Ghost Dance Origin Myth II

by Jean Baptiste

retold by Richard L. Dieterle

John Baptiste

Hocąk Syllabic Text with an English Interlinear Translation

(14) This is the Ghost Dance waiką.¹ There was a town, and there a young man married a woman.² She was a good woman. He loved her greatly. Whatever kindness he could do for her, that he did. One day she fell ill. He asked as many doctors⁴ as there were to come, but they could do nothing. Then the holy one⁵ whom he had sought, failed. In the course of time, therefore, she died. At night, when they did the Ghost Lighting (Wanáǧi-atajáhira)⁶, a great many showed up. He was a good man. (15) Then many of them helped him.⁷ The man who had lost his wife had always associated in the most hospitable fashion with everyone. 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.⁸

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.⁹ He thought¹⁰ he would go there in that direction when he followed his wife's soul. (16) ¹⁵In the course of time, after awhile, he became exhausted.¹¹ He used a cane. After awhile, finally, he could not do anything. Finally, after awhile, he began to crawl. Then he trailed her on his hands and knees, and he pealed 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, [he could see that] it was a most pleasant country. "That place, the very beautiful land, over there I am content to die," he thought. And this is what he did: (17) 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. ²⁴His eyes closed in sleep.^11a

Unexpectedly, a man spoke.¹² "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 it was he who was doing this.¹³ And he was not able to get up. "Come here," he said, so then he jumped up and came,¹⁵ and followed him as they walked. There was an oval lodge. They went in there. There 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."

⁴¹Then he started out again. And as he was going along, there unexpectedly, (19) he arrived at a river, great and swift.¹⁶ It was of the kind that was so swift that it churned about.¹⁷ He dreaded to jump it. The other side of the bank looked very small. It was a very small speck of green. It looked like a man's eyebrow.^{18 46}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!"¹⁹ Therefore, then, he ran and shut his eyes, and then he jumped. Then he reached the other side. He looked back at the water. (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. It had been an illusion.²⁰ [it was not so.]²¹ "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. ⁵³"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 went in. Unexpectedly, there he was, one whom he had not seen on the way. Another was seated with him. There were two of them.^21a And again there he ate. There was a kettle from which they dished it out to him. There he ate. And again they said to him, "Grandson, we will concentrate our minds²² 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. Finally, again as he went along there, he came to an oval lodge, and again he went in. After he went in, unexpectedly, there were three men. There two of them sat. When he saw them, two of them had kept on. The three of them said, "This one will eat," thus they spoke to themselves. "Grandson, what you did as you went was difficult, but we are going t help you. Exert your utmost prowess. If you do what we are about to tell you, then you will accomplish it. If you fail, (23) you will make yourself very pitiable,"²³ 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.²⁴ 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 a lodge, the lodge would always be empty. There one of them was, and there he entered. There the four men sat. He saw among those who were there, (24) 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.²⁵ You are going to do what I set out for you. You will see.²⁶ Once night falls, they will dance. There you must never perform anything.²⁷ 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.²⁸ It thundered. And so, here and there, they raised a shout. Very soon afterwards they struck it again. Again it increased. They struck up the cry again for a third time. When they did it for the fourth time, they said, "Now, it will be. The lodge isn't crowded yet," someone said, so they began. ⁹⁵They went to the only long house there,^28a located in the center of the village. "This one is in the dance lodge." There they went. They were placed in the middle. Just then, from the back of the lodge, he heard whispering.²⁹ (26) They were saying, "Wagisga is in pursuit of his wife. It is he himself. He is here on a fruitless task, and also he will accomplish nothing," they were saying. He heard them. 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 singing. It was tremendous.³⁰ Truly his relatives³¹ had also come to sing. They sang about him:

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

they were singing. 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 know anything of his wife's presence.

When he came to the lodge site, he went back in. When they got there, 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 responded by yelling. For a third time it was struck, "Now let's go. It will be crowded."

