The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1889-04-26

do not sacrifice their iock-. bat the
older men shear theirs short The
older women pull of their leggin-s
and moccasins. and cash the n--h Of
their legs below the knee. lengfhxi-e
and cro>swise. ill the blood foN>
freely. All the while they vail and
call upon the dead The Young men
who are near relations 70 The deceased
remove their lcggings and moccasin~-
and pierce their legs with sharp
knife until The blood flows fat from
the wounds. TIE old men 10 nj scar
| ify themselves
With every new arrival. whether The
person be Of near kin or not The wall
inr starts afresh- BIZ this iong-cOn-
tinued crying. the excitement o. grief
and the pain OF wounds. the relatives
become exhausted before the tine 81
burial arrives. and unable 10 speak
above whisper. Soon after death the
corpse i placed in a sitting position
facing The east and dressed in gala cos
tune. ornaments are put upon The
hair and person. and sometimes The
face j. painted in The same manner A.
the Hunga in the ceremony ~ the 81
cred pipe. that - If he deceased be-
longed 70 one ~ The GENES owning
sacred pipe. The linnga-kennzae.
a. this mode Of painting j. called. i
done BY painting The entire face red
with vcrmilion: then black line ab0u:
the breadth Of the little finger J.
marked across the forehead horizontal
Is and down both checks TO meet line
drawn across the chin thus forming
square. a center line starts from the one
across The forehead and falls along he
nose 70 its point This black paint !
made II charcoal and prepared fat
Men. women and children belonging 10
the Nencbatan lsacred pipe owners
gentcs Of the tribe. with fex exceptions.
are painted in this manner after death
When a member 81 a society dies the
bydy j. taken care or b. the fraternity.
and the burial ceremonies are trans
ferred from the family 20 the manare-
ment OF the society For Instance when
member Of the Mawadane Society
dies The body l. taken irnmezi-
atcly after death. while The BODY
is yet timber. 10 the lodge where The
society j. accustomed to meet Oh H.
arrival il l. placed in sitting posture.
facing the east and desked with The
regalia Of the society. The face 0s IT,.
corpse j. painted in The manner in
which the man while living wa~ accn--
toned TO paint when attending The
meetings " the society In hi right
hand j. placed the .-Ta-sha--ae. or
dcer's huof rattle which j. carried
only by the leader ~ the society Thi-
preparation II the body j. done D. he
relatives Of the deceased and one or
two members Of the society When sli
j. complete the crier summons the nsein-
bcrS. and these wend their way 20 the
lodge where the dead man =ir- a. silent
host The Mawadanc songs which
wcrc.fhc favorife- Of the dead member
are then sung and the rhythmic sfeT,=
taken. while presents are laid On the
drum; these latter are offerings To-
ward the funeral ceremonies A.
each gift j. made the crier sings 10th
the name Of the ciser. that all tbs \
village may hear Of The deed While \
the body lies in state in the lodge
either of the family or the society OF
which the deceased was a member. II I
the person or his family are held in \
high respect by the tribe. tn Young
men. those between the ages OF twenty
and thirty. gather together 10 perform
a ceremony expressive or their esteem
and griei. Having stripped them
selves Of their garments. excep; The
breech-cloth. loop i cut through the
skin Of the arm. midway between the
point Of the shoulder and the e.boH.
and the end Of willow tRir. about 4
foot long having the leaves on j. thrust
through the loop AZ skin The blood
tricklc> down the willow stem and II
-patterS the hanging leaves The
young men then walk slowly 10 the
odge where the dead lie. and stand
abreast before the tent entrance sinr-
ng The funeral song. each man accent
ng the time by striking together Two
hort sticks 81 willow. All -hed tear
- they sing This song j. an Old one.
having been handed down from an
unknown past II j. the only funer-
4 song in the Omaha tribe.
Al the close Of the song The chief
nonrner. whether man or Woman
-teps forth from The lodge. railinr.
The young men join in the vail Of
he mourncr. who advances with NJ
fitted hands. and passes along the
inc. pausing an instant AZ each per
on. This act j. an expression Of
hanks and acknowledgment or the
and honor shown When
he end OF the line j. reached the
reiraces his steps. and pulls
rom each young mans arm the blood
tanned willow twig. throwing il on
be ground. Some relatives prepare
horse. the gift being an additional
ok now led rsnenf az The honor Shnwn