A young man lived in a village with his wife whom he loved so much that there was nothing he would not do for her. One day she fell ill and her condition rapidly deteriorated despite the treatment of many wâkdocewe (physicians). Finally, he called a very wákâtcâk man, blessed with many curative powers, to see what he could do. Even though he exerted himself mightily, he was powerless to reverse her decline, and she died. That night they held the Ghost Lighting Rites (Wanághadajáhira) to light her way to Spiritland. He was much respected by the people, so everyone showed up for each of the Four Slumbers. After games were played in her honor, everyone went home.

However, the man could not accept the parting of his wife, and prepared for a journey to the west, as that is the direction that they say souls (wanâghi) take after death. So he set out the next morning in pursuit of his wife, traveling long and hard toward the setting sun until finally he became so fatigued that he had to use a cane. In time he became exhausted and fell to his hands and knees. Even so he did not give up, but began crawling westward. Soon his knees became so badly skinned that he tied basswood bark around them. In the distance he saw a little knoll surrounded by very beautiful country. He thought to himself, "If I could only make it to the top of that knoll, I would be content to die there." So he struggled mightily, and finally having reached the summit, rolled over on his back exhausted. There he waited for death to overtake him. When he closed his eyes, unexpectedly, he heard a voice which said, "Let's go home. This is where I live." He opened his eyes, and there before him was a man covered with what looked like hair. At first he could not get up, but when the man said, "Come on!" he jumped right up and followed the man to his lodge nearby. Once inside, the man told him, "Grandson, you are indeed pitiable, and what little I can do for you, I will certainly try my utmost to accomplish." After they had eaten, the hairy man told him, "Grandson, keep going as you have been. You will eventually reach the lodge of my friend, but first you must jump across a wide stream. It will be difficult, grandson, but you must jump across it." The next day he traveled far until finally he came upon the stream. Unexpectedly, it was no mere stream at all, but a raging torrent whose current swept by with such force that whirlpools and violent eddies swirled turbulently in its channel. The land on the other side was so distant that it looked like a man's eyebrow. He did not see how any human being could jump across it, but he thought to himself all that he had suffered, and said, "I already died long ago!" He took a running start, and closing his eyes, made a blind leap. Unexpectedly, he came down on dry land. In amazement he turned around to see how he could have sailed across such an immense expanse, but the raging torrent that he thought that he had jumped was nowhere to be seen. Instead, there was a small creek in its place. It had all been an illusion. He thought to himself, "If everything that looks difficult proves this easy, then maybe I will succeed after all." At this thought he took heart.

He went on some ways until finally he came to a round lodge. A voice from inside said, "Come in," so he entered. There, much to his surprise, he found the very man he had talked to before, and with him was another man. They spoke to him and said, "Grandson, what you wish to accomplish will indeed be very difficult, but we will concentrate our minds upon it for you. So keep going and you will come to a lodge where our friend lives. Perhaps he will be able to tell you something that will help you." So after he ate, he went on his way again. Finally he came to another round lodge, where he was invited inside. This time he encountered the two men he had seen before, and with them was a third. This man gave him something to eat, and then spoke to him: "What I wish to tell you is that what you are doing is indeed difficult, but exert your utmost efforts, for if you fail, you will be in a very pitiable condition," he said. So the man went onward. Not long afterwards, he came to a hill with numerous lodges clustered about it.The village was so large that its end was lost to view. He walked into the village whose lodges were made of bark, yet it appeared to be a ghost town. He looked into several lodges, but could find no one, until at last he entered a lodge where he found four men. Three of the men were the ones with whom he had already spoken. The fourth one addressed him and said, "Grandson, it will indeed be difficult for you, but you are now at the place that you have so long sought. Just the same, you are not to look upon your wife, but you must do exactly as we instruct you, or all you have hoped for will be lost. Tonight there will be a great dance, but no matter what happens, you must not look around anywhere -- just gaze straight ahead. My friends and I will do all we can for you."