 They started again. When they got there, 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. Again the songs were more intense than before. By the time they had gotten done with the first one, they had made no headway. It became greater. Now this time they shoved his head, and pushed it down. They made their call greater. This time they put their hands on his head, and they pushed him down. 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 do your best." Then when it was evening, again right away, they had already sounded the drum. (29) They let out their shouts. At first it was not that much. It increased greatly. Right from the first, being better, he did a good deal. For the second time they struck it. They immediately started to leave. "Now we must go. It is going to be crowded," he said. So they soon arrived. After their arrival, they began to tease him again. This time his attendants could not doing anything, but they [the ghosts] could not do anything. Once more they started up the singing. Now this time he could hardly able to resist.^31a Then the earth also shook as it were, from the drum.³² 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 suddenly disappeared. Again they had already gone home. "Hąhá grandson, this alone was the most wonderful thing. This will be the last one. 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 will amount to nothing. If you try your utmost, only then will she remain," they said to him. It was already evening, and they had already struck the drum again. Then it was great. Then there the shouting roared to the world above. (31) "Now it's happening. It’s going to be crowded," he said. As soon as they got there, the village had grown rapidly. Every day, ghosts step into the trail.³³ Thus it is with deaths on earth. So thus it is.

¹⁵⁰When they got to the dancing lodge,³⁴ there were a very great many of them. Also he thought right then that they were almost trampling. Unexpectedly, his wife addressed him: "If you're goingto be indifferent, why did you come here, and to be thus indifferent here?" she said. At that moment, he almost looked. They started singing. It was great. The earth began to tremble. (32) Now this time they would liked to have pulled him around. His wife herself also did it to him. Her voice was always audible. He sat within his blanket, but they would jerk the blanket off him. At times they would repeatedly pile on top of him. He had eight attendants, but it was if not a man of them existed. At length, 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 morning come upon them. Because the sun appeared right away, [they said,] "Hąhá, now let us  go on. And they said, (33) “Grandson, you've dome well! You have accomplished your objective.”

They arrived at the lodge there. Then he said,³⁵ "Grandson, this will never happen [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, ¹⁷¹and they went to get her. They brought her to him.

And he said to him, "We have blessed you. You will be going home. And we have blessed you with this. The whole world will hear of it," (34) saying this, he gave him a drum. He made blue and making it out of blue clay, he painted it blue.³⁶ "If anyone is about to die, I will also bring his soul back. Again, if anyone's soul is likely to die, you will be brought back to you. Indeed, any soul that is likely to die, they will bring it to you,"³⁷ he said to them. ¹⁷⁸"And you can pour out for me as much tobacco as there is. I shall remember you,"³⁸ they said. "And you two are going home. They shall chase after you. They are wicked. Again, eight will go and take you there." Then he gave him ashes. "When they have overtaken you, throw some of this behind you," he told them. (35) "As soon as you get home, you should immediately make a lodge, and this is what you two will use," he said to them.

And after awhile, they pursued them. "Hohó, Wakisgá has taken our wife with him. Let's take her back," they said, and they doing it. When they came close to them, he cast some of the ashes behind him. "Ho, run away before he ruins someone's clothes," they said, and they ran back. They went on their way. Again, they kept doing it to them. When they would almost catch up, doing thus, they would quit them. Thereupon, the attendants also went back.

(36)^{39 193}And when they neared the village, to their surprise, here they heard a sound of someone chopping wood, the echo being audible. They went towards it. To their surprise, she was crying. When they got there, unexpectedly, it was the man's mother who was doing it. To her surprise, 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,⁴⁰ "Mother, go home and have ten young men who have not touched people; have ten young women come here, again ten of them, have them come. Have them bring some incense," and this they told her. She went home. After she told this at home, the others went over. (37) Then he had them build a lodge there. he had them build one with ten fireplaces. Then they burned incense. Then the two of them went in there. ²⁰⁷Then that night, right away they gave a dance. With the drum there, he did the songs that he was taught.⁴¹

Since then, that is the way they have been doing it.⁴² Therefore, the Indians are still doing it.⁴³ Where it came from, they are still performing it. They beat the water drums, and are deriving great pleasure. Still, at the present time, they are doing it. The one who did it, they called him Woksisga ("Stingy"). Therefore, it is the only one that they call the "Ghost Dance." It is a noisy dance. It is a holy feast.

