The Blessings of the Buffalo Spirits

Hōcąk Syllabic Text with an Interlinear English Translation

Original Texts: | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34-35 |

Part I. The Blessings.

(1) A man fasted, and after awhile he was blessed. They came to him so that they might bless him. They came to him from the southern direction. He was to go after a human. "Go after him," they said, and he went to him. Then he saw a man, a young one, and went along with him. He followed him. They did not go far. They were going to a village. And in the center of the village was a long house, (2) and there they slept.

They blessed him there. One of the chiefs of that village, indeed the primary one, blessed him saying, "I bless you with wars," he said. "After awhile, if you make war, and if you are about to jump them, it must not be forgotten to fill the pipe, and if you do it, it will not be good to kill [you]. I have control over wars," (3) he said. "And that's the way life will be for you." He told him to look at himself, and when he looked at himself, he saw that his hair was completely white like one who had reached the last stage of life. And all who were under the lodge roof had come to bless him. You have come to the Buffalo Lodge. When he had returned, after he had looked at the entire lodge, the lives that were seen in the lodge, all of them were buffalo. (4) Because he had thought, "Human I bless you," he had brought it forth. "When he bothered, I touched a human, and if he does tobacco, it is for the best, so this will be the way," he said, and he was the one who did it.

A human lay quite dead in the middle of the lodge, and everyone under the lodge roof, all of them, tried their powers, but he did not come to life. The very last they were to make, (5) they now made. The human stood, and all of them breathed in unison with him. And miracles were performed, and when they were through with the Buffalo Song, he breathed upon the dead man there in the middle of the lodge. The buffalo when he blew, he blew for the second time. When he blew the third time, it became lightning. When he breathed the fourth time, (6) having knocked him around, he suddenly started off.

He said, "All of you humans have won." The Buffalo Chief said, "Human, this is what I mean: you will be making them. You are going to use things, and if you make good payments, when they offer tobacco, as much tobacco as there is, that much will come right here to the Creation Lodge [of the Buffalo Spirits]. I allow that you will again assemble at Red Banks. (7) I have [given] your descendants until you come as far as they extend to their end in time. Your descendants, as long as the earth to its end in time, that long your descendants [will thrive], when they place pipes to pour, whatever they ask, and taking care of tobacco that way, I will immediately come to you. Not ever will we take up kettles, anyone of them, that will be unrewarding. (8) Of war, they also say that we govern wars. The Creator in this way has made us in control." And again Life, they say, again that way, they say, he breathed. He will always come back.

And again, when plants were to be blessed, they got them. He was made to see only one of the plants. They told him how to use this. (9) "They should do it, as when one makes oneself life, it was He who made it," he said to him. "When you are feasting, these plants, always supplemented with your own tobacco, will be mighty."

And again, they blessed him with a drum. "If you beat this at a feast, this way we will be able to tell what you really want. We will hear it. (10) I have imbued the drum with holiness. You also must make it holy for yourself," they told him. "And again, this my own, will be made very great. After awhile, you will be doing warfare, the attending of which they will be helping you. Human, you will press your enemies to defeat. The one sided weapons (11) I will make sharp for you. And this, your gifted rite, will not be put to an end. If he does this rite, such that they always try, and if he takes care of the tobacco, then we will come to you.

And if they do a feast, he will make a flute holy," he said to him, and that he would make it, (12) he told to him. So he made himself a holy flute. He said to him that the Warbundle is something that he can make for himself, he told him. "These female buffalo are numerous," he said, "so a buffalo head Warbundle can be made for oneself, and again, a buffalo tail is made holy. And they would offer them this tobacco, and they did this. For a very long time he was doing it, and still is doing it. Today the Devil does this.

(13) And again he said to him, "Four buffalo princesses had blessed him: the white one, and again the black one, and again the yellow one, and again the red one, that many had blessed him.

And the second time he was blessed, from up above they were doing it. Up above there was a yellow buffalo bull. This one blessed him," he told him. "Earthmaker established it here. Also he created me to control things. Grandson, I bless you. (14) I control war. If you are going to war, this must not be forgotten: if you will pour a pipe full of tobacco for us, if you do this, they will only shoot at your shadow," they said. "I secure the life of the body, and they will only have the power to shoot your shadow. However it goes, I will make do for you. (15) You will be as one who is destined to be ripe (of age)," he was saying. "So when engaged in warfare, it would not be allowed to kill (you). And again, I am in control of Life. You will have accomplished Life for yourself," he said. "I am making a pipe-offering (feast) for you. Because I will be taking tobacco, therefore for this I am blessing you. Because they poured out tobacco, (16) and inasmuch as they burned it, also I will give them that. You ask for war, also you ask for Life, that tobacco it will be answered on this earth below. As long as the earth has been, that long to its end in time, we will also have tobacco to smoke. If they are thinking of a kettle, I also will have it in both hands." This is the way he carries it.

And again when he was still fasting, (17) after awhile they came to him again. In the middle of the earth was a buffalo ghost, and he came to him there. And that Buffalo Spirit told him, "I also bless you. They have counseled you. I am a buffalo as well. I was also made to be over many things. Having lived (here), he made me to be over many things. Look, human," and when he looked, the whole of his body he saw to be flattened bullets. (18) "Thus you will be," he said to the human. "And it will be impossible to kill you. And in this case, when you get old and tire of life, then you will do as you like. You would be in control of yourself," then he gave him a song. Then he caused him to see a war prize. (19) He saw a strap of wampum. Then he told him, "I also [will do] this when you are feasting: I also will always be there smoking. In placing one of the kettles for me, also if it is in both my hands, I will do (things for you). Once it is possessed, I also will do these things that we have waited for. War you ask of, and of Life you also ask, I also was created that I might be over many things," he said. (20) When the Buffalo Spirit had blessed him, it was for just these things that he had come.

