The Twins Join Redhorn's Warparty (§6 of the Twins Cycle)

Hočąk Syllabic Text with an Interlinear English Translation

(223) As they came on their way, unexpectedly, they came onto a road. It was a big road. (224) The track had been made just a short time before. Unexpectedly, when they caught up to them, there were a great many men. The one in the rear saw them. (225) The one whom he followed became the one to tell them. "Two boys have caught up to us," he said. Again, the one whom he followed told it there. As they kept on telling one another, it reached the end. (226) All of them heard it. And it was a big warparty. The one they call "Redhorn" (Hešučka), he was their leader. He was the warleader. (227) And before they had said it, he had known about it. They were called to come to Redhorn's warpath on earth and they did. That is why he knew about it. (228) They were all spoken of as holy (wákąčąk) who were with Redhorn. A Thunderbird called "Storms as He Walks" (Mą'emanįga), was a friend of Redhorn's, who even now had given him a Thunderbird Warbundle on earth. (229) And again Turtle, and again Wolf, spirits of all different sorts, all these were the ones. Just then, they stopped there. (230) There they placed the higiǧá. Right away the Twins were called to the front of the higiǧá. The others thought that they were boys. (231) They thought that they were children even though the warleader knew them.

Then there they named the scouts. They called upon Storms as He Walks and Flesh with his older brother. (232) They walked and up they went with the Thunder, and there lay a lake. There was the summit of a hill, and they went there. (233) There lay a couple of married Red Waterspirits, it was for them that they were going. As it was a very nice day, they were therefore out sunning themselves. Soon they went back into the water. (234) As those above became aware of their presence, they returned. "Warleader, the ones you have come for are unaware," they told him. (235) And there they would stay until day, and then the next day at noon, they would make their assault, they said.

And there they slept, and (236) right away at noon the ones that would do the shooting were called upon. Storms as He Walks and Flesh with his older brother, and Turtle, this many were called upon. They left. (237) And they went up above. They went very high. They took Turtle with them. Turtle had a lot to say. "Let's go still higher," they would say, but, "My friends, let's stay here," he would say. (238) The ones they were going for were sunning themselves. "Hąhó, let's be here," they said, as the Thunderbird struck one of them. Then Flesh's older brother struck another one. (239) When thus it was, fire came jetting up. The young men did much. In fact Storms as He Walks stormed about, but he could not accomplish anything. This was also the case. (240) Flesh was still equal to his older brother in their strikes. Although Storms as He Walks had gone high, he was not like anything. (241) They also took Turtle along with them. Finally, as they went along, Turtle was encircled by a Waterspirit's tail. There he was taken away from them. There the old man was brought down. (242) Now the young men steadily fought them there. As they were doing this, they came to their aid. There the Red Waterspirits died. There they grabbed a hold of them. Thus it was.(243) The water and fire fell back. Thus it was, as the red ones were killed and they were the cause of it. The water receded. The fires went out. A variety of things lay scattered about. The ears of some were also very large. (244) Their tails were also long. They looked for Turtle. Unexpectedly, there they found him. Unexpectedly, the tail was encircling him there, a long tail. (245) Also he was hanging on and he had caused his legs to be fitted about him, and one he had killed. So it would seem from the way it looked. (246) "Koté, I suppose this one will say very much again," they said. Then the older brother of Flesh went there. "Koté, you turtle, we came to fight, so why are you sleeping? (247) We didn't come to sleep," he said and helped him to stand up. "Yohó," he said. "I tell you, I'm the Son of the Warbundle," he said. "Koté, you turtle, you've said a strange thing. You were killed, and they brought you back to life. (248) How could you be the Son of the Warbundle?" "Korá, then do it. This is the first time that you have gotten your skirts torn by sticks, but I am your husband when it comes to going to war." Then they went home from there.

(249) Then Flesh's older brother said, saying it to Redhorn, "Warleader, already we have done much with you, and we are this way just naturally so. We are traveling around the earth." (250) "Hąhó, it is good. You have done good to me. If you had not come, it is a shameful thing that I would have done. It would have been that I had left behind one of my attendants. If you would come with us, I would be pleased, (251) but the reason you say this is that this is your wish." There they came home, and once they arrived, they also went away from there to someplace else. [nt] [1]

Commentary. "Thunderbird" — it is not unusual for a stellar deity to align with the Thunderbirds, as one waiką, Bladder and His Brothers, v. 2, says that Morning Star was the spirit who founded the Thunderbird Clan. When he arises from the waters, Įčorúšika fights the Waterspirits, the mortal enemies of the Thunderbirds, and strikes them with a kind of fire-club that sets them aflame. This corresponds with Alnilam rising just before the sun after its 46 day absence.

