,,the ,,ritual ,,and ,,significance ,,of
 ,,the ,,winnebago                      
,,medicine ,,dance                      
,,by ,,paul ,,radin                     
,,dissertation ,,submitted ,,in         
,,partial ,,fulfilment ,,of ,,the       
,,requirements ,,for ,,the ,,degree ,,of
 ,,doctor ,,of ,,philosophy             
,,in ,,the ,,faculty ,,of ,,philosophy1 
,,columbia ,,university4      ,reprinted
 from ,,the ,,journal ,,of ,,american   
,,folk-,,lore1 ,vol4 ,,xxiv1 ,no4       
,,xcii1                                 
,april-,june1 #aiaa                     
,,to ,,the ,,memory ,,of                
,,evelyn ,r4 ,,bresler                  
,reprinted from ,,the ,,journal ,,of    
,,american ,,folk-,,lore1 ,vol4 ,,xxiv41
 ,no4                         ,,xcii41  
,april-,june1 #aiaa4                    
,,the ,,ritual ,,and ,,significance ,,of
 ,,the ,,winnebago ,,medicine ,,dance   
,,by ,,paul ,,radin                     
,,contents                              
,,page      ,a4 ,,description ,,of ,,the

 ,,ritual ,,of ,,the ,,winnebago        
,,medicine ,,dance       #adi        ,i4
 ,organization of the ,bands            
#aej       ,,ii4 ,prescribed ,duties of 
the ,bands                              
#aea      ,,iii4 ,division of the       
,ceremony                               
#aec       ,,iv4 ,types of ,component   
,elements of the ,ceremony              
#aed            #a4 ,types of ,speeches 
#aed          #b4 ,types of ,songs      
#aef          #c4 ,types of ,action     
#aef          #d4 ,types of ,ritual     
#aef        ,v4 ,ceremony as a ,whole   
#afa      ,b4 ,,description ,,of ,,the  
,,ojibwa ,,mide,,wiwin                  
#afe      ,c4 ,,description ,,of ,,the  
,,menominee ,,mide,,wiwin               
#afg      ,d4 ,,the ,,significance ,,of 
,,the ,,ritual                          
#afh        ,i4 ,the ,common ,elements  
#afh       ,,ii4 ,the ,interpretation of
 the ,common ,elements--,schurtz's      
,theory    #afi      ,,iii4 ,the        
,shooting ,ritual                       

#age       ,,iv4 ,the ,initiation       
,ritual                                 
#agi        ,v4 ,the ,general ,ceremony 
#ahf       ,,vi4 ,the ,complete         
,ceremonial ,complexes                  
#ahh      ,,vii4 ,rsum and ,conclusion  
#aih                  ,a4 ,,description 
,,of ,,the ,,ritual ,,of ,,the          
,,winnebago ,,medicine                  
,,dance#a      ,the ,medicine ,dance is 
a society1 admission into which is      
gained by  purchase4 ,the ,winnebago    
suppose it to be a repetition of a      
ceremony  originally instituted by the  
,rabbit1 when he initiated the first man
  into its secrets4 ,the society        
consists of five bands1 which1 during   
the  ceremony1 are known respectively as
 the ,ancestor-,host's1 the ,east1      
,north1 ,west1 and ,south ,bands4 ,these
 five bands are also known by the  names
 of their leaders4 ,any band may act as 
host1 and the position of  the others in
 the lodge is dependent on the order in 
which they are  invited by the band     

acting as host4 ,it thus follows that   
each band must  know the entire ceremony
 of the society4    ,i4 ,,organization  
,,of ,,the ,,bands4--,for purposes of   
description it will  be best to divide  
each band into three parts1--the leader1
 his two  assistants1 and the rest of   
the band4 ,leadership depends upon  a   
thorough knowledge of the ceremony and  
its complete esoteric  significance1    
which is in the possession of only one  
individual in each  band4 ,this         
knowledge can be obtained solely by     
purchase and religious  qualifications4 
,these religious qualifications1 to     
which might be added  moral as well1    
play little part at the present day1 but
 there can be no  doubt that they were  
essential in the past4 ,the leader      
likewise often  possessed other         
characteristics1 such as those of       
warrior and shaman1  but they were not  
essential for his position4    ,the two 
assistants were generally men who had   
purchased sufficient  information and   

privileges to entitle them to help the  
leader in  certain details of the       
ceremony4 ,the drummers1 rattle-holders1
 dancers1  etc41 were always recruited  
from their ranks4 ,eventually they      
became  the leaders4 ,those who were    
neither leaders nor assistants possessed
  a knowledge varying from that of      
elementary information1 required for    
admission1 to such as would entitle them
 to the position of assistant4    ,there
 is a priority of position in the lodge 
depending on priority of  invitation4   
,the band invited first1 occupies the   
east position2 that  invited second1 the
 north2 that invited third1 the west2   
and that  invited fourth1 the south4    
,the east is the position of highest    
honor2  the south1 that of the lowest4  
,between the bands1 there exists an     
order  of invitation based on tradition1
 the exact nature of which is unknown4  
,according to one informant1 if one band
 invited another1 the latter in  turn   
would be obliged to give it the position

 of honor2 but as there  are five bands1
 this can apply only to special cases4  
,whatever may be  the order1 it is      
certain that each band has ample        
occasion to occupy  all five positions4 
,there are two ways in which a man can  
join the ,medicine ,dance4 ,he  may     
simply apply for admission to any of the
 five leaders1 or he may  take the place
 of a deceased relative4 ,in the former 
case1 if his  payment is satisfactory1  
and he has the other qualifications1 he 
is  accepted4 ,in the other case1 he or 
his relatives decide to have him  take  
the place of a deceased relative4 ,this 
latter form of candidacy  is by far the 
commoner4 ,at the present day1          
initiation requires the  payment of     
about three hundred or four hundred     
dollars1 in the form of  goods and      
tobacco4 ,of this1 a portion is given to
 the leader of the  ,ancestor-,host's   
,band during the ,four ,nights'         
,preparation1 and the rest  to the      
leaders of the other four bands during  

the ceremony proper4    ,exactly how    
much information an individual obtains  
on entering1 cannot  be determined4     
,this would depend on the amount of the 
payment4 ,the  minimum of knowledge     
would be an acquaintance with the bare  
externals  of the ceremony1 its general 
significance1 and such knowledge of the 
legendary origin of the ,lodge as a     
single recital could give4 ,the new     
member is not initiated into the        
symbolism of the ritualistic myths1  and
 consequently a large portion of the    
same must be unintelligible  to him4    
,what he obtains is practically only the
 right to hold the  otter-skin bag and  
to use it in a certain way4 ,he cannot  
take part in  any of the forms of       
dancing or singing1 nor can he even     
shoot at will4  ,he very rarely remains 
in this condition long1 but takes the   
first  opportunity to purchase          
additional knowledge and privileges4    
,there are three kinds of               
members1--mature men1 women1 and        

children4 ,the  privileges of women     
differ from those of the men1 in that   
the women do  not have to partake of the
 sweat-bath1 may never become           
assistants1 and  are privileged to dance
 in a certain way4 ,in other respects   
they have  equal privileges with men4   
,in practice1 there are certain         
privileges  that women never have1 but  
this is due to the fact that either they
 do  not care or they are not in a      
position to buy them4 ,children belong  
to  a quite different category4         
,although they possess an otter-skin1   
they  have not even the power of making 
it effective1 and1 in order to do so1   
must have it guided by some older       
member4 ,there does not seem to be any  
evidence indicating that women were ever
 excluded from membership4    ,,ii4     
,,prescribed ,,duties ,,of ,,the        
,,bands4--,the duties of the  host1 who 
is known as x'okera1#b and whose band is
 called  ,minak#8ara-k#8oagirera1#c are 
as follows3    #a4 ,to rehearse the     

songs and rituals with his band four    
nights  previous to the ceremony proper4
 ,at this rehearsal the candidate       
7habirok#8aragu-inera1 literally 8the   
one for whom they seek life07 is  always
 present1 and instructed in the         
ceremony4    #b4 ,to send out           
invitation-sticks and tobacco to the    
leaders of the  other four bands4 ,the  
messengers are always his sisters' sons4
    #c4 ,to begin the ,four ,nights'    
,ceremony preceding the ceremony proper4
    #d4 ,to receive the leaders and     
assistants of the other four bands      
before  the sweat-lodge ritual1 and to  
begin the same4    #e4 ,to begin the    
ceremony proper4    #f4 ,to take part in
 the following portion of the ceremony  
proper4    7a7 ,to welcome the four     
bands4    7b7 ,to lead the candidate to 
the secret brush and instruct him in    
certain precepts4    7c7 ,to act as     
preceptor of the candidate before he is 
shot with the  sacred shell4    7d7 ,to 
turn the candidate over to the charge of

 the leaders of the  ,east and ,north   
,bands4    7e7 ,to relate certain of the
 myths4    7f7 ,to deliver certain      
speeches and to perform certain actions 
that  constitute the basic ritual of the
 ceremony proper4 ,this will be         
discussed later4    ,the ,east ,band is 
known as ,tconi minagera                
7,those-who-sit-first71  ,hanp#8ogu     
hominagere 7,where-the-day-comes-from71 
,wiayephuregi  7,where-the-sun-rises74  
,all these terms are used frequently4   
,the duties  of the leader are--    #a4 
,to assist the ancestor-host in passing 
upon the eligibility of a  candidate4   
#b4 ,to take part in the following      
portions of the ceremony proper4    7a7 
,accompanied by his two assistants1 to  
take part in the brush  ritual4    7b7  
,to take charge of the candidate after  
he has been handed over to  him by the  
ancestor-host4    7c7 ,to shoot the     
sacred shell into the candidate's body4 
7d7 ,to relate certain of the myths4    
7e7 ,to perform the basic ritual4       

,the ,north ,band is known as ,siniwagu 
minagera  7,where-the-cold-comes-from74 
,the leader has the same duties as those
 of  the ,east leader4 ,the myths       
recited are of course different4    ,the
 ,west ,band is known as ,wioir minagera
 7,where-the-sun-goes-down74  ,the      
leader has the duty of reciting certain 
myths and performing the  basic ritual4 
,the ,south ,band is known as ,nagojedja
 minagera                               
7,he-who-sits-at-the-end-of-the-road7 or
 ,horotcdjeregi                         
7,where-the-sun-straightens74 ,the      
duties of the leader are the same as    
those of the leader of the ,west ,band1 
except that the myths he recites  are   
different4    ,the distribution of the  
gifts to the different bands is the     
following3    ,the leader of the ,east  
,band receives one-half of the number of
  blankets1 the upper half of the new   
suit worn by the candidate1 and         
one-quarter of the food4    ,the leader 
of the ,north ,band receives one-half of

 the blankets1 the  lower half of the   
suit1 the moccasins1 and one-quarter of 
the food4    ,the leaders of the ,west  
and ,south ,bands receive each three    
yards and a  half of calico and a fourth
 of the food4    ,the ancestor-host     
receives various gifts of food and      
tobacco from the  leaders of the other  
bands4 ,he receives his payment from the
 candidate  before the ceremony proper4 
,the candidate is present at the ,four  
,nights' ,ceremony of the               
ancestor-host's band preliminary to the 
ceremony proper4 ,at the latter         
ceremony he sits to the right of the    
ancestor-host's band4 ,he is not        
dressed in his new suit until after the 
secret ceremonies in the brush4         
,there are facial decorations           
distinctive of the different bands4 ,the
  host's band and the candidate paint a 
blue circle on each cheek1 but  its     
significance is unknown to me4    ,the  
regalia used are simple and few4 ,they  
consist of eagle1 hawk1  squirrel1      

weasel1 beaver1 and otter skin bags1 a  
drum1 gourd rattles1  and               
invitation-sticks4 ,the otter-skin bags 
are always beaded and  contain the      
sacred shell and various medicines4 ,a  
few red feathers are  always inserted in
 the mouth of the otter-skin bag4 ,the  
gourds contain  buck-shot at the present
 day4 ,they are painted with blue       
finger-marks4    ,,iii4 ,,division ,,of 
,,the ,,ceremony4--,the ,medicine ,dance
 is divided into five  well-marked      
parts4 ,the first part 7,i7 consists of 
the ,two ,nights'  ,preparation         
preceding the sending-out of the        
invitation-sticks4 ,this  takes place at
 the home of the ancestor-host          
7x'okera71 in the presence  of the      
members of his band and the candidate4  
,the second part 7,,ii7  consists of the
 ,four ,nights' ,preparation preceding  
the sweat-lodge  ritual4 ,each band has 
its own ,four ,nights' ,preparation1    
although that  of the ancestor-host     
begins before the others4 ,the third    

part 7,,iii7  consists of the rites held
 in a sweat-lodge specially constructed 
for this purpose near the               
medicine-lodge1 on the morning after the
  ,four ,nights' ,preparation4 ,the     
participants are the ancestor-host2 the 
leader of the ,east1 ,north1 ,west1 and 
,south ,bands1 each with his two        
assistants2 and the candidate4 ,the     
fourth part 7,,iv7 consists of the      
ceremony proper1 which in turn must be  
divided into the night ceremony  7a7 and
 the day ceremony 7b74 ,the fifth part  
7,v7 consists of the  rites held in the 
brush1 at which the secrets of the      
society are  imparted to the candidate4 
,special guards are placed on all sides 
of  the brush to prevent the intrusion  
of outsiders4 ,the participants are1    
beside the candidate1 the ancestor-host1
 the leaders of the ,east and  ,north   
,bands1 each with his two assistants1   
and all other individuals  who have     
bought the privilege of attending4      
,these ceremonies take place  at the    

dawn preceding the day ceremony4    ,two
 feasts and one intermission interrupt  
the main ceremony4 ,the  feasts always  
take place at the end of the ritual of  
the ,east ,band2  i4 e41 generally at   
noon and at midnight4 ,the intermission 
generally  lasts from the dawn preceding
 the day ceremony until #g or #h ,a4 ,m4
 ,the  intermission begins as soon as   
the drum and gourds have been returned  
to the ancestor-host1 and ends as soon  
as the people return from the  brush    
ritual4    ,the first and second parts  
are concerned entirely with a recital   
of certain ritualistic myths1 and a     
rehearsal of the songs and the  specific
 ritual of each band1 used during the   
remaining parts4    ,,iv4 ,,types ,,of  
,,component ,,elements ,,of ,,the       
,,ceremony4--,for purposes of  greater  
clarity1 the speeches1 songs1 and types 
of action1 will  be carefully           
differentiated1 and referred to by some 
designation  characterizing their       
essential traits4 ,these speeches1      

songs1 and types  of action1 together   
form complexes which can be regarded as 
units1 and  ,i will therefore also refer
 to these by some designation           
characteristic  of their function4      
#a4 ,,types ,,of ,,speeches4 7#a7       
,salutations4--,no formal salutation is 
used during ,parts ,i and ,,ii1 the     
individuals being addressed by their    
relationship terms4 ,in ,parts ,,iii1   
,,iv1 and ,v the salutations are        
invariably the same4 ,the ancestor-host 
and his band are addressed as  follows3 
8,the-one-occupying-the-seat-of-a-relati
ve 7deceased7 7some  relationship terms7
 -and-you-who-sit-with-him1 ,i salute   
you60 ,the ,east  is addressed1         
8,you-who-represent-the-place-where-the-
sun-rises20 the  ,north1                
8,you-who-represent-the-place-where-the-
cold-comes-from20 the  ,west1           
8,you-who-represent-the-place-where-the-
sun-sets20 and the ,south1              
8,you-who-represent-the-place-where-the-
sun-straightens0 or 7preferably7        

8,you-who-represent-the-end-of-the-road4
0    ,the appellations of the bands1 as 
before stated1 refer to the creation    
myth and the four guardian spirits whom 
the ,rabbit visited for the  purpose of 
inquiring into the necessity and meaning
 of death4 ,he was  compelled to travel 
around the earth1 which is conceived of 
as an  island1 and received no answer   
until he came to the spirit at the end  
of the road4 ,in the dramatic           
performance of the medicine dance the   
lodge typifies the earth1 and the four  
bands and their leaders typify  the four
 spirits4 ,the ancestor-host's band     
typifies the ancestor of  the           
,winnebago1 their leader being known as 
x'okera 7literally 8root10              
metaphorically 8ancestor074    7#b7     
,speeches4--,under this head will be    
treated 7a7 speeches of  welcome2 7b7   
speeches of acceptation2 7c7 speeches of
 presentation2  7d7 speeches explanatory
 of the significance of the ritual2 and 
7e7  speeches of admonition1 addressed  

exclusively to the candidate4 ,this     
does not exhaust all the speeches4      
,there are many others1 generally       
short1 that can hardly be classified4   
,it must be understood that  in their   
content1 as well as in the order of     
their succession1 the  speeches must    
follow a traditionally determined       
sequence4 ,in practice  this is         
certainly not always true1 but to the   
mind of the ,winnebago  these speeches  
appear as old as the ceremony4 ,it is   
their firm belief  that any departure   
from the accepted norm will interfere   
with the  efficacy of the ceremony4     
7a7 ,speeches of ,welcome4--,when the   
leader of the ,east ,band enters  after 
the ancestor-host has begun the main    
ceremony 7,,iv1 b71 he  addresses him as
 follows3 8,it was good of you that you 
condescended to  invite me to this      
dance4 ,i am a poor pitiable man1 and   
you believed me  to be a medicine-man4  
,but ,i know that you will show me the  
true manner  of living1 which ,i thought

