Ghost Dance Origin Myth II
by Jean Baptiste
retold by Richard L. Dieterle
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| John Baptiste |
Hočąk Text with an English Interlinear Translation
(14) This is the Ghost Dance waiką. There was a town, and there a young man married a woman. She was a good woman and he loved her greatly. Whatever kindness he could do for her, that he would always do. One day she fell ill. He asked as many doctors as there were to come, but they could do nothing. Then the holy one whom he had sought, failed. In the course of time, therefore, she died. At night, when they did the Ghost Lighting (Wanáǧi-atajáhira), a great many showed up. He was a good man. (15) Then many of them helped him. The man who had lost his wife very quietly strengthened himself. And then, on the second night, they came. Four times they did these things. They did it all night the fourth time, and early in the morning they performed the ghost games. Having completed that, everyone went home.
The man whose wife had died got himself ready and went in the direction of the setting sun. They say of the dead that their souls go west. He thought he would go in that direction there when he followed his wife's soul. (16) In the course of time, after awhile, he became exhausted. After awhile he began to crawl. Then he trailed her on his hands and knees, and he pulled off basswood bark, and with that he bandaged his knees. However, in the end, he became completely exhausted. And he found himself below a little knoll. Then from on top of the knoll, it was a most pleasant country he had come to. There he dwelt in that pleasant country. It was a good place. (17) And this is what he did: he rolled over, and as he crawled, he managed to inch himself along, that he did, and doing this, while he longed [for his wife], he laid there. There, after he did this, he thought only to die. His eyes closed in sleep.
Unexpectedly, a man spoke. "Here I am, get ready to go," he said. When he opened his eyes, here standing before him was a terror inspiring man. With his clothes, the man made his body shaggy, and he it was who was doing this. "Come here," so then he jumped up and came, and followed him as they walked. There was an oval lodge. They went in there. Then he said to him, "Grandson, you were making yourself pitiable, (18) but with my help there is nothing that you cannot achieve. Whatever I can do to help, that is what I'll do," he told him. Then he had him eat something. And he told him, "So you are going to arrive at this man, my friend, who will be ahead. And you are going to arrive on this side of a river where he will be. It is a great river. You will cross over this. If you arrive there and do this, you cannot possibly fail. Jump over it. You can do it." Then he started out again. (19) And as he was going along, there unexpectedly, he arrived at a river, great and swift. It was of the kind that was so swift that it churned about. He dreaded to jump it. The other side of the bank looked very small. It lay there very small and blue. It looked like a man's eyebrow. It was not a good jump. Now then, finally, there was what he must jump. He may have said in his thought, "Thus it will be anyhow," he thought. So he would jump, he thought. So when he undertook to die, he thought, "I died long ago!" Therefore, then, he ran and shut his eyes, and then it was jumped. Then he reached the other side. He completely accomplished his objective. (20) Once he had done it, he looked back to the other side, and he had done it, but he could see no water at all. After he had carefully looked around, unexpectedly, it was a little creek he has leapt by, and he had arrived by jumping it, and he had done it. The little stream that he had just seen, roiled about greatly. "And while one of the things was supposed to have been difficult, I did it in a way that was easy, so maybe I will do it," he thought. "If things are like this, there is hope." What he set out to do, he would accomplish, he thought.
And he went on. (21) As he went along there, he came to an oval lodge, and entered into where they lived. He entered. Unexpectedly, there he was, a man who came wearing a skin as a kilt. Another was seated with him. He was sitting with another. There were two of them. And again there he ate. Since something boiled was on, he dished it out. There he ate. And again they said to him, "Grandson, concentrate your mind on what you are doing. It is difficult. It exerts your mind. You will succeed. So again go ahead to our friend who sits there, instead he will also tell you of one of these things. (22) And perhaps I can also help you," he told him.
And again he went on. After awhile, again as he went along there, he encountered an oval lodge, and again he entered into where they lived. After he went in, unexpectedly, there were three men. There two of them sat. When he saw them, it was the two who had kept on. The three of them said, "This one shall eat," thus they spoke to themselves. "Grandson, what you did as you came was difficult, but I might prove of some help. Exert your utmost prowess. (23) If you do what we are about to tell you, then you will accomplish it. If you fail, you will make yourself very pitiable," he said to him. Then, after he had finished eating, he went on. As he went along a hill appeared, and unexpectedly, there it was, a large gathering place. It was a town. He could not see the end of it. In time the sight vanished. He arrived there. Then there was not a man anywhere. He saw not even a single one. They were all bark lodges. When he peeped into the lodges, they too would always be empty. There one of them was, and there he entered. There the four men sat. (24) He saw among those who were there, those very three who had already come. And there was another one, a fourth. And this other one, the fourth man, said, "Grandson, it is this to which you were going, but you are not going to be able to see your wife. You are going to do what I set out for you. You will see. Once night falls, they will dance. There you must never perform anything. You must be on your guard. My friends and I will be together. If you accomplish anything of what you are doing, then you will obtain everything," he said.