"his older brother" — the name of Flesh's brother Ghost is scrupulously avoided, reflecting an apparent danger in mentioning ghosts (wanąǧi) or the Twin who is their spiritual personification.

"married" — it was appreciated that married couples, especially newlyweds, would fight with greater fanaticism and were therefore a more worthy target.

"Red Waterspirits" — the usual color associated with Waterspirits is blue (čo), the color of the cloudless sky and its reflection in still waters. These Red Waterspirits prove to be the opposite of most others of their kind, since they do not fight with jets of water alone, but streams of fire.

"as it was a very nice day, they were therefore out sunning themselves" — Waterspirits stand in opposition to their arch-enemies the Thunderbirds, whose vehicle of action is the dark cloud. When the day is cloudless, the Waterspirits need not fear being struck by the Thunders' weapon, the lightning bolt. Therefore, they feel free to take in the sun. The Waterspirits are therefore associated with the blue sky and its color as reflected in water.

"he was not like anything" — hįké wažą žesganįže is a Hočąk idiom which, when understood as "it was not like anything", means that circumstances were bad beyond compare. Here it means that the performance of Storms as He Walks was beyond compare in a negative way. In both cases the expression is hyperbolic.

"Son of the Warbundle" — this expression, Sara Hinįk, is a title given to the man who wins the first war honor. This is achieved by whomever first touches a dead enemy.

"you have done good to me" — this is the expression pįnagigi, which is the way in which "thank you" is said in Hočąk.

"it is a shameful thing that I would have done" — the warleader was expected to guide his enterprise by a vision which he obtained from the spirits by fasting. The object was to gain as many war honors as possible and escape without losing any member of the warparty. Raids were suppose to be surprise attacks where the advantage belonged so heavily to the offense that it would not be expected that the warparty would take casualties. Consequently, the loss of a man was usually attributed to bad planning, and therefore blamed on the warleader.

[nt] — another and more expanded version of this story is related in Baldheaded Warclub Origin Myth. There the warleader is Heroka, but we learn from the conclusion of "Redhorn's Sons" that he is one and the same as Redhorn, so both warparties have the same leader.

 

Links: The Twins, Redhorn, Turtle, Storms as He Walks, Wolf & Dog Spirits, Waterspirits, Thunderbirds, The Redhorn Panel of Picture Cave. An American Star Map.

Links within the Twins Cycle: §5. The Twins Visit Their Father's Village; §7. Earthmaker Sends Rušewe to the Twins.