 ,i possessed1 but which ,i did not40   
,in this  strain he continues1 weaving  
into his speech references to the ritual
  connected with his band1 and giving   
words of thanks for the beautiful       
weather 7should it be a clear day74 ,in 
concluding1 he thanks all again1  and   
informs them that he will sing a song4  
,with slight alterations1 the  leaders  
of the other bands address the          
ancestor-host similarly4 ,the           
ancestor-host's answer of welcome is as 
follows3 8,whatever ,i desired1  you    
have done for me4 ,all night have you   
stayed with me1 and by your  presence   
helped me in the proper performance of  
this ceremony4 ,i am  ready with a      
dancing-song2 and when ,i have finished 
it1 and sit down1 ,i  shall pass unto   
you tobacco and the other means of      
blessing 7the gourds  and the drum74    
,you all1 who are present1 do ,i greet40
    7b7 ,speeches of                    
,acceptation4--,after the ancestor-host 
has been  presented with food1 he thanks

 the donors as follows3 8,you have had  
pity on me4 ,you have been good to me1  
and have given me to the full  whatever 
,i might have desired4 ,you have made my
 heart full of the  blessing of         
thankfulness4 ,in return ,i give you a  
blessing4 ,here is  some food for you4  
,it is not anything special1 nor is it  
as much as it  ought to be1 and ,i know 
you will remain hungry4 ,it was prepared
 for the  spirits of the four quarters  
7whom you represent71 but it is lacking 
in  all those qualities which would have
 made it acceptable to them4 ,such  as  
it is1 however1 may its presentation be 
a means of blessing to you60    7c7     
,speech of ,presentation4--,east        
presents the food to the  ancestor-host 
with the following words3 8,i have not  
very much to tell  you1 because ,i am   
too poor1 but our ancestors told us to  
give food to  you4 ,this little that ,i 
give you is all that ,i can do1 being a 
person  of so little importance40    7d7
 ,explanatory ,speeches4--,these are of 

so specific a nature that no  single one
 can be considered typical4    7e7      
,speeches of ,admonition4--8,nephew1 now
 ,i shall tell you the path  you must   
walk1 the life you must lead4 ,this is  
the life the ,rabbit  obtained for us4  
,this is the only kind of life1 this    
that our ancestors  followed4 ,listen to
 me4 ,if you will always help yourself1 
then you will  attain to the right life4
 ,never do anything wrong4 ,never steal1
 never  tell an untruth1 and never      
fight4 ,if you meet a woman on the left 
side  of the road1 turn to the right4   
,never accost her1 nor speak familiarly 
with a person whom you are not permitted
 thus to address4 ,if you do all  these 
things1 then you will be acting         
correctly4 ,this is what ,i desire  of  
you40    #b4 ,,types ,,of ,,songs4--,the
 songs may be divided into two groups3  
7#a7  those that are sung in connection 
with myths and after the speeches  of a 
more general nature1 and 7#b7 those that
 are sung to accompany  definite and    

specific actions4 ,these latter can     
therefore be most  conveniently divided 
into 7a7 minor dance songs1 7b7 major   
dance  songs1 7c7 initial songs1 7d7    
terminal songs1 7e7 loading  songs1 and 
7f7 shooting songs4 ,the medicine-men   
distinguish only  between four kinds of 
songs1--major and minor dance songs1    
terminal and  shooting songs4 ,each has 
a different rhythm and music4 ,for      
purposes of  description1 however1 the  
above division is more convenient4      
#c4 ,,types ,,of ,,action4 7#a7         
,blessing4--,either hand is held        
outstretched1  palm downward1 and moved 
horizontally through the air4 ,it is    
always  used when entering and leaving  
the lodge1 and on any occasion where an 
individual has to pass from one part of 
the lodge to another4 ,it is  always    
rendered as 8blessing0 by the ,indians2 
and they particularly  insisted upon the
 fact that the 8blessing0 was not       
conveyed by any  words used in          
connection with the action1 but by the  

action itself4  ,each person who is thus
 passed answered with a long-drawn-out  
8ho-o-o10  and with an obeisance of the 
head4    ,a modification of the above is
 the nasura nikuruhintce 7or 8blessing  
of the head071 which consists of a      
simple laying of the hand upon the      
head2 both the giver and recipient      
keeping their eyes fixed on the  ground1
 and the recipient slightly bending his 
head4 ,a few mumbled  words accompany   
this action4    7#b7 ,direction of      
,walking in the ,lodge4--,one must      
always pass contrary  to the hands of   
the clock4 ,a person in the ,east ,band 
must make the  entire circuit of the    
lodge in order to pass out4 ,in only    
exceptional  cases can this rule of     
passing be broken2 and that is when an  
old and  specially privileged member    
crosses from his seat to that directly  
opposite him1 during the shooting       
ceremony4 ,i was given to understand    
that this was an extremely expensive    
privilege4    #d4 ,,types ,,of          

,,ritual4--,parts ,,iii1 ,,iv1 and ,v   
can be so analyzed that they  fall into 
a fairly well-defined number of         
complexes1 consisting of  speeches1     
songs1 and movements4 ,these are nine in
 number4 ,artificial  distinctions have 
been avoided in this division1 as far as
 possible4  ,the complexes are 7#a7     
entrance ritual2 7#b7 exit ritual2 7#c7 
fire  ritual2 7#d7 presentation-of-food 
ritual2 7#e7 shooting ritual2 7#f7      
initiation ritual2 7#g7 sweat-lodge     
ritual2 7#h7 smoking ritual2 7#i7  basic
 ritual4    ,of these1 7#c71 7#e71 7#g71
 7#h71 and 7#i7 are found in ,part      
,,iii2 all1  except 7#g7 and 7#f71 in   
,part ,,iv 7a72 and all except 7#g7 in  
,part ,,iv  7b72 7#e7 does not actually 
occur in ,part ,,iii1 but is described  
in  detail in the myth related there4   
,the order in which we will discuss     
these ceremonial complexes is not the   
order in which they follow one  another 
in the ritual4 ,some of them are        
likewise interwoven with  one another4  

,both these factors will1 however1 be   
considered in the  description of the   
entire ritual1 following the description
 of each  ceremonial complex4    7#a7   
,entrance ,ritual4--,the band enters the
 tent1 makes one complete  circuit1 and 
stops4 ,the leader now delivers a short 
speech1 followed  by a song4 ,they then 
continue to the west end1 where another 
speech is  delivered and another song   
sung4 ,after this1 they continue again1 
and  stop at the east end1 where the    
leader talks and sings4 ,now all sit    
down4 ,after a short pause1 the leader  
again rises1 and1 walking over to  the  
ancestor-host1 talks to him1 and gives  
him some tobacco4 ,he then  returns to  
his seat4 ,each band entering repeats   
the same ritual4 ,this  applies1        
however1 only to ,part ,,iv 7a7 and 7b74
    7#b7 ,exit ,ritual 7,part ,,iv1 a   
and b74--,the ,east leader rises and    
speaks1 followed by ,north1 ,west1 and  
,south4 ,they then speak again1 and1    
singing1 walk towards the entrance in   

such a way that the ,south1 ,north1  and
 ,west ,bands make complete circuits of 
the lodge1 thus enabling the  ,east     
,band to precede them4 ,near the        
entrance all stop singing1 and  say     
8wahi-hi-hi0 four times1 and pass out4  
,this exit ceremony differs  slightly in
 the two divisions of ,,iv4    7#c7     
,fire ,ritual 7,part ,,iii74--,the      
ancestor-host rises and goes to the     
leaders of the four other bands         
individually2 and after he has blessed  
them1 they respond2 and all rise1 make  
four circuits of the lodge1 and  then   
sit down again4 ,now the leader of the  
,east ,band rises1 holding in  his hands
 the invitation-sticks and some tobacco1
 delivers a speech1  and1 going to the  
fireplace1 kindles a new fire4    7#h7  
,smoking ,ritual4--,the leader of the   
,east ,band pours tobacco into  the     
fire1 first at the east1 and then at the
 north1 west1 and south  corners4 ,then 
he lights his pipe1 puffs first towards 
the east1 then  towards the north1 west1

 and south4 ,that over1 he passes his   
pipe to  the leader of the ,north ,band1
 who takes a few whiffs1 and in turn    
passes it around to the next member of  
the lodge4 ,when the pipe has  made the 
complete circuit1 it is placed in front 
of the fireplace4 ,in  the mean time the
 ancestor-host has returned to his seat1
 and after  a short pause1 rises1       
speaks1 and sings again4 ,this smoking  
ceremony  occurs after each entrance    
ceremony of ,,iv 7a7 and 7b71 and before
  both feasts of ,,iv 7a7 and 7b74      
7#d7 ,presentation-of-,food ,ritual     
7,part ,,iv1 a and b74--,the leader of  
the ,east ,band rises1 and brings meat1 
berries1 wild potatoes1 etc41 to  the   
ancestor-host1 delivering a minor speech
 at the same time4 ,each of  the other  
leaders repeats the same ceremony4 ,when
 all have finished1  the ancestor-host  
rises and thanks them4    7#e7 ,general 
,shooting ,ritual 7,part ,,iv1 a and    
b74--,the leaders of  the ,east1 ,north1
 ,west1 and ,south ,bands1 holding their

 otter-skins in  their hands1 rise1 and1
 taking three men with them1 make a     
complete  circuit of the lodge4 ,they   
first speak in undertones to these three
  men1 giving them directions4 ,at each 
end the leader of the ,east  ,band      
speaks1 and then1 singing1 walks toward 
the west end1 saying  8yoho-o-oya-a0    
three times1 and ending with a          
long-drawn-out 8yo-ho40  ,at the west   
end both he and the leader of the ,south
 ,band speak4 ,then  chanting 8yo-ho0   
again1 they all walk towards the east   
end4 ,here the  leader of the ,east     
,band speaks twice4 ,now all place their
 otter-skins  on the ground in front of 
them4 ,east then speaks again4 ,at the  
conclusion of his speech1 all kneel in  
front of the otter-skins and  cough1 at 
which the sacred shell drops from their 
mouths upon the  otter-skins4 ,they     
thereupon pick it up1 and holding the   
shell in one  hand1 and the otter-skin  
in the other1 make a circuit of the     
lodge  four times1 increasing their     

speed with each circuit1 and singing4   
,all this time the shell is held in full
 view of the spectators1 on  the        
outstretched palm of their right hand4  
,as they near the east end  of the      
lodge1 toward the end of the fourth     
circuit1 standing in front  of the      
,ancestor-,host's ,band1 they supposedly
 swallow the shell1 and  fall down      
instantaneously1 head foremost1 as if   
dead4 ,finally they  come to1 and1      
coughing the shell up1 they put it into 
their otter-skin  bag1 and1 making the  
circuit of the tent1 shoot four members 
of the  ,ancestor-,host's ,band1 four of
 the ,east1 four of the ,north1 two of  
the  ,west1 and two of the ,south ,band4
 ,each person1 as he is shot1 falls     
prostrate on the ground1 but1 recovering
 after a few moments1 joins  those      
making the circuit of the tent4 ,each   
leader now takes his drum  and gourds to
 the fireplace4 ,then the general       
shooting commences4 ,every  person      
possessing the right1 shoots one        

individual1 until all the  members have 
been shot4 ,as each person is shot1 he  
falls to the ground1  feigns            
unconsciousness1 and then slowly        
recovers4 ,the slowness or speed  of his
 recovery depends exclusively upon the  
privileges he possesses1  and the number
 of years he has belonged to the        
society4 ,as soon as the  person shot   
recovers1 he falls in line immediately  
after the last one  shot4 ,while all are
 thus walking around1 the half-dozen    
people at the  fireplace sing           
shooting-songs to the accompaniment of  
drum and gourds4  ,the amount of noise  
at this point is quite considerable4    
7#f7 ,initiation ,ritual 7,part ,,iv1   
b74--,all the members of the            
,ancestor-,host's ,band1 and the        
candidate1 make one circuit of the      
lodge1  taking their otter-skins along  
with them4 ,as they pass around1 they   
gently touch the heads of the members   
with the mouth of the otter-skin1       
saying1 8yoho-o-o10 to which the members

 respond with 8ho-o-o40 ,after  the     
circuit1 all return to their seats with 
the exception of the  candidate1 who    
remains at the east end1 in front of the
 fireplace4  ,after a pause1 the        
ancestor-host joins him again1 and      
delivers a speech  of the admonition    
type4 ,the candidate first faces the    
south1 and then  the north4 ,during his 
speech1 the ancestor-host touches him on
 his head  and on his chest1 and makes  
him face first south1 and then north4   
,when  the speech is over1 the          
ancestor-host sings1 and takes the      
candidate to  the west end of the tent4 
,the tent is now prepared for the       
initiation proper4 ,two long strips of  
calico are stretched from the west to   
the east end of the lodge4 ,they  are   
about a foot and a half wide1 and are   
separated from each other  by the       
fireplace4 ,at the west end a much      
shorter strip of the same  material is  
stretched along the width of the lodge1 
across the two long  strips4 ,upon this 

the candidate is placed4 ,when these    
preparations are  completed1 the        
ancestor-host rises1 and1 going to each 
of the four  leaders1 speaks to them in 
an undertone4 ,he then returns to his   
seat4  ,the leaders of the ,east and    
,north ,bands now rise and make the     
complete  circuit of the lodge4 ,the    
former now speaks1 then the latter4 ,he1
 in  turn1 is followed by the former1   
who speaks twice4 ,then the leader of   
the ,north ,band delivers another       
speech1 and1 together with his partner1 
walks to the west end of the lodge1     
where the candidate is kneeling4  ,the  
two leaders here speak again4 ,both now 
take their sacred shells1  swallow them1
 and walk to the east end4 ,here they   
speak again4 ,now  they hold their      
otter-skins in readiness for the        
shooting1 but first  jerk them forward  
twice towards the four cardinal points1 
saying  8dje-ha-hi1 dje-ha-hi10 and     
concluding with 8e-hohoho40 ,standing   
upon  the two long calico strips in a   

slightly bent position1 and holding     
their otter-skins tightly in their      
hands1 both run rapidly toward the      
reclining form of the candidate1 making 
loud1 threatening sounds in  a quavering
 voice1 and strike his body twice with  
the mouth of the  otter-skin1           
ejaculating1 as they do this1 two short 
sounds1 as of an  animal who has        
succeeded in capturing his prey4 ,the   
candidate falls  prostrate to the ground
 instantaneously4 ,he is immediately    
covered with  a blanket1 upon which are 
placed the otter-skins of the two       
leaders4  ,a number of people specially 
privileged now gather around the covered
  figure1 dance1 sing1 and shout to the 
accompaniment of the shouts of  the     
other members of the society1 all of    
whom seem to be in a frenzy of          
excitement4 ,when the noise has somewhat
 abated1 the blanket is removed1  and   
the figure of the candidate is shown1   
still apparently unconscious4  ,he comes
 to slowly1 but finally succeeds in     

raising himself and sitting  up4 ,he    
then coughs violently1 and the shell1   
which has apparently been  shot into his
 body1 falls out of his mouth4 ,after   
this1 his recovery  is rapid4 ,he is    
then undressed2 and all the finery1 as  
well as the new  buckskin suit1         
moccasins1 etc41 are distributed to     
those to whom it is  customary to give  
them4 ,he now returns to his seat to the
 right of the  ,ancestor-,host's ,band1 
where some female relative1 generally   
his mother1  dresses him in an ordinary 
suit4    7#g7 ,sweat-,lodge ,ritual     
7,part ,,iii74--,the ,east leader rises1
 and with  his two assistants makes the 
circuit of the sweat-lodge1 during which
  time the ,north1 ,west1 and ,south    
leaders1 each with his two assistants1  
join him4 ,at the east end the leader   
makes four steps with his right  foot1  
each time saying 8wahi-hi-hi40 ,he then 
makes the circuit of the  lodge four    
times4 ,after the third circuit1 he goes
 directly to the  heating-stone1 8in    

defiance of the rule10 as he himself    
says1 but with  the hope that through   
this defiance he will gain additional   
strength4  ,after he has made the fourth
 circuit1 he seizes the two             
entrance-lodge  poles1 and1 shaking them
 gently1 shouts 8e-ho-ho-ho40 ,all now  
sit down4  ,now the ancestor-host takes 
four sticks and smears them with a      
special  kind of greenish clay1 and     
hands them to the leader of the ,east   
,band4  ,the latter seizes them and     
holds them tightly with both hands4 ,by 
this  action he is supposed to obtain   
strength4 ,the sticks are then passed   
in rotation to the leaders of the       
,north1 ,west1 and ,south ,bands1 all of
  whom repeat the same ceremony4    7#i7
 ,basic ,ritual 7,part ,,iv1 a and      
b74--,this ritual is that upon  which   
the ritual of the ceremony proper 7,part
 ,,iv1 a and b7 is  built4 ,in a certain
 sense it may be justifiable to consider
 all the  above ritualistic complexes1  
with the exception of the entrance and  

exit rituals1 as parts of this basic    
ritual4 ,the important religious        
function of the ,medicine ,dance is the 
8passing of the blessing10  consisting  
of speeches1 songs1 and the blessings   
which each individual  passes from one  
band to the other for the greater       
benefit of both the  host and his       
guests4 ,these blessings are symbolized 
by the drum1 the  gourds1 the songs1 the
 speeches1 and the specific actions in  
which each  band participates4 ,the     
ceremony begins when the ancestor-host  
delivers  his first speech1 and ends    
when drum and gourds are returned to    
him4  ,all that takes place between the 
ancestor-host's first speech1 up to  the
 time that the drum and gourds are      
placed before the members of the  ,east 
,band1 constitutes the unit that ,i have
 called the 8basic ritual40  ,into it   
are thrust1 as intrusive elements1 other
 rituals2 so that it is  at times       
extremely difficult to discern the basic
 ritual itself4 ,but  it is there1 and  

remains intact2 for as soon as an       
intrusive ritual is  finished1 the      
thread of the basic ritual is taken up1 
and continued to  the end4 ,such a      
ritual as the general shooting or       
initiation1 or such  myths as the origin
 myth1 require hours2 and yet as soon as
 they are  over1 the basic ceremony is  
continued from the point where it had   
been  interrupted4    ,the ,east leader 
rises and speaks1 then sits down1 and   
together with  the other members of his 
band1 sings a song 7initial song74 ,when
 this  song is finished1 he rises and   
speaks again1 and then sits down and    
commences a song known as the 8minor    
dancing-song40 ,while he and a  few     
others are singing1 drumming1 and using 
the gourd rattles1 other  members of his
 band1 as well as members of the other  
bands1 who care  to1 and who have bought
 the privilege1 come to his seat and    
join in  the dancing4 ,when this is     
over1 he and a few others either from   
his  own or from some other band1 who   

have bought the privilege1 go to the    
fireplace1 where the leader delivers a  
speech and begins the major             
dancing-songs1 in which the privileged  
members participate4 ,when this  is     
over1 the drum is tied to one of the    
members thus privileged1  generally the 
one who has been drumming1 and the      
circuit of the lodge  is twice made1 the
 leader and his two assistants at the   
head1 followed  by the other members of 
his band4 ,two stops are made at the    
west1 and  two at the east1 end of the  
lodge1 where songs known as 8completion 
songs0 are sung4 ,then the lodge circuit
 is made four times1 all  chanting      
8wahi-hi-hi10 slowly at first1 but then 
faster1 the speed of  the walking       
corresponding to that of the chanting4  
,then1 with a final  strong 8e-ho-ho10  
drum and gourds are deposited in front  
of the next  band4 ,all now return to   
their seats1 where1 before sitting down1
 the  leader delivers a short speech4   
,this basic ritual is repeated by each  

band in the manner described4 ,as  it is
 so often broken up by the intrusion of 
other rituals1 it will be  best to      
divide it into four parts4 ,these parts 
are never broken up4  ,whenever         
intrusive elements occur1 they either   
precede or follow4    ,the first part   
consists of all that takes place between
 the first  speech of the leader and the
 completion of the initial song4 ,the   
speech  referred to is the one that     
follows the smoking ritual1 which may1  
on  the whole1 be reckoned as belonging 
to the introductory ritual1 such as  the
 entrance ritual4 ,the second part      
consists of all that transpires  between
 the second speech and the completion of
 the minor dancing-song4  ,the third    
part consists of all that transpires    
between the speech at  the fireplace and
 the completion of the major            
dancing-songs4 ,the fourth  part        
consists of all that transpires between 
the completion of the  major            
dancing-songs1 and the last speech the  

