Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-04-21
INDIANS HAVE MANY GODS
TRADITION SAYS THEIR HOME Is IN
THE BLACK HILLS.
Great Spirit Directs Movements of
Lesser Deftfcs From the Highest
Mountain Top.

ana unknown is ruled by gods or deities OF
greater or lesser ''wakan." Anything that
Is superhuman, mysterious or supernatural
is ''wakan.''
The Black Hills. from an Indian point
OF view. are the home OF the gods. from
whom all power originates. The wind ana
the lightning are sent forth from the dark
recesses of the mountains and the very
foundations of the hills are made to trem-
Bile when the great spirit gives vent to his
anger.
The old Indian tradition says that the
great spirit sits upon the highest noun
tain in the Black Hills supposed to be
Harneys Peak. and from this exalted posi-
uon he directs the movements of the lesser
|. Soos ana his own people. In his pleasant
moods he causes the sun to shine the grass
to grow and the Indian tribes to be at peace
with one another In his angry moments
he lets loose the winds and lightning and
the world is made dark, and the children OF
death.
Many years ago the great spirit kept
white man chained beneath the big noun
tain. The man trespassed upon the chosen
hunting ground Of the children of the great
spirit, and he was forthwith captured and
made example of before all other trespass-
ers of the palefaces. The white man was n
giant, whose footprints in the sands were
twenty feet long. and he was so powerful
IN ms right arm that he could break the
buHalo's back and could twist from its
roots the lofty pine: yet the great spirit
ruled HIM
The great spirit had a good many lesser
defties. who were given power over ami
mals and things. Onkteri was the god of
water: This deity in outward appearance
resemnled an OK, being much larger. A
great part of the religion of the Indians
came from the wakan Influence of this god
There are both male and female the for
mer having control of the water and the
earth beneath the water, and the latter
having Influence fha L.,
side OF the water.
When the god of water wants rain to fall
he iafts his tail and horns to the clouds and
Immediately the rain falls. Onketri assumes
an important part In the Juggling and SUI
perstitious beliefs of the Indians The
medicine men obtain their supernatural
dess are mertals and can propagate their
KIND. They have power to impart from
their bodies a mighty wakan influence
Cha-o-ter-fah is the god of the forest
His home is at the foot of the highest
mountain and he lives most of the time In
the top of the highest tree on the noun
tain top His companions are the birds Of
the air, who act as guards and sentinels
When he wants anything he flies TO his
perch in the treetop, which Is as smooth as
glass. He calls together his friends and
sends them hither and thither He is in
constant war with the god of thunder,
Wah-keen-yon. When Wah-keen-yon passes
over the mountain top. casting here
and there his bolts of lightning Cha-o-ter-
at the foot of the tree and the lightning
cannot touch him.
To the Indian Wah-keen-yon is a mighty
bird, and the noise that is made which
shakes the f0undat ton of the mountains 10
caused by the big bird flying through the
air with his younger ones. The old bird
Will not iniure the Indians. but the Young
birds are foolish and do all the harm they
can. The name Wah-keen-yon signifies a
nyer. There are four varieties of gods
among the Wah-keen-yon.
image he ic hos.
great bird, black in color, with a very long
beak and four joints in each pinion. The
second variety is yellow in color, beakless,
and also mas four joints in its pinions. The
fourth god has remarkably long wings each
OF them containing eight joints. 1t is scar
let in color. The fourth god is blue in color
and has no face. eyes or ears. Immediately
above where the face should appear is a
semi-circular line, resembling an inverted
half moon.
The Wah-keen-yon gods live on the ton
of a lofty mountain at the western edge of
the earths surface. Guards stand at the
open doors, which look out to the four
points of the compass. A butterfly stands
at me east door, a bear at the west door,
at the north is a reindeer and a beaver at
the south. The Wah-keen-yon are destruc-
tive. and are at war with most of the other
gods.
The Indians believe that the fossil re-
mains of the mastodons that are found 50
frequently in the bad lands are the bones
OF the fallen god of water, and the burial
white man discovered these remains and
Knowing their origin. commenced excavat-
ing them for rare relics. the Indians resent
ed the invasion Of the burial ground Of their
gods.
Whitte-ko-kak-gah is the god Of the grass
and weeds. The word. translated, means
to make crazy" The god is a weed HIM
self, and he has the power of giving whom
soever he will fits which make them crazy.
The god has the figure of man. In his
right hand he carries rattle of deer hoofs
aIar IT,, 1T La
hand he carries a bow and arrow. From
his cap streams of lightning flow, SO bright
that they dazzle the wild animals. In his
mouth he has a whistle, which is used in
the dance to invoke the assistance of the
great spirit when the Indians have had bad
luck in hunting.
Wa-hun-de-dan is the goddess of war.
She is always invoked when the Indians go
to battle. She is represented with hoofs on
her arms and as many OF these as she
throws at the feet OF each warrior indicates
the number of scalps that will be returned
to the camp by the warrior. If the party
is to have poor luck the goddess will throw
to the ground as many broken arrows as
there will be warriors wounded or killed
one OF the greatest and most reVerenced
gods is Tah-koo-shkan-s hkan, who is in
visible. but all-pervading. He is the spear
and the tomahawk. in powders and in the
four winds. He delights to see the warriors
fall IN battle He is the most dreaded god
OF the Indians. He directs the movement
of the fox, raven, buzzard. wolf and other
animals of similar nature.
The Indians have as many gods and god
desses as there are imaginative minds in
the tribe. Anything that is out of the or
binary or that appeals to the Imagination
is god.
Contrary TO the opinion SO generally beI5
the Black Hills were never the home of tha
Indians. Influenced by the ever-present su-
perstftion, the Indian tribes held in reyer
ence the pfne-covered mountains and deem
canyons, believing them to be the home 81
fneir deities. The early pioneers in the