Just how in this way that he had spoken, they blessed that man with Life. When he did war for the first time, when he finally went on the warpath, he himself won a victory, and after awhile once they had gotten there, when they were engaged in battle, when he did it there, there he lay in wait, and guns were pointed directly at him, and he reacted, jumping right and left while moving about. There they were shooting. (21) Then the man tried to capture him. Then that one of a foreign tribe did this: he took that buffalo blessed one took by the arm, but he (the blessed one) swung him around, and there he struck him twice against an object, and tore open his stomach. Then he stopped, and as he turned away, he thought to himself, "Why didn't I kill him?" he thought, and he thought, "I will kill him," (22) but as he approached him, he directed the gun towards him, but because he thought it must be packing empty, he did not dodge, so he was shot. His chest was completely destroyed by the impact. This one was defeated, and inasmuch as he did not dodge it, he was shot. So not for a long time did he remain dead. When he came to consciousness, when he returned, he did it making buffalo sounds. Then he remembered that a Buffalo Spirit had blessed him. He remembered that he had indeed said to him, "When you are about to fight, (23) when it comes upon you, it must not be forgotten (what I had said)," he had said, and he exerted his power. As much blood as was in his stomach, all of it he vomited up. He felt better.

Just then one of his relatives arrived and came up to him. He asked him, "How have you been getting along?" he said. "I killed one, and there he lies. "Twist his head off," he told him, and, "Ho," he said, and did it. (24) And he said, "This they are going to recognize." He cut it off and gave it to him. And when he went, here stood a horse, and he led it away, and started off, and when he reached the Warleader, he said, "How have you been making out?" And he said, "Warleader, I give you these." When he took the man-coup and the horse, he said, "Ho, it is good!" and (25) he put a wampum belt on him. Then the Warleader sang and started to run. Then he reminded himself of the buffalo blessing that he had received, and the Buffalo Songs, and then he also went along. He had been all shot to pieces. This one they had fixed. He did not die. Had he not seen the bullet flattened on the Buffalo Spirit? (26) This one he himself had gone about. Had he not been made to have a vision of a wampum belt? It is this one which he also had.

And then he went, and afterwards did warfare, and over a long time he was never harmed, and furthermore, he doctored people and caused them to have more life. So he made a long Warbundle containing a flute, and he made it with a buffalo head and one of the whistles, and then again a buffalo tail, (27) all of it being holy.

Part II. The Buffalo Game.

Paul Radin, Winnebago I, #3.4.119
The Buffalo Dance Longhouse

Since then, they would do Buffalo Feasts.¹ It was in spring, and then in the fall, and then in mid-winter that they would do the Buffalo Feast. When they did the Buffalo Feast, they would not have the meat. They would only use a secluded spot. They were afraid of buffalo. It was said that there was only more of maple sugar there. So when they did the Buffalo Feast, they would always insure that maple sugar was there.

(28) They would do the Buffalo Feast. They would make one of the long houses. The attendants made everything ready, and then they caught up to us with the kettles, after they had put them on, then they were eating from them within the lodge. The Buffalo Game was given there, and there they would offer them tobacco. (29) So everyone at the Buffalo Boil would offer them tobacco.

They were now doing war. And when they did, they did the Buffalo Songs. They employed bathing in red. And they will have been using the dancing songs, and he said, "Feasters, we will be using the dance songs. When we would do it, I could do it this way as they knew it as they did, and one would ... the first dance." (30) He told of buffalo being a help to one's own.

He was present there, and wore a buffalo head on his head, and the buffalo tail he hung from his belt. And ... when he asks from them, they themselves were fine with it. Everyone followed him. Then he brought a plate full of sugar placing it there at the Buffalo Game. He made a buffalo cry, and he owned buffalo, and he drank it. (31) Then, not taking as much, everyone else did the same. Once they returned from the dance, they ate. But they took hold of it. They cooked buffalo. Then the dance stopped, and there they made it for them. The drum was passed around, and they ate.

Since he took care of everything, and at the first dance of the Buffalo Game, he took care of the plates as well as the dishes of tobacco, (32) and they made many trips with the dishes. He used his head, but the first one he failed to get, but the second one, which he did, when he was done, again he also did the third one. When as soon as he came to be face down, only once he was done did he fall asleep. He did not put a hand in, and it would not be the case that he kept himself face down. (33) The dishes arrived coming back. His head was used, and when he was face down, when it started out, it would stop. Still they failed, but also one by one, everyone would do it. They did buffalo bellowing, and they were doing this. He did not put his hands on the plates, but would keep face down. He started out using his head face down, and when he did, (34/35) he would only do it to cure. Because it was holy, that's the way they would do it. Because the buffaloes acted that way, therefore they were doing it. And when everyone stopped eating, the feast giver sang. When he danced, it was a pleasure, and he took along the dishes, and dancing, he arose and went out. That's how they feasted. Ho-o-o-o-o! The Buffalo Game.² ⨁⨁

Radin's Translation

(304) A man fasted and was finally blessed. When he was to be blessed a spirit came after him. He came from the south. "Human," he said, "I was told to come after you." Then the man looked at him and he saw that it was a man speaking to him. So he went along with him. He did not go far before he came to a village and in the middle of this village he saw a long lodge. There he was taken and there he was blessed. The one that was in charge of the village blessed him first.

"I bless you with victory in wars. Whenever you go on the warpath and when you are about to make the rush, do not forget me. If you pour some tobacco for me and then fight, the enemy will not be able to kill you. I am in charge of wars." 

(305) So he spoke to him. "Thus will your life be. Look at yourself." So he looked at himself and his hair was very white. As one who had attained a full life he saw himself. "All that are within this lodge bless you," the spirit continued. "You have come to the Buffalo village." This he was told, so he looked at the lodge full of people. And those whom he had seen up to that time as human beings now were buffaloes.

"Human, they bless you is why they went after you. Human, if anyone is weighted with life and a reasonable amount of tobacco is given, such a one would be able to do the following":

A dead man was placed in the middle of the lodge, and all of those in the lodge tried their power, but none succeeded in restoring him to life. At last the spirits let the man try it. So he tried. When he arose, all those in the lodge began to make sounds and when he began to exert his powers he sang buffalo songs. When he was through with these songs, he walked toward the dead man, in the middle of the lodge. He blew on him once, then again and again. Now the man began to open his eyes. Then he blew on him for the fourth time and he caused him to rise.

"Human, you have overcome all of us," said the buffalo chief. "Human, thus shall you ever do to people. If anyone is sick and the proper offerings are made to you, send some tobacco to our council lodge and I will remember you. You must send all the tobacco that is offered to you. I will remember it. This council lodge is given to you and to your posterity as long as it lasts. As long as the earth lasts that long your posterity will have occasions on which to pour tobacco. Whatever blessing they ask, we will bestow upon them while we smoke their tobacco. As many as are the kettles that they offer to us, we will never accept one without giving them a blessing. We are in control of wars; the Earthmaker has given us control of them, and if you ask for it we will give it to you. And if you ask for life we will bestow that blessing upon you and accept your offerings."