leader makes after he has  passed the   
drum and gourds to the next band4       
,the most bewildering intrusion is that 
which follows the second part4  ,before 
the leader and his assistants go to the 
fireplace1 the elaborate  general       
shooting ritual takes place4 ,after the 
specially designated men  of each band  
have been shot1 those specially         
privileged proceed to the  fireplace4   
,here they sing the shooting-songs until
 the shooting ritual  is over4 ,the     
first set of drummers and gourd-rattle  
holders are often  relieved by a second 
set4 ,it is only when the shooting-songs
 have been  completed1 that the leader  
and his assistants proceed to the       
fireplace  to begin the third part of   
the basic ritual4    ,v4 ,,ceremony ,,as
 ,a ,,whole4--,as stated before1 there  
are certain speeches  and types of      
action that cannot be fitted into the   
above description4  ,this is especially 
true of myths2 and these1 with the      
exception of the  content of the myth1  

will now be considered in connection    
with the  description of the entire     
ritual as related to me by ,blowsnake1  
and  based on the above divisions4 ,the 
ceremony begins with an account of  the 
manner in which ,blowsnake was induced  
to join the society4 ,upon  his         
acceptance1 and payment of the required 
amount of material1 the  ceremony began4
    ,the first two nights consisted of  
an informal salutation1 two  explanatory
 speeches and four myths1 the latter in 
no way connected  with any part of the  
,medicine ,dance4 ,the last three myths 
deal with the  legendary account of the 
origin of the ,winnebago ,medicine      
,dance1 and  its dissemination among the
 tribe4    ,at sunset the leader of the 
band to which the candidate has applied 
for  admission1 gathers together the    
members of his band1 and all retire  to 
a little lodge near his home1 in order  
to begin the ,four ,nights'             
,preparation4 ,it is only after the     
leader has finished the first song  that

 the other four bands who are holding   
corresponding preparations  are allowed 
to begin4 ,what actually takes place    
during these four  nights is not        
positively known1 but there is little   
doubt that they are  used as a general  
rehearsal of songs1 speeches1 and other 
elements of  the ceremony4#d ,in all    
probability1 the candidate who is       
present in  the lodge of his future     
ancestor-host is likewise instructed in 
as many  things as an uninitiated member
 is allowed to know4 ,this instruction  
consists in the teaching of certain     
myths and types of action4    ,on the   
morning after the last of the four      
nights1 the candidate is  given some    
sacrificial tobacco1 and told to go in  
search of a stone  for the sweat-bath4  
,he selects a stone that he can carry on
 his back  easily4 ,before picking it   
up1 he pours tobacco on it4 ,as soon as 
the  stone is brought to the lodge of   
the host1 it is heated4 ,the candidate  
is now despatched for some oak-branches1

 four pieces of oak-wood about  two feet
 and a half in length1 and some grass4  
,the grass is used for  improvised      
seats4 ,the oak-wood is used for the    
four construction poles  of the         
sweat-lodge4 ,they are placed in the    
east1 north1 west1 and  south points    
respectively4 ,it is not permitted to   
trim the tops of the  oak-wood4 ,when   
all the bands have gathered near the    
medicine-lodge1 and  retired to their   
improvised lodges1 the ancestor-host and
 the candidate  go to the lodge of the  
,east leader 7that is1 to the lodge of  
the band  first invited71 and greet him 
by touching his head with their hand4   
,he answers with 8ho-o-o40 ,the leader  
of the first band rises1 and1           
accompanied by his two assistants1 goes 
to the sweat-lodge4 ,the  ancestor-host 
goes to the lodges of the other bands   
and greets the  leaders in a similar    
manner4 ,after the leader and assistants
 of the  band last invited have entered 
the sweat-lodge1 the ancestor-host1 the 

candidate1 and his assistants enter1 and
 the ceremonies begin4    ,after the    
ceremonial salutation and an            
introductory speech1 the  ancestor-host1
 as the leader of the band giving the   
,medicine ,dance  may now be called1    
rises1 and1 taking his invitation-stick 
and some  tobacco1 approaches the leader
 of each band1 and1 blessing him1 thanks
  him for coming1 and assures him at the
 same time to how great a degree  his   
presence will contribute toward the     
success of the performance of  the      
ritual4 ,he then returns to his seat4   
,the leaders thank him in turn4  ,now   
follow the fire and smoking rituals1    
which in turn are followed  by twelve   
speeches of a general and of an         
explanatory character4 ,then  comes the 
8strengthening0 ritual2 and immediately 
after come two  exceedingly long myths  
describing the initiation of the first  
man  into the secrets of the lodge1 as  
well as the symbolic meaning of  the    
shooting ritual4 ,all now undress and   

take a sweat-bath4 ,female  candidates  
are excluded4 ,a number of short        
speeches follow1 and the  whole         
concludes with the exit ritual4    ,the 
drum and gourds are used to accompany   
the song4 ,the basic ritual  is perhaps 
present1 to a certain extent4 ,however1 
it was impossible to  witness the       
ritual1 and for this reason the         
procedure seems somewhat  hazy to the   
writer4    ,when the ritual in the      
sweat-bath is over1 there is a slight   
pause4 ,the  candidate1 the             
ancestor-host and his band1 enter the   
medicine-lodge1  and1 after taking their
 seats1 sing a few songs4 ,when the last
 song is  concluded1 the other bands    
enter in the order of their invitation4 
,now  comes the entrance ritual followed
 by the smoking ritual4 ,thereupon  the 
ancestor-host rises and delivers the    
opening speech of the basic  ritual4    
,the ancestor-host does not go through  
the entire basic ritual  at this time1  
because he is not permitted to begin the

 shooting ritual4  ,soon after the      
beginning of the basic ritual by the    
ancestor-host1  generally after the     
second speech1 gourds and drum are      
passed to the  leader of the ,east      
,band4 ,this one rises and begins the   
basic ritual1  which he interrupts at   
the end of the second part1 in order to 
begin  the general shooting ritual4     
,when that is finished1 he continues    
with  the third and fourth parts of the 
basic ritual4 ,then drum and gourds  are
 passed to the ,north ,band4 ,its leader
 now in turn begins his basic  ritual1  
but stops after the second part1 where  
the presentation-of-food  ritual and the
 smoking ritual intervene4 ,it is now   
about midnight1 and  a feast is partaken
 of4 ,as soon as the feast is finished1 
and the lodge  has been cleared of food 
and eating-utensils1 the leader of the  
,north  ,band continues with the third  
and fourth parts of the basic ritual4   
,the  leaders of the ,west and ,south   
,bands perform the basic ritual without 

any interruptions1 except1 of course1   
that of the general shooting  ritual    
between the second and third parts4 ,the
 drum and gourds have now  reached the  
ancestor-host1 who goes through the     
third and fourth parts  of the basic    
ritual4 ,there is1 however1 some doubt  
as to whether this  is always done4     
,then follows the exit ritual1 and all  
pass out to rest  for a few hours4    ,a
 short time preceding dawn1 the         
candidate1 the leaders of the ,east and 
,north ,bands1 and the ancestor-host1   
each with two assistants1 and all  other
 members who are privileged to do so1   
leave the lodge and walk to  the brush1 
where the candidate is to be initiated  
into the mysteries  of the sacred shell 
and the shooting4 ,each band must have  
one or more  of its members present at  
this ritual4#e ,when they are near the  
place  set aside for the secret ritual1 
the order of marching1 which up to  this
 time had been of no consequence1       
changes into that of single file1  the  

leader of the ,east ,band leading4 ,when
 they have arrived at the  place1 all   
stop4 ,the ,east leader now informs     
those present that he is  going to make 
a road for the candidate1 symbolical of 
the path of life1  which forms the basis
 of the sweat-bath and ,medicine ,dance4
 ,singing1  he circles the spot four    
times4 ,at the end of the fourth circuit
 he  stops1 and all turn around and face
 east4 ,the leader of the ,north ,band  
has also the right to go through this   
ritual1 but he does not always do  it4  
,repeating the ceremony is in all       
probability connected with extra        
expense4 ,all now sit down1 and the     
specific rites of the brush ritual      
begin4    ,the ancestor-host rises1 and1
 taking the candidate with him1 goes  to
 the leader of the ,east ,band and      
speaks to him4 ,then he and the         
candidate return to their seats4 ,the   
,east leader now relates to the         
candidate a portion of the story of the 
creation of the earth and of  the first 

man4 ,the ,north leader then tells the  
story of the journey to  the land of the
 spirits1 to the lodge of the           
earth-maker4 ,when this is  finished1   
the two leaders teach the candidate how 
to go through the  actions incidental to
 the shooting1 the swallowing of the    
shell1 and  the recovery from its       
effects4 ,when they think that he is    
sufficiently  adept in all these        
actions1 they dress him in his new suit1
 put on a  new pair of moccasins1       
decorate him with finery1 and return to 
the  medicine-lodge4    ,these rites    
generally last until about eight in the 
morning2 so that  when those who have   
participated in the brush ritual are    
returning1  the other members of the    
,medicine ,dance are also about ready to
 begin  the day ceremony1 the principal 
one of the entire ,medicine ,dance4 ,the
  ancestor-host again precedes the other
 leaders in entering the lodge4  ,then  
follows the entrance ritual4 ,during    
this ritual the drum is struck  four    

times at stated intervals4 ,the smoking 
ritual now follows4 ,when  it is        
concluded1 the ancestor-host rises to   
begin the basic ritual1  which is       
interrupted at the end of the second    
part4 ,gourds and drum  are passed to   
the ,east ,band1 whose basic ritual is  
also interrupted  at the end of the     
second part4 ,now follows1 first the    
initiation of  the candidate into the   
,medicine ,dance1 and then the general  
shooting  ritual4 ,when the ,east leader
 has concluded1 drum and gourds are     
passed  to the ,north ,band1 whose basic
 ritual is not interrupted1 as upon the 
preceding day4 ,at the conclusion of the
 basic ritual of the ,north ,band1  the 
food-presentation ritual follows1 then  
that of the smoking ritual1  and finally
 the feast4 ,after the feast1 the leader
 of the ,west ,band  narrates the origin
 myth of the ,medicine ,dance1 which is 
continued by  the leader of the ,south  
,band4 ,the presents are then           
distributed4 ,after  this1 the basic    

ritual is continued by the leader of the
 ,west ,band1  followed by that of the  
,south ,band1 and finally drum and      
gourds are  passed to the ancestor-host4
 ,he either finishes the third and      
fourth  parts of the basic ritual1 or   
takes drum and gourds to the fireplace4 
,the exit ritual now begins1 and at     
about sunset the entire ceremony of  the
 ,medicine ,dance is over4 ,on the      
whole1 it must be said1 that the  main  
difference between 7a7 and 7b7 of ,part 
,,iv setting aside the  initiation1 lies
 simply in the number of myths told and 
the greater  length of the speeches4    
,b4 ,,description ,,of ,,the ,,ojibwa   
,,midewiwin    ,as ,i shall have        
occasion to refer frequently to the     
,midewiwin of the  ,ojibwa and          
,menominee1 a short summary of these two
 ceremonies will be  inserted here4     
,the ,ojibwa ,midewiwin is a society of 
shamans of both sexes4 ,it is  graded   
into four degrees1 special initiation   
being required for each  degree4 ,the   

ritual of all the degrees seems to be   
the property of five  shamans1--the four
 so-called 8mide-priests0 and the       
preceptor4 ,in the  lodge the preceptor 
occupies a position to the side of the  
candidate  and the mide-priests sitting 
near the western entrance4#f    ,there  
are two methods of admission4 ,a man may
 apply because in his  fasting some     
manito connected with the ,midewiwin has
 appeared to him1  or he may take the   
place of an individual who has died     
while preparing  for initiation4 ,as    
soon as the candidate's application has 
been  accepted1 a preceptor is selected1
 whose duty it is to instruct the new   
pupil in the mide teachings1 and explain
 to him the meaning and origin  of the  
regalia1 the songs1 and the origin of   
the ,midewiwin itself1 by  means of     
birch-bark records4 ,the time required  
for this instruction  varies1 depending 
upon the preceptor and the amount of    
payment4 ,the  knowledge required for   
each degree is definitely determined1   

and is  imparted almost entirely during 
this preparatory instruction4 ,when the 
candidate has acquired the specified    
information1 and the required  payments 
have been made1 a four-nights'          
preparation takes place1 during  which  
he takes four sweat-baths4 ,at dawn of  
the day of initiation he  repairs to the
 sweat-lodge1 clad in his best clothes1 
to await the  arrival of his preceptor  
and the four officiating priests4       
,the initiation ceremonies which follow 
are the same for the second1  third1 and
 fourth degrees in almost all details1  
except that those for  the fourth are   
more elaborate4 ,the first degree is    
like the others in  its possession of a 
shooting ceremony and general speeches1 
but differs  in elaboration and         
symbolism of the ritual4    ,the        
shooting is performed by the four       
officiating mide2 but it is  only the   
leader of these four who succeeds in    
rendering the candidate  unconscious4 ,a
 candidate for the first degree is shot 

in the breast2  one for the second1 in  
the joints2 and one for the third and   
fourth1  in the joints and forehead4    
,after he has been initiated1 the       
candidate  tries his power on all the   
members present4 ,indiscriminate        
shooting1 as  described among the       
,winnebago1 only occurs at the          
initiation into the  fourth degree4     
,to the ,ojibwa the ,midewiwin is the   
dramatization of the struggle of  the   
bear-spirit with the evil spirit1 bear1 
serpent1 panther1 etc4 ,the  candidate  
impersonates the good bear-spirit1 and  
some mide sometimes  take upon          
themselves the impersonation of the evil
 spirits4#g ,in the  ritual of the      
fourth degree1 representing the complete
 initiation1 the  dramatization and its 
symbolistic interpretation are best     
shown4 ,he who  succeeds becomes        
correspondingly powerful in his         
profession4 ,hunters1  warriors1 and    
lovers have occasion to call upon him1  
and charms to  counteract the evil      

effects of an enemy's work are sometimes
 sought4#h    ,the ,ojibwa              
interpretation of the ,midewiwin is seen
 in all its details  in the birch-bark  
records4#i ,a mide of the second degree 
can look into  futurity2 can hear what  
is transpiring at a distance2 can touch1
 for  good or for evil1 friends and     
enemies at a distance1 however remote2  
and has the ability to traverse all     
space in the accomplishment of  his     
desires or duties4#aj ,a bad mide of    
this degree has the power of  assuming  
the form of any animal4 ,in this guise  
he may destroy the life  of his victim  
immediately1 and then resume his human  
form and appear  innocent of the crime4 
,a 8fourth-degree mide0 is presumed to  
be in  a position to accomplish the     
greatest feats in necromancy and magic4 
,he is not only endowed with the power  
of reading the thoughts and  intentions 
of others1 but also of calling forth the
 shadow 7soul7 and  of retaining it     
within his grasp at pleasure4    ,from  

the above it will be seen that the      
,midewiwin covered practically  all the 
religious and the shamanistic ideas of  
the ,ojibwa4                     ,c4    
,,description ,,of ,,the ,,menominee    
,,midewiwin    ,among the ,menominee1   
initiation generally takes place as a   
substitution  of one individual for one 
who has died1 although any person who   
gives  proof of eligibility is accepted4
 ,the former is by far the more common  
method4 ,generally a person makes the   
promise of procuring a substitute  for  
some deceased member1 and a favorite    
relative or dear friend of the  deceased
 may be elected4 ,there are four        
mide-priests who determine upon  the    
candidacy and appoint an instructor4    
,the instruction the candidate  receives
 is confined to the knowledge of the    
remedies known to the  instructor4#aa   
,each remedy must be paid for           
separately4 ,the four  mide-priests     
select two sets of assistants and two   
ushers1 who all play  a prominent part  

in the ceremonies proper4#ab    ,when a 
candidate is taking the place of a      
deceased member1 the  ceremonies begin  
at the grave of the latter1#ac and1     
after a service  which lasts from dusk  
of one day to dawn of the next1 all     
proceed to  the ,midewiwin lodge4 ,but  
only the four highest officiating       
medicine-men  enter4 ,after a ritual    
which consists of chants and speeches of
 welcome1  and the passing of the drum  
from the first to the other three mide1 
the other members who are to take an    
active part enter4 ,a short ritual  then
 takes place1 after which the second set
 of mide enter and another  ritual      
follows4 ,then the ordinary and visiting
 mide enter1 the former  taking seats   
according to the phratries to which they
 belong2 and the  candidate1 his nearest
 relations1 and he who had promised to  
give the  feast1 enter with them and    
take seats near the mide of the first   
group4  ,finally the third set of mide  
enter4 ,the seating in the lodge is1    

candidate1 friends1 etc41 near the      
eastern end2 first four mide1 next  to  
them2 second set1 on northern side near 
western entrance2 and third  set of     
mide1 at the middle of the southern     
side4    ,the ceremonies begin by       
calling the candidate forward to stand  
before  the mide of the first group4    
,his family and friends stand around him
  in a semicircle1 dancing in time to   
the chanting and drumming4 ,one  of the 
mide begins a chant1 at the end of which
 a pause occurs1 and  the candidate and 
friends resume their seats4 ,the drum is
 passed in  rotation to the second1     
third1 and fourth mide4 ,as they chant1 
the  candidate1 etc41 stands before     
them4 ,the last of the four then chants 
the origin myth of the ,midewiwin4 ,the 
drum is now passed to the mide  who had 
chanted first4 ,he continues the        
narration of the ritualistic  myths4    
,drum and gourds are then passed from   
one mide to the other1 and  from the    
first set of mide to the third1 until   

the circuit has been  made4    ,these   
ceremonies are continued through the    
night1 although only the  three sets of 
mide remain in the lodge all that time4 
,shortly after  sunrise1 almost all     
leave the lodge4 ,when they return1     
preparations  are made for the          
initiation4 ,the shooting of the        
candidate is  performed by the second   
set of mide4 ,the candidate1 after      
recovering1  makes the circuit of the   
lodge1 shooting whomsoever he desires4  
,the  characteristics of this shooting  
ceremony are practically identical  with
 those of the ,winnebago4               
,d4 ,,the ,,significance ,,of ,,the     
,,ritual    ,i4 ,,the ,,common          
,,elements4--,the common elements in the
 foregoing  ritualistic complexes are   
both general and specific in nature4 ,we
 have1  as general1 an initiation       
ritual2 and as specific1 a shooting     
ritual4  ,there are in addition1 in the 
,central ,algonkin and ,winnebago group1
  other resemblances1 such as           