(25) Then it was evening. Unexpectedly, a drum was struck. It thundered. And so, here and there, they raised a shout. Very soon afterwards they struck it again. Once more it became greater. They struck up the cry again for a third time. When they did it for the fourth time, the shouting, it immediately came about. "The lodge isn't crowed yet," someone said, so they began. They went to the only long house there, located in the center of the village. "This one is in the dance lodge." They cleared an opening there in the center. Just then, from the back of the lodge, he heard whispering. (26) They were saying, "Wagisga who has come, has come in pursuit of his wife. It is this very one. They were doing it just for fun and saying how he would also fail. They teased him saying, "Your wife has untied the marriage knot," they were saying. "Koté, I myself married her," someone said. Then they started up the songs. It was something truly great. Also his relatives, as well as he himself, went ahead and sung. They sang about him:
Wagisga's wife has come;
Many more will come.
They teased him all night with songs. Finally, in the morning when the sun rose, everyone vanished. (27) Thus it was. Never at any time did he sense his wife's presence.
When he came to the lodge site, he went back in. They too arrived back. They thanked him. "Of course grandson, it was good, but the next one will be even greater. There you must strive mightily," they told him. It was evening again. Once more they sounded the drum. Again for a second time they struck it. They gave the war whoop. For a third time they made a great noise, then it will have been suddenly that it will have been crowded. They started again. There they came. They had already started to tease him. (28) Whatever they said, and just as the things (words) were, they themselves (the ghosts) repeated it. They started again. By the time they had gotten done with the first one, they had made no headway. It was greater. Now this time they shoved his head, and pushed it down. They made their call greater. While he sat undergoing this, it became daylight. Again they returned home. They thanked him. "Grandson, it is good. This, however, will be greater. More will be left for you. There you must act with might." Then it was evening. Then, right away, they had already sounded the drum. (29) They let out their shouts. Right from the first, being better, he did a good deal. For the second time they struck it. They began immediately. Right away they came into being. "It will be crowded," he said. And so they began right away. They arrived. His attendants were not doing anything, yet just the same they (the ghosts) could not make headway with him. They began the songs. Nevertheless, they could not do anything with him. Then the drum was also practically shaking the earth. Now this time they took hold of his blanket and continually tried to drag him. As they pulled away, they would always fall down. Finally, after much difficulty, it became daylight. (30) After the sun rose, again they vanished. Again they had gone home already. "Hąhá grandson, this was the most wonderful thing. This will be the last night. You must do your utmost as we will not be able to do anything. Now this time eight of us attendants will be in place, but this is nothing. If you try your utmost, only she will remain," they said to him.
Right away, it was evening. Again they had already struck the drum. Then it was great. There it roared from above. (31) Immediately there will have been shouting. "It's beginning to get crowded," he said. That lodge began to fill up. That village had increased in population. In a single day many ghosts had come there to camp. These were the ones who had died on earth. And so thus it was. When they arrived at the dancing place, there were a great many of them. They almost trampled him. They did this as well right away, he thought. Unexpectedly, his wife addressed him: "Why would you pout? Go over here and there you can sit and pout," she said. At that moment, he almost looked. They started up their songs. It was great. The earth began to shake. (32) Now this time they liked to drag him around. His wife also did it to him. He had always heard her voice in the past. They sat on his blanket, but they would always shut the blanket over him. Sometimes they would repeatedly pile on top of him. The eight attendants were there, but not a man of them could think of anything. Now then, the light there increased. It was not like anything. They caught hold of him at his ankles, and were repeatedly dragging him at a run, and finally, only with great effort did daylight come upon them. Because the sun appeared right away, hąhá, they were done. Then they said, "Hąhá grandson, you have done well. (33) You have accomplished your objective."