They also blessed him with plants for medicine. This is the way they did it. Each of the spirits caused him to see a plant and to know the purposes to which it could be put. They told him to make offerings to the plants whenever he gave a feast, so that the plants would become more powerful. They also blessed him with a drum. "This you must beat when you give a feast and it will tell us your wants. We will understand the drum. We will make your drum holy for you, and you must treat it as such," they told him. "You must keep it holy. Whenever you are on the warpath you must take it with you and it will help you. Human, your enemies you will overcome; your weapons only will be sharp if your posterity will never give up this ceremony." So they spoke to him. "Whenever (306) you give this ceremony, no matter what blessing you ask, we will bestow it upon you, when you offer tobacco. A flute you must also keep holy. You must make it yourself, so that it remains sacred." They also told him to make a war bundle. The Buffalo chief told him this. So he made one out of a buffalo head and a buffalo tail. These he made sacred so that people might offer tobacco to them. This was done long ago and yet they still do it.

Then they told him that four differently colored buffaloes would bless him — a white one, a black one, a red one, and a yellow one.

After a while he was blessed the second time. This time the spirits came after him from above and took him to the home of a spirit buffalo. This is the one that blessed him.

"Earthmaker has placed me here," said the spirit, "and he has given me control of many things. Grandson, I bless you. I am in control of war power, and if you ever go on the warpath don't forget me. If you pour a pipe full of tobacco for me before you go into battle, the enemy will only be able to shoot your shadow." Thus he spoke to him. "I will take your body, and in that way it will only be your shadow that the enemy will try to shoot with all their strength. You will be without a body, and how then can they hit you, being without a body?" This is what the spirit told him. So, therefore, whenever he went on the warpath it was impossible to kill him. For the spirit had said, "I am also in control of life and I will give you your life back, that you may control it. The spirits have given you a tobacco-pouring feast and whenever you give it, remember that I wish to smoke also. When you pour tobacco for me I will grant you whatever you ask. If you ask for war, or if you ask for life, I will accept your tobacco. As long as this earth lasts I will smoke your tobacco and accept the kettle of food that you place on the fire for me."

Thus he spoke to him. The man, however, still kept on fasting, and finally the spirits came for him again. There in the middle of the earth lived a buffalo-ghost. There he went and the buffalo-ghost said to him: "I also bless you. You were given counsel and I who am a buffalo also counsel you. I am in control of many things. Earthmaker placed me here to live and he put me in control of many things. Human, look at me," he said. The man looked at him. Then he saw that his body was covered with flattened bullets. "Thus you will be," said the ghost to him. "It will be impossible to kill you, and you will attain to old age, and when you get tired of living you may do as you please. I give you the privilege of controlling yourself." Then he gave him a song and he caused him to see a war prize, a wampum. After a while he spoke to him as follows:

"I also will always smoke at your feast, and if a kettle is ever put on the fire for me, I will be thankful to you. Whatever the people (307) ask of me I will always take it into consideration. If they ask for war or if they ask for life, remember that I have been given control of these things." Thus spoke the buffalo-ghost. There he received all the things with which he was blessed.

In the course of his life he made use of all his blessings. His first victory occurred when he went on the warpath for the first time. He had joined a war party and a fight occurred toward the evening of the same day. As he was walking along he suddenly saw a gun directed against him at close range. He jumped right and left and in that way escaped being shot. Then the enemy tried to capture the one who had been blessed by the buffalo, holding him tightly by the arm. But he struck the enemy twice against an object and tore his stomach open. Then he walked away. As he was going he thought to himself, "Why did I not kill him outright?" So he went back with the intention of doing this, but as he approached the man the latter directed a gun against him. Thinking, however, that it was not loaded, he did not dodge, and he was shot. His breast was filled with shot and he was killed. But he did not remain dead long. He soon came to consciousness and sat up, uttering sounds like a buffalo.

Then he remembered that a buffalo ghost had blessed him. He had indeed said to him, "When you are about to fight do not forget me." He remembered this, so he exerted his power. All the blood that was in his stomach he vomited forth and felt better. Just then one of his relatives came along and asked him, "How have you been getting along?" and he answered, "I have killed one. There lies his body. Take his scalp for me." "All right," said his relative, and did what he had been told, and brought it to him, saying, "Here it is." A horse was there also, and this the relative likewise led away and started back to (the camp). When he met the war leader, the latter asked him, "How have you been making out?" He answered, "I give you these trophies," and handed the leader the scalp and the horse. "Ah, it is good," he said, and put a wampum belt on him. Then the war leader sang a song and started to run, and the buffalo-blessed one reminded himself of his blessing and went back also. He was all shot to pieces. But he did not die, for he had been blessed with power, so how could he die? The buffalo-ghost he had seen with flattened bullets in his belt had fulfilled his promise, and the wampum belt that he had seen in his fasting had now become true.

He went to many wars after this, but he was never harmed. He doctored many people and caused them to have more life. After a while he made a war bundle consisting of a flute that he had constructed himself, a buffalo tail, and a buffalo head. Then he made offerings to them. These many things he made sacred. Since then buffalo feasts have been given.³

Commentary. "he" — initially, we are told that a group of (Buffalo) Spirits responded to the fasting human, but afterwards only one of them was told to "go after" (hanįguají/hagora) the human and lead him to their Spirit village.

"then he saw a man" — this way of expressing it is confusing. The pronoun "he" refers to the mortal who was being blessed. The man (wąk) is the Spirit being who has been commanded to go after him. The word wąk can denote males, homo sapiens, and Spirits, and has to be disambiguated by its context. It remains unclear who saw whom, but it is clear that the human fell in behind the Spirit, who was leading him to the latter's village.

"he followed him" — híroną́k, that is, the mortal followed after the Spirit being.

"the last stage of life" — this is the blessing of Life, which is to say, longevity. It's not surprising that those who have power over war, which is to say death, have the power to grant longevity, since life is sustained by the power to withhold death, which is possessed by those who command human fate in war, the chief cause of premature death (other than disease).