similarities in the ethical teaching1 in
  the details of the shooting ritual    
itself1 and in the presence of the      
secret brush ritual4 ,to the above must 
be added the fact that the songs  of the
 ,winnebago ceremonies are to a large   
extent in some ,central  ,algonkin      
dialect4    ,the meaning of these       
general similarities will be touched    
upon later4  ,what ,i wish to insist    
upon here is1 that if the ritualistic   
complexes  are at all to be regarded as 
identical1 this is so by reason of the  
presence in each of a shooting ritual4  
,this identity is strengthened  in each 
case by the association of this specific
 shooting ritual with  the more general 
feature of initiation4 ,the most        
dramatic phase in the  main ceremony is 
this initiation and shooting complex2   
and it seems1  therefore1 quite         
intelligible why the number of similar  
details thus  associated together should
 have been interpreted as the           
historically  primary and basic         

elements4    ,to postulate an historical
 identity1 however1 on the basis of a   
number  of common elements1 in the face 
of numerous and important differences1  
implies a specific attitude toward the  
nature and significance of the  common  
elements in these ceremonies4 ,we know1 
indeed1 that almost  all theoreticians  
place greater insistence upon the       
similarities  than upon the differences 
in cultural phenomena4 ,there is perhaps
 a  natural tendency to do so4 ,but     
quite apart from this tendency1 there   
must likewise be certain definite       
reasons for such an interpretation4  ,it
 is essential1 consequently1 to         
understand at the very outset the       
theoretical justification of this       
position4    ,,ii4 ,,the                
,,interpretation ,,of ,,the ,,common    
,,elements--,,schurtz',s                
,,theory4--,this  question has been     
taken up in extenso by ,schurtz1#ad in  
his work  on 8,age ,classes and ,men's  
,societies40 ,here1 as well as in       

previous  theoretical discussions1 the  
presence of a number of similarities has
  been considered sufficient for        
establishing the identity of a group  of
 ceremonies that admittedly possess a   
large number of specific  peculiarities4
 ,but ,schurtz gives us a detailed      
psychological exposition  7and in this  
lies perhaps his superiority over others
 who have  discussed the same subject7  
of the reasons which have prompted him  
to  take a certain attitude toward these
 8similarities40 ,if ,schurtz's work  is
 therefore selected in preference to    
that of others1 it is because of  the   
fact that1 in addition to practically   
taking the same position as  most of the
 other theoreticians1 he has most       
clearly defined some of  the assumptions
 underlying their position4             
,schurtz's line of argument seems to    
have been the following4 ,an            
investigation of civilized as well as of
 primitive organizations has  disclosed 
a number of similarities4 ,their        

historical development is  unknown2 but 
the enormous distance separating them   
geographically1  precludes the          
possibility that these similarities have
 been due either  to borrowing or to    
dissemination from some one original    
centre4 ,they  must consequently be     
explained by assuming that they have    
developed  independently1 as external   
manifestations of the unity of the human
  mind4 ,we are thus led to the         
assumption accepted by most ethnologists
  to-day1 that the human mind tends to  
express itself in similar  modes of     
thought and action the world over4 ,the 
variation in these  modes is to be      
ascribed either to the differences in   
the nature of  the geographical and     
social surroundings or to the emotional 
and  intellectual individuality of      
different groups of people1 or to both4 
,we are1 however1 concerned here not so 
much with the variations as  with the   
common modes of thought and action4 ,it 
is consequently of  prime importance to 

determine first the nature of these     
modes1 their  sequence1 and the extent  
to which this sequence has been         
conditioned by  the modes themselves4   
,we start at the very outset with an    
implied assumption2 for by  8sequence10 
,schurtz distinctly understood an       
ordered sequence4 ,his  work is         
primarily an attempt to determine what  
this ordered sequence  has been1 and how
 it has been determined4 ,the norm of   
organization in  which the human race   
expressed itself primarily1 is1         
according to him1  the age-group4 ,owing
 to the historical development of       
various cultural  areas1 it is no longer
 possible to detect this 8primary       
element20 and  he consequently finds it 
necessary to demonstrate its existence  
from  another point of view1 which is   
essentially psychological4    ,the      
development of the age-group has        
followed a very definite                
sequence--definite1 because it has been 
determined by certain inherent          

tendencies of the human mind4 ,these    
tendencies are 8the instinct for        
association0#ae 7,geselligkeitstrieb7   
and 8the sexual instinct0               
7,geschlechtstrieb74 ,granting the      
existence of these two tendencies1  we  
have then to inquire how they have      
conditioned the essential  similarities 
in the evolution of our social life1 and
 the forms in  which that social life   
has expressed itself4    ,there are two 
possible assumptions4 ,we may assume    
that at a certain  stage of cultural    
development groups of people possessed  
no social  individuality sufficiently   
strong to determine their own           
development1  and that the              
,geselligkeitstrieb and                 
,geschlechtstrieb alone1 or  reinforced 
by other factors1 were sufficiently     
strong to condition  development along  
certain lines2 or we may1 on the other  
hand1 assume  that the primary modes in 
which people have expressed themselves  
are  necessarily of so simple and       

generalized a type1 that they always    
were  the same4 ,schurtz has practically
 assumed a stage in human development   
when the individuality of the component 
units of a social group was at  a       
minimum2 when there was1 so to say1 a   
8group mind10 whose initial  development
 is most easily explained by the        
influence of inherent  tendencies4 ,it  
must be said1 in fairness to ,schurtz1  
that the other  alternative mentioned   
above was probably also in his mind4    
,however1  he seems to have elaborated  
his theory with the first alternative   
constantly before his eyes4    ,this    
unexpressed assumption is of the        
greatest possible moment in  ,schurtz's 
interpretation1 because it immediately  
establishes a certain  fixity for his   
primary norm2 and excluding as it does  
the possibility  of variation1 because  
the two tendencies1 as constants1 are   
acting upon  social groups whose        
component members have a minimum of     
individuality1  brings it about that the

 same primary norm must be simple and   
generalized in its nature4    ,schurtz  
has thus given us a psychological       
milieu1 and we must now  proceed to     
investigate what are the specific norms 
of development1 the  method by which    
these norms have been determined1 the   
nature of their  sequence1 and how this 
sequence has been absolutely            
conditioned4 ,the  first two of these   
points become clearer if we attack the  
question of  sequence first4    ,it is  
apparent from ,schurtz's work that to   
him the necessity for an  ordered       
sequence was self-evident4 ,this        
acceptance of an ordered  sequence as   
axiomatic was conditioned primarily by  
the fact that he  implied at the very   
outset that the ordered sequence present
 in the  evolution of biological        
phenomena was to be found in an         
essentially  comparable manner in the   
development of civilization4 ,in the    
same way  ,schurtz's use of the terms   
8highest0 and 8lowest0 and of           

8intermediate  stages0 is only          
inadequately explained when regarded as 
derived from  the study of history4     
,neither can we assume that these terms 
were  merely a reflection of the        
conclusion he had drawn from a          
comparison of  the palpable differences 
between ,europeans and 8primitive0      
people4 ,his  whole treatment of        
8intermediate stages10 and of the       
factors he calls  to his aid in         
explaining them1--such as divergences   
due to variations  from a type1         
vestiges1 functional changes1--these are
 all strictly  biological not merely in 
their terminology1 but likewise in their
  general connotation4    ,the          
justification for equating the processes
 which have played a large  part in     
historical and biological evolution     
seemed1 indeed1 apparent4  ,in the      
cultural history of any people1 we find 
elements splitting up  and giving rise  
to innumerable variations4 ,in this     
divergence we meet  again and again with

 two phenomena1--first1 that of the     
general decay of  cultural elements1 of 
their total disappearance in some cases 
and of  their persistence as vestigial  
remains in others2 and1 secondly1 that  
of the incessant change1 of the         
re-adjustment and re-interpretation  of 
cultural phenomena1 so that elements    
often take upon themselves  functions   
which they originally did not possess1  
while these original  functions are     
either partially or totally obscured4   
,numerous other  points1 more specific  
in nature1 could be adduced to          
demonstrate more  fully the essential   
similarity of cultural and biological   
phenomena4    ,the comparability of the 
data of civilization and biology brought
 in  its train1 however1 the natural    
corollary that the general course  of   
their development was the same4 ,such an
 assumption fitted in  admirably with   
the psychological presuppositions of    
,schurtz1 and with  the inferences he   
felt justified in drawing from the      

historical data4  ,neither ,schurtz1    
nor1 for that matter1 any theoretician  
of his time1  ever made any attempt to  
prove that the method of biological     
evolution  was the same as that of the  
historical4 ,it was commonly assumed to 
have been the same2 but1 quite apart    
from this acceptance of a fact  that    
seemed to need no proof1 the similarity 
in the evolution of  biological and     
historical phenomena was by implication 
conditioned by  his psychological       
assumptions4 ,the number of norms are   
necessarily  reduced to a minimum when  
inherent tendencies are acting on a     
8group  mind10 for it would be tacitly  
admitting a large range for personal    
individuality1 to assume the existence  
of many norms2 but if there  are only a 
few norms1 or1 as ,schurtz concludes1   
one norm1--that of the                  
age-group1--variations can only have    
arisen as differentiations of this      
norm1 due to influences either from     
within or from without4    ,we are      

consequently reduced to a condition     
exactly parallel to that  which we find1
 according to the theory of evolution1  
in biology4  ,variations are the result 
of a differentiation of some unit4 ,it  
is the  object1 in the classification of
 biological data1 to demonstrate1 by    
means of a series of ascending forms1   
the evolution of the most highly        
differentiated from the least           
differentiated4 ,in thus arranging the  
data1 it followed that the              
least-differentiated forms contained the
  simple general manifestations of life1
 and that at the same time the  most    
highly-differentiated forms likewise    
contained all these simple  general     
manifestations1 although they were here1
 as a rule1 so changed  as to be        
entirely obscured1 if not               
unrecognizable4    ,in a manner almost  
exactly parallel to the above1 ,schurtz 
sought  to classify the phenomena of    
social organization4 ,the highest must  
contain within itself the simple and    

general phenomena of the lowest  form4  
,having thus demonstrated to his        
satisfaction the existence  and the     
necessity of an ordered sequence1 he    
turned his attention  to demonstrating  
that this sequence was psychologically  
as well as  historically conditioned4   
,his line of argument here can best be  
shown  by analyzing the first few       
chapters of his book4    ,at the basis  
of all social organizations lie two     
elementary forces1--the  8instinct for  
association0 and the 8sexual instinct40 
,the sexual  instinct is primary1       
because it is obviously an essential    
condition  of life4 ,the instinct for   
association is secondary in so far as   
its  expression in outward form is      
concerned4 ,it is as old as the sexual  
instinct2 but1 since at the initial     
stage of human development the  sexual  
instinct is so strong a force1 the      
instinct of association had  no         
observable influence on the actions of  
men4    ,the forms of social            

organization which the sexual instinct  
conditions  are those based upon certain
 kinds of blood relationship4 ,these    
forms  are primary4 ,to establish the   
priority of the forms thus imposed by   
blood relationship1 we have but to      
remember that1 as the relationship  of  
individuals to one another preceded     
everything else1 so the social  forms   
based upon blood relationship must have 
preceded all other social  forms4 ,we   
are therefore to regard as the earliest 
stage of social  organization that of   
groups bound together by blood          
relationship4 ,but  what has been the   
force differentiating these groups8     
,obviously not the  same sexual instinct
 that has caused the formation of these 
primary  groups4 ,to explain the factors
 that have caused this differentiation  
we  must call to our aid two            
phenomena1--first1 that of sexual       
solidarity2  and1 secondly1 that of the 
instinct for association4    ,sexual    
solidarity has its roots in the nature  

of man and woman1 and is  possessed by  
them in equal intensity4 ,the instinct  
for association is1  however1 a         
specifically masculine trait4 ,it is    
found among women only  in a minimal    
degree4 ,an important corollary follows 
from this fact3 ,if  women societies are
 found anywhere1 they are to be         
considered merely  as imitations of     
men's societies4 ,if women are found as 
members in a  society1 this is to be    
regarded as secondary and purely        
adventitious4  ,these1 and some more    
specific points to be enumerated later1 
must be  borne in mind continually1 as  
,schurtz makes a far-reaching use of    
them4    ,the instinct for association1 
he goes on to say1 expresses itself1    
however1 between those of like          
interests2 that is1 between those who   
would most likely be of the same age4   
,it is not likely1 for instance1  to    
occur between married and unmarried men4
 ,we have here two apparently           
organically determined classes4 ,in the 

earliest stages of social  development1 
however1 when the norms of social       
expression conditioned  by the sexual   
instinct were still of paramount        
importance1 insistence  was most        
naturally placed upon the most important
 stage of man's  physiological          
development1--the age of puberty4 ,the  
strong line of  demarcation between the 
period preceding and following sexual   
maturity  was so ever-present a fact to 
the mind of primitive man1 that it found
  expression in the multitude of        
initiatory rites4 ,in these initiatory  
rites we have another of the specific   
8symptoms0 with which we shall  have to 
deal afterward4    ,when the instinct   
for association developed more strongly1
 the  differences due to age1 plus the  
physiological factor1 conditioned the   
natural formation of two classes1--one  
of men before puberty1 and one of  men  
after puberty4 ,this natural twofold    
division was also strengthened  by      
another factor2 for until the age of    

puberty1 boys were under the  influence 
of women1 and were therefore to be      
reckoned as one with them4    ,the three
 groups--men before puberty1 unmarried  
men after puberty1  and married men--are
 thus built upon the basis of age       
distinction and  common interest4 ,they 
are the norms of primitive social       
organization1  and1 as we have seen1    
their origin is due to inherited        
instincts4  ,by implication ,schurtz has
 here also assumed the existence of a   
definite sequence2 for the division into
 pre- and post-puberty  groups is a     
consequence of the sexual instinct1 and 
is therefore  primary4 ,differentiation 
into the groups of married and unmarried
  men thereupon followed2 but the       
initiation1 which is synchronous  with  
the age of sexual maturity1 has         
introduced another factor1 that  of     
promiscuous sexual intercourse2 and the 
regulation that this has  demanded is   
found outwardly expressed in the 8men's 
house40 ,the  common interests that drew

 men together into groups have thus far 
been those conditioned largely by age4  
,in the development of society1         
however1 interests became more and more 
diversified1 and resulted1  first1 in   
the disappearance of the age factor as  
the essential element  for associations1
 and1 secondly1 in the necessity for    
more closely  organized units with      
specific characteristics4 ,to obtain    
this close  organization1 one of the    
essential elements was secrecy1 and thus
  developed out of the 8men's house0    
those innumerable clubs and secret      
societies which we find so common       
to-day4    ,in such manner we have      
constructed an ascending evolutionary   
series4  ,it must not be forgotten that 
in such a series the highest stage is   
but a differentiated lower stage4 ,it   
must likewise be remembered that  there 
is a tendency for intermediate stages to
 leave vestigial remains  wherever they 
developed into higher stages4 ,we may   
consequently expect  to find traces of  

8age groups0 and 8men's houses0 all over
 the world4  ,in addition1 we must      
remember that a number of               
8symptoms0--such as 8the  exclusion of  
women0 from a society1 the presence of  
8an initiation10 of  8degrees10 and of  
8secrecy0--have always been associated  
with certain  stages of growth4 ,they   
may serve us for criteria of this growth
 and of  the stages thereof1 and they   
constitute proofs of historical         
identity4  ,they will often appear      
unassociated with the definite stage    
assigned  to them2 but that is          
immaterial1 for their almost universal  
presence  is a sufficient guaranty of   
their significance4 ,it is not necessary
 to  inquire into their individual      
significance among definite societies1  
because a negative answer would prove   
nothing1 as differences from the        
general scheme outlined can be          
interpreted most easily in terms of some
  functional change4    ,it must of     
course be remembered that the various   

points of view from  which ,schurtz     
approached his problem were so          
inextricably interwoven1  that it is    
unwarranted to assume that every        
position he took was as  distinctly     
analyzed as ,i have attempted to show4  
,from two points of view1 a             
psychological and a biological one1     
,schurtz  obtained similar conclusions4 
,it is now only necessary1 after we have
  seen how he established his           
psychological milieu and his sequence   
of norms1 to investigate the manner in  
which he approached the  ethnological   
data themselves4    ,schurtz claims to  
have reached his interpretation from an 
inductive  study of the available data4 
,we have seen that there is good reason 
to  suppose that he approached the data 
with certain preconceptions1 the  most  
important of which was the necessity of 
8ascending stages0 in the  evolution of 
society4 ,he had to determine1 before   
everything else1 the  initial stage of  
social evolution1 and to look for it or 

for as close  an approximation to it as 
might still be found to-day4 ,however1  
as soon  as we accept what ,schurtz     
thought were the necessary consequences 
of  the two tendencies1--of the instinct
 for association and of the sexual      
instinct1--obviously1 then1 that        
organization which conforms closest to  
the conditions there imposed would be   
the most primitive4    ,he thereupon    
found himself confronted with the       
relatively easy task of  finding such an
 organization4 ,he found it in          
,australia1 and selected  it as the     
starting-point of his series4 ,in       
justice to ,schurtz and  other          
theoreticians1 it should1 however1 be   
said that the ,australian  cultures     
impressed many then1 and continue to    
impress many now1 as  cultures that     
either had been stunted in their growth1
 or had developed  only as far as the   
most primitive stages4 ,from that point 
on1 the  construction of a series was a 
simple task4    ,such1 in brief1 is the 

position of ,schurtz4    ,he wished to  
convey the impression that his theory   
was based entirely  upon an inductive   
study of the data2 but we have seen     
that1 by means of  two powerful         
tendencies1 he in reality based his     
interpretation upon a  deductive study4 
,he does1 it is true1 claim that the    
existence of these  tendencies was      
established inductively2 but even if we 
were to grant  this1 it is apparent that
 he subsequently disassociated the      
tendencies  from the data1 and used them
 as new entities from which to          
re-interpret  the facts4    ,it has been
 pointed out before that ,schurtz did   
not believe that the  absence of any or 
all of the 8symptoms0 constituted an    
argument against  his theory4 ,in the   
same way1 any evidences of convergent   
evolution1 of  the appearance of        
8symptoms0 of higher stages associated  
with those of  a lower stage1 would not 
militate against his position4 ,such    
phenomena  were to be regarded as purely

 adventitious4 ,dissemination of        
cultures1  he held1 was possible2 but1  
although similarities due to such an    
agency  might obscure the normal        
development1 this normal development    
could  hardly be fundamentally          
disarranged thereby4                    
99       99       99       99       99  
,the theory of ,schurtz might be        
examined from two points of view4 ,one  
might critically examine the validity of
 the assumptions per se1 and  the       
justifiability of his inferences2 or one
 might temporarily lay  aside the theory
 entirely1 and examine the data         
individually4 ,it is the  latter method 
of approach that ,i shall here adopt4   
,with this purpose in view1 ,i have     
selected for examination and            
interpretation the data furnished by the
 ,ojibwa-,menominee ,midewiwin1  the    
,winnebago ,medicine ,dance1 and the    
,omaha ,shell and ,pebble ,societies4   
,the investigation of specific data     
will1 however1 not have any general     