It is the end thusfar of this one, the Ghost.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 Hocągara, 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 Hocągara, 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.

"shaggy" (hį̄šék, emphatic: hį̄šéšek) — as Radin appreciated, the Spirits that the man encounters along the way to Spiritland are those of the four cardinal points. In the creation story, in what might be recognized as its standard form, the earth spun with the sacred circular motion imparted to it by Earthmaker's holy act of creation. In order to still the earth, Earthmaker cast down four Island Weights to anchor the earth and stablize it. These Island Weights were said to be Waterspirits. However, the Waterspirit Clan and the Bear Clan are rivals when it comes to authority over the Lower (Earth) Moiety, so it is not particularly surprising that an alternative view is that the four Island Weights were Bear Spirits. For this rivalry see "The Shaggy Man" and its Commentary. There hį̄šéšek, the emphatic of hį̄šék, "shaggy," is used to describe the fur of a bear. So the four mysterious men that Woksiska encounters on the way represent the four ursine Island Weights of the cardinal points. This feature suggests that this story has a Bear Clan tincture.

"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,
hicawína	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 Hocąk clans.

"they burned incense" — to purify a lodge, or simply sweeten the air, the smoke of red cedar (juniper) was used as incense.

Juniper (Red Cedar)		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 Wagisga(ga), 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.

Paul Radin's Notes and Commentary

p. 57

   1. Baptiste is simply imitating printed books in giving the myth this kind of a title. In fact, he arranges his words to imitate a book title. He has dêế in the middle of the page and at the very top, and wanaγí wací waik‘áⁿṇa all by itself on the next line. If it possessed a title at all it would have been The Origin Of The Ghost Dance.

   2. This is the proper and traditional manner for beginning a waiką́, a sacred myth. It is very instructive to notice how quickly and smoothly the author raconteur, whoever he was, comes to the core of the plot, the husband's pursuit of the ghost of his dead wife. In 1-3 the dramatis personae are given and the underlying and basic theme is stated, the husband's love for his wife. Her illness and death are described in three short, crisp, sentences (4-5a) and the Four Nights' Wake in another six (6-12). And thus he proceeds, we shall see, throughout. We go from one incident to the other naturally, without interruption and progressively. There are no supercharged climaxes. If we compare this opening with that of Text I, the difference between the two types of plot development emerges quite clearly. Rave does not even mention the main theme until sentence 187, that is, after more than one third of the story has already been told, and the heroes proceed on their quest only after more than half the story has been narrated, sentence 273. A whole series of incidents, units in themselves, intervene and it is difficult, at times, to understand how these are related to the main plot. Rave loves this broadness and voluminousness of treatment because it provides him scope for the delineation of the characters of his two heroes and enables him to build up to his final highly charged emotional climax, sentence 461. Cf. however, also the last paragraph of note 2 of Text I. Baptiste's style or, rather, the author-raconteur he was following, was the complete antithesis to this.

   3. -nąki is unquestionably -nąk-gi. The force of this -gi is by no means clear. It generally implies condition.

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   4. wąkdocewe were the practitioners who treated ordinary diseases.

   5. wakątcąk, lit. "real-holy-ones," were only called in as a last resort when all other measures had failed. They were supposed to be in control of the most powerful types of magic, good and evil, and to have received their powers from the most important spirits presiding over the curing of disease.

   6. wanąγi-hadajahira, is the general term for the whole series of funeral rites from the beginning of the Four Nights' Wake to the final rites at the grave. What is meant here is that the funeral rites will help the ghost of the deceased to find the road that leads to spiritland.