"payments" — for wat’ųné which means, "the leaving of something behind (for someone)." Miner says that a wat’ųné was, "a gift given to a medicine man in return for healing or knowledge; gift or donation in honor of someone else (not the same as waixéwe)."

"one of the plants" — that is, one of the plants over which they have control, was given to the human supplicant. It will prove to be efficacious in feasts.

"they always try" — it is a well known principle that it matters less whether a rite is done perfectly than the intention and good will behind the actions performed. As long as the rite is performed to the best of the participants' ability, it will be efficacious.

"today the Devil does this" — it becomes clear, with this statement, that the narrator, probably a member of the Buffalo Clan, has thoroughly embraced the doctrines of Christianity and rejects the old religion, although, apart from this editorial comment, he tells the story in the traditional way. Radin omits this sentence from his translation.

"the appointed princesses" — this phrase is omitted by Radin. Aiyo Ki L ttL = hiųgirájᵉra, from hįyųgį́-rā́c-ra. Normally, the word for princess would have the feminine suffix -wį attached, but hįyųgį́ without this suffix was found by Helmbrecht-Lehmann. They are color coded. We can compare them with the color coding of the four Bear Spirits who were assigned to the four cardinal points:

The mapping of the Buffalo Spirit princesses is conjectural. The blue of Blue Bear represents the sky of dawn, so yellow may find a counterpart in the color of the ascending sun.

"a buffalo ghost" — cē wanąǧižą, where wanąǧi means, "ghost, corpse." However, in this context it is quite clear that wanąǧi means the same thing as waxopį́nį, "Spirit". The point isn't that the buffalo is dead, but that he is supernatural.

"twist his head off" — nąsúra hikirúsere, where hikirúse means literally "to be twisted" (White Eagle. Helmbrecht-Lehmann). This seems to suggest a beheading technique (beheading predates scalping). Apparently, the flesh was cut down to a joint in a neck's spinal column, then twisted to break the connection of the joint and spinal cord.

"to recognize" — that is, they will recognize his action as a war honor.

The Indians, The Northwest, 34

The Governor Denny Wampum Belt

"a wampum belt" — this is an artifact designed to commemorate a great event. Such belts are typically made of beads and shells. The belt above was made in 1758 to commemorate a treaty between the Hōcągara and Lieutenant Governor and commander in chief of the province of Pennsylvania (for which see here). In the present context, the wampum belt is being offered as a war honor. Salomon Longtail (Buffalo Clan) said in the 1890s, "It was the custom in the olden time that he who returned with a scalp should be given a wampum belt as a prize. This he had to give to one of his sisters."

"they would not have the meat" — apparently this rule applied only to the initial part of the feast, since it is very clear that kettles containing meat were being prepared.

"the Buffalo Game" — Cēošgajᵉra, from cē-hošgac-ra, where cē means "buffalo"; hošgac, "game"; and -ra, the definite article suffix. This is an unknown game, no doubt peculiar to the Buffalo Clan. The "game," as we gradually discover, consists of miraculous actions performed by the host's buffalo head. The narrator sets the action back in a time when the Hōcągara were still engaged in warfare, and he does not hesitate to attribute to them the miraculous powers that he subsequently relates.

	Codex Borgia 25
	Mixcoatl

"bathing in red" — this is a reference to a style of war paint. Mary Eastman says, "Before going into battle, the Winnebagoes paint their bodies with vermilion, and with white; daubing them with clay, to appear as frightful as possible, when facing the enemy, and ringing their war whoop in defiance."⁴ Alternating vermilion and white stripes is the body painting of the Aztec god Mixcoatl,⁵ and when the vermilion is daubed with white spots, it can be the paint of human sacrifices. A warrior so attired presents himself to the enemy as a willing human sacrifice. The Hōcągara and the Central Mexicans had in common the idea that those sacrificed in this context would have immortal life with a special status. The Aztec warrior gets to join the host of Mixcoatl as a star in the firmament. A Hōcąk warrior painted in this Aztec style who lost his life in battle had the special privilege of being born anew wherever and whenever he wished.

"he owned buffalo" — the word nį̄hí means to own an animal or to have an animal as a pet. This is a rather eccentric way of referring to the fact that he has the supernatural aid of Buffalo Spirits. Putting it this eccentric way may simply have been the product of an assonance:

"¹Buffalo ²sounds he made, ³and ¹buffalo ²he owned, ³and ..."

"he drank it" — modern food processing might make us think of a plate of sugar as being granular, but this sugar is actually maple syrup and can therefore be drunk.

"he used his head" — judging from what is said subsequently, this refers to his buffalo head which he typically wore as a headpiece over his own head. It seems that we are to imagine the head floating about and retrieving dishes in its mouth, while its owner, the feast giver is reclining as one does when going to bed.

"he failed to get" — it's odd that failure is mentioned in connection with what is in essence supernatural activity. Apparently, the power granted to the celebrants of the feast requires a certain psyche-driven skill to actually execute.

"he did not put a hand in" — this reinforces the interpretation that the buffalo head was magically acting on its own. It is here made clear that the feast giver himself never touched any of the items that had been fetched by the buffalo head.

"still they failed, but also one by one, everyone would do it" — clearly, the ability to magically manipulate the buffalo head, which we can imagine floating through the air, was a mental skill of the participants which had to be honed by practice, as the blessing given by the Buffalo Spirits required some mental technique on the part of those so blessed.

"would keep face down" — at this point, through reiteration, it becomes clear that to initialize the magical powers of the buffalo head, the operator had to lie face down. At least part of the reason for this is made clear later on (see below).

"because the buffaloes acted that way" — as can be seen from the inset, buffaloes keep their heads pointed down. So the operator of the magical buffalo head had to assume the buffalo's own orientation in order to fully grasp the Buffalo Spirits’ blessing with respect to the powers of the buffalo head.

"⨁⨁" — these two crosses enclosed within circles were drawn in by the person recording the story. They may simply be Earthmaker crosses, indicating a recognition of the holiness of the story just told. However, this symbol appears in other accounts of the Buffalo Dance, where it has a special import to the Buffalo Clan. Not mentioned here is an important element of the Buffalo Dance called a Mąnusērek. Mąnusērek literally means, "Tear Open the Earth." The ground is torn open to gather up soil to construct a dual set of adjacent mounds that has a central function in the Buffalo Dance.