Stories: mentioning the Twins: The Twins Cycle, The Man with Two Heads, The Twins Retrieve Red Star's Head, The Children of the Sun, Bluehorn's Nephews, The Two Boys, The Two Brothers, The Lost Blanket; featuring Turtle as a character The Mission of the Five Sons of Earthmaker, Turtle's Warparty, Turtle and the Giant, Spear Shaft and Lacrosse, Soft Shelled Turtle Gets Married, Turtle and the Merchant, Redhorn's Father, Redhorn's Sons, Turtle and the Witches, The Baldheaded Warclub Origin Myth, Trickster Soils the Princess, Morning Star and His Friend, Grandfather's Two Families, The Race for the Chief's Daughter, Kunu's Warpath, Redhorn Contests the Giants, Redhorn and His Brothers Marry, The Skunk Origin Myth, The Hočąk Migration Myth, Porcupine and His Brothers, The Creation of Man, The Father of the Twins Attempts to Flee, The Chief of the Heroka, The Spirit of Gambling, The Mulberry Picker, Hare Secures the Creation Lodge, The Markings on the Moon (v. 2), The Green Man, The Hočągara Contest the Giants, The Medicine Rite Foundation Myth, The Coughing Up of the Black Hawks, The Petition to Earthmaker, The Origins of the Milky Way; having Wolf as a character: Baldheaded Warclub Origin Myth, A Man and His Three Dogs, Redhorn's Sons, Redhorn Contests the Giants, The Dogs of the Chief's Son, The Man Whose Wife was Captured, Kunu's Warpath, Morning Star and His Friend, The Healing Blessing, The Origins of the Milky Way, mentioning Redhorn: The Redhorn Cycle, Redhorn's Sons, Įčorúšika and His Brothers, The Mission of the Five Sons of Earthmaker, Redhorn's Father, Baldheaded Warclub Origin Myth, The Medicine Rite Foundation Myth, Morning Star and His Friend, The Spirit of Gambling, The Green Man, The Hočągara Contest the Giants, cp. The Cosmic Ages of the Hočągara, Heroka, Redman; with Storms as He Walks as a character: Redhorn's Sons, Kunu's Warpath, Redhorn and His Brothers Marry, Redhorn Contest the Giants; mentioning Thunderbirds: The Thunderbird, Waruǧápara, How the Thunders Met the Nights, The Boy who was Captured by the Bad Thunderbirds, Traveler and the Thunderbird War, The Boulders of Devil's Lake, Thunderbird and White Horse, Bluehorn's Nephews, How the Hills and Valleys were Formed (vv. 1, 2), The Man who was a Reincarnated Thunderbird, The Thunder Charm, The Lost Blanket, The Twins Disobey Their Father, The Thunderbird Clan Origin Myth, Story of the Thunder Names, The Hawk Clan Origin Myth, Eagle Clan Origin Myth, Pigeon Clan Origins, Bird Clan Origin Myth, Adventures of Redhorn's Sons, Brave Man, Ocean Duck, Turtle's Warparty, The Daughter-in-Law's Jealousy, The Quail Hunter, Redhorn's Sons, The Dipper, The Stone that Became a Frog, The Race for the Chief's Daughter, Redhorn Contests the Giants, The Sons of Redhorn Find Their Father, The Warbundle of the Eight Generations, Medicine Rite Foundation Myth, Origin of the Hočąk Chief, The Spirit of Gambling, Wolf Clan Origin Myth, Aračgéga's Blessings, Kunu's Warpath, The Orphan who was Blessed with a Horse, The Glory of the Morning, The Nightspirits Bless Čiwoit'éhiga, The Green Waterspirit of the Wisconsin Dells, Baldheaded Warclub Origin Myth, The Big Stone, Song to Earthmaker, The Origins of the Milky Way; in which Waterspirits occur as characters: Waterspirit Clan Origin Myth, Traveler and the Thunderbird War, The Green Waterspirit of Wisconsin Dells, The Lost Child, River Child and the Waterspirit of Devil's Lake, Bluehorn's Nephews, Holy One and His Brother, The Seer, The Mulberry Picker, The Creation of the World (vv. 1, 4), Šųgepaga, The Sioux Warparty and the Waterspirit of Green Lake, The Waterspirit of Lake Koshkonong, The Waterspirit of Rock River, The Boulders of Devil's Lake, Devil's Lake — How it Got its Name, Old Man and White Feathers, Waterspirits Keep the Corn Fields Wet, The Diving Contest, The Lost Blanket, Redhorn's Sons, Įčorúšika and His Brothers, Great Walker's Warpath, White Thunder's Warpath, The Descent of the Drum, The Shell Anklets Origin Myth, The Daughter-in-Law's Jealousy, Snowshoe Strings, The Thunderbird, Hare Retrieves a Stolen Scalp (v. 2), The Two Children, Earthmaker Sends Rušewe to the Twins, Paint Medicine Origin Myth, Waruǧápara, Ocean Duck, The Twin Sisters, Trickster Concludes His Mission, The King Bird, The Medicine Rite Foundation Myth, Great Walker's Medicine, V. 2, Peace of Mind Regained, How the Thunders Met the Nights, The Boy who was Captured by the Bad Thunderbirds, The Shaggy Man, The Woman who Married a Snake (?), Hare Secures the Creation Lodge, Ghost Dance Origin Myth I, The Sacred Lake, Lost Lake; mentioning Red Waterspirits: The Thunderbird; mentioning Warbundles: Waruǧápara (Thunderbird), The Adventures of Redhorn's Sons (Thunderbird), Redhorn's Sons (Thunderbird), The Warbundle of the Eight Generations (Thunderbird), Wanihéga Becomes a Sak'į (Thunderbird), Šųgepaga (Eagle), The Masaxe War (Eagle?), The Blessing of a Bear Clansman (Bear), The Blessings of the Buffalo Spirits (Buffalo), The Blessing of Kerexųsaka (Sauk), A Man's Revenge (enemy).

