Day 17 - CHRISTMAS THROUGH INDIAN EYES

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Day 17 - CHRISTMAS THROUGH INDIAN EYES - is here:

http://maninthemaze.blogspot.com/2011/12/christmas-through-indian-eyes.html

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PLAINS INDIAN CEREMONIES - THE SUN DANCE

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From THE SOUL OF AN INDIAN

by Charles Alexander Eastman

(Ohiyesa)

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[Charles Eastman was a Santee Sioux born in 1858.

Educated in white schools, he eventually received degrees

from Beloit College, Dartmouth, and Boston University

Medical School.  He became an advisor to presidents

and worked actively to bring the voice of the Indian

into the American intellectual arena.

His story is fascinating, as are his writings.

Amazon has a large number of sellers with
books about and by Charles Eastman
 (Ohiyesa was his Santee Sioux name);
  used prices start at a penny plus shipping.]

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The public religious rites of the Plains Indians

are few, and in large part of modern origin,

belonging properly to the so-called "transition period."

That period must be held to begin with the first

insidious effect upon their manners and customs

of contact with the dominant race, and many of

the tribes were so influenced long before they

ceased to lead the nomadic life.

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The fur-traders, the "Black Robe" priests,

the military, and finally the Protestant missionaries,

were the men who began the disintegration of the

Indian nations and the overthrow of their religion,

seventy-five to a hundred years before they were forced

to enter upon reservation life.  We have no authentic study

of them until well along in the transition period,

when whiskey and trade had already debauched

their native ideals.

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During the era of reconstruction they modified

their customs and beliefs continually, creating a

singular admixture of Christian with pagan superstitions,

and an addition to the old folk-lore of disguised Bible

stories under an Indian aspect.  Even their music shows

the influence of the Catholic chants.  Most of the material

collected by modern observers is necessarily of

this promiscuous character.

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It is noteworthy that the first effect of contact

with the whites was an increase of cruelty and
barbarity, an intensifying of the dark shadows
in the picture!  In this manner the "Sun Dance"
of the Plains Indians, the most important of their
public ceremonials, was abused and perverted
until it became a horrible example of barbarism,
and was eventually prohibited by the Government.
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In the old days, when a Sioux warrior
found himself in the very jaws of destruction,
he might offer a prayer to his father, the Sun,
to prolong his life.  If rescued from imminent danger,
he must acknowledge the divine favor by making a
Sun Dance, according to the vow embraced in his
prayer, in which he declared that he did not fear
torture or death, but asked life only for the sake
of those who loved him.  Thus the physical ordeal
was the fulfillment of a vow, and a sort of atonement
for what otherwise might appear to be reprehensible
weakness in the face of death.  It was in the nature
of confession and thank-offering to the "Great Mystery,"
through the physical parent, the Sun, and did not
embrace a prayer for future favors.
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FROM SITTING BULL

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I am a red man.

 If the Great Spirit had desired me to be a white man

 he would have made me so in the first place.

 He put in your heart certain wishes and plans,

 in my heart he put other and different desires.

 Each man is good in his sight.

 It is not necessary for Eagles to be Crows.

 We are poor... but we are free.

 No white man controls our footsteps.

 If we must die...we die defending our rights. 

 Sitting Bull (1831-1890)

 Hunkpapa Sioux War Chief

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THE BEAUTY OF GENEROSITY

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It has always been our belief
that the love of possessions is a

weakness to be overcome. Its appeal

is to the material part, and if allowed its way

it will in time disturb the spiritual balance

for which we all strive.

Therefore we must early learn the beauty

of generosity. As children we are taught to

give what we prize most, that we may taste

the happiness of giving; at an early age we

are made the family giver of alms. If a

child is inclined to be grasping, or to cling

too strongly to possessions, legends are

related that tell of the contempt and

disgrace falling on those who are

ungenerous and mean.

Public giving is a part of every

important ceremony. It properly belongs

to the celebration of birth, marriage, and

death, and is observed whenever it is desired

to do special honor to any person or event.

Upon such occasions it is common to

literally give away all that one has to

relatives, to guests of another tribe or

clan, but above all to the poor and the

aged, from whom we can hope

for no return.

Finally, the gift to the Great Mystery,

the religious offering, may be of little value

in itself, but to the giver's own thought it

should carry the meaning and reward

of true sacrifice.

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Ohiyesa (Charles Alexander Eastman)

Santee Sioux (1858-1939)

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THE SACREDNESS OF HONOR

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A sense of honor pervades all aspects

of Indian life.

Orphans and the aged are invariably

cared for, not only by their next of kin,

but by the whole clan. The man who is

a skillful hunter, and whose wife is alive

to her opportunities, makes many feasts,

to which he is careful to invite the older men

of his clan. He recognizes that they have

outlived their period of greatest activity,

and now love nothing so well as to eat

in good company and live over their past.

He sets no price upon either his property

or his labor. His generosity is limited only

by his strength. He regards it as an honor

to be selected for a difficult or dangerous

service, and would think it a shame to ask

for any other reward, saying rather:

"Let those I serve express their thanks

according to their own upbringing and

sense of honor."

He is always ready to undertake the

impossible, or to impoverish himself

for the sake of a friend.

Where the other person is regarded

more than the self, duty is sweeter and

more inspiring, patriotism more sacred,

and friendship is a pure and eternal bond.

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Charles Alexander Eastman

(Ohiyesa) Santee Sioux

The Soul of the Indian, 1911

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