A Reconstruction of a Mąnusērek

On top of these "buffalo mounds," as they are also called, they place a plate of maple sugar. Of the Mąnusērek, Alice C. Fletcher says,

In the Buffalo dance which is given four times in the month of May and early June, the dancers are four men and a large number of women. As the dancers enter, each woman brings in a handful of fine earth and in this way two mounds are raised in the centre at the east, that is between the eastern entrance and the fire, which is about fifteen feet from the eastern entrance. The mounds thus formed are truncated cones. ... The mounds were about four inches high and not far from eighteen inches in diameter.⁶

Puzzling, however, is the notation made in connection with the word Mąnúsēregᵉra. In the story "Whiskey Making," an arrow is drawn from the translation of this word past the next word to an icon, ⨁. No further explanation is offered. A variant of this symbol is found again here:

The next morning before they were to set out, the warleader said, "Now then, my attendants, whatever you have brought to strengthen yourselves, that you must now present." Therefore they placed before him all the things that they had that were wákącąk (holy). Turtle stuck his two edged knife there with the rest of the holy things, and Trickster placed his warclub there. Wolf set down a circle of wood with a cross of string within it; and attached to the center of this cross was a shrunken piece of buckskin [inset]. Many holy things were placed before the warleader. ... The holy object that he owned derived its power from this: the circle was the earth, and the cross was the path to anywhere on its surface. The shrunken leather at the center meant that whatever the distance to any place on earth, Wolf could shrink it so that there was no place that he could not quickly reach.⁷

So in the ⨁ symbol, the circle represents the earth, and the cross is a path to anywhere on its surface. Wolves are the main predators of buffalo, but it is clear that the buffalo are even more far-ranging than wolves. While the ordinary callers were drawn from the Bear Clan, it is very likely that the Buffalo Clan had the responsibility of carrying messages from the chief to more distant places. Truly, for them, the encircled cross reminded them of their sacred duty to take the path to anywhere on the earth's surface they were charged to go. The cross is also a representation of a Center, and indeed, so too is the Mąnusērek. Such a mound is a model of a mountain, its shape and purpose giving it efficacy. Each geographically aligned mound, intersected by the axes of the cardinal points, is a miniature mountain. As Eliade points out, "Mountains are often looked on as the place where sky and earth meet, a 'central point' therefore, the point through which the Axis Mundi goes, a region impregnated with the sacred, a spot where one can pass from one cosmic zone to another."⁸ Such seams in creation where disparate realms of creation meet, Eliade has termed a Center.⁹

Links: Earthmaker, Buffalo Spirits, Herešgúnina.