Themes: coming across a warparty traveling in column and falling in at the rear: The Thunderbird, How the Thunders Met the Nights, The Dipper; Storms as He Walks leads scouts by walking in the air: Kunu's Warpath; two Waterspirits sleep while basking in the sun: Holy One and His Brother, The Thunderbird; red as a symbolic color: The Journey to Spiritland (hill, willows, reeds, smoke, stones, haze), The Gottschall Head (mouth), The Chief of the Heroka (clouds, side of Forked Man), The Red Man (face, sky, body, hill), Spear Shaft and Lacrosse (neck, nose, painted stone), Redhorn's Father (leggings, stone sphere, hair), The Sons of Redhorn Find Their Father (hair, body paint, arrows), Wears White Feather on His Head (man), The Birth of the Twins (turkey bladder headdresses), The Two Boys (elk bladder headdresses), Trickster and the Mothers (sky), Rich Man, Boy, and Horse (sky), The Blessings of the Buffalo Spirits (Buffalo Spirit), Bluehorn Rescues His Sister (buffalo head), Wazųka (buffalo head headdress), The Baldheaded Warclub Origin Myth (horn), The Brown Squirrel (protruding horn), Bear Clan Origin Myth (funerary paint), Hawk Clan Origin Myth (funerary paint), Deer Clan Origin Myth (funerary paint), Thunderbird Clan Origin Myth (stick at grave), Pigeon Clan Origins (Thunderbird lightning), Trickster's Anus Guards the Ducks (eyes), Hare Retrieves a Stolen Scalp (scalp, woman's hair), The Race for the Chief's Daughter (hair), The Daughter-in-Law's Jealousy (hair), Redhorn's Sons (hair), Redhorn Contests the Giants (hair), The Woman's Scalp Medicine Bundle (hair), A Wife for Knowledge (hair), He Who Eats the Stinking Part of the Deer Ankle (hair), The Hočągara Contest the Giants (hair of Giantess), A Man and His Three Dogs (wolf hair), The Red Feather (plumage), The Man who was Blessed by the Sun (body of Sun), Red Bear, Eagle Clan Origin Myth (eagle), The Shell Anklets Origin Myth (Waterspirit armpits), The Roaster (body paint), The Man who Defied Disease Giver (red spot on forehead), The Wild Rose (rose), The Medicine Rite Foundation Myth (warclub), Įčorúšika and His Brothers (ax & packing strap), Hare Kills Flint (flint), The Twins Retrieve Red Star's Head (edges of flint knives), The Mulberry Picker (leggings), The Seduction of Redhorn's Son (cloth), Yųgiwi (blanket); scouts spy on the enemy (from a hill) without being seen: Moiety Origin Myth, How Little Priest went out as a Soldier, White Thunder's Warpath, The Boy who was Blessed by a Mountain Lion, Worúxega; a warleader appoints men to do the killing in a planned attack: Baldheaded Warclub Origin Myth, Moiety Origin Myth; the war between Thunderbirds and Waterspirits: Traveler and the Thunderbird War, How the Thunders Met the Nights, The Boulders of Devil's Lake, The Lost Blanket, Ocean Duck, The Daughter-in-Law's Jealousy, Waruǧápara; flame throwing monsters: Baldheaded Warclub Origin Myth, The Two Boys; men who are killed by an enemy warparty do not realize that they are dead: The Lame Friend, The Four Slumbers Origin Myth; Turtle is killed: Redhorn Contests the Giants; the Twins rescue Turtle from certain death: Baldheaded Warclub Origin Myth; long eared monsters: Baldheaded Warclub Origin Myth; falsely claiming first war honors: Moiety Origin Myth.

Notes

[1] Sam Blowsnake, Waretcáwera, in Paul Radin, Winnebago Notebooks, Freeman #3897 (Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, ca. 1912) Winnebago V, #11: 223-251. An English translation is found in "The Twins," in Paul Radin, The Evolution of an American Indian Prose Epic. A Study in Comparative Literature, Part I (Basil: Ethnographical Museum, Basil Switzerland, 1954) 95-97. Informant: Sam Blowsnake of the Thunderbird Clan, ca. 1912.