  7. This is probably Baptiste's touch. Attendance at a funeral had nothing to do with attitudes toward the deceased or the survivor. The same remark holds for the reason advanced in 8.

  8. This is, of course, not strictly true because many people would accompany the body to the grave. The point involved is that the husband is to be left alone so that he can start out in pursuit of his dead wife. Cf. also B. A. E. R. 37, pp. 140 ff.

   9. This is an explanatory gloss of Baptiste's.

   10. This hireje "he thought," must be a gloss of Baptiste's unless it is an error for hige "he did."

   11. This whole paragraph 15-23 is the traditional literary description of a person about to die, be it because he has been left behind in battle or that he has become exhausted from hunger. It appears in practically this precise form in a number of myths and tales. It must have become fixed and standardized many generations ago. It is consequently of considerable interest both linguistically and for what light it may throw on the growth and persistence of a specific style to comment on it. I shall therefore attempt to arrange the Winnebago so as to bring out the formal structure of this passage as well as the proper pauses and stresses. Since this text was not dictated to me by Baptiste himself, the pauses and stresses represent those of Lamere.

Sentences 15-23.

hago‧re‧´´ją /
hahi jige hokikuruc’akje //
hisagų kere’ųje //
hahi jige gadjąga / hąke wają je‧sganije //
gadjąga hahi kikurudi ’ųje //
jige hupo‧rora wowahasje // wa’ųje //
hįcge nijap-anąga rupo‧rora wawahasje //
je‧sge hiraitcakje //
nunige gadjąga hosge hokikuruc'akje //
e‧gi hoc’k-genįk.-hają kuhą-edja hije //
gadją / hoc’ok hihak.nįk.nąk.re mopįxdjįnįk wa'unąkje //
mopixdjįnįk.nąk.re e‧dja hahi tcep-hi pįra hireje //
howanqk.-hi-anąga
djasge hi-anąga

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kiwaxurutc hi-anąga
diranąk.-hijekiwaxurutc hi-anąga
’ųąk’ų rogųga e‧dja hįpje //
e‧dja hi-giji / hot’eracaną higireje

   Grammatical remarks to above passages. To begin with, there are no obsolete words or forms, i.e. none that would not be used today in the narrating of myths (waiką). What distinguishes this style from that used in many tales (worak) and from purely descriptive contemporary narratives as well as from the conversational style of today are, to mention the two most important traits, first, the actual connective-conjunctions used, the precision with which they are employed, the tendency to pile them up at the beginning of a sentence and certain types of word compound, and, second, the rigorousness with which syntactical rules are observed.

   In these nine short sentences the connectives hahi and gadją, gadjąga are used four times, and anąga, five times. In present-day conversational Winnebago hahi is strictly an adverb, gadjąga is semi-obsolescent, although Rave uses it frequently in descriptive narratives, gadją seems to have acquired a prevailingly temporal significance and anąga is infrequently employed, and then with the general sense of e‧gi, i.e. "and," instead of its old and proper meaning which is that of the Latin atque. As examples of the piling up of conjunctions we have, for example, hahi jige gadjąga; gadjąga hahi, nunige gadjąga. E‧gi, so common today, is used but once and then not at the beginning of a sentence, e‧dja, likewise common today at the beginning of a sentence and with a somewhat vague connotation, retains here its strict adverbial sense.

   As examples of special types of verbalized nouns or nominalized verbs, completely unknown in contemporary Winnebago, let me select two: wająje‧sganije and rogųga. The first consists of wają "thing," je‧sge "thus, so," -ni-, negative affix, and -je, hearsay past. The second consists of rogų "to wish, desire," and -ga, demonstrative meaning "that yonder," i.e., "the desired projected yonder."