validity1 unless it can be shown that   
their specific content is the  result of
 certain very general psychological     
tendencies4    ,the common elements in  
the ceremonial complexes have led to the
  predication of their identity1 and it 
will be best therefore to begin  our    
study with an analysis of them4         
,,iii4 ,,the ,,shooting ,,ritual4--,it  
might perhaps be expedient1 before      
discussing the phenomena of 8shooting0  
in general1 to analyze what is  supposed
 to be its precise nature among the     
various tribes possessing  it in one    
form or another4 ,generally speaking1   
the essential idea  lies in the         
simulation of being shot by a missile1  
and re-acting by  simulating muscular   
contractions until the individual falls 
prone  upon the ground4 ,the general    
theory of the ,ojibwa-,menominee and of 
the ,winnebago is1 that death must      
thereupon normally result1 but that     
certain conditions may change this fatal
 effect into one of temporary           

unconsciousness4 ,among the ,omaha1 the 
simulated death is interpreted  as the  
dramatic representation of the death of 
certain persons known  in the ceremony  
of the ,shell ,society as 8children40   
,among the ,santee  ,dakota1 it seems to
 have had no very definite meaning4#af  
,the ,ojibwa1#ag ,menominee1#ah         
,winnebago1 and ,dakota are at one in   
interpreting the effects of the shooting
 as the result of the magical  powers   
inherent in the missile used4           
,efficiency in shooting1 however1       
depends not merely upon the missile1 but
 also upon the shaman using it4         
,according to the esoteric              
interpretation of the ,winnebago1 the   
specific  results could only be obtained
 by being a member of the ,medicine     
,dance4  ,there are indications that    
this specific efficacy was associated   
with  the general magical power of      
shamans1--a power that had been obtained
  through personal visions1 not in any  
way connected with this society4  ,for  

the ,ojibwa-,menominee1 this latter     
seems to have been by far the  more     
important source for efficacy4 ,for     
example1 the otter-skin bag  could be   
used with the same effect quite apart   
from the performances of  the           
,midewiwin4 ,in the ,omaha ceremonies it
 is not quite clear exactly  what       
renders the shooting efficacious1 and   
whether the result is  inherent in the  
magical power of the missile4    ,in all
 the ritualistic complexes there are    
variations both as to the  manner in    
which the shooting is done1 and as to   
the portion of the body  aimed at4      
,excluding the ,omaha societies1 these  
variations in all cases  depend upon the
 status of membership4 ,the             
,ojibwa-,menominee shooting is  in      
nature and in interpretation quite      
similar to that of the ,winnebago2      
while the ,omaha presents a number of   
variations from the type4    ,in the    
,ojibwa-,menominee ceremonies the       
shooting ritual is always  associated   

with the admission of a new member4     
,this includes1 of  course1 also the    
initiation of individuals into higher   
degrees1  wherever such exist4 ,the     
shooting is done principally by the     
newly  initiated individual1 because he 
is supposed to be trying his powers4    
,there occurs1 besides this1 a general  
shooting1 in which all members  indulge1
 and which is supposed to increase their
 shooting powers4 ,the  strengthening of
 their power is supposed to resist the  
effects of  the shot4 ,among the ,omaha 
this general shooting is unassociated   
with  initiation1 while among the       
,winnebago it is found associated both  
with  initiation and with the basic     
ceremony4 ,it is therefore of           
considerable  importance to understand  
what relation this general shooting     
ritual  bears to the specific shooting  
associated with initiation4 ,shooting is
  either an element primarily associated
 with initiation1 and afterwards        
separated1 or it is some general element

 that has become associated  with any of
 a large number of other cultural       
elements4 ,in order to  determine this1 
we have next to examine with what       
elements shooting  becomes associated4  
,among the ,kwakiutl#ai there is a dance
 in which an individual  7mmaq'a7 throws
 disease into the people4 ,this disease 
is represented  by some object1 either a
 stick or a harpoon-head4 ,the shooting 
has  precisely the same effect as in the
 ,medicine ,dance4 ,no association of   
shooting of any kind occurs with        
initiation into a society4    ,the      
,kwakiutl example brings up the real    
question involved in the  shooting4 ,to 
what extent is the shooting ritual of   
the ,medicine  ,dance of the ,winnebago 
merely one of the forms of              
disease-throwing  which is so common a  
practice of sympathetic magic8 ,the     
,central  ,algonkin ,midewiwin are      
really loose associations of men and    
women1  whose powers are obtained more  
from individual revelations obtained    

outside of the ,midewiwin than from the 
benefits of membership in that  society4
 ,shamanistic practices appear to form  
an integral part of  this society4 ,but 
apart from this1 the shooting of        
disease1 or of any  malignant power1 at 
an enemy1 is an extremely common feature
 among  the ,central ,algonkin as it is 
among all other ,american shamans4 ,the 
question that presents itself is1       
whether the shooting1 as found in the   
,ojibwa-,menominee and ,winnebago       
,medicine ,societies1 is not one aspect 
of  this same general shamanistic       
practice4    ,to judge from the speeches
 and the songs of these societies1 the  
main  religious function is to obtain   
the power to resist the influence  of   
the shot4 ,the muscular contortions and 
the various movements the  individual   
shot at goes through1 are intended to be
 symbolical of this  resistance4 ,what  
the members expect to obtain are powers 
sufficiently  strong to resist any      
malignant influences that they might    

meet in the  general course of a        
lifetime2 that is1 we are dealing with a
 very  general manifestation of         
shamanism1 and we ought therefore not to
  be surprised to find it wherever      
shamanism occurs1 either entirely       
unassociated1 or associated with a large
 number of different elements4  ,we find
 it unassociated in a large number of   
places scattered over  ,north ,america4 
,among the ,kwakiutl it is associated   
with a certain  dance2 among the        
,central ,algonkin and ,winnebago1 with 
initiation4 ,if it  can now be shown    
that among the ,omaha1 and among the    
,winnebago also1  we find it again in a 
different association1 then the         
association of  shooting with an        
initiation ritual will have to be       
regarded as one  of a number of         
complexes into which shooting has       
entered4 ,whether1  in a specific case1 
shooting1 or the initiation-shooting    
complex1 is  historically related to a  
similar ritual among other tribes1 is a 

question that only direct historical    
evidence or a strong historical         
probability can determine4 ,the presence
 of shooting in a number of  different  
ceremonies1 however1 will not in itself 
demonstrate any  relationship between   
these ceremonies4    ,we will now       
examine the nature of the complex with  
which shooting  is associated in the    
night division of the general ceremony  
of the  ,winnebago ,medicine ,dance and 
in the ,omaha ,pebble and ,shell        
,society4    ,a large number of the     
societies among the ,winnebago and      
,omaha are based  on the common         
possession of revelations from the same 
animal4 ,we may  have a society 8of     
those who have had communication with   
the ,thunders10  or with the ,nights1 or
 with the ,grizzly ,bear1 or what not4  
,the bond  of such a society is         
generally expressed outwardly1 by the   
possession  of some 8gift0 which is     
intimately connected with the animal1 be
 it  a head-dress1 a tail1 facial       

decorations1 or the right to the use of 
a certain drum1 etc4 ,the only society  
among the ,winnebago where no           
revelation is required for admission is 
the ,medicine ,dance4 ,there are1       
however1 a number of elements which     
connect the ,medicine ,dance with  the  
other type of society so common among   
the ,winnebago4 ,for instance1  there is
 an outward mark of membership2 namely1 
the otter-skin and the  8migis40#bj ,on 
the warpath the ,winnebago wraps the    
otter-skin around  his shoulder to      
signify that1 as a member of the        
,medicine ,dance1 he  is protected from 
the attacks of his enemies4 ,in the     
shooting ritual  of the night division  
of the general ceremony of the ,medicine
 ,dance1  and in the ,medicine ,feast1  
there are a number of features similar  
to  those of the ,winnebago ,buffalo1   
,grizzly ,bear1 ,night1 etc41           
,societies4  ,from the point of view of 
organization1 the only difference would 
seem to be1 that1 instead of a common   

bond lying in a supernatural            
communication1 it lies here in the      
mutual shooting4 ,if we wished to       
describe the ,medicine ,dance in terms  
of ,winnebago society norms1 we  might  
call it a 8society of those who shoot   
one another40 ,the shooting  forms an   
integral part of the ritualistic        
complex1 much in the same  way as do the
 set songs and the set speeches4 ,in the
 basic ritual of  the day ceremony1 the 
shooting occurs in two combinations1--on
 the one  hand1 as an                   
initiation-shooting-complex1 set off    
more or less from  the general ceremony2
 and1 on the other hand1 in a complex   
that is a  repetition of one which      
occurs at night1 and which forms        
unquestionably  the basic portion of the
 entire ,medicine ,dance4 ,we will      
return to a  discussion of this         
subsequently4    ,shooting in the ,omaha
 ,pebble and ,shell ,societies is       
associated  precisely in the same manner
 as in the basic ritual of the ,medicine

  ,dance4 ,in the ,pebble ,society we   
have1 as a matter of fact1 exactly the  
condition which we assumed might perhaps
 be the correct interpretation  of the  
,medicine ,dance4 ,the society is named 
8,those who shoot the  ,pebble40 ,in the
 ,shell ,society the bond of union is   
similarly the  shooting1 the society    
being called 8,those who shoot with a   
,shell40    ,it therefore seems quite   
probable1 taking into account the fact  
that  three ,siouan 7one ,winnebago and 
two ,omaha7 societies present a shooting
  feature in their basic rituals1 that  
this ritualistic complex is a  general  
characteristic of this area4 ,to sum up1
 a shooting ritual  has entered into a  
complex quite different from that       
existing among  the ,kwakiutl1 ,central 
,algonkin ,midewiwin1 and in one part of
 the day  ceremony of the ,winnebago    
,medicine ,dance4 ,we must therefore    
conclude  that the association of       
shooting with initiation is merely one  
of many  possible associations1 and that

 the shooting found in the basic complex
  must be regarded as historically      
different from the shooting found in    
the initiation complex4    ,returning to
 the question of shooting as associated 
with an initiation  ritual1 it must be  
granted that it is somewhat improbable  
that  this particular association should
 have arisen independently among  two   
tribes living in closely contiguous     
geographical areas4 ,we may  therefore  
assume that the ,winnebago either       
borrowed from the ,central  ,algonkin1  
or vice versa4 ,all indications point to
 the former as  having been the case4   
,the shooting1 then1 as found in the    
societies discussed1 is merely one      
phase of sympathetic magic4 ,a cultural 
element common to a very large  area has
 become associated with a special       
significance and with special           
ceremonies4 ,for the cultural areas     
discussed1 this association seems  to   
have developed into two types of        
complexes1--the shooting-initiation     

complex of the ,central ,algonkin1 and  
the basic complex of the ,omaha and     
,winnebago4    ,,iv4 ,,the ,,initiation 
,,ritual4--,the elements common to the  
,central ,algonkin  ,midewiwin and to   
the ,winnebago ,medicine ,dance consist 
of two parts1--an  initiation and a     
shooting4 ,of these1 the shooting was   
shown to have  been a more or less free 
element1 capable among other tribes of  
entering into an indefinite number of   
associations2 that1 indeed1 in  the     
,medicine ,dance itself1 it had become  
associated with two different           
ritualistic complexes4 ,we have already 
examined the shooting ritual2  and we   
will therefore proceed to examine the   
initiation ritual1 in  order to         
understand its precise significance and 
its position in the  general ceremony   
and in the complete ceremonial complex  
of the ,medicine  ,dance4    #a4        
,ojibwa-,menominee4--,the simplicity of 
the organization of the                 
,ojibwa-,menominee ,midewiwin impresses 

one at a glance4 ,only a small  number  
of individuals take active part4 ,it is 
similarly impossible  to discern any    
elaborate ritual4 ,a few ritualistic    
myths are told1  some songs sung1       
speeches delivered1 and then            
preparations are made  for the shooting 
of the novice4 ,the ceremony practically
 ends as  soon as the shooting          
terminates4 ,in this semi-public        
performance  there is practically only  
one ritualistic complex1 that of the    
shooting-initiation4 ,the only purpose  
of this complex seems likewise to  be   
the initiation of an individual into the
 ,midewiwin4    ,this initiation ritual1
 we know1 is only the terminal element  
in a long  course of instruction which  
the novice must go through4 ,it is      
during  this instruction that the       
specific teachings and practices of the 
,midewiwin are elucidated1 and it is    
then that the symbolism used in the     
bark records is explained4    ,these    
teachings and practices1 apart from some

 ethical teachings of  the most general 
nature1 vary with each mide4 ,in each   
case the novice  is taught the mide's   
individual songs1 his particular tricks 
and  practices1 his specific herbs1 and 
the uses to which he puts them4 ,the    
bond connecting the teaching of the     
mides is of the loosest nature4    ,when
 the instruction is over 7and it is over
 as soon as the novice has  exhausted   
the wealth he expects to spend in each  
particular case71  the novice is ready  
for initiation4 ,but into what is he    
really being  initiated8 ,it would seem 
purely into the powers purchased from a 
certain mide4 ,if this particular mide  
did not chance to be a member of  the   
,midewiwin1 the same or an extremely    
similar method of transference  of      
personal powers would be gone through4  
,in other words1 the novice  is being   
initiated into the status of a mide4 ,if
 one may speak of any  formal initiation
 here1 it consists in giving to the new 
mide some  object which is generally    

regarded as a symbol of the preceptor's 
power4 ,it may be a medicine-pouch1 or  
herbs1 or anything1 in fact4  ,but is   
this not precisely what takes place at  
the initiation into the  ,midewiwin8    
,there1 a person is presented with the  
8migis0 and otter-skin  bag1 which is   
symbolical of the powers of a certain   
type of shaman1 the  mide4    ,the      
,midewiwin1 from this point of view1 is 
hardly a society at all4 ,it  does1     
nevertheless1 possess some of the       
essential characteristics of a  society3
 a number of individuals form a rather  
definite unit1 owing to  their          
possessing in common a number of        
ritualistic myths1 a symbol and  common 
status1 in the eyes of outsiders4    ,as
 a society1 the ,midewiwin presents no  
such unit as does the definite          
organization of the ,winnebago ,medicine
 ,dance or the ,omaha ,shell and        
,pebble ,societies4 ,the bond of unity  
in the ,midewiwin lies in the fact  that
 all members are mide4 ,an individual is

 a mide1 however1 not by  reason of     
membership in the ,midewiwin4 ,the      
powers that make him a mide  have       
nothing to do with the ,midewiwin at    
all4 ,they are purely personal4  ,the   
,midewiwin is primarily1 then1 an       
association of mide2 not of  individuals
 who have become mide because they      
belong to that society4  ,it is because 
of this fact that the individuality of  
the members is  so potent a factor1 and 
it is because of this fact that no      
strong  ceremonial unit exists4 ,it is  
for the same reason that initiation into
  the society presents1 in all its      
essentials1 the picture of a normal     
transference of individual mide power4  
,historically ,i do not doubt that it   
really is such a transference4  ,as the 
idea of the ,midewiwin as a ceremonial  
unit developed more  definitely1 the    
individual transference of the          
individual mide power  may have become  
associated with initiation into the     
,midewiwin itself4  ,it is perfectly    

natural1 when all the mide became       
members of the  ,midewiwin1 that the    
transference of power should not have   
been thought  of apart from the society 
to which the mide belonged4 ,it thus    
followed  that obtaining knowledge from 
a mide would be synonymous with joining 
the ,midewiwin4    ,as the ,midewiwin   
grew in popularity1 and as all the mide 
and a  majority of the other members of 
the tribe joined it1 there came  to be  
associated with it certain specific     
benefits1 that had in  themselves       
nothing at all to do with the mide1 but 
which were  generally characteristic of 
,central ,algonkin culture4 ,the        
association  of these specific benefits 
played necessarily an important part in 
the history of the society1 because it  
meant that an individual1 in  joining   
the society1 obtained much more than    
certain mide powers4 ,he  obtained1 in  
fact1 all the mide powers1 plus those   
specific benefits  which membership in  
the ,midewiwin now brought with it4     

,through the  transference of the       
objects symbolical of the mide's        
power1--8the migis0  and the otter-skin 
bag1--shooting now initiated him not    
only into the  status of a mide1 but    
also into that of a member of a society 
with an  esoteric ritual4 ,the shooting 
itself no longer bore the impress of  a 
general shamanistic practice1 but stood 
as a symbol of initiation  into a       
society4 ,at the transference of        
individual shamanistic power1  shooting 
did not occur4 ,it must consequently    
have become associated  with initiation 
when the loose union of the mide        
developed into a more  or less definite 
society4    ,summing up briefly1 we may 
be justified in saying that the         
initiation  ritual of the               
,ojibwa-,menominee ,midewiwin is a      
transference of  individual power as    
found among the individual mide1        
modified by the  addition of another    
element1 the shooting-incident4 ,the    
initiation  can in no way be regarded as

 necessarily associated with shooting1  
but  this association will have to be   
regarded as simply a characteristic  of 
the ,central ,algonkin ,midewiwin4 ,in  
other words1 just as 8shooting0  may    
enter into an indefinite number of      
associations1 conditioned by the        
cultural individuality of an area1 so   
initiation may similarly enter  into an 
indefinite number of combinations4      
#b4 ,shell ,society4--,in the ,shell    
,society of the ,omaha there is no      
specific initiation ceremony4 ,according
 to the origin legend1 an  animal       
appears to a family consisting of       
father1 mother1 and four  children1 and 
helps them to obtain food4 ,they1 in    
order to show their  gratitude1 offer   
him their children4 ,the children are   
subsequently  shot and killed4 ,as they 
lie on the shore of a lake1 four        
tremendous  waves sweep them away4 ,they
 afterwards emerge from the midst of the
  lake1 and assure their parents that1  
although they are dead1 they are  quite 

content1 and they would advise them to  
put off their mourning1  return to their
 own tribe1 and form a society4 ,they   
could obtain new  members by selling to 
other people the powers they had        
obtained4 ,the  shooting that occurs in 
the ceremony proper1 and which is       
interpreted  by the ,omaha as a dramatic
 representation of the shooting of the  
four children1 has nothing to do with   
initiation into the society4            
,initiation consists entirely in the    
transference of certain knowledge  and  
symbols by one of the owners of the     
society to any individual who  is       
considered eligible1 and who has paid   
the requisite price4    ,as a matter of 
fact1 only members are shot4 ,the       
shooting1 whatever  may have been its   
original significance1 is here but one  
element in  an intricate ritualistic    
complex similar to the basic ritual of  
the  ,winnebago ,medicine ,dance4 ,its  
purpose seems to be exclusively that of 
8strengthening0 the powers of the       

members4    ,anything approaching the   
dramatic initiation into the ,midewiwin 
does  not exist4 ,admission into the    
society is in no way connected with the 
shooting ritual1 although the shooting  
ritual is actually found in the         
society4    #c4 ,pebble ,society4--,the 
nature of initiation into the ,pebble   
,society  is not definitely known4 ,as  
membership1 however1 depends upon       
supernatural communications from the    
same animal1 it probably is the  same as
 that found among other ,omaha societies
 of the same kind4  ,initiation would   
thus consist in the obtaining of the    
supernatural  communication itself4     
,every person who has had a supernatural
  communication with a spirit--in this  
particular case1 the water  spirit--is  
eligible for membership into the        
society4 ,shooting is found1  but it is 
in no way connected with admission or   
initiation into the  society4 ,it has1  
it would seem1 practically the same     
significance as in  the ,shell ,society4

