there may come knowledge and understanding?

Where are his feet, whereby he may move from place to place?
We question in wonder,
Yet verily it is said you alone have power to receive supplications,
Aged One, eçka.
I have desired to go yet farther in the path of life with my little ones,
Without pain, without sickness,
Beyond the second, third, and fourth period of life's pathway,
Aged One, eçka.
O hear! This is my prayer,
Although uttered in words poorly put together,
Aged One, eçka.

RITUAL CHANT FOR THE SICK

OMAHA

He! Aged One, eçka
Thou Rock, eçka
Aged One, eçka
He! I have taught these little ones
They obey, eçka
Aged One, eçka
He!
He! Unmoved from time without end, verily
Thou sittest, eçka
In the midst of the various paths of the coming winds
In the midst of the winds thou sittest, eçka
Aged One, eçka
He! The small grasses grow about thee, eçka
Thou sittest as though making of them thy dwelling place, eçka
He! Verily thou sittest covered with the droppings of birds, eçka
Thy head decked with the downy feathers of the birds, eçka

Aged One, eçka
Thou who standest next in power, eçka
He! thou water, eçka.
Water that hast been flowing
From time unknown, eçka
He! Of you the little ones have taken
Though thy mysteries remain unrevealed
These little ones crave thy touch, eçka
He! Thou that standest as one dwelling place, eçka
Even as one dwelling place, eçka
Ye great animals, eçka
He! Who make for us the covering, eçka
These little ones, thou hast said, let their thoughts reverently dwell on me, eçka
He! Thou tent frame, eçka
Thou standest with bent back o’er us
With stooping shoulders, bending over us
Verily, thou standest
Thus my little ones shall speak of me, thou hast said
Brushing back the hair from thy forehead, eçka
The hair of thy head
The grass that grows about thee
Thy hairs are whitened, eçka
The hairs that grow upon thy head, eçka
O, the paths that the little ones shall take, eçka
Whichever way they may flee from danger, eçka
They shall escape. Their shoulders shall be bent with age as they walk
As they walk on the well-beaten path
Shading their brows now and again with their hands
As they walk in their old age, eçka
That of thy strength they shall partake, eçka
Therefore thy little ones desire to walk closely by thy side, eçka
Venerable One, eçka.

RITUAL OF THE COSMIC FORCES

OMAHA

Toward the coming of the sun
There the people of every kind gathered,
And great animals of every kind.
Verily all gathered together, as well as people.
Insects also of every description,
Verily all gathered there together,
By what means or manner we know not.
Verily, one alone of all these was the greatest,
Inspiring to all minds,
The great white rock,
Standing and reaching as high as the heavens, enwrapped in mist,
Verily as high as the heavens.
Thus my little ones shall speak of me,
As long as they shall travel in life's path, thus they shall speak of me.
Such was the words, it has been said.
Then next in rank
Thou, male of the crane, stoodst with thy long beak
And thy neck, none like to it in length,
There with thy beak didst thou strike the earth.

This shall be the legend
Of the people of yore, the red people,
Thus my little ones shall speak of me.
Then next in rank stood the male gray wolf, whose cry,
Though uttered without effort, verily made the earth to tremble,
Even the stable earth to tremble.
Such shall be the legend of the people.
Then next in rank stood Hega, the buzzard, with his red neck.
Calmly he stood, his great wings spread, letting the heat of the sun straighten his feathers.
Slowly he flapped his wings,

Then floated away, as though without effort,
Thus displaying a power (a gift of Wakonda) often to be spoken of by the old men in their teachings.

SONG OF SCORN

OMAHA

Ena! The one I wish to marry has gone to war.
Ena! The one I hate has not gone forth but remains here.

THE GHOST-DANCE RELIGION

In 1892 the last serious Indian outbreak occurred. This was occasioned by the government's efforts to suppress the practices of a new religion which, during the two years preceding, had spread over a large part of, the west, among the Indian tribes from the Plains to the Coast, and from the Columbia to the Rio Grande. The Prophet of this new cult claimed to be the Messiah, and professed to exercise divine powers. He instituted certain dances, which his followers, in a vain attempt to overthrow the world-order magically, perverted into frenzied rites, wherein entranced, they saw visions and spoke with the dead. The Messiah concept is an ancient one in Indian mythology, antedating all Christian influence, and so desperate had become the straits of the Vanishing Race that these doctrines received wide acceptance. At length the government intervened and brought the strange worship to an end.

Mr. James Mooney investigated this interesting phenomenon and actually discovered the Seer, who proved to be an inoffensive visionary dwelling in a remote valley of the Southwest. This young man's life and theories (a full-blood, apparently untouched by Christian influence), curiously resembled those of Christ, and like the latter, he preached the doctrines of Nonresistance and the Brotherhood of Man. In this case our government played the part of Rome.

These songs were sung during the dancing, and express in the image of the Whirlwind, a mystic and exalted contemplation of the approaching Great Change. Unessential repetitions have been omitted for brevity's sake.

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Footnotes

46:* Eçka—I implore.