Stories: about buffaloes and Buffalo Spirits: Buffalo Clan Origin Myth, Eats the Stinking Part of the Deer Ankle, White Fisher, Brass and Red Bear Boy, Bluehorn Rescues His Sister, Bluehorn's Nephews, Redhorn's Father, The Woman who became an Ant, Buffalo Dance Origin Myth, The Buffalo's Walk, Trickster's Buffalo Hunt, The Blessing of Šokeboka, The Creation of the World (v. 3), The Annihilation of the Hocągara I, The Medicine Rite Foundation Myth, The Red Feather, Wazųka, The Stench-Earth Medicine Origin Myth, Holy One and His Brother, Old Man and Wears White Feather, The Orphan who was Blessed with a Horse, The Story of the Medicine Rite, Black Otter's Warpath; about fasting blessings: Earthmaker Blesses Wagíšega (Wešgíšega), The Difficult Blessing, The Boy Who Became a Robin, The Boy who would be Immortal, The Woman Who Fought the Bear, The Girl who Refused a Blessing from the Wood Spirits, The Seer, The Woman who Loved Her Half-Brother, The Nightspirits Bless Jobenągiwįxka, Disease Giver Blesses Jobenągiwįxka, Black Otter's Warpath, The Boy who was Blessed by a Mountain Lion, Ghost Dance Origin Myth I, The Blessing of a Bear Clansman, Aracgéga's Blessings, The Meteor Spirit and the Origin of Wampum, Great Walker's Medicine, Buffalo Dance Origin Myth, Thunderbird and White Horse, The Man who was Blessed by the Sun, Holy Song, A Waterspirit Blesses Mąnį́xete’ų́ga, Paint Medicine Origin Myth, The Plant Blessing of Earth, The Blessing of Šokeboka, Heną́ga and Star Girl, The Tap the Head Medicine, The Sweetened Drink Song, Ancient Blessing, A Deer Story; about scalping: The Woman's Scalp Medicine Bundle, Hare Retrieves a Stolen Scalp, The Scalping Knife of Wakąšucka Moiety Origin Myth, Turtle's Warparty, White Fisher, Black Otter's Warpath, The Dog that became a Panther, Wazųka, Great Walker's Warpath, The Unlucky Horse, The Boy who was Blessed by a Mountain Lion, The Fox-Hocąk War; mentioning Warbundles: Waruǧábᵉra (Thunderbird), The Adventures of Redhorn's Sons (Thunderbird), Redhorn's Sons (Thunderbird), The Twins Join Redhorn's Warparty (Thunderbird), The Warbundle of the Eight Generations (Thunderbird), Wanihéga Becomes a Sak’į (Thunderbird), Šųgepaga (Eagle), The Warbundle Maker (Eagle), The Masaxe War (Eagle?), The War of Indian Tribes against White Soldiers, Black Otter's Warpath (Bear?), The Blessing of a Bear Clansman (Bear), Paint Medicine Origin Myth (Hit’énųk’e Paint), The Blessing of Kerexųsaka (Sauk), Yellow Thunder and the Lore of Lost Canyon, Mijistéga’s Powwow Magic and How He Won the Trader's Store (Potawatomi), A Man's Revenge (enemy); mentioning flutes: The Love Blessing, Disease Giver Blesses Jobenągiwįxka, Mijistéga’s Powwow Magic and How He Won the Trader's Store, The Warbundle of the Eight Generations, Partridge's Older Brother, The Were-fish (v. 1), Disease Giver, The Stench-Earth Medicine Origin Myth, Redhorn's Sons; mentioning drums: The Descent of the Drum, The Friendship Drum Origin Myth, The Buffalo's Walk, The Spirit of Maple Bluff, Tobacco Origin Myth (v. 5), Young Man Gambles Often, Trickster and the Dancers, Redhorn's Father, Ghost Dance Origin Myth II, The Elk's Skull, Ghosts, The Four Slumbers Origin Myth, Great Walker's Medicine, Redhorn Contests the Giants, Buffalo Dance Origin Myth, Soft Shelled Turtle Gets Married, The Medicine Rite Foundation Myth, The Journey to Spiritland (v. 1b), Wolf Clan Origin Myth, Trickster's Anus Guards the Ducks, Trickster and the Geese, Turtle's Warparty, Snowshoe Strings, Ocean Duck, Įcorúšika and His Brothers, A Waterspirit Blesses Mąnį́xete’ų́ga, Hog's Adventures, Pete Dupeé and the Ghosts; mentioning wampum: The Meteor Spirit and the Origin of Wampum, Young Man Gambles Often, Morning Star and His Friend (v. 2), Little Human Head, Turtle and the Giant, Snowshoe Strings, The Chief of the Heroka, The Markings on the Moon, The Medicine Rite Foundation Myth (v. 2), Mijistéga’s Powwow Magic and How He Won the Trader's Store, Bird Clan Origin Myth, The Blessing of Kerexųsaka, Black Otter's Warpath (bone-bead belt); about famous Hocąk warriors and warleaders: How Little Priest went out as a Soldier, Little Priest's Game, The Masaxe War (Hogimasąga), Wazųka, Great Walker's Warpath (Great Walker), Great Walker's Medicine (Great Walker, Smoke Walker, Dog Head, Small Snake), Šųgepaga (Dog Head), The Warbundle Maker (Dog Head), Black Otter’s Sacrifice to a Thunder, Black Otter's Warpath (Dog Head, Black Otter), The Shawnee Prophet — What He Told the Hocągara (Smoke Walker, Dog Head, Small Snake), Big Thunder Teaches Cap’ósgaga the Warpath (Big Thunder, Cap’ósgaga), The Osage Massacre (Big Thunder, Cap’ósgaga), The Fox-Hocąk War (Cap’ósgaga), The Origin of Big Canoe's Name, White Thunder's Warpath, Four Legs, The Man who Fought against Forty (Mącosepka), Yellow Thunder and the Lore of Lost Canyon, The Hills of La Crosse (Yellow Thunder), Fighting Retreat, Mitchell Red Cloud, jr. Wins the Medal of Honor (Mitchell Red Cloud, jr.), The War of Indian Tribes against White Soldiers (Šųgépaga, Black Otter), How Jarrot Got His Name, Jerrot's Temperance Pledge — A Poem, Jarrot's Aborted Raid, Jarrot and His Friends Saved from Starvation, They Owe a Bullet (Pawnee Shooter); mentioning Earthmaker: The Creation of the World, The Creation of Man, The Commandments of Earthmaker, The Twins Get into Hot Water, The Twins Retrieve Red Star's Head, The Lost Blanket, Earthmaker Blesses Wagíšega (Wešgíšega), The Man Who Would Dream of Mą’ųna, The First Snakes, Tobacco Origin Myth, The Creation Council, The Gray Wolf Origin Myth, The Journey to Spiritland, The Resurrection of the Chief's Daughter, The Seven Maidens, The Descent of the Drum, Thunder Cloud Marries Again, The Spider's Eyes, The Boy who was Blessed by a Mountain Lion, Hawk Clan Origin Myth, Fourth Universe, Šųgepaga, The Fatal House, The Twin Sisters, Thunderbird Clan Origin Myth, Elk Clan Origin Myth, Deer Clan Origin Myth, Bear Clan Origin Myth, Wolf Clan Origin Myth, The Masaxe War, The Two Children, Medicine Rite Foundation Myth, The Petition to Earthmaker, The Gift of Shooting, Baldheaded Warclub Origin Myth, Bluehorn's Nephews, The Stone Heart, The Wild Rose, Earthmaker Sends Rušewe to the Twins, The Lame Friend, How the Hills and Valleys were Formed, The Hocąk Migration Myth, The Necessity for Death, Hocąk Clans Origin Myth, The War among the Animals, Lake Winnebago Origin Myth, Blue Mounds, Lost Lake, The Hocągara Migrate South, The Spirit of Gambling, Turtle and the Giant, The Shawnee Prophet — What He Told the Hocągara, The Hocągara Contest the Giants, Ghost Dance Origin Myth II, Bird Origin Myth, Black and White Moons, Redhorn's Sons, Holy Song, The Reincarnated Grizzly Bear, Death Enters the World, Man and His Three Dogs, Trickster Concludes His Mission, Story of the Thunder Names, The Origins of the Milky Way, Trickster and the Dancers, Ghost Dance Origin Myth I, East Enters the Medicine Lodge, The Creation of Evil, The Blessing of Kerexųsaka, Song to Earthmaker, The Blessing of the Bow, The Stench-Earth Medicine Origin Myth, The Origin of the Cliff Swallow, Little Red Bird's Story; mentioning feasts: Thunderbird Clan Origin Myth (Chief Feast), The Creation Council (Eagle Feast), Hawk Clan Origin Myth (Eagle Feast), Waterspirit Clan Origin Myth (Waterspirit Feast), A Waterspirit Blesses Mąnį́xete’ų́ga (Mąką́wohą, Waną́cĕrehí), Bear Clan Origin Myth (Bear Feast), The Woman Who Fought the Bear (Bear Feast), Grandfather's Two Families (Bear Feast), Wolf Clan Origin Myth (Wolf Feast), Buffalo Clan Origin Myth (Buffalo Feast), Buffalo Dance Origin Myth (Buffalo Feast), Eats the Stinking Part of the Deer Ankle (Buffalo Feast), The Blessing of Šokeboka (Feast to the Buffalo Tail), Snake Clan Origins (Snake Feast), Blessing of the Yellow Snake Chief (Snake Feast), Rattlesnake Ledge (Snake Feast), The Thunderbird (for the granting of a war weapon), Turtle's Warparty (War Weapons Feast, Warpath Feast), Porcupine and His Brothers (War Weapons Feast), Earthmaker Blesses Wagíšega (Wešgíšega) (Winter Feast = Warbundle Feast), Big Thunder Teaches Cap’ósgaga the Warpath (Winter Feast = Warbundle Feast), The Boy who was Blessed by a Mountain Lion (Winter Feast = Warbundle Feast), White Thunder's Warpath (Winter Feast = Warbundle Feast), The Fox-Hocąk War (Winter Feast = Warbundle Feast), Šųgepaga (Winter Feast = Warbundle Feast), The Man Whose Wife was Captured (v. 2) (Warbundle Feast, Warpath Feast), Black Otter's Warpath (Warpath Feast), Baldheaded Warclub Origin Myth (Warpath Feast), Kunu's Warpath (Warpath Feast), Trickster's Warpath (Warpath Feast), The Masaxe War (Warpath Feast), Redhorn's Sons (Warpath Feast, Fast-Breaking Feast), The Girl who Refused a Blessing from the Wood Spirits (Fast-Breaking Feast), The Chief of the Heroka (Sick Offering Feast), The Dipper (Sick Offering Feast, Warclub Feast), The Four Slumbers Origin Myth (Four Slumbers Feast), The Journey to Spiritland (Four Slumbers Feast), The First Snakes (Snake Feast), Whiskey Making (Medicine Rite), Spear Shaft and Lacrosse (unspecified), Pete Dupeé and the Ghosts (unnamed); containing the symbol ⨁: Whiskey Making.