   As an example of rigorous consistency in adhering to syntactical rules, let me take sentences 20-22. hihak.nik.nąk.re wa’unąkje “mopixdjinįk.nąk.re” . . . howanąk.-hi-anąga . . . diranąk.-hije‧sge "all around (this little knoll) . . . (beautiful) it was, 'In yonder very beautiful spot (/ would like to die)' . . . so he rolled over . . . he crawled thus." Here the sitting position of the husband, in Winnebago, -nąk-, is expressed five times, in a nominalized adverb, a noun and in three verbs and the Winnebago diminutive affix -nįk-, twice, once with the nominalized adverb and secondly with a noun. As an indication of how unaccustomed modern Winnebago are to such extensive use of the positional affixes was Lamere's difficulty in understanding the forms howanąk.-hi-anąga and diranąk.hije-sge. The syllabary is very defective here. It reads ho-wa-na-giya-na-ga [Ao w n Kiy n K] and di-ra-na-gi je‧sge [ti L n Ki de rKe]. These words Lamere dictated to me as howaną ki-anąga and diranągi je‧sge. Howaną could conceivably be interpreted as howa-, "toward," plus aorist -ną, which would, however, have little meaning here and ki- would be quite meaningless. Diraną, could conceivably be analyzed as dira

p. 60

and -ną. This would fit in here well enough. But -gi cannot follow -ną and has no meaning independently. The short of the matter is that Lamere was so unaccustomed to such forms that he failed completely to understand them. He was also misled by hi-anąga and hi-je‧sge which are not used frequently today.

   11a. The -ąk- in hicdja nuwįc.-ąkje, is the affix denoting the reclining position, to indicate that the man is now stretched out on the ground. In the preceding sentences -nąk- was used to indicate that, because of his weakness, he was no longer able to stand and was in a half sitting position.

   12. Sentence 24 is a stereotype found in many accounts of fasting experience just before the appearance of a spirit.

   13. That is, a spirit. The next two paragraphs identify him easily. He is one of the spirit-deities of the four cardinal points. They play a special, though negative, role in connection with the first appearance of death and this is why, unquestionably, they appear here. What the hairiness signifies I do not know.

   14. egi here is e "to say," and -gi, a suffix with weak conditional connotation as the je‧gų following it demonstrates.

   15. Until he has overcome his first obstacle the young man is represented as without will-power or faith in escaping death or succeeding in his enterprise. This is not accidental. The theme of the emergence of initiative and faith is to be carefully developed. Cf. 46-53.

   15a. dewoiraki, 41. Cf. also 21a. In the syllabary Baptists first wrote de with one e and then added another e thinking, apparently, that this was the demonstrative dee, "this." Lamere dictated it as dee-. This, however is a pure folk etymology.

   sasak.nąki, 42. The syllabary has sa-sa-kna-ki [rA rA Kn Ki] which Baptiste rendered as "swift as it could be." Lamere dictated it as sasak.nąki, i.e. sasaknąk-gi, apparently implying that we have here the positional suffix -nąk- "sitting or extended in general." But Baptiste's translation does not justify this. The form should, I feel certain, be construed as sasak.no-gi, where -no-, also nǫ, is the potential affix, not used in ordinary Winnebago today (1908-1913) but not uncommon in the literary language.

  hat'ąp.ra, 43. "The jumping over." Nominalized verbs are frequently used with practically the same force as our infinitives.

   moro, 44. The word for "land, earth" today is mą, but an older form mo- occurs in texts. I have, however, no other instance of moro. [There are several instances where moro means "bank, shore." — RD]

   tcąt'į-ąkje, 44. -ąk-. positional suffix "lying."

   tcorakje, 45. This is a puzzling form. It seems best to interpret it as tco, "green," -ra, "the," -ak lying position, and have it in agreement with the -ąk-, in 44, 51a (twice) and 54. -rak means nothing as far as I know.

   t'era, etc., 48. Lit. "he seized the to die."

   -jare, 48. Completed past action.

   nąk-hadjire-, etc., 49. nąk, "to run," hadji, "to come on," re, "to go." This is a characteristic type of verb composition, still widely used today.

   niconąk, 51, 51a. -nąk- has become fused with certain stems and has completely lost its primary meaning.

p. 61

   hadjadjera, 51a. Relative clauses are regularly expressed in Winnebago by suffixing the definite article and the demonstratives to the verb, -dje-, positional suffix, "standing," to agree with the -dje- of wa’ųdjeje of 51.