    #d4 ,medicine ,dance4--,in the      
,winnebago ,medicine ,dance1 membership 
does not depend upon supernatural       
communication of any kind1 but  must be 
purchased from the leader of one of the 
five bands4 ,a long  preparation is     
necessary1 lasting in olden times as    
long as four  years4 ,the individual is 
then initiated into certain of the      
teachings  of the society4 ,it makes no 
difference into which of the five bands 
he is initiated4 ,the knowledge he      
obtains will1 to all intents and        
purposes1 be the same1 excluding certain
 songs4 ,this does not mean1  of course1
 that there may not be information      
belonging to the member  as an          
individual1 which is taught to the      
novice2 but it is understood  that any  
powers belonging specifically to an     
individual1 and which  the novice wishes
 to purchase1 have primarily no         
connection with the  society4 ,as every 
leader is likely to be a prominent      
shaman as well  as a member of the      

,medicine ,dance1 it would be quite     
impossible to  draw a hard and fast line
 between what belongs specifically to   
him as  a shaman1 and what belongs to   
him as a member of the ,medicine ,dance4
  ,however1 it is generally understood  
that a leader is initiating an          
individual into those powers that are   
the special property of the  society4   
,as among the ,ojibwa-,menominee1       
initiation is accompanied by a formal   
transfer of a 8shell0 and of an         
otter-skin bag4 ,externally the general 
ceremony of the ,medicine ,dance might  
consequently be regarded as  similar to 
the semi-public ceremony of the         
,midewiwin4 ,there are two  features1   
however1 which stand out prominently in 
the general ceremony  of the former1    
which must be explained before we can   
accept this  external similarity as     
real4 ,they are1 first1 the peculiar    
position  of the initiation ritual of   
the general ceremony2 and1 secondly1 the
  presence of another ritual1 the basic 

ritual1 and the importance it  assumes4 
,precisely the same ritual that we found
 among the ,ojibwa-,menominee--the      
initiation-shooting complex2 that is1   
initiation associated with  shooting1   
the transference of the otter-skin bag  
and of a shell1 plus  a number of       
incidental elements--occurs in the      
general ceremony4 ,this  complex        
intervenes between the performance of   
the basic ritual by  the ,north and     
,west ,bands4 ,there is absolutely      
nothing in the basic  ritual preceding  
or following the initiation that could  
possibly be  interpreted as a           
preparation for the latter4 ,as it is   
found there1  the initiation seems quite
 out of place1 and conveys forcibly the 
impression of being intrusive4 ,the     
general ceremony is by no means         
terminated when initiation is over2 but 
the ,west ,band continues with  its     
performance of the basic ritual as      
though there had been no  interruption1 
even though the interval between        

,north's and ,west's  performance of the
 basic ritual generally lasts a number  
of hours4 ,the  initiation ritual is1 on
 the whole1 treated as an incidental    
feature4  ,it can certainly not be the  
main or most important ritual of the    
general ceremony4 ,as a matter of fact1 
it occurs only in the day ritual  of    
that ceremony4 ,in the night ritual it  
is absent4 ,a ritual of which  shooting 
is one of the essential features occurs 
in the latter1 but1 as  we shall see    
later1 this has nothing to do with the  
initiation4    ,that the shell and the  
shooting are unquestionably considered  
necessary  and essential for initiation1
 is borne out conclusively by the       
numerous  references in the speeches4   
,we must therefore not permit the       
position  of the initiation ritual in   
the general ceremony to interfere with  
its  interpretation as a real initiation
 into the society4 ,however1 this       
position may have been due to secondary 
causes4 ,it is quite impossible  to     

determine them definitely now2 but it is
 possible1 by studying the  significance
 and nature of the basic ritual1 to     
explain to a very large  extent the     
reason for the position of the          
initiation ritual4    ,the basic ritual 
is a definite ceremonial complex1 which 
constitutes  the most conspicuous unit  
of the ,medicine ,dance4 ,both in the   
night  and the day ritual of the general
 ceremony1 each individual band  repeats
 it1 and in both cases the ceremony     
terminates as soon as the  last band has
 finished it4 ,a number of other rituals
 separate the  various performances of  
the basic ritual1 and even intervene    
between  the separate constituent       
elements of the ritual itself4 ,in each 
case1  nevertheless1 the basic ritual is
 continued as soon as the disturbing    
ritual has been removed4 ,it is for     
these reasons that it seems to me       
unquestionable that we are dealing here 
with the essential ritualistic  unit of 
the general ceremony4 ,what strengthens 

this impression is  the fact that a     
ritualistic complex similar in its      
general nature1  although not in the    
component elements of which it is made  
up1 is  found in almost all the other   
societies of the ,winnebago4 ,in the    
,buffalo1 ,grizzly ,bear1 ,ghost1 and   
,night ,societies1 there is a basic     
ritual of essentially the same functions
 and significance4 ,in all  these       
societies1 likewise1 objects of specific
 value to the members  are passed from  
one individual to another2 and this     
8passing0 is  accompanied by songs1     
speeches1 and ritualistic details4      
,although the  complex differs for each 
society1 it nevertheless presents a     
definite  ritualistic unit1 which must  
be repeated by each person1 or each band
  belonging to the society1 as the case 
may be4    ,to judge from the general   
tenor of the speeches1 the purpose of   
the  ritual in every one of these       
societies is the 8strengthening0 of     
powers obtained in a vision4 ,now1 the  

tenor of the speeches in the  basic     
ritual of the ,medicine ,dance is       
precisely of the same nature2  and as we
 have there1 in addition1 the           
characteristic passing of the           
8blessing10--that is1 the passing of the
 drum1 the gourds1 and the  associate   
actions1 speeches1 songs1 and dances2 in
 other words1 the  means of assuring the
 continuance and the strengthening of   
the specific  powers1--there can be     
little doubt that the basic ritual is   
essentially  the same for all these     
societies4    ,of course1 the           
demonstration that the basic ritual is  
at present the  main and most important 
ritual in the ,medicine ,dance1 does not
 prove  that it is historically primary4
 ,there are1 however1 a number of facts 
that speak in favor of this assumption4 
,in the first place1 it is  undoubtedly 
the characteristic ceremonial complex of
 all ,winnebago  societies1 and likewise
 of a large number of societies among   
other  ,siouan tribes2 and1 secondly1 it

 is associated with an organization     
that is typical of other ,winnebago     
societies4 ,it differs from these       
primarily in the fact that membership is
 purchased1 and not obtained  through   
supernatural communication from some    
animal4 ,even the absence  of the       
customary manner of admission might     
perhaps be hypothetically  accounted    
for1 for we have an interesting instance
 of the disappearance  of the 8vision0  
qualification in the ,night ,dance4 ,the
 ,night ,dance1 now  known as the       
,sore-,eye ,dance1 previously required  
for admission a vision  from the night  
spirits4 ,this qualification has now    
disappeared1 and its  place has been    
taken by purchase1 pure and simple1 as  
in the case of  the ,medicine ,dance4   
,now1 it is possible that the same      
development may  have taken place for   
the ,medicine ,dance4 ,in the absence of
 any such  positive evidence1 however1  
as has been adduced for the ,night      
,dance1  this assumption can only be    

regarded as a possible explanation4     
,if the basic ritual is to be regarded  
as the principal and  characteristic    
feature of the ,medicine ,dance and as  
historically  primary1 then the         
intrusive character of the initiation   
ritual may be  explained by regarding it
 as secondarily associated4 ,we are of  
course  in no position to say in what   
way this association occurred1 and we   
are therefore not in a position to tell 
whether the initiation ritual  was      
associated from the very beginning in   
such a way as to perform the  functions 
of a normal initiation into a society1  
or whether it was at  first a purely    
adventitious addition with no special   
significance4    ,if it was regarded    
from the very beginning as an           
initiation1 there  seems no reason why  
it should have been given the position  
in the  general ceremony that it now    
possesses4 ,it consequently seems better
 to  regard its position as older than  
the references made in the speeches  to 

its functions as an initiation into this
 specific ,winnebago society4    ,there 
can be little doubt that the            
initiation-complex of the ,medicine     
,dance was borrowed from the ,central   
,algonkin ,midewiwin4 ,we may           
consequently conclude that1             
notwithstanding the present             
interpretation  of the initiation as an 
initiation into the ,medicine ,dance1 it
 is  historically really an initiation  
ritual of one ceremony that has  become 
secondarily associated with another4 ,in
 support of this1 it can  be pointed out
 that no initiation bearing the         
slightest resemblance  to this one1     
occurs in any other of the numerous     
,winnebago societies1  and that the     
,medicine ,dance really possesses two   
initiations1--the one  being the        
purchase of membership2 and the other1  
that mentioned above4  ,it might also be
 added that non-members never speak of  
the shooting as  an initiation4 ,to them
 the shooting always appears as a       

shamanistic  practice associated with   
the 8strengthening0 of power4 ,the      
esoteric  interpretation1 however1      
regards this 8secondary0 initiation as  
primary4    ,summing up briefly the     
results of the analysis of the three    
initiations  discussed1 we must         
emphasize again the fact that we are    
dealing with  initiations essentially   
different in nature4 ,in the            
,ojibwa-,menominee  it is evidently a   
formal transfer of shamanistic powers   
from one  individual to another1 which  
has subsequently become synonymous with 
admission into the social status of a   
mide and then with admission into  a    
society4 ,in the ,shell ,society the    
transfer of powers is analogous to  the 
purchase of specific powers by one      
individual from another2 and as  these  
have become associated with a society1  
the individual buying them  purchased at
 the same time admission into the       
society4 ,in the ,pebble  ,society1     
initiation is synonymous with the       

acquisition of power through            
supernatural communication from some    
animal4 ,there is no transfer at  all1  
except in so far as the spirit animal   
transfers something to the  person      
fasting4 ,initiation is connected simply
 with the individual4 ,no  initiation   
into the society exists4 ,in the        
,winnebago ,medicine ,dance1  whatever  
may have been the primary method of     
initiation1 we have to-day  a definite  
initiation like that found in the       
,midewiwin4 ,this1 however1  has been   
borrowed from another ceremony1 and     
secondarily associated4  ,even now it is
 not in its proper organic position in  
the general  ceremony1 despite the fact 
that an esoteric re-interpretation has  
transformed it into a specific          
initiation into the ,medicine ,dance4   
,initiation is thus seen to be both a   
concept and a ritualistic complex1      
varying considerably in different       
tribes4 ,as a ritualistic complex1 it   
has entered freely into innumerable     

associations1 which can only be         
determined by a study of each specific  
ceremony4 ,the same holds true  with    
regard to the concept of initiation4 ,it
 is also apparent that  the concept has 
a marked influence in determining the   
nature of the  ritualistic complex      
connected with it1 and vice versa4 ,in  
both cases1  then1 we have to examine   
not merely the nature of these two      
phenomena  in a given area1 but likewise
 whether they represent historically    
primary concepts and complexes1 before  
we can make any attempt to  investigate 
what are the concepts that underlie all 
initiations4      ,v4 ,,the ,,general   
,,ceremony4--,in the foregoing remarks  
we have dealt with  the nature and      
significance of those specific rituals  
that go to make  the larger complex we  
have called the 8general ceremony40 ,we 
will now  proceed to examine the nature 
and significance of this general        
ceremony  itself4    #a4                
,ojibwa-,menominee4--,the general       

ceremony of the ,ojibwa-,menominee      
,midewiwin is to all intents and        
purposes the initiation ritual  itself4 
,there is really no other ritualistic   
complex with which it  is associated2   
nor is there any feature which          
interrupts in any way  the dramatic     
progress of events from the beginning1  
to the actual  initiation of the new    
member4 ,in reality this general        
ceremony must be  looked upon solely as 
the completion of a long course of      
preparatory  instruction4 ,nothing1     
indeed1 accentuates the minor part which
 the  actual 8society0 aspect of the    
,midewiwin plays than this slight       
development of the general ceremony4    
,the long course of preparatory         
instruction1 in which the shaman1 as an 
individual1 plays the major  part1 seems
 practically to be the main feature4    
#b4 ,shell ,society4--,in the ,shell    
,society the general ceremony consists  
of a large number of ritualistic        
complexes4 ,the basic ritual runs  like 

a red line through the whole1 and with  
this are associated the  following      
rituals3 the passing of the             
invitation-sticks1 the opening  of the  
pack by the keepers1 the circling of the
 fire 8by the four  children10 the      
filling of the wooden bowl with water1  
and finally the  shooting4 ,both the    
secret and the public ceremonies consist
 almost  exclusively of the shooting1   
and of the 8passing0 of the drum and the
  ritualistic details associated with   
it4 ,the meeting terminates as soon  as 
the last of the five ceremonial bands   
has finished this basic ritual4    #c4  
,pebble ,society4--,in the ,pebble      
,society the characteristic passing  of 
the drum likewise occurs1 and with it   
occur the details connected  with it1 as
 well as the preparation for shooting   
and the actual  shooting4 ,the number of
 ritualistic complexes is much smaller  
than in  the ,shell ,society4 ,however1 
this may be due to the meagreness of our
  information4 ,as contrasted with the  

marked unity of action displayed  in the
 ,shell ,society1 we find here a marked 
tendency for individual  development1   
that is perhaps to be expected1         
considering that the bond  of union     
7namely1 the powers obtained through    
common visions7 is a  rather vague one  
from the point of view of organization4 
#d4 ,medicine ,dance4--,in the ,medicine
 ,dance the general ceremony  includes1 
in addition to the basic and initiation 
rituals1 a secret  ceremony that takes  
place outside of the lodge itself4 ,as  
in the ,shell  and ,pebble ,societies1  
there are here also two sessions1 but   
both seem  to be secret4    ,the        
significance of the general ceremony    
mentioned is the performance  of a      
ritual for a variety of purposes1 the   
principal of which are1  first1 purely  
the perpetuation of the ritual2 and1    
secondly1 the  8strengthening0 and      
renewal of certain special powers4      
,these two  seem to be pre-eminently the
 functions of those ,omaha and          

,winnebago  societies that are based    
upon common visions4 ,in the former the 
element  of initiation plays no part at 
all4 ,the meetings of the society take  
place at almost any convenient time of  
the year4 ,for the ,winnebago the       
element of initiation is more           
pronounced4 ,the meetings are called for
  two reasons1--either for the purpose  
of initiating a member1 or for the      
purpose of acquiring additional powers4 
,in each case the general complexes are 
different1 and in each case they  depend
 upon associations that are both        
historically and psychologically        
determined by the specific cultural     
characteristics of the area in          
question4    ,,vi4 ,,the ,,complete     
,,ceremonial ,,complexes4--,the general 
ceremony is only one  element in an     
extremely elaborate complex4 ,its       
position in this complex  has been      
touched upon before4 ,we have now1      
however1 to examine this  complex       
itself1 and to see what are the         

ritualistic elements that form  it4 ,and
 in this final complex we have again to 
see whether there is a  tendency for    
certain elements to be associated in a  
definite manner2  and1 if this proves to
 be the case1 how this definite         
association is to  be interpreted4      
#a4 ,ojibwa4--,the ,ojibwa ,midewiwin   
consists of a long course of            
preparation1 and a formal public        
initiation into a society containing    
four degrees4 ,we have seen that the    
preparation is entirely shamanistic  in 
character1 and that the general public  
ceremony is to all intents  and purposes
 as much an initiation into the status  
of a mide as it  is into a society4     
,this interpretation is again           
strengthened by the  marked association 
of the general ceremony with shamanistic
 tricks4  ,among the ,cree it appears   
that this function of the ,midewiwin is 
of  prime importance4#ba ,in the        
8degrees0 we have another confirmation  
of its shamanistic character4 ,the four 

degrees are merely the four  instalments
 in which an old shaman sells his       
knowledge and power4 ,the  number #d has
 no especial significance1 except in so 
far as it is the  sacred number of the  
tribe4 ,miss ,densmore#bb found eight   
degrees  among another division of the  
,ojibwa2 and the number will doubtless  
be found to vary from division to       
division4 ,the requirements for         
admission into the second1 third1 and   
fourth degrees1 are greater  payments1  
and greater evidences of religious      
fitness4 ,the possessors  of the various
 degrees do not form distinct classes4  
,those of the  first degree alone1      
possess one degree only4 ,there is no   
passing from  one to another degree1 but
 simply an addition of degrees1 so that 
an  individual with the fourth degree   
possesses all the other degrees2 in     
other words1 degrees are merely marks of
 increased power4 ,it is for  this      
reason that an initiation practically   
the same as that for the  first degree  

is necessary for the other degrees4 ,the
 fact that a new  initiation into the   
society is necessary for each degree1   
and that the  distinctions represented  
by the degrees are merely transferences 
of  increased shamanistic powers1       
differing accordingly as they have been 
obtained from one or another shaman1    
emphasizes strongly the specific        
shamanistic nature of the ,midewiwin4   
,as we have said before1 the ,midewiwin 
is a society1 not so much because  it is
 an association of mide1 but because    
there have come to be  associated with  
it certain functions of a religious and 
social nature1  setting it off as a     
unit4 ,the fact that the members are    
mide will1 of  course1 have an enormous 
influence on some of the functions that 
the  society is supposed to possess4    
,the powers of the individual mide are  
those connected with the healing  of    
wounds1 the curing of disease1 the      
ability to transform one's  self into   
any animal or object at will1 the       

performance of seemingly  impossible    
tricks1 and lastly the practice of evil 
magic4 ,in the  teachings of the        
individual mide in his rle as a member  
of the  ,midewiwin1 all these elements  
are present2 but there are1 in addition1
  two other powers which are            
specifically ,midewiwin                 
functions1--namely1  the power to       
prolong life1 and the power to assure a 
successful passage  to the future world4
 ,the power of prolonging life is not   
supposed to  be an effect of the        
shooting4 ,the belief is1 that          
membership in the  society1 and the     
proper observance of the ritual and     
precepts1 will  enable an individual to 
surmount successfully the crises of life
 and  the evil designs of his enemies4  
,just as the proper observance of       
ritual and precepts prolongs life1 so it
 will likewise insure the safe  passage 
of a soul from this to a future world4  
,according to ,william  ,jones1 8it was 
believed that the soul followed a path  