Themes: a person who fasts receives blessings from the spirits: The Boy who was Blessed by a Mountain Lion, The Nightspirits Bless Jobenągiwįxka, Ghost Dance Origin Myth I, Redhorn's Sons, The Boy Who Became a Robin, The Woman Who Fought the Bear, The Seer, Maize Comes to the Hocągara, The Warbundle of the Eight Generations, The Woman who Loved Her Half-Brother, The Boy who would be Immortal, The Thunderbird, Lake Wąkšikhomįgra (Mendota): the Origin of Its Name, The Waterspirit Guardian of the Intaglio Mound, Great Walker's Medicine, Šųgepaga, Earthmaker Blesses Wagíšega (Wešgíšega), The Man Who Would Dream of Mą’ųna, Heną́ga and Star Girl, A Man's Revenge, Aracgéga's Blessings, The Blessing of a Bear Clansman, The Man who was Blessed by the Sun, The Girl who Refused a Blessing from the Wood Spirits, The Man Who Lost His Children to a Wood Spirit, Buffalo Dance Origin Myth, The Man who Defied Disease Giver, White Thunder's Warpath, Black Otter's Warpath, A Man and His Three Dogs, The Oak Tree and the Man Who was Blessed by the Heroka, A Waterspirit Blesses Mąnį́xete’ų́ga, The Meteor Spirit and the Origin of Wampum, The Diving Contest, The Plant Blessing of Earth, Holy Song, The Tap the Head Medicine, The Blessing of Šokeboka, The Completion Song Origin, Paint Medicine Origin Myth, The Nightspirits Bless Ciwoit’éhiga, Sunset Point, Song to Earthmaker, First Contact (v. 1), The Horse Spirit of Eagle Heights; blessings from Buffalo Spirits: Eats the Stinking Part of the Deer Ankle, The Stench-Earth Medicine Origin Myth, Brass and Red Bear Boy, The Blessing of Šokeboka, Buffalo Dance Origin Myth; spirits meet in a council: The Twins Retrieve Red Star's Head, Black and White Moons, Holy One and His Brother, The Creation Council, The Children of the Sun, Hare Secures the Creation Lodge, Traveler and the Thunderbird War (v. 5), The Gift of Shooting, East Shakes the Messenger, The Descent of the Drum, East Enters the Medicine Lodge, South Enters the Medicine Lodge, The Petition to Earthmaker, The Boy who would be Immortal; a spirit is quoted as he gives someone a blessing: Earthmaker Blesses Wagíšega (Wešgíšega), Traveler and the Thunderbird War, The Nightspirits Bless Jobenągiwįxka, Disease Giver Blesses Jobenągiwįxka, Eats the Stinking Part of the Deer Ankle, The Man Whose Wife was Captured, The Stench-Earth Medicine Origin Myth, The Boy who was Blessed by a Mountain Lion, Ghost Dance Origin Myth I, The Woman Who Fought the Bear, The Blessing of a Bear Clansman, Aracgéga's Blessings, The Girl who Refused a Blessing from the Wood Spirits, The Friendship Drum Origin Myth, The Meteor Spirit and the Origin of Wampum, Great Walker's Medicine, Buffalo Dance Origin Myth, Thunderbird and White Horse, The Plant Blessing of Earth, The Completion Song Origin, The Man who was Blessed by the Sun, Thunder Cloud is Blessed, The Difficult Blessing, The Blessing of Šokeboka, A Waterspirit Blesses Mąnį́xete’ų́ga, Bow Meets Disease Giver, Heną́ga and Star Girl, Sunset Point, The Rounded Wood Origin Myth, A Peyote Vision, The Healing Blessing; a group of spirit animals sort into four different colors: Bear Clan Origin Myth, Brass and Red Bear Boy, Wolf Clan Origin Myth, The Gray Wolf Origin Myth, The Old Man and His Four Dogs; red as a symbolic color: The Journey to Spiritland (hill, willows, reeds, smoke, stones, haze), The Gottschall Head (mouth), The Chief of the Heroka (clouds, side of Forked Man), The Red Man (face, sky, body, hill), Spear Shaft and Lacrosse (neck, nose, painted stone), Redhorn's Father (leggings, stone sphere, hair), The Sons of Redhorn Find Their Father (hair, body paint, arrows), Wears White Feather on His Head (man), The Birth of the Twins (turkey bladder headdresses), The Two Boys (elk bladder headdresses), Trickster and the Mothers (sky), Rich Man, Boy, and Horse (sky), Bluehorn Rescues His Sister (buffalo head), Wazųka (buffalo head headdress), The Baldheaded Warclub Origin Myth (horn), The Brown Squirrel (protruding horn), Bear Clan Origin Myth (funerary paint), Hawk Clan Origin Myth (funerary paint), Deer Clan Origin Myth (funerary paint), Thunderbird Clan Origin Myth (stick at grave), Pigeon Clan Origins (Thunderbird lightning), Trickster's Anus Guards the Ducks (eyes), Hare Retrieves a Stolen Scalp (scalp, woman's hair), The Race for the Chief's Daughter (hair), The Daughter-in-Law's Jealousy (hair), Redhorn Contests the Giants (hair), Redhorn's Sons (hair), The Woman's Scalp Medicine Bundle (hair), A Wife for Knowledge (hair), Eats the Stinking Part of the Deer Ankle (hair), The Hocągara Contest the Giants (hair of Giantess), A Man and His Three Dogs (wolf hair), The Red Feather (plumage), The Man who was Blessed by the Sun (body of Sun), The Man Whose Wife was Captured (v. 2) (body of the Warrior Clan Chief), Red Bear, Eagle Clan Origin Myth (eagle), The Shell Anklets Origin Myth (Waterspirit armpits), The Twins Join Redhorn's Warparty (Waterspirits), The Roaster (body paint), The Man who Defied Disease Giver (red spot on forehead), The Wild Rose (rose), The Medicine Rite Foundation Myth (warclub), Įcorúšika and His Brothers (ax & packing strap), Hare Kills Flint (flint), The Twins Retrieve Red Star's Head (edges of flint knives), The Nannyberry Picker (leggings), The Seduction of Redhorn's Son (cloth), Yųgiwi (blanket); the spirits bless a fasting man with a special plant: Maize Comes to the Hocągara, The Plant Blessing of Earth, Great Walker's Medicine; someone is blessed with a medicine: The Stench-Earth Medicine Origin Myth, A Waterspirit Blesses Mąnį́xete’ų́ga, Fourth Universe, Great Walker's Medicine, Bow Meets Disease Giver, The Seven Maidens, The Tap the Head Medicine, The Seer, The Healing Blessing, A Weed's Blessing, A Snake Song Origin Myth, Young Man Gambles Often, The Origins of the Sore Eye Dance, The Elk's Skull, Buffalo Dance Origin Myth, A Peyote Vision, The Sweetened Drink Song; a man acquires knowledge of a medicinal plant through a vision given to him by the spirits: The Stench-Earth Medicine Origin Myth, Great Walker's Medicine, The Plant Blessing of Earth, The Origins of the Sore Eye Dance; a messenger leads a man to Spiritland: The Shawnee Prophet — What He Told the Hocągara, The Foolish Hunter, Aracgéga's Blessings, The Blessing of a Bear Clansman; a spirit transforms himself into a symbolic representation of what is destined to happen in the future: The Medicine Rite Foundation Myth, Peace of Mind Regained, The Messengers of Hare; descriptions of human warfare: Black Otter's Warpath, Annihilation of the Hocągara II, The Warbundle Maker, The First Fox and Sauk War, Great Walker's Medicine, The Annihilation of the Hocągara I, How Little Priest went out as a Soldier, Little Priest's Game, Wazųka, The Shawnee Prophet and His Ascension, The Four Slumbers Origin Myth, Big Thunder Teaches Cap’ósgaga the Warpath, The Fox-Hocąk War, Great Walker's Warpath, White Fisher, The Lame Friend, White Thunder's Warpath, The Osage Massacre, A Man's Revenge, The Boy who was Blessed by a Mountain Lion, They Owe a Bullet, The Spanish Fight, Origin of the Name "Milwaukee," The Man Whose Wife was Captured (v. 2), Tobacco Man and Married Man, The Scalping Knife of Wakąšucka, The War of Indian Tribes against White Soldiers, The Unlucky Horse; a warrior captures an enemy's horse: James’ Horse, How Little Priest went out as a Soldier; a young warrior gives the head/scalp of a man he has killed in battle to someone else: White Fisher, (chief), The Boy who was Blessed by a Mountain Lion (warleader), Fighting Retreat (wife), The Man Whose Wife was Captured (v. 2) (oldest brother-in-law); someone returns from the dead: Ghost Dance Origin Myth II, The Resurrection of the Chief's Daughter, Sunset Point, Pete Dupeé and the Ghosts, White Fisher, The Boy who was Blessed by a Mountain Lion, The Shaggy Man, The Two Brothers, The Two Boys, Eats the Stinking Part of the Deer Ankle, White Wolf, The Journey of the Prophet’s Acolyte, The Red Man, The Chief of the Heroka, The Man Whose Wife was Captured, Waruǧábᵉra, The Lost Blanket, The Old Man and the Giants.