They arrived at the lodge site there. Then they said again, "Grandson, you are never going to do this sort of thing again. The Creator did not make things this way; nevertheless, I have blessed you. Since my friends blessed you first, I blessed you, therefore, thus you did. And you can take your wife home with you." And again he said, "You may go get her," he said. They went to get her. They brought her back. And he said to him, "We bless you. You can go home with her. And we have blessed you with this. Everyone on this earth will hear of it," (34) this he said, and he gave him a drum. He made blue paint and with blue earth he made it blue. "If anyone is getting ready to die, I will also take his soul back. Again, if anyone's soul grows weak, you will be able to bring it back," he said to them. "And you can pour out as many as you are. Remember us with smoke, and we will abide," they told him. "And you two will take it home. They shall chase after you. They misbehave. Again, at least eight will go and take you there." Then he gave him ashes. "Should they overtake you, throw some of it behind you," he said to them. (35) "You are going back. Right away, you are to make a lodge, and this is what you two will do," he said to them.
And after awhile, they chased after them. "Hohá, Wakisgá has carried our own wife off from us. He will take her away from us," they said, and they did thus. They came very close to catching up. He cast those ashes right behind him. "Ho, run away or we will ruin our clothes," they said, and they ran back. They went home. Again, they kept doing it to them. When they would almost catch up, doing as they did before, they would quit them. At that point, the attendants also turned back.
(36) And when they returned to the village nearby, unexpectedly, they heard a sound of someone chopping wood. They went towards it. Unexpectedly, she was crying. When they got there, unexpectedly, it was the man's mother who was doing it. To her amazement, her son had returned. She was afraid, inasmuch as he was with someone who was dead. Therefore, then and there, they spoke to her, telling her, "Mother, go home and have ten young men as yet untouched by anyone, and virgins, and ten of them too, start coming here." They were to take incense, and this they told her. She went back. After she told them to come, both of them returned. (37) Then they caused a lodge to be made there. They caused one with ten fireplaces to be made. Then they burned incense. Then the two of them went in there. Then after nightfall, they immediately sponsored a dance. With the drum there, he did the songs that he was taught. From that time on, that is the way they have done it. Thus these people still do today. They were using something there from where they had come from (Spiritland). They struck up the drum, and these still have such fun even now. Inasmuch as he was such, they called him Woksisga ("Stingy").
This is the last of it.1
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 waiką 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 Hočągara, 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 waiką, 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 Hočągara. 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.
"I died long ago" — a favorite saying of the Hočągara when about to embark on a daring enterprise.
"Wagisga" — the name of the hero of this story is Wagis (the -ga being a definite article most often used to identify personal names). The word gis means, "to be or make circular or round," and wa- indicates an object, so that wagis means "something which has been made into a circle; a circular object." In the text (q.v.), a note above the question mark placed over the word wagisgajira says, "bead ornament worn around neck." So a wagisga (a word not attested elsewhere) is probably a bead necklace. For this to be true, it would have to have been the case that the -ga at the end of the name had been dropped. It seems inappropriate in any case, since a consonant takes -ka rather than -ga, so the name ought to have been Wagiska. We can modify the analysis by seeing the word as wa-gis-sga, "white circular object." To further complicate matters, we find the name at another place given as Wakisga. The word wąkis (warkees) was obtained by Col. Kinzie in 1828, and said to mean "earwheel." Perhaps this is just wagis, "a circular object." However, there also exists the word kis, which means "to wrap around," a meaning that fits a necklace well. The name might also be a compound from wa, "corn," and gis, "round," so that it might also mean "Round Corn," although the relevance of this in the present context is not clear.3 The sentence in which the name occurs is set out in parallel structure:
Wagisga jira, Beaded Necklace who has come, hičawína kuruxe-hají-ną. his wife to pursue, he has come.
The last two syllables of each line come very close to rhyming. The last phrase, due to sandhi, has become kuruxajíną.
"ten" — with Wagisga and his wife, this made eleven coupled, one for each of the Hočąk clans.
"they burned incense" — to purify a lodge, or simply sweeten the air, the smoke of red cedar (juniper) was used as incense.
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| Henry Merrell |
"Woksisga" — we would not know what this means were it not for a very old "Winnebago Dictionary" compiled some time in the 1830's by the fur trader Henry Merrell (1804-1876). In his word list is woksis, which means "stingy." This was a word, no doubt, occasionally used to characterize Mr. Merrell. This is not really another name for Wakisga, but rather a pun designed to explain the origins of a name whose meaning may not have been transparent. He could be called "stingy" because he would not let death take away his wife.
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.4
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."5
Links: Ghosts, Earthmaker, Cosmography.