to go to the  spirit world1 and that the
 path was beset with dangers to oppose  
the passage of the soul2 but that it was
 possible to overcome the  obstacles by 
the use of the formulas which could be  
learned only in the  ,midewiwin40#bc    
,to assert dogmatically that these two  
powers do not come within the  scope of 
the individual mide1 may perhaps be     
unwarranted2 but at  present the        
evidence among the ,ojibwa is certainly 
negative4 ,however1  the ,midewiwin is  
considered to be intimately associated  
with these  specific functions4 ,they   
are not associated with the specific    
powers of  the mide4 ,in reality1 they  
are the general religio-magical         
possessions  of the tribe1 that have    
been secondarily associated with the    
,midewiwin4    #b4                      
,menominee4--,practically all that has  
been said of the ,ojibwa  applies in    
equal degree to the ,menominee          
,midewiwin4 ,but two important          
differences are noticeable1--first1 a   

member is always succeeded by  a near   
relative2 and1 secondly1 not only is the
 ,midewiwin connected  with the function
 of insuring the safe passage to the    
future world1  but the ceremony itself  
begins at the grave of the deceased     
member as  soon as the mortuary rites   
are over4 ,they may even be regarded as 
a  continuation of the same4    #c4     
,shell ,society4--,in the ,shell        
,society the organization1 in           
contradistinction to the                
,ojibwa-,menominee ,midewiwin1 is not   
based on  individuals as such1 but on   
definite ceremonial group units4 ,there 
are  five to-day1 but there seem to have
 been more formerly4    ,we find a      
fourfold designation for the lodges4    
,they are known to-day as  those of the 
eldest son or sun1 second son or stars1 
daughter or moon1  and youngest son or  
earth4 ,sometimes1 however1 these same  
are known in  order as ,black-,bear1    
,elk1 ,buffalo1 and ,deer ,lodge4 ,the  
first 8old man's  lodge0 7uju7 is also  

known as that of the ,eagle4    ,the    
general ceremony has been described     
before1 and we will therefore  proceed  
to discuss what appears to be the       
purpose of the society1 what  powers its
 members possessed1 and with what       
functions it was associated4    ,the    
definite purpose of the society seems to
 be the performance of  a certain       
ritual4 ,that in addition there is      
likewise the desire to  increase or at  
least strengthen the powers received at 
purchase1 is  extremely probable1 but   
this cannot be definitely stated4 ,what 
can be  definitely stated1 however1 is  
the fact that an absolutely essential   
condition for efficacy of the powers    
obtained is the performance of  the     
ritual2 and in this it is radically     
distinct from the ,midewiwin1  for there
 the powers obtained from the shaman    
have no relation to the  ritual4 ,the   
efficacy then1 of the powers1 remains   
always what it was  when taught to the  
new member4    ,in discussing what the  

powers of the members are1 it is again  
essential  to distinguish what they     
possess by virtue of membership1 and    
what they  possess as individuals4 ,we  
should most naturally expect that       
certain  conceptions1 certain cultural  
possessions1 belong to a large body of  
,omaha4 ,if1 then1 we find them in a    
certain society1 it is most natural  to 
assume that they have not been obtained 
by reason of membership  therein1 but   
that this society will reflect general  
,omaha ideas4 ,this  or that society may
 emphasize certain ideas1 and may       
develop them  along certain lines1 but  
it certainly does not originate them4   
,they  have no relation of cause and    
effect to any particular society4 ,this 
has sometimes been assumed to be the    
case1 and such a view comes out  clearly
 in ,miss ,fletcher's#bd statement that 
all secret societies  among the ,omaha  
dealt more or less with magic as well as
 with healing  by means of herbs and    
roots4 ,it is palpably not because they 

are  secret societies that their members
 have developed any such tendencies1    
but because1 as secret societies1 they  
reflected ,omaha customs and  modes of  
thought4 ,for the same reason ,miss     
,fletcher's conclusion1 that  because in
 both the ,shell and ,pebble ,societies 
shamanistic tricks are  performed1 they 
may possibly be historically connected1 
is unwarranted4  ,the observance of     
shamanistic tricks is so general a      
phenomenon1 that  all that can be said1 
when two societies are found emphasizing
 them1 is  that two societies emphasized
 or developed one or many ,omaha        
customs4  ,there is no need of assuming 
any historical connection unless this   
has  been shown to be the case4    ,let 
us now return to what is distinctive in 
the powers of a member of  the ,shell   
,society4    ,the name of the society is
 8,those-who-have-the-,shell40 ,it is   
the  possession of the shell that       
separates them from other societies4 ,in
  the ideas clustering around the powers

 of this object we are most  likely to  
find one of the important specific      
advantages of membership4  ,as far as   
can be gathered from ,miss ,fletcher's  
account1 the shell is  connected with   
certain magical qualities4 ,it is       
difficult to say what  specific magical 
qualities are meant4 ,however1 to judge 
from the nature  of the general ceremony
 and the songs1 we are really dealing   
with magic  in its most general sense1  
but connected in this case with a       
specific  object1 a shell2 that is1 we  
might imagine hypothetically that the   
society originated in connection with   
the vision of an individual1 in  which  
the magical power was associated with a 
shell4 ,the same power  might1 in the   
case of another individual1 be          
associated with a drum1  a flute1 a     
gourd1 a stone1 or what not4 ,apart from
 difference in  ritualistic detail1 and 
in the nature of some of the elements   
that go  to make up the general         
ritualistic complex1 it is this         

association  of magical powers with one 
object in one case1 and with another in 
another case1 that constitutes the      
difference between the various ,omaha   
societies4    ,to illustrate how general
 is the magical power of the shell in   
the  ,shell ,society1 and how essential 
is the specific object possessing  the  
magic1 we will give the following       
instances4 ,in the origin myth1         
shooting is supposed to kill the        
8children20 in the general ceremony it  
probably serves to strengthen powers    
already acquired2 in the ceremony  for  
punishing offenders1 of which we shall  
speak later1 it is merely an  example of
 sympathetic magic4    ,together with   
the magic specifically associated with  
the shell1 the  members exercised       
individual magic2 as1 for example1      
killing a horse  because its owner had  
offended him1 or killing another member 
by  magically having a snake hidden near
 the place where the other was          
accustomed to work4 ,these instances of 

the exercise of magic must not1         
however1 be considered as specific of   
the society4    ,in addition to the     
association of the ,shell ,society with 
magic in its  more general aspect1 and  
also in its application to some specific
  object1 we find it associated with    
general shamanistic practices1 with     
conceptions relating to life after      
death1 and with a magical ceremony  for 
punishing offenders4 ,the shamanistic   
practices have been dwelt  on before4   
,all that can be said about the         
connection of the society  with         
ceremonies performed upon the death of a
 member is1 that the  deceased is       
carried to a tent in which the regular  
ceremonial is gone  through4#be ,whether
 this ceremony has any definite         
connection with  ideas relating to the  
journey of the soul to the future world1
 is not  known4    ,by far the most     
interesting ceremony associated with the
 ,shell ,society  is that for punishing 
offenders4#bf ,the main purpose seems to

 be the  punishment of an individual 8in
 order to keep the people in order  and 
check crime1 such as molesting wives or 
daughters and destroying  property and  
so causing mischief in the tribe40 ,this
 was effected  through a sacred figure  
supposed to represent the society4444   
8,the  arms contained poisons for       
punishment1 and the leg the magic shells
  which made it possible to administer  
this punishment4444 ,when a man         
committed an offence that seemed to     
demand punishment1 the society  met at  
night1 and if it had determined to      
punish the man1 then this  figure was   
brought out40#bg ,now1 it must be borne 
in mind that  there is here no          
suggestion of any legal procedure1 but  
merely1 as  we shall see1 an application
 of the magical powers of the society to
  a very specific social purpose4       
,punishment consisted in causing the    
offender to become sick through the     
application of poison to a figure       
supposed to symbolize him1 which is     

drawn on the earth4 ,this figure was    
subsequently shot at4 ,when the ceremony
 was over1 the leaders waited  until    
they had been informed that the offender
 had become sick1 when  they assembled  
in a tent and sang until the man died4  
,in this ceremony we have again a       
shamanistic practice which was  probably
 exercised by many members of the tribe1
 associated in one  of the societies    
with a definite and specific function4  
,but this  specific function1 plus the  
other traits that have been enumerated  
as  characteristic of the society1 go to
 make up a complex that is looked  upon 
as a definite unit4    #d4 ,pebble      
,society4--,the remarks made on the     
purpose of the ,shell  ,society are1    
generally speaking1 applicable to the   
,pebble ,society4  ,instead of being    
attached to a shell1 the magical powers 
are here  attached to a translucent     
pebble4 ,the possibility for a greater  
variability in the nature of the powers 
obtained was given by the fact  that all

 those who had had a vision of water1 or
 its representative1  the pebble or the 
water-spirit1 could become members4 ,the
 water-spirit  was always associated    
with the granting of knowledge relating 
to  medicinal herbs and the power of    
healing sickness generally2 and we  find
 in the society1 consequently1 a large  
preponderance of individuals  with such 
powers4 ,the association between these  
powers and some  definite object1 in    
this case the pebble1 is not as intimate
 as that  found to exist between        
corresponding powers and a similar      
object in the  ,shell ,society2 in other
 words1 the shaman1 as an individual1 is
 more  prominent4    ,the most important
 association of the society is that     
connected with  the curing of disease4  
,it would be erroneous to consider this 
function  as a secondary association1 as
 it is conditioned by the fact that the 
visions from the water-spirit would     
necessarily be connected with 8the      
powers0 relating to medicinal herbs and 

their healing virtues4    #e4 ,medicine 
,dance4--,the ,medicine ,dance1 looked  
upon in its entirety1  is composed of a 
long course of preparation 7now         
discontinued71 the  ,four ,nights'      
,preparation1 the sweat-bath ceremony1  
the night and the  day divisions of the 
general ceremony1 and the secret brush  
ceremony4  ,these ceremonies have all   
become amalgamated into a more or less  
firm  unit1 whose individual            
characteristics we have touched upon    
before4    ,the society is known in     
,winnebago as ,makani1 the word maka1   
meaning 8medicine0 in its medicinal     
aspect1 as opposed to was1  meaning     
8medicine0 in its magical aspect4 ,as   
far as can be seen from  a detailed     
study of the rituals1 no prominence     
seems1 however1 to be  given to the     
therapeutic or herbalist aspect4 ,there 
are1 it is true1  medicines for general 
therapeutic practice and for hunting1   
fishing1  love1 and especially for 8bad0
 purposes4 ,but in the ceremony as given

  to-day1 and as described by those well
 versed in the ritual of the  society1  
these medicines find no place4    ,there
 is1 however1 a very persistent exoteric
 interpretation of  the ,medicine       
,dance1 according to which the members  
are regarded  primarily as powerful     
shamans concerned preferably with the   
practice  of 8bad0 magic4 ,in this      
practice they are greatly aided by the  
fact  that their membership in the      
society increases their magical powers1 
especially that connected with the      
ability to transform themselves  into   
all kinds of animate and inanimate      
objects for the furtherance  of their   
evil designs4 ,the most feared          
shamans--those who are  distinguished   
from all others by the possession of the
 iron moccasins  7mazuagudj7--belonged  
to this society4 ,this exoteric         
interpretation  does not1 however1 seem 
to tally with the designation mankani4  
,personally ,i think this term is a     
popular one1 and has no real            

significance as a characterization of   
the functions of the society1  at least 
to-day4 ,this exoteric interpretation is
 in all probability  true to a certain  
extent4 ,it would1 however1 be essential
 to determine  whether these shamanistic
 powers are characteristic of members as
  individuals1 and only secondarily     
connected with them as members of the   
society1 before we can properly         
understand their significance4 ,that    
membership was connected in any way with
 an increase of shamanistic  powers1 is 
certainly improbable4 ,these powers are 
unquestionably  identical with the      
general shamanistic and magical         
practices mentioned  previously in the  
,shell and ,pebble ,societies4    ,in   
other words1 the general shamanistic and
 magical beliefs of the  tribe are found
 present in this society1 as they are   
found in other  societies4    ,what     
would tend to minimize our considering  
these features as in any  way           
significant of the ,medicine ,dance1 is 

the fact that there has been  no        
tendency to develop or emphasize any    
specific aspect of magic1 and  that     
shamanistic practices are absent and    
appear entirely disassociated  from the 
society4    ,the purpose of the         
,medicine ,dance is in part the desire  
to attain a  long life1 a safe journey  
to the next world1 and the possibility  
of  a return to this life again1        
preferably in human shape4 ,all these   
benefits may be obtained by taking an   
active part in the ceremony1  and by    
performing to the best of one's ability 
all the duties of a  member4 ,although  
it is essential to participate in the   
entire ritual in  order to obtain these 
benefits to the fullest extent1         
nevertheless the  phenomena of shooting 
and being shot at play an especially    
important  rle in this connection4      
,long life means essentially the life   
consisting of a normal length of  years1
 with all the possessions of wealth1    
social and intellectual  distinction1   

that would naturally be included4 ,among
 the ,winnebago1  this concept of years 
is very definite1 because they believe  
that to  each individual has been       
assigned a life containing a certain    
number of  years1 a certain amount of   
wealth1 a certain number of enemies     
killed  on the warpath1 etc4 ,if a man1 
therefore1 dies before he has reached   
the end of his 8predestined0 life1 the  
residue1 it is hoped1 will be           
distributed among his relatives4        
,when in the ,medicine ,dance they pray 
for long life1 what they mean is  the   
ability to surmount the crises of life4 
,whatever may be the nature  of these   
crises1--whether they relate to family  
disasters1 sickness1 old  age1 etc41--it
 is expected that they will be overcome 
by membership and  active participation 
in the society4 ,there seems to be no   
suggestion  that this is attained       
through the influence of magic4 ,it is  
mere  membership and obedience to the   
society's teachings1 ambition to raise  

one's status by purchasing more and more
 privileges1 that accomplish  the       
desired end in view4 ,the safe journey  
to the future world and the  belief in  
transmigration may be obtained in a     
similar way4 ,if one  performs his      
duties and rises to the highest         
distinction1 he will have  no difficulty
 in attaining his object and in         
successfully overcoming  all the        
obstacles to his passage4    ,the prayer
 for long life is specifically addressed
 to the ,rabbit1  the mythical founder  
of the society1 and indirectly addressed
 to  ,earth-,maker 7ma'una71 the spirit 
who sent him to clear the earth of  the 
obstacles to man's progress4 ,it is the 
only prayer ever addressed  to him4 ,no 
supernatural communication is possible4 
,as a matter of  fact1 it is only in    
this and in the ,winter ,feast that     
,earth-,maker is  associated with this  
specific power of granting long life4   
,it would be quite erroneous to imagine 
that the prayer for long life1  passage 

to the next world1 and transmigration1  
are ideas specifically  connected with  
the ,medicine ,dance4 ,as a matter of   
fact1 they constitute  the              
characteristic cultural traits of the   
,winnebago1 and crop out  everywhere in 
the folk-lore and in the general        
rituals4 ,the question of  the safe     
passage to the next world is perhaps    
even more specifically  associated with 
the ,four ,nights' ,wake4 ,the purpose  
of the wake is to  enable the deceased  
to successfully overcome the four great 
obstacles  on the road to the spirit    
home of his clan4 ,this is accomplished1
  first1 by the performance of a        
definite ritual2 and1 secondly1 by some 
warrior relating one of his exploits on 
the warpath and putting at  the disposal
 of the deceased the spirit of the man  
he had killed1 to  act as a servant to  
him4 ,the close relation between the    
ethical worth  of the deceased and of   
the one who relates the exploit1 on the 
one  hand1 and the safe journey to the  

spirit world1 on the other1 comes  out  
as strongly here as it does in the      
,medicine ,dance2 but it seems          
unnecessary1 for that reason1 to        
predicate any historical connection     
between the two4 ,they both reflect the 
cultural background around them4        
,similarly the various elements that    
make up the life which the  members of  
the ,medicine ,dance pray for1--the     
food-supply1 the power of  healing1     
success on the warpath1 a normal quota  
of years1--these are  all definitely    
associated with spirits and ceremonials4
 ,success in war  is associated1 not    
with one society1 but with a number of  
societies4  ,it would1 however1 be      
manifestly erroneous and unnecessary to 
claim  that it belongs essentially more 
to the one than to the other society1   
unless direct historical proof for such 
a statement were forthcoming4    #f4    
,summary4--,we are now in a better      
position to see in what the nature  of  
the complete ceremonial complex         

consists4 ,the unit it consists of  is  
loose in the ,ojibwa-,menominee1 and    
strong in the ,shell and ,pebble        
,societies and in the ,medicine ,dance4 
,the specific component elements  are to
 a large extent different in each4 ,it  
is utterly impossible now  to discover  
the origin of the differences in the    
individual component  elements2 but it  
is quite clear that the forces tending  
to develop the  larger ceremonial       
complexes have been1 not those of a     
dissociation1 but  distinctly those of  
an association1 of elements4    ,these  
associations may be of the most diverse 
kind4 ,certain features  may always have
 been associated with certain other     
elements1 such as  medicinal herbs and  
medicines with the water-spirit1 as in  
the case of  the ,omaha and ,winnebago4 
,this1 then1 is for all practical       
purposes an  ultimate unit4 ,if1        
consequently1 we find an intimate       
connection between  a vision from the   
water-spirit and the practice of        

medicinal herbs1 we  must not consider  
this as a secondary association that has
 come about  through the influence of a 
ceremony4    ,in the same way1 the      
connection of the buffalo with the      
magical renewal  of the food-supply will
 probably have to be looked upon as such
 an  ultimate unit4    ,our first       
object1 therefore1 when we find certain 
elements associated1  is to determine   
whether there is any reason for         
believing that we are  dealing with some
 such ultimate complex or unit4    ,on  
the other hand1 when we find a magical  
ceremony for punishing  offenders       
7viewed from its social aspect7         
associated with the ,shell  ,society1 or
 mortuary ceremonies associated with the
 ,menominee  ,midewiwin1 these          
associations cannot be considered as    
being ultimately  connected with any    
particular aspect of the society's      
function1 as  the complexes which they  
form exhibit an extreme variability4    
,their  presence in various societies   

must be interpreted as secondary        
associations of some kind4 ,as secondary
 associations1 however1 they  may have  
been conditioned either by their        
specific nature or by the  specific     
development of the society4 ,as such we 
might1 for instance1  view either       
certain aspects of the shamanistic      
practices of the ,ojibwa  ,midewiwin1 or
 the mortuary ceremonies connected with 
the ,menominee  ,midewiwin1 or the      
punishment of offenders in the ,shell   
,society4    ,when1 however1 we find    
cultural phenomena1 which are generally 
possessed by a tribe1 associated in     
varying degrees with this or  that      
ceremonial1 this association must be    
looked upon as due to the  influence of 
the cultural environment4 ,this         
influence may be conceived  as setting  
in at any time during the historical    
development of the  ceremony1 while the 
ceremony itself remains passive2 as1 for
 instance1  if the journey to the spirit
 land is connected with the ,medicine   