Notes

¹ here Paul Radin's translation comes to an end, but the syllabic text goes on for another 8 pages.
² Paul Radin, "Buffalo Dance," Winnebago Notebooks (Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, n.d.): Winnebago V, #21 (Freeman #3897): 1-35.
³ Paul Radin, The Winnebago Tribe (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1990 [1923]) 256-259 [1923: 304-307].
⁴ Mary Henderson Eastman, Chicóra: And Other Regions of the Conquerors and the Conquered (Philadelphia: Lippincott, Grambo and Company, 1854) 21.
⁵ Codex Borgia, 25, Codex Magliabecchiano, 13.3, folio 42r, and Codex Vaticanus B, 70.
⁶ Miss Alice C. Fletcher, "Symbolic Earth Formations of the Winnebagoes," Proceedings of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, 32 (1884): 396-397.
⁷ John Rave, "A Wakjonkaga Myth," in Paul Radin, Winnebago Notebooks (Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society) Notebook #37: 1-70 [19-23].
⁸ Mircea Eliade, Patterns in Comparative Religion (New York: New American Library [Meridian], 1958), 99-100; see also, Mircea Eliade, Shamanism: Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy, trs. Willard Trask. Volume 76 of the Bollingen Series (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1964), 266-269.
⁹ For the concept of the Centre and its associated symbolism, see Mircea Eliade, Patterns in Comparative Religion, 81, 367-387; Mircea Eliade, The Sacred and the Profane. The Nature of Religion. The Significance of Religious Myth, Symbolism, and Ritual within Life and Culture (New York: Harcourt, Brace, & World, Inc., 1959) 40-42, 49, 57-58, 64-65; Mircea Eliade, Images and Symbols: Studies in Religious Symbolism (New York: Sheed and Ward, 1969) 42-43; William C. Beane and William G. Doty, edd., Myths, Rites, Symbols: A Mircea Eliade Reader, 2 vols. (New York: Harper & Row, 1975) 2:373; Alwyn Rees and Brinley Rees, Celtic Heritage: Ancient Tradition in Ireland and Wales (London: Thames & Hudson, 1961) Ch. VII.