   Sentence 52a. The dubitative significance is given by the -guni of wa'ųguni. Winnebago has two dubitatives, -cguni, implying vague probability and -guni definite probability.

   hąnąge, 52a. The syllabary reads ha-na-ke [A n Ke] and it was translated as "he thought to himself." Lamere dictated hanąge. Baptiste's translation is evidently a very free one but seems to have satisfied Lamere. The stem here would be haną, for -ge could be taken as the conditional suffix. I have no idea what it can possibly mean. It is just barely possible that what we have here is ha-nąk.ge, an orthographical mistake for ha-ąk.ge, where ha is the verb "to say," -ąk-, positional suffix and that it means "he said to himself."

   winąji "take courage," 53. Etymologically this verb is very interesting, wa-, indef. pl. obj., hi-, "with," nąji, "to stand erect."

   16. The description of this stream is a stereotype and the metaphors in it are all fixed and traditional.

   17. This whirling of the water generally precedes the symbolic offerings of spirits, particularly the so-called waterspirits. This and other passages are definitely reminiscent of the idealized accounts of fasting experiences. They are probably reflections of the fact that this myth has been secondarily reinterpreted as an origin myth for a ritual which is supposed to have been bestowed on fasters by certain spirits. Cf. the clearly intrusive passage further on, 171-178.

   18. Traditional metaphor used in myths to describe infinitesimally small objects.

   19. A proverb still used today implying that the worst has already happened so one might as well risk anything.

   20. hosge which I have translated as "illusion" means primarily "tricky, deceptive, negation."

   21. In terms of rhetorical pauses and stresses, 41-54 are as follows:

e‧gi jige reje //
e‧gi ’ų-hahi-gadją ///
dewo´´iraki e‧dja hirahije /
nįxedexdjį-hiją sakdjįje //
djasge sasak.nąk.gi je‧sgeje //
bopinipinije ///
hat’ąp.ra gitcexije ///
ak.ra morora tcowexdjį tcąt’į-ąkje //
tcowexdjį tcorakje //
wąkcik tcexanisge tcąt’įje //
hąke hat’ąp pįnije ///
gadjąga ’ųdja’ų djagu hat’ąp.ikdjaneje //
ejare hire-giji ///

p. 62

je‧gų djasgegi herekdje hire-giji //
je‧gų hat’ąp.ikdje hireje //
je‧gų t’era rusje /
s’iredją. tcejare hireje ///
e‧´´sge gadjąga nąk.-hadjire-anąga
hicdja nųwic.-anąga
je-gų t’ąp.-hireje //
gadją ak.edja kirinąkje //
nira-horuxutcje //
ak.edja-horuxutc rehikdjege wa’ųgadją. //
hįke ni wają hadjanije //
pįhi wesįwį-gadją ///
dewo‧´´raki nicanąk xonųxdjįnįk.-hiją hat’ąpdjį hu-anąga
wa’ųdjeje //
nicanąk.nįk.ąka bopinipininįk.ąkje
xedexdjį hadjadjera / hosge wa’ųje //
e‧gi wająra-hiją wotcexi-giji /
wowat’ek.nįk meje‧sge hanąge (?) wa’ųguni hireje //
je‧gų-giji /
winąjije //
djagu ’ų-ąk-ga ruxuruk.ikdjane hireje ///

   21a. This detail identifies the old man still further with the spirit-deities of the four cardinal points. Cf. Text V, The Origin Myth of the Medicine Rite.

   22. This is the essential condition for establishing communication with the spirit-deities. Here they are putting themselves in this state in order to appeal to Earthmaker and help the young man.

   hidjadjegi, 59. hidja, "there"; -dje-, "it stands"; c’ųcawąk.re, 60. -cawąk-, positional affix, 2nd sing., "lying form"; -re, demonstrative "this."

