The Boy Who Wants to Go to War
by Stella Stacy
(00:02.58) "When they would go to war, men have this ceremony, it is not a hokíwáhas ceremony, but, my dear son, I am asking you not to go this time. (00:40.5) Hinı̨́, when traveling to a meeting place, you will be going on a hara. (00:47.5) Dog Head will head out at a run, and it is with this one that you will be going there," said the man who was his father. (00:56) So the boy said to the man, "Žąąą, this is the way I would have thought. (01:02.9) I tried to get just one of the men, but being skinny, I missed, as he jumped from side to side, also that it might be done for me, or so I thought. (01:12.4) Again for a second time two men did it so that also on the second time it might be done for me. (01:18.4) And again three men dodged from side to side, doing it for me a third time. (01:24.3) Then four men dodged from side to side, I think that for the fourth time they did like that for me. (01:32) So then, therefore, I also tried to start leaving, only to have to come back — ho! I will not die," the young man (the boy) said. (01:41.5) He, a boy, therefore did not go. (01:45.5) He had fallen short before his father, he went in order to break loose when they were about to go to war. (01:53.1) However, it is said that this is what the man (the boy) said when telling his own story. || (01:56.3)
Commentary. "war" — most of the stories retold by Stella are set during the War of 1812, as stated here:
During the mid-1920s, Milford G. Chandler, an engineer by trade and folklorist by avocation, recorded ninety cylinders of oral data. He focused primarily on tales from the War of 1812. His major informant was Oliver Lamere, a Winnebago man who collaborated with a number of field researchers, among them the anthropologist, Paul Radin.1
It seems likely enough that the warparty assembling here is doing so for the purpose of playing a role in the British side of this war on the frontier. The participation of the various Indian tribes in this war saw them assume an unfamiliar kind of warfare, more suited to the kind of combat engaged in by Europeans. The ideal Indian attack is a surprise ambush against an inferior force, and after the typically devastating attack, to make a quick retreat back to their own territory. The object was to win honors while at the same time taking no casualties. This wasn't likely to happen under British supervision, as they were frequently about investing U. S. forts. So a warparty under this kind of warfare was in danger of losing a significant number of men. Therefore, the father in this story is perhaps more than usually concerned about his son's welfare.
"a hokíwáhas ceremony" — hokíwáhas, from ho, "place/time at which"; ki, "one another"; wáhas, "they chase after." So hokíwáhas, would mean, "place/time at which they chase after each other." This word has hitherto not been encountered in lexicons or in the literature. As Radin remarks, "There were, in former times, many miscellaneous customs connected with warfare, most of which have now been forgotten. However, in myths and accounts of war parties a number of them are still mentioned."2 After surveying Radin's discussion of "Warfare and the Council Lodge," it is clear that the hokíwáhas rite is one of those customs unknown to him. Further on, he complains that "I tried to get just one of the men, but being skinny, I missed, as he jumped from side to side." The important word here is tūgą́š, which means, "I lost my grip," to which compare the emphatic, tūgą́gąš, "I repeatedly try to get but miss." These are from the infinitive rugąš, "to lose one's grip, to lose hold" (Marino, Kingswan); rugą́š, "to lose control, miss with the hand" (Marino); rugą́š, "to leave something or someone behind (forget something)" (Helmbrecht-Lehmann)". To which compare rugąširanįže (Lo K di L ni de), "they did not miss" [r-T]; rugąšiwinįaje (Lo K diwi niy tte), "do not miss" [r-T]; hinų̆gášą̆ną̆, "he missed me" [rv-A]; nitugąšrehara (ni to Kd Le A L), "you escaped from me" [l-MS]; šurugąšgi, "if you miss it" [r-A]; šurugą́žikjē, "you will not miss it" [r-A]. All of these forms suggest the concept of missing in an attempt to grasp something which as a consequence escapes. A model of this would be an attempt to tackle a runner in American football. Tackling, a form of arrest, seems to be integral to the rite, as the boy complains of "being skinny (hįhíre)". Being skinny would actually be to his advantage if he merely had to lay hands on the fleeing participant (as in Touch Football). It would seem that the pursuer would have to arrest the motion of the man who is fleeing, and perhaps bring him to the ground. Obviously, there must be a finish line crossing which brings the episode to a close. The remaining question, which is difficult to answer, is the relationship between pursuer and pursued at the starting line, and is the starting position on the same line for both? Since so much stress is put on dodging, it would seem that the runner is advancing more or less towards the tackler and evades him by sudden sideways motions, much as we see in football. The implication is that the boy failed to bring down some of his opponents because he did not have the muscle power and build to actually tackle them without them breaking his tackle. The object of this sporting ritual seems to be to test whether a young candidate has the necessary physical power to strike down or capture an evading enemy.