That evening, unexpectedly, he heard the sound of a drum followed by shouts from people all around the village. The drum sounded four times, and each time the shouting grew louder and more widespread. Then someone said, "It's about to begin. It will be crowded in front of the lodge." So the man and the four spirits went inside and took their place in the center of the lodge. They were in the dance lodge. He heard whispering behind him as someone said, "Wagisga has come in pursuit of his wife. In this he will surely fail." Then they began to tease him: "Doesn't he know that's she remarried?" Another said, "Yeah, I'm the one who married her." Then the singing began. It was indeed powerful, and his relatives gathered around him and sang about him:

Wagisga's wife has come;
Many more still will come.

These were their words as they teased him. This went on all night, until they all disappeared with the rays of the morning sun. Despite what they had said, his wife knew nothing about his arrival in Spiritland.

Once the sun was up, Wagisga and his four helpers returned to their own lodge. His spiritual attendants were very pleased and told him, "Grandson, this night ;you have done well; but tomorrow night will be more difficult -- you must exert all your powers." That evening when they heard the drum and the shouting that followed it, Wagisga and his friends set out for the long lodge. When they arrived, immediately the teasing began. They were trying to get him to say something. Then they began their singing, and as good as it had been the night before, their singing this night was beyond compare. This night, beside teasing him mercilessly, the ghosts put their hands on him and pushed his head down. Still he did not look around even for his wife, and when morning came, the first light dispersed all the ghosts. When he got back to his lodge, his spiritual attendants were full of praise: "Grandson, you have again done well, but tonight it will be even more difficult, tonight you must exert your powers to the fullest."

When night fell again, they heard once more the sound of the drum followed by the shouts of the ghosts. He placed himself in the center of the lodge. Even though there were now six spirits attending upon Wagisga, they could do nothing for him as the ghosts teased him endlessly. Now the singing began, and the earth seemed to shake from the sounds of the drum. He could hardly resist the temptation to join in. The ghosts tugged at his blanket and fell down beside him, but despite all, he held on to the first rays of the sun. As the light fell upon them, the ghosts seemed to evaporate. When he got back to the lodge where he was staying, there were now eight spirits. One said, "Grandson, tonight will be the last night, and although there are now eight of us, still we will not be able to help you unless you exert all your power."

That night the drum sounded and the shouting was so strong that it seemed to fill the heavens. "Let's go," said the spirits, "as the lodge will be crowded." He noticed immediately that the village had grown a bit, as during this time all those who had died had arrived there. The lodge was so crowded that they had to squeeze their way in. Amid the teasing that followed his arrival, unexpectedly, he heard the voice of his wife asking him, "If you were going to ignore me, then why did you come after me?" She said this twice, and he almost turned to look at her. Now the world itself seemed to resonate with the beat of the drum and the voices seemed to fill the heavens. This time they grabbed his blanket and dragged him along. His wife led them in this. He tried to stay wrapped in his blanket, but the ghosts nearly pulled it off of him more than once. They began to pile on him, and treated his eight attendants as if they did not exist. He became tired and weak. Soon the ghosts were grabbing him by the knees and dragging him around. Just the same, he resisted, and with the coming of day, the light dispersed the ghosts. The attendants said, "Well done, Grandson! You have attained your objective." When they returned to the lodge at which they were staying, one of the spirits spoke to him and said, "Grandson, from now on what you have achieved will not be permitted. Earthmaker has not ordained that it should be so, but through our blessings you have attained it, you have won back your wife." Then he turned to one of the other spirits and said, "Go get his wife for him!" They brought her to him, and the spirit spoke again: "Grandson, I have blessed you, and with this too I bless you: a thing that may be heard over the whole earth." And he handed the couple a drum painted with blue earth. The spirit told him furthermore, "If a person is near death and his soul is about to leave, play this drum and his soul will not depart from you. Offer me tobacco and I will grant you this. The ghosts are bad, and will chase after you -- but here is a handful of ashes, and should they get near, toss some ashes behind you. When you get home, have them build a lodge for you."