   In 61 we have three forms of the second singular personal pronoun; ne, the independent form; -ni- (hida-ni-dje), infixed objective form used with intransitive and other types of verb and cu- (curuxuru-, etc.) used with instrumentals in ru-.

   nąk.ra, 63. A very unusual construction. nąk is the verb to sit, often used idiomatically in the sense of to exist. To be translated with the preceding word as our friend who is (here).

   hokewecireje, 65. -cire, "to tell," used almost exclusively in composition.

   hanąk.wije, 65. First plural of nąk.

  widanije, 65a. wi-, pl.

   e jige-higų can also be analyzed as ejigų, 66. e, "he that," -ji, intensive. Baptiste uses -ji quite extensively.

   23. Here again, in wanądjodjąisge, we have the typical phraseology used in fasting.

   24. Traditional stereotype to describe a large village.

   25. That is, you have reached your destination, the village of the dead, and, naturally, you will want to see your wife, but she will not be present.

p. 63

   This sentence can only be properly understood in the light of the sentence that follows.

   26. That is, you will see her to your loss, because you will see her because you have disobeyed our instructions.

   ’unicikdjanahare, 83. ’ų, "to do," -ni-, obj. form of 2nd sing., -ci-, "to ask," -ha, 1st sing., -re, dem. pl.

   ragicaną, 83. ra-, "you," subj. sing., gi, "to do," -caną, aorist.

   27. Compare this prohibition with the one in text I. Haniniji, 86. To be analyzed as ha-ni-niji. The first -ni- is 2nd sing. obj. pron., the stem being hani, "to possess, take care of."

   28. The verb "to strike," gitcgą, used here, is primarily a literary word. Literally it means, "to bring something about by striking." What I have rendered freely as "the sound spread" is, literally, the tciwį, "noise immediately it took place."

   28a. hijąki can best be interpreted as hiją-ąk-gi, i.e. "one-lying position-there-was."

   29. The young man is seated and the narrator is very careful in the next few sentences to affix -nąk- to the verbs relating to him, wanąkje, wa’ųnąkcaną, wa’ųnąk-gadją, anąkje, wanąxgųnąkje, etc., kuruxadjiną, 98, ruxa is an obsolete verb. Dji, "to come," i.e., "pursuing, he has come."

   rajitc, 102. ra-, instrumental prefix, "with the mouth." If the teasing had been done by certain actions it would have been rujitc.

   anąkje, 103. The verb "to say," e, becomes a in the plural. Since, however, like so many e it also changes to a under certain conditions, it is impossible to know here whether this is the a plural or the a that goes back to e. Baptiste, however, translated this form as a plural. Cf. 104.

   30. The effect of dance music is always described in this fashion.

   31. Lamere was uncertain about Baptiste's orthography here and dictated wigizok. It must be, however, wogizok, which, here, means "specifically." It has many meanings besides this.

To have relatives brought in here and to have them sing about the young man, presumably about his achievement in arriving at the village of the dead, is a nice touch that a Winnebago audience would deeply appreciate.

   31a. This is Baptiste's translation. The literal rendering would be "not anything thus it was." How that can be taken in Baptiste's sense, I do not quite see. Yet Lamere had no objection to make. Cf. note 34.

   32. This is another of the graphic descriptions of the effect of music. It was found repeatedly in narratives, old and new.