"when traveling to a meeting place" — this is an uncertain reading. The text appears to be, Hinı̨́, ókistı̨́na, wéną́k giži, hára ižá rékjenąhéra. The word ókistı̨́ looks as if it could be a corruption of hokistó, "gathering place, conference site, meeting spot" (literally, "place where they meet each other"); variant hokistu (Ao KAi roto), "gathering place, conference site, meeting spot" (Kingswan). It seems likely that the expression wéną́k-giži does mean, "when traveling," thus connecting well to the previous word's reference to a gathering place. The word hara is followed by the definite article, making hara a noun of uncertain meaning. The last word, rékjenąhéra, is straightforwardly translated as, "you will be going." The meaning given to this sentence has a good chance of being wrong. However, we do know that the father in this story is trying to express to his son some challenges and difficulties associated with the present warparty, as seen in the next sentence in which he refers to the rigorous procedure followed by its famous warleader.
|
| J. O. Lewis |
| Dog Head (Sarcel, Teal, Little Duck) |
"Dog Head" — Sų́gépága was a famous warrior and chief, who quickly became legendary, as we see from semi-mythological accounts of his life in the stories Great Walker's Medicine, The Warbundle Maker, and The Shawnee Prophet — What He Told the Hocągara. "The Warbundle Maker" says, "There was a man named Sų́gépága, who belonged to the Eagle Clan."3 The name "Dog Head" is clearly not an Eagle Clan name, and must be a nickname. Prior to the War of 1812, he was known to the French by this same name, Tête de Chien. So what was his Eagle Clan name? The French also knew him by his clan name, which they rendered as Marcelle, which means "Teal." George recorded the word for teal as being hunašizka, which is for hunašiske, from huna, "to come hither"; šis, "to shoot"; and -ke, a suffix indicating a kind of thing. So a teal is "the kind of thing that comes hither to be shot." So it appears that his Eagle Clan name was Hunašiskega. The Anglos rendered his clan name as "Sarcel," "Teal," or "Little Duck." Col. McDouall in writing to Gen. Drummond in 1814, says of him,
the Susell or tete de Chien, [is] a distinguished Chief of the Winnebago Nation (who came to supplicate assistance) ... The solemn & impressive eloquence of the tete de Chien, excited a general enthusiasm, & never was more zeal or unanimity shown amongst them, this chief is scarcely inferior to Tecumseh, & I doubt not will act a distinguished part in the campaign ...4
Brisbois remarks that, "One of the Carimaunee family of Winnebagoes was known as Tête de Chien, or Dog's Head. He lived in 1827, at English Prairie, now Muscoda (ca. 43.210370, -90.30401). He was a prominent man, of considerable good sense, and very honest. The Indians cultivated some fields there, and lived there as one of their changeable localities."5 This means that he was related in some way to the famous chief Nąga (Wood), known as the "Elder Keramąnį," who was standing next to Tecumseh when the latter was struck dead by a stray bullet. Lurie's informants told her that the Keramąnįs were originally of Fox or Sauk extraction. Foreign captives who are spared are always put into the Thunderbird Clan, or may enter it through marriage. Mrs. Kinzie said that this name meant, "Walking Rain." This is due to the fact that the name has a double meaning in Hocąk: Ke-ra-mąnį means literally, "The Turtle Walking," where -ra is the definite article. On the face of it, this name is rather peculiar, since the -ga attached to the end of it to indicate that it's a personal name