Stories: mentioning ghosts: The Journey to Spiritland, The Four Slumbers Origin Myth, The Resurrection of the Chief's Daughter, Holy One and His Brother, Worúxega, Little Human Head, Little Fox and the Ghost, Pete Dupeé and the Ghosts, The Lame Friend, Ghost Dance Origin Myth I, Hare Steals the Fish, The Difficult Blessing, A Man's Revenge, Thunder Cloud is Blessed, Two Roads to Spiritland, Sunset Point, The Message the Fireballs Brought; about journeys to and from Spiritland: The Four Slumbers Origin Myth, The Resurrection of the Chief's Daughter, The Journey to Spiritland, Sunset Point, The Medicine Rite Foundation Myth, The Lame Friend, Two Roads to Spiritland, Pete Dupeé and the Ghosts, Holy One and His Brother, Ghost Dance Origin Myth I, The Foolish Hunter, Waruǧábᵉra, 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 Rušewe to the Twins, The Man who went to the Upper and Lower Worlds, The Petition to Earthmaker, Wears White Feather on His Head, Buffalo Dance Origin Myth, Thunder Cloud Marries Again, The Shawnee Prophet — What He Told the Hočągara, Aračgéga's Blessings, The Blessing of a Bear Clansman, The Man Whose Wife was Captured; mentioning the Ghost Dance (Wanąǧí Waší): Ghost Dance Origin Myth I; in which dancing plays a role: Ghost Dance Origin Myth I, Buffalo Dance Origin Myth, Mijistéga and the Sauks, Mijistéga’s Powwow Magic and How He Won the Trader's Store, Little Priest's Game, How Little Priest went out as a Soldier, Migistéga’s Magic, The Four Slumbers Origin Myth, Įčorúšika and His Brothers, Trickster and the Dancers, Wolves and Humans, The Shell Anklets Origin Myth, Bluehorn Rescues His Sister, The Blessing of Kerexųsaka, Pete Dupeé and the Ghosts; 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 Hočąk Migration Myth, The Necessity for Death, Hočąk Clans Origin Myth, The War among the Animals, Lake Winnebago Origin Myth, Blue Mounds, Lost Lake, The Hočągara Migrate South, The Spirit of Gambling, Turtle and the Giant, The Shawnee Prophet — What He Told the Hočągara, The Hočągara 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 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; mentioning basswood: The Children of the Sun, Redhorn's Father, Bear Clan Origin Myth (v. 3), The Big Stone, The Fox-Hočąk 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, Mijistéga’s Powwow Magic and How He Won the Trader's Store; mentioning drums: The Descent of the Drum, The Blessings of the Buffalo Spirits, 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, 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, Įčorúšika and His Brothers, A Waterspirit Blesses Mąnį́xete’ų́ga, Hog's Adventures, Pete Dupeé and the Ghosts.
This waiką 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 Kerexųsaka, The Lost Child, The Shaggy Man, Holy One and His Brother, Sunset Point, The Message the Fireballs Brought; someone goes out searching for a missing person who was dear to them: The Woman who Married a Snake, Waruǧábᵉra, 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 Wears White Feather, Snowshoe Strings, Brass and Red Bear Boy; 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, Pete Dupeé and the Ghosts, Sunset Point, Snowshoe Strings, The Thunderbird, The Boy who was Captured by the Bad Thunderbirds, The Star Husband, White Wolf, Waruǧábᵉra, How the Thunders Met the Nights, The Shaggy Man, Eats the Stinking Part of the Deer Ankle, Buffalo Dance Origin Myth, Aračgéga'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, Pete Dupeé and the Ghosts; 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, The Healing Blessing, The Stench-Earth Medicine Origin Myth; someone's death would be caused by looking at someone whom 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, Sunset Point; 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 a lot 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, Little Human Head, The Four Slumbers Origin Myth, Pete Dupeé and the Ghosts, Sunset Point, 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, Sunset Point, Pete Dupeé and the Ghosts; 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, Sunset Point; someone returns from the dead: The Resurrection of the Chief's Daughter, Sunset Point, Pete Dupeé and the Ghosts, White Fisher, The Blessings of the Buffalo Spirits, 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 Red Man, The Chief of the Heroka, The Man Whose Wife was Captured, Waruǧábᵉra, 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, Little Human Head, Pete Dupeé and the Ghosts, Little Fox and the Ghost; ghosts are averse to ashes: Pete Dupeé and the Ghosts, 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 Defined 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. The original text is in Paul Radin, Winnebago Notebooks, Freeman #3897 (Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society) Winnebago V, #8: 14-37.
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 Marino, A Dictionary of Winnebago, 404 s.v. wa, 225 s.v. gis.
4 "The Ghost Wife," George Bird Grinnell, Pawnee Hero Stories and Folk-Tales (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1961 [1889]) 129-131.
5 A. L. Kroeber, "Indian Myths of South Central California," University of California Publications, American Archaeology and Ethnology, 4 (1907), #4: 169-250 [Story #24, p. 247].