So Wagisga and his wife with eight attendants set out whence he had come. Soon the ghosts began to chase after them, crying out, "Wagisga has stolen our wife, let's get her back!" When they got close, Wagisga threw the ashes over his shoulder. The ghosts yelled, "Fall back! The ashes will ruin our clothes!" After this, they were able to get free of their pursuers, but eventually the ghosts caught up to them again , only to have more ashes thrown at them. This time they gave up. Once the ghosts had turned back, the attendants also went back, leaving the couple to go forth on their own. Soon they were near their village. In the distance they could hear the echoes from someone chopping wood, so they went in the direction of the noise. When they arrived, unexpectedly, there a woman was crying as she chopped wood. It was Wagisga's mother. When she saw him, she was overjoyed, but then she recognized that he was in the company of a t'ijâ (one who is dead). He then told his mother, "Go get ten young men and ten young women, all of whom must be virgins. Have them bring some incense with them." She ran back to the village and told the people what had happened, and returned with the twenty virgins and many others besides. He instructed them to build a lodge with ten fireplaces, and when it was done they entered and sprinkled the place with incense. That night the drums were brought in and a dance was given. Wagisga sung the special songs he had been taught for the occasion.

Even to this day they beat the drum for this rite. It is a wákâtcâk (holy) rite, and great is the noise of it. Wagisga is he who founded the rite, and because of his achievement, it is called the Wanâghí Waci (Ghost Dance).

Commentary. What has this to do with the famous Ghost Dance that swept through Native American communities at the close of the XIXth century? This waikâ shows that it is possible to retrieve ghosts from Spiritland, although not quite in conformity with the claims of its founder Wavoka. He believed that the widespread practice of the Ghost Dance would induce the return of the spirits en masse from the Beyond and that this ghostly army would drive the Big Knives into the sea. The present story suggests that the recalling of ghosts back to life was old hat to the Hotcâgara, especially in light of their belief in reincarnation. However, they also understood that the fetching of ghosts from Spiritland was contrary to the ordinances of Earthmaker, and that, as it clearly says in this waikâ, it would never be permitted to occur again after Wagisga's feat. Nevertheless, as a medical rite, it allowed the practitioner to call back the soul of one who was at death's doorstep. This is as close as we present day mortals can come to calling a soul back from that distant land where the finally departed reside. This interpretation reinforces what was said in 1891 by both the Omaha and Hotcâgara. They said that the Lakota and Yankton had told them of a new messiah back in April, 1890, but that they could not credit his claims. [2] See the Messiah Letter of Wovoka.

Comparative Material. There is a Pawnee tale that is very much like the present story. Once there was a man who lived with his wife and infant child. He was very much in love with his wife, but she died. He became sick with sorrow and often visited her grave. One night he looked up from his bed and there stood the form of his wife. She told him that she could take him to a place where he would not be unhappy. She said they should come with her, but he did not want to die. The man persuaded his wife's ghost that she should return and live with him. She instructed him to make a sleeping place for her which would be surrounded by a curtain. This curtain must not be parted for four days. At the end of four days she emerged alive again. They all lived happily together, until the man married a bad tempered woman as his second wife. This woman told the other wife that she was "nothing but a ghost." As a result, the first wife simply disappeared. The next night the man and his child died in their sleep. [3]

There is another such myth from the distant Tachi Yokuts of California summarized by Kroeber. "A woman dies. Her husband stays by her grave. She arises from the ground and for six nights he follows her on her Journey to the island of the dead. He cannot cross the bridge to the island until permitted by the chief of that country. A bird, darting up to frighten him into falling off, fails. He sees the people dancing. During the night he is with his wife. In the morning she is a fallen tree. After six days the chief sends him home. He is told not to show himself for six days. After five days he comes out from concealment and tells the people his experiences. In the morning a rattlesnake bites him and he dies. From him the people learn that the island is continually filling up with the dead. They are taken to bathe, when a bird frightens them and many turn to fish and birds. In this way room is made on the island for others that die." [4]

Links: Ghosts, Earthmaker, Cosmography.