   33. This and the following sentence are glosses of Baptiste. They contain some interesting forms.

   direxdjinąkje, 147. The verb "to grow" is dide, 1st sing., dicere, 2nd. -nąk to agree with tcinąk.nąka where -nąka is the dem. -ga, sitting form.

   hidja-honąjįąkje, 148. -ąk-, walking form of the positional affix. It is identical with the lying form.

   mąnąk.re, 149. Baptiste translated "in this world," mą. means both "earth, world, trail." -nąk.re, sitting form of demonstrative -de.

p. 64

   34. The climax of the action in terms of rhetorical pauses and stresses is as follows:

Sentences 150-163:

hahire-giji /
howacinąkga e‧dja gadjąga rokonaxdjįje //
tcowe wanąje-hiraną. /
je‧cge higų-hahire-giji /
dewe´´raki hitcawina weje //
“djagu‘ų wadoraγįkdjanihe-giji /
degi horawac'’ų-anąga hadji wadoraγįcanąkje” eje? //
tcowe hidja-horuxutc.nąje //
nąwąra djirehire-giji /
rokonaje //
manąk.re hixgąxgąje ///
gadjągacge rudi gipįres’aje ///
hitcawįnacge ewa’ųxdjįje //
hoicip hora tcąt’įnihes’aje //
wa’įnąk.edja minąk nunige wa’įracge
nące hires’aje ///
hagairacge hawasųtc hirawis’aje //
wirakarara haruwǫk winunige hįke
wąkcik hidja wiraną’įranije ///
gadjąga hąp.-hidjana hare-giji /
wają je‧sge-hanije /
siką-hidjacge harukos.ire-anąga rudinuwąk hires’age‧cge /
’ųnjik'ų hatcągere´´xdjį hahąp.ireje /
wira haγep-huje ///

Lamere dictated wanąje although Baptiste's orthography here is quite clear. Apparently, he did not recognize the stem which is, in fact, quite rare. The -ną- of hiranąje‧cge, 150, implies customary action, the -je is the inferential past, -cge, uncertain probability. Kdjanihe, 151, "will have," is the verb compound howa'ų, literally "toward he did," both verbs are conjugated -ną-, 152. Cf. note 15a. Sentence 161 rendered literally is "treated them as if they were no people." From hare-giji, 162, on I am giving Baptiste's free translation. Cf. note 31a. rudi- "to pull," nuwąk "to run."

   35. This same motif is found in all myths dealing with visits to spiritland and to Earthmaker.
   In this passage and the next paragraph our myth approximates more and more to a typical fasting experience.

   36. Blue is the sacred color as well as the color symbolical of life.

   37. That is, so that by the performance of the ghost dance you can keep the soul here.

   38. That is, accept it and grant the request. This is the official theory of the function of tobacco.

p. 65

   39. Sentences 193-207 unquestionably do not belong to the original myth but represent what was added in order to adapt it as an origin myth. 

   40. Only such individuals were permitted to take part in the building of any sacred structure.

   41. There is no mention of such songs in the myth but the founder of a new rite always received songs as gifts from the spirit-deities who had blessed him.

   42. A gloss of Baptiste's.

   43. Meant sarcastically. Baptiste was a complete sceptic although, for a time, he was a peyote member.

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, Whiskey Making; 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 Hocągara, The Friendship Drum Origin Myth, Aracgéga'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, Įcorúšika 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, Black Otter's Warpath; 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 Hocąk Migration Myth, The Necessity for Death, Hocąk Clans Origin Myth, The War among the Animals, Lake Winnebago Origin Myth, Blue Mounds, Lost Lake, The Hocągara Migrate South, The Spirit of Gambling, Turtle and the Giant, The Shawnee Prophet — What He Told the Hocągara, The Hocągara 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, Little Red Bird's Story; mentioning basswood: The Children of the Sun, Redhorn's Father, Bear Clan Origin Myth (v. 3), The Big Stone, The Fox-Hocąk 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 Friendship Drum Origin Myth, 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, Įcorúšika 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, Aracgéga'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), The Friendship Drum Origin Myth, 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 Journey of the Prophet’s Acolyte, 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, Winnebago Notebooks, Freeman #3897 (Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society) Winnebago V, #8:1-2 (syllabic text with interlinear English translation by Jean Baptiste); Winnebago V, #8:14-37; Winnebago V. #5:3-60. A Hōcąk text followed by an English translation by Oliver Lamere and Paul Radin is found in, "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.

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].