is also a definite article. This leads to the rather stilted translation, "The Walking One Who is the Turtle." However, the same name differently parsed, Kera-mąnį, means "Walking Cloud," where kera, like the more common mąxí, means both "cloud" and "sky." It could be that Kera-mąnį-ga was originally a Thunderbird Clan name for the ancestor of the lineage, but members of that family liked the mystical association that the double meaning gave them to the God of War. Sometime before 1832, Dog Head had moved to Big Green Lake (43.813354, -88.934092), where he lived in a large lodge with three other men, five women, and six children.6 Grignon says, "Sarcel, or The Teal, resided at the Winnebago village at Green Lake, in Marquette county; in his younger days his reputation was not good, but he afterwards became a very good Indian. I have already adverted to his war services. I think he died at Green Lake, before the emigration of his people west of the Mississippi."7
"it might be done for me" — né ų́įnékje, this turn of phrase expresses the idea that the Spirits might intercede on his behalf and allow him to catch one of the men. It is clear enough that the men were viewed as doing the boy a favor by allowing him to participate in the hokíwáhas rite, but it is equally clear that they did their utmost to avoid being caught. By holding rigorously to this principle, it would be made clear that if the boy had caught any one of them, then indeed it would have been through the intercession of the Spirits.
"I will not die" — the audio is unmistakably hitanįkjen', "there will not be a third time." Unfortunately, this would not make sense, given that we have already had four dodges. Apparently, Stella tried to memorize the wax cylinder audio that she was retelling. She misheard hit’anįkjeną as hitanįkjeną, overrunning the glottal stop (’) which then causes the word to be pronounced as hitanįkjen'. However, with the glottal stop restored, we have hit’anįkjen[ą], "I will not die," a statement which was meant to reassure his father.
"he went in order to break loose" — the audio tape has kawaxguže, a word of unknown meaning. This word may be a mishearing of giwąxguže (Ki w xoKo de), "he went to break loose," which makes sense in this context, as it would imply that he was trying to free himself from his father's control.
Notes to the Commentary
1 Carol F. Inman, "The M. G. Chandler Collection: A Case Study for Reappraisal of Archival Materials," Resound. A Quarterly of the Archives of Traditional Music, 2b-3a [2b].
2 Paul Radin, The Winnebago Tribe (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1990 [1923]) 161.
3 W. C. McKern, Winnebago Notebook (Milwaukee: Milwaukee Public Museum, 1927) 167-174 [167].
4 Douglas Brymner, "The Capture of Fort M'Kay, Prairie du Chien, in 1814," Wisconsin Historical Collections, 11 (1888) 254-270 [260, 263].
5 B. W. Brisbois, "Recollections of Prairie du Chien," Wisconsin Historical Collections, IX (1882/1909): 282-302 [300].
6 See Kinzie's Rolls for Big Green Lake.
7 Augustin Grignon, "Seventy-two Years' Recollections of Wisconsin," Wisconsin Historical Collections, 3 (1857) 197-295 [288].
Source
Stella Stacy, "The young boy who wanted to go war," reading by Sheila Shigley, from audio tapes in the American Philosophical Society. 10-04. Fraenkel, Gerd. Mss.Rec. 29, recorded 12 July 1959, 1 .mp3; 00:00:02.58 - 00:01:56.3. Copy made by Gerd Fraenkel of an original tape held at the Archives of Languages of the World, Indiana University. This program comes from original tape 526.12. APS accession number 7212; APSdigrec_0953; Recording Number: 02; Program Number: 14.