Stories: featuring ghosts as characters: The Journey to Spiritland, The Four Slumbers Origin Myth, The Resurrection of the Chief's Daughter, Holy One and His Brother, Worúxega, The Human Head, Little Fox and the Ghost, The Lame Friend, Ghost Dance Origin Myth I, Hare Steals the Fish, The Difficult Blessing, A Man's Revenge, Thunder Cloud is Blessed; about journeys to and from Spiritland: The Four Slumbers Origin Myth, The Resurrection of the Chief's Daughter, The Journey to Spiritland, The Medicine Rite Foundation Myth, The Lame Friend, Holy One and His Brother, Ghost Dance Origin Myth I, The Foolish Hunter, Warughápara, The Thunderbird, The Boy who was Captured by the Bad Thunderbirds, White Wolf, The Twins Get into Hot Water, The Two Brothers, The Lost Blanket, Earthmaker Sends Rucewe to the Twins, The Man who went to the Upper and Lower Worlds, The Petition to Earthmaker, Wears White Feathers on His Head, Buffalo Dance Origin Myth, Thunder Cloud Marries Again, The Shawnee Prophet -- What He Told the Hotcâgara, Aratcgéga's Blessings, The Blessing of a Bear Clansman, The Man Whose Wife was Captured; mentioning the Ghost Dance (Wanâghí Wací): Ghost Dance Origin Myth I; in which dancing plays a role: Ghost Dance Origin Myth I, Buffalo Dance Origin Myth, Midjistéga, The Four Slumbers Origin Myth, Îtcorúcika and His Brothers, Trickster and the Dancers, Wolves and Humans, The Shell Anklets Origin Myth, Bluehorn Rescues His Sister, The Blessing of Kerexûsak; featuring Earthmaker as a character: 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, 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, Wonághire Wâkcik Clan Origin Myth, Fourth Universe, Cûgepaga, 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 Rucewe to the Twins, The Lame Friend, How the Hills and Valleys were Formed, The Hotcâk Migration Myth, The Necessity for Death, Hotcâk Clans Origin Myth, The War among the Animals, Lake Winnebago Origin Myth, Blue Mound, Lost Lake, The Hotcâgara Migrate South, The Spirit of Gambling, Turtle and the Giant, The Shawnee Prophet -- What He Told the Hotcâgara, The Hotcâgara Contest the Giants, Bird Origin Myth, Black and White Moons, Redhorn's Sons, Holy Song, The Reincarnated Grizzly Bear, The Blessings of the Buffalo Spirits, 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 Blessing of Kerexûsaka; mentioning basswood: The Children of the Sun, Redhorn's Father, Bear Clan Origin Myth, v. 3, The Big Stone, The Fox-Hotcâk War, Hare Burns His Buttocks, The King Bird, Hare Kills Wildcat, Turtle's Warparty, The Birth of the Twins, The Messengers of Hare, Trickster Eats the Laxative Bulb; mentioning drums: The Descent of the Drum, The Blessings of the Buffalo Spirits, The Spirit of Maple Bluff, Tobacco Origin Myth (v. 5), Young Man Gambles Often, Trickster and the Dancers, Redhorn's Father, 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, Îtcorúcika and His Brothers, Hog's Adventures.

This waikâ has many points of convergence with the worak The Man who Defied Disease Giver.

