Abstract
OF peculiar interest is Dr. Dorsey's account of the ceremonial organisation of the Cheyenne, which dates back, according to tradition, to two or three thousand years ago, being founded by Motzeyeuff, a prophet who came as a messenger from the Great Medicine with four great medicine arrows, which were sent to the Cheyenne as an emblem for their future, as they possessed magic, and the Great Medicine decreed they should produce effects beyond natural powers. These arrows are still preserved, but two of them are in the hands of the Pawnee. The prophet organised five societies—the Red Shield, Hoof-rattle, Coyote, Dog-men, and Inverted Bowstring. The first two of these are concerned with the capture respectively of the bison (buffalo), elk, and deer. The Coyote society derives its name from the fact that its members imitate the coyote in their power of endurance, cunning, and activity; they outstrip their fellow-tribesmen in running long distances, playing games, &c. The Dog-men were raiders. It would therefore seem evident that, judging from the analogies in Australia and Torres Straits, these are in reality ancient totemic clans which were re-organised by the prophet and still retain their magical functions. The Inverted or Bow-string Warrior society is but little known throughout the tribe; it was founded by the prophet subsequently to the others; there was no chief, each warrior being independent of the rest, though all dressed alike and were always prepared for war. The close observance of the regulations of this society by its members gives them a character distinct from that of the other societies, and they are regarded as pure. They rejoice in the beauty of nature as the work of the Great Medicine, who created the rivers, hills, mountains, heavenly bodies, and the clouds. They are the philosophers among the people. Since the advent of the white man a sixth warrior society, the Owlman's Bow-string or Wolf Warriors, has been founded; it alone, of all the warrior societies, dances with guns, and they shoot blank cartridges. This paper is illustrated by a number of plates, most of which are facsimiles of coloured drawings by Cheyenne artists; they illustrate the ceremonial costumes and paraphernalia of the members of the societies, as well as sun-dance myths; the drawings are so much in advance of those usually drawn by backward peoples as to suggest that the artists learnt from Europeans. It would have been an advantage if Dr. Dorsey had said a little more about the conditions under which they were executed; the idea of illustrating a memoir by native talent is a good one.
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References
Voth, H. R. : “Oraibi Natal Customs and Ceremonies.” Field Columbian Museum, Chicago 1905. Anthropological Series, vol. vi., No. 2. “Hopi Proper Names,” ibid. vol. vi., No. 2. “The Traditions of the Hopi,” ibid. vol. viii.
Dorsey, G. A. : “The Cheyenne: 1. Ceremonial Organisation,” ibid., vol. ix., No. 1. “The Cheyenne: II. The Sun-Dance,” ibid., vol. ix. No.
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H., A. Recent Ethnological Publications from the Field Columbian Museum 1 . Nature 73, 300–302 (1906). https://doi.org/10.1038/073300a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/073300a0