Themes: someone is disconsolate over the death of a relative: White Flower, The Shell Anklets Origin Myth, The Blessing of Kerexûsaka, The Lost Child, The Shaggy Man, Holy One and His Brother; someone goes out searching for a missing person who was dear to them: The Woman who Married a Snake, Warughápara, He Who Eats the Stinking Part of the Deer Ankle, A Man's Revenge, The Man Whose Wife was Captured, Bluehorn Rescues His Sister, Old Man and White Feathers, Snowshoe Strings; a man travels west following a departed loved one in order to prevent him/her from residing forever in Spiritland: Holy One and His Brother, Snowshoe Strings; a human being physically travels to Spiritland without having died: The Resurrection of the Chief's Daughter, Snowshoe Strings, The Thunderbird, The Boy who was Captured by the Bad Thunderbirds, Warughápara, How the Thunders Met the Nights, The Shaggy Man, He Who Eats the Stinking Part of the Deer Ankle, Buffalo Dance Origin Myth, Aratcgéga's Blessings, The Blessing of a Bear Clansman, The Lost Blanket, The Twins Get into Hot Water, The Daughter-in-Law's Jealousy, The Petition to Earthmaker, The Boy who would be Immortal, Thunder Cloud Marries Again, Rainbow and the Stone Arch, v. 2, Trickster Concludes His Mission; four spirit beings help those who travel to Spiritland: Thunderbird Clan Origin Myth, The Lame Friend, The Blessing of a Bear Clansman, The Petition to Earthmaker; a person (or spirit) aids someone in a task by concentrating his mind upon it: Hare Establishes Bear Hunting, Hare Recruits Game Animals for Humans, Hare Retrieves a Stolen Scalp, Hare Secures the Creation Lodge, The Petition to Earthmaker, The Resurrection of the Chief's Daughter; a traveler on the road to Spiritland comes to what appears to be an impassible obstacle, but when he forges ahead, he succeeds in overcoming it: The Journey to Spiritland; someone who is exhausted, struggles to reach the summit of a hill, where (s)he is content to die: Bluehorn's Nephews, Bluehorn Rescues His Sister; someone's death would be caused by looking at someone that spirits have forbidden to be seen: The Creation of Man (v. 4), The Man who Defied Disease Giver; in order to win a woman that he loves back from the dead, a man must endure supernatural temptations: The Resurrection of the Chief's Daughter; ghosts annoy a hero so that, by reacting to them, he will thereby fail to retrieve his (future) wife from among them: The Resurrection of the Chief's Daughter; people make alot of noise in order to divert someone from his goal: The Four Slumbers Origin Myth, Trickster and the Geese, Spear Shaft and Lacrosse, Redhorn Contests the Giants; people are tempted by the dead to give into their purposes, but (could) succeed by following the advice of a friendly spirit and resisting with their utmost power: The Resurrection of the Chief's Daughter, The Human Head, The Four Slumbers Origin Myth, Snowshoe Strings; ghosts try to snatch away a living man's blanket: The Difficult Blessing; in order to return a soul to life from Spiritland, a hero must avoid joining in the festivities of the ghosts: The Four Slumbers Origin Myth; a young hero (becomes depressed and) sits in silence with a blanket over his head: Turtle's Warparty, The Medicine Rite Foundation Myth, The Necessity for Death, Moiety Origin Myth; a man brings back to life the young woman he loves: The Resurrection of the Chief's Daughter; someone returns from the dead: The Resurrection of the Chief's Daughter, The Blessings of the Buffalo Spirits, The Boy who was Blessed by a Mountain Lion, The Shaggy Man, The Two Brothers, The Two Boys, He Who Eats the Stinking Part of the Deer Ankle, White Wolf, The Red Man, The Chief of the Herok'a, The Man Whose Wife was Captured, Warughápara, The Lost Blanket, The Old Man and the Giants; a spirit gives someone something to cast at her pursuers that will prevent them from catching her: Rich Man, Boy, and Horse, The Wild Rose; ghosts chase after someone: The Four Slumbers Origin Myth, The Human Head, Little Fox and the Ghost; ghosts are averse to ashes: Hare Steals the Fish.

Notes:

[1] John Baptiste, "The Man who Brought His Wife back from Spiritland," in Paul Radin, The Culture of the Winnebago as Described by Themselves (Baltimore: Special Publications of the Bollingen Foundation, #1, 1949) 47-65. This story is discussed in Claude Lévi-Strauss, "Four Winnebago Myths," Structural Anthropology, vol. 2, trs. Monique Layton (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1976) 198-210.

[2] Walter James Hoffman, The Menominee Indians, in the Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology, 1892-1893 (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1896) 14:2:816.

[3] "The Ghost Wife," George Bird Grinnell, Pawnee Hero Stories and Folk-Tales (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1961 [1889]) 129-131.

[4] A. L. Kroeber, "Indian Myths of South Central California," Univeristy of California Publications, American Archaeology and Ethnology, 4 (1907), #4: 169-250 [Story #24, p. 247].