,dance1  or with the wake1 with the     
telling of truth1 or with membership in 
a clan4 ,here it is obviously the       
cultural environment that has been      
active4 ,if1 however1 the mide1 united  
in an organization1 develop  certain    
phases of this general cultural         
environment1 such as magic and          
shamanistic practices1 in a specific    
way1 we have a right to credit  this    
development as due to the activity of   
the society1 and we have  consequently a
 real secondary association of definite 
practices with  an historically older   
organization4 ,of course1 a good deal in
 this  particular case would be caused  
by the fact that the members are mide2  
but after this historically preliminary 
stage1 the ,midewiwin became an  active 
unit as a society2 and in this sense1 if
 it then specifically  utilizes certain 
beliefs in a special manner1 it can be  
said to be  secondarily associating     
them4    ,it is thus seen that the      
mechanism of the association is both    

psychologically and historically highly 
complex4 ,one thing1 however1  seems to 
be quite demonstrable2 namely1 that     
there is always one  constant           
element1--the specific cultural         
background or type of each  tribe4      
,bearing this in mind1 the similarities 
in the association of the  ,midewiwin of
 the ,ojibwa-,menominee1 the ,medicine  
,dance of the ,winnebago1  and the      
,shell and ,pebble ,societies of the    
,omaha1 do not necessarily  indicate an 
historical relationship1 but would most 
likely tend  to show that a number of   
ideas and customs were common to a large
  cultural area4 ,this does not of      
course interfere in the least with the  
possibility of an historical connection1
 but this historical connection  must in
 each case be demonstrated4 ,however1   
even if it were proved1  an historical  
connection alone cannot possibly explain
 the entire  phenomenon2 for the        
cultural environment1 if it is the same1
 will  condition general similarities   

and resemblances in ceremonies that     
historically are quite unrelated1 so    
that the convergent evolution thus      
resulting will completely obscure at    
times the individual history of a       
ceremony4 ,it is1 for instance1 possible
 that historically the journey  to the  
spirit land was connected with the wake 
among the ,winnebago4 ,the  general     
prevalence of the same idea among so    
many social and ceremonial  groups      
to-day1 however1 makes it unjustifiable 
to assume such a  connection in the     
absence of any direct historical data2  
so that1  although there is to my mind  
little doubt that these associations are
  all historically different1 owing to  
the influence of certain general        
cultural ideas1 they present to-day the 
same picture4    ,it is quite safe to   
assume that1 just as we have shown that 
the  shooting ceremony in the ,medicine 
,dance is the borrowed initiation       
ritual of the ,midewiwin1 so it would be
 possible to demonstrate1 were  we in   

the possession of fuller historical     
data1 that other elements  have been    
borrowed4 ,however1 when we have        
demonstrated the borrowing of  a certain
 element1 we have only partially1 and   
often only inadequately1  explained it4 
,its further explanation is possible    
only in terms of the  specific type of  
ceremony1 and of the general cultural   
environment with  which it has been     
associated4 ,both of these may change4  
,it does not  follow that because1 among
 the ,winnebago to-day1 all the         
societies are  practically associations 
of individuals who have obtained        
supernatural  communication from this or
 that spirit1 this was therefore always 
the  basis of the societies4 ,to-day the
 ,medicine ,dance and the ,night ,spirit
  or ,sore-,eye ,dance have a different 
type of organization4 ,originally the   
latter had the former type1 and the     
,medicine ,dance may have had it4 ,it   
is1 for instance1 barely possible that  
we may in this case be dealing  with the

 beginning of a change of type of       
organization1 and that1  similarly1     
types of organization preceded that1    
whose essence to-day  lies in the       
possession of common visions4           
99       99       99       99       99  
,we have now finished the examination of
 a number of definite  ceremonies4 ,our 
object in analyzing them was to         
determine in what the  significance of  
the common elements lay1 and what       
general historical  and psychological   
tendencies were operative in their      
growth4 ,we may now  examine the results
 of our study in the light of ,schurtz's
 theory1 and  examine the data upon     
which ,schurtz based his theory in the  
light of  the leading points of view    
emphasized above4    ,,vii4 ,r,,sum     
,,and ,,conclusion4--,the main thesis   
,schurtz sought to establish  was the   
demonstration of the parallel historical
 development of society  as determined  
by certain psychological tendencies of  
the race4 ,it is  of prime importance to

 remember that he claimed to have found 
certain  survivals by means of which he 
was able to reconstruct the stages in   
the history of society4 ,initiation     
degrees1 the exclusion of women1  etc41 
he considered 8symptomatic0 of these    
stages4 ,his main object was  to prove  
the existence of these symptoms4        
,wherever he found them1 he  was        
satisfied that he was dealing with      
vestiges of the stages through  which   
society had passed4 ,all these symptoms1
 according to ,schurtz1 had  definite   
and specific connotations1 and were     
associated with definite  and specific  
stages in the development of society4   
,we have seen1 in the analysis of the   
ceremonies of a limited area1 that  the 
common elements which were supposed to  
be symptomatic of historical            
relationship had no such value1 and that
 they entered into a number  of cultural
 complexes historically distinct one    
from another4 ,in the  same way we will 
now examine the more fundamental        

symptoms--initiation1  degrees1 and the 
exclusion of women--to see whether any  
specific  significance attaches to them1
 and whether they1 too1 have not become 
associated with a number of cultural    
complexes historically distinct4  ,if   
they have thus become associated1 then  
their value as criteria for  definite   
stages of social evolution is nil4      
#a4 ,initiation4--,it was our main      
purpose1 in analyzing the above         
ceremonies1 to examine them quite apart 
from any theoretical  presuppositions4  
,in so proceeding1 we obtained as a     
resultant the fact  that initiation     
connoted psychologically and            
historically a number of  different     
things1 and that this difference seemed 
dependent upon the  historical and      
psychological individuality of each     
tribe4 ,to ,schurtz1  however1          
initiation meant primarily an initiation
 into puberty1 and  into that social    
status with which puberty has been so   
long and closely  associated1--an       

association that seemed1 historically   
speaking1 almost  an ultimate complex2  
namely1 initiation into the tribe4 ,he  
assumes that  if it is found to mean    
anything else1 then this new meaning is 
either  a secondary association1 or1    
preferably1 an historical development   
from the first conception4 ,carried out 
logically1 we should therefore  have to 
consider initiation into a masonic order
 or into a college  fraternity as a     
transformation of an original tribal    
initiation4 ,to  this1 ,i think1        
,schurtz would have taken serious       
exception1 on the  ground that we are   
here dealing with a purely rational and 
artificial  social group4 ,but are we   
not to a certain extent dealing with the
 same  phenomenon in the primitive      
societies discussed8    ,in examining a 
phenomenon such as initiation1 we must  
not forget  that it is1 in a general    
way1 absolutely conditioned by the      
specific  individuality of one man as   
opposed to that of another4 ,the desire 

of  one man for participation in the    
possessions of another1 or in those of  
some differentiated group1 is an        
ultimate fact for which we need give  no
 explanation4 ,what is essential for our
 discussion is the realization  that the
 methods of this participation are      
infinite1 depending entirely  upon the  
influence of cultural factors in the    
development of specific  areas1 and of  
institutions within them4 ,thus         
initiation into the  ,midewiwin is the  
transfer of certain mide powers2 into   
the ,pebble and  other ,omaha           
,societies1 a common vision2 into the   
,medicine ,dance1 the  transfer of      
certain knowledge4 ,this transfer or    
initiation is in no  way different from 
that which takes place between two      
individuals1  except that in the former 
case we are dealing with phenomena      
between an  individual on the one hand1 
and a group of individuals on the other4
  ,this conception of initiation has    
become associated everywhere with       

social and ceremonial groups4 ,one may1 
for instance1 be initiated into  a clan1
 into a name1 into a family1 etc4    ,to
 ,schurtz1 however1 the concept of      
initiation is primarily associated  with
 puberty4 ,his argument is that puberty 
is a physiological stage  through which 
every one must pass4 ,the change to     
sexual maturity is so  important a fact1
 that it cannot possibly have escaped   
any tribe4 ,it  follows that this       
physiological change must have been     
correlated with  a change in the        
position of the individual in the tribe4
 ,he will1 for  instance1 among other   
things1 be less subjected to the        
influence of his  mother1 and more to   
that of his father1 etc4    ,all these  
general propositions are true2 and it is
 also unquestionably  true that there   
has been a marked tendency for          
ceremonies to cluster  around that      
period of physiological change which we 
call puberty4  ,similarly1 in some      
cultural areas there has been a         

secondary1 or1  if you wish1 a constant 
association of puberty rites with a     
formal  adoption into the tribe4 ,in    
,australia1 for instance1 the individual
  does not become of active social      
importance until he has passed through  
certain rites at the age of puberty4    
,the essential point1 however1 is       
whether he does not always become of    
active social importance at about that  
age4 ,he unquestionably does4 ,we       
cannot1 therefore1 assume offhand that  
it is the fact of puberty that  is being
 emphasized by the initiatory rites4    
,this would be the case  only if we     
could prove that puberty is invariably  
associated with some  form of           
initiation4 ,if it is not1 then we must 
regard the clustering  of the concept of
 initiation around the age of puberty1  
among the  ,australians and other       
tribes1 as a cultural peculiarity of    
these  peoples4#bh    ,in other words1  
the beginning of the social importance  
of an individual  may be associated with

 puberty initiation rites4 ,initiation  
may1  however1 be associated with any   
period of development4 ,for instance1   
among the ,christians and ,semites1 it  
is found associated with birth in  the  
forms of baptism and circumcision2 and  
just as with any age1 so it  may become 
associated with any social or ceremonial
 unit4 ,it can thus  become associated  
with entrance into a society2 and we may
 consequently  say that a society is    
only one of the numerous cultural       
elements with  which initiation has     
become associated4    ,it is1 however1 a
 truism to state that initiation is     
essential for  group differentiation2   
excluding1 of course1 the case where    
membership  in a group is not synonymous
 with birth4 ,when ,schurtz1 therefore1 
reconstructs the evolution of           
initiation1 and connects the initiation 
into a society with that at puberty1 he 
must have been guided by some  more     
fundamental facts than that of the      
presence of initiation4 ,the            

postulation of a genetic relationship   
between the two initiations lay  really 
in the fact that he detected in the form
 of initiation into  the society certain
 8symptoms0 which he regarded as being  
primarily  associated with puberty      
initiation4 ,these symptoms were the    
presence of  8tests0 as essential for   
admission into a society2 and           
group-initiation  or the initiation of a
 number of youths at the same time4     
,that he was  thinking of tests in the  
most general way1 can be seen by the    
following  statement4 8,das ,austeilen  
von ,schlgen 444 im ,duk-,duk hngt wohl 
mit  den ,mutproben der ,knabenweihe    
zusammen40#bi ,it is hardly necessary to
  insist that the test concept used in  
this generalized manner is found        
associated with the ordinary forms of   
eligibility2 so that1 wherever  the idea
 of eligibility is associated with a    
social or ceremonial  group1 there it   
will be natural to find tests4 ,there is
 no need of  giving any examples3 they  

must occur to every one4 ,the test      
feature  must consequently be considered
 so general a cultural possession that  
its association with diverse cultural   
phenomena is quite natural1 and  its    
significance will in each case depend   
upon specific conditions4  ,we cannot1  
therefore1 predicate any general        
significance for the  association of the
 test feature in specific cultural      
complexes4    ,schurtz's second symptom 
comes out strongly in his discussion of 
the ,ruk-,ruk ,society of ,northern     
,bougainville4#cj ,we have here1 he     
says1 a remarkable connecting link      
between simple men's associations       
7,mnnerbnde71 firmly established by     
puberty rites and secret  societies4 ,he
 arrives at this conclusion1 because he 
finds it customary  there to have a     
group of youths initiated into the      
society at the same  time4 ,here both   
the youth of the novices and the group  
initiation are  emphasized as being     
symptomatic of a development from former

 men's  associations 7,mnnerbnde74      
,it must1 however1 be remembered1 as we 
have said before1 that a man  becomes   
socially active at about the age of     
puberty1 and that his  social activity  
will naturally take those channels      
customary in a  given tribe4 ,the fact  
that a youth enters a society like the  
,ruk-,ruk1  to which most members of the
 tribe belong1 should not excite wonder4
  ,as a matter of fact1 we should find  
it necessary to explain why he  did not 
join4 ,his failure to become a member   
would most certainly be  associated1 in 
such a case1 with a low social status4  
,what is to be  emphasized here is not  
the youth of the novices1 but the       
intellectual  development occurring at  
that age4 ,this comes out clearly in the
 case  of the ,duk-,duk1 where the      
parents generally purchase membership   
for  their children immediately after   
birth4 ,young children behave like      
regularly initiated members1 but they   
only become active members at the  age  

of sixteen4 ,similarly in the ,winnebago
 ,medicine ,dance individuals  may be   
initiated in early childhood1 but it is 
at a much later period  that they       
possess the powers of adult members4 ,as
 a matter of fact1  admission depends   
upon so large a number of factors in    
different  societies1 that it would be  
possible to draw up a table that would  
include all ages from birth to old age4 
,in the same way the initiation of a    
group of individuals at one time        
depends upon too large a number of      
factors to permit any single            
interpretation4 ,the burden of proof    
rests with ,schurtz to show that the    
presence of a specific test connects the
 ,ruk-,ruk ,society with puberty  rites1
 and that the presence of a group       
initiation in the ,duk-,duk  connects   
that society with the men's             
associations4    ,perhaps a few examples
 might bring out more clearly the       
different kinds  of initiation4    ,in  
the ,ruk-,ruk ,society the novices      

retire to the woods1 work for their     
sponsors1 lay out their plantations1    
etc4 ,they are also supposed  to        
converse with spirits4#ca ,similar      
conditions are found in the  ,matambala 
,society of the ,island of ,florida4#cb 
,this retirement to  the woods and to a 
holy precinct1 and consequent           
re-appearance1 are  characteristic of a 
large number of initiations4 ,the work  
the novice  performs for his sponsor    
must also be regarded as a              
characteristic of  this area4 ,the tests
 of the novice have been spoken of      
before4 ,they  are1 as might be         
expected1 of the most diverse kind4 ,in 
,fiji1 for  instance1 a ceremonial      
attack upon the novices occurs1 which is
 said to  symbolize their death4#cc     
,in ,africa we find many of the         
characteristics noted above4 ,in the    
,purrah the novices retire to a holy    
precinct1 and are said to  endure       
extreme hardship4 ,only warriors thirty 
years of age can be  initiated4#cd ,in  

the ,mumbo-,djumbo only youths older    
than sixteen are  admitted4#ce ,the     
other conditions are similar to those of
 the ,purrah4  ,in the ,simo            
organization novices were circumcized   
and lived seven years  in the woods4#cf 
,in the ,mwetyi ,society1 in addition to
 probations1 the  youths adopt a taboo  
of certain foods or drinks1 to which    
they remain  faithful ever after4#cg ,in
 the ,ndembo ,society novices are shot  
by a  rattle1 and fall down as if dead4 
,they are then carried away to some     
holy precinct1 where often as many as   
from twenty to fifty individuals  remain
 at the same time4 ,at this place they  
stay sometimes as long as  three years4 
,their bodies are supposed to           
disintegrate during this  time4 ,when   
they are supposed to return1 the shaman 
gathers their bones  and restores them  
to life4 ,on the return to their        
villages1 they behave  like unknown     
children1 fail to recognize their       
relatives1 to understand  their own     

language1 etc4#ch ,in the ,nkimba       
similar conditions are  found4#ci       
,the variability of the method and      
concept of initiation is thus  seen to  
be enormous4 ,it might be interesting in
 this connection to  point out how      
certain ideas will cluster around       
initiation in one  large geographical   
area1 and how the same ideas will       
cluster around  a different cultural    
complex in another large geographical   
area4  ,for instance1 in the ,south     
,seas and in ,africa1 initiation is     
found  generally associated with tests  
or probations2 whereas in ,north        
,america  tests are not associated with 
initiation into the society1 but with   
the  obtaining of visions at the age of 
puberty4    #b4 ,degrees4--,to ,schurtz1
 degrees are symptomatic of age classes4
  ,wherever he finds them in societies1 
and wherever they seem to be  correlated
 with certain ages1 he concludes that   
they are vestiges of  former age groups4
 ,however1 he seems to have overlooked  

one fact1--that  the same social and    
individual forces that would tend toward
 the  formation of societies would      
necessarily tend toward the development 
of distinctions within them4 ,it will   
depend entirely upon the nature  of the 
people and the individual history of the
 organization1 in  what manner these    
distinctions will be emphasized4 ,one of
 the  possible methods of emphasizing   
them is marking off those with common   
possessions in some definite manner4    
,here1 again1 much will depend upon  the
 kind of group into which the individual
 is initiated4 ,if1 when  he enters the 
society1 he is initiated into all that  
pertains to it1  gradations will not be 
likely to arise4 ,generally1 however1   
there is  certainly a marked tendency   
for some sort of gradation1 be it due to
  length of membership1 insistence upon 
separate payments1 unwillingness  of the
 older members to impart all to a new   
member who may withal be  quite young1 a
 desire to impart piecemeal in order to 

enhance the value  of the teachings1    
etc4 ,whether these possible lines of   
cleavage will  associate themselves with
 definite markings or rites1 is a       
question  of individual cultural        
development4 ,they may or they may not4 
,in  ,melanesia1 for instance1 they did 
not4    ,in the ,ruku-,ruku#dj of the   
,fiji ,islanders we find three          
gradations1--those of uninitiated       
youths1 grown-up men1 and old men4  ,in 
the ,purrah#da there were two           
gradations1 consisting respectively  of 
those over thirty and of those over     
fifty years4 ,in the ,egbo#db  ,society 
there are eleven degrees1 into which    
membership may be  purchased one after  
the other in an ascending scale4 ,in    
,old ,calabar#dc  there are five        
classes4    ,in the ,purrah we are      
dealing with an exceedingly intricate   
complex1  in which military and judicial
 functions are quite prominent4 ,the age
  factor seems secondary and artificial4
 ,in the ,egbo there is no age  factor  

at all4 ,in the ,ruku-,ruku an age      
factor exists4 ,owing to the  social    
value of the ,ruku-,ruku1 all           
individuals seem to be potential        
members at birth4 ,at the same time1 the
 oldest members always have  specific   
functions to perform4 ,in this way two  
groups are formed4  ,those who do not   
belong to these two groups belong to the
 third group4  ,all that can be said    
here is1 that a society has utilized a  
rough  age factor for specific purposes4
 ,that in reality the entire tribe  is  
divided into three divisions1 is due to 
the fact that all the  members of the   
tribe are members of the society4 ,this 
is therefore  not a phenomenon that has 
any general significance in the         
evolution  of society1 but is purely and
 simply a phenomenon of certain secret  
societies4 ,the threefold division is   
not due to a persistence of a  former   
threefold division of the tribe1 but    
grew out of the needs of  a specific    
society4 ,the same remarks hold for the 

twofold division  of members in the     
,purrah4 ,similarly the four and eight  
degrees found  among the ,ojibwa        
,midewiwin are due to a development     
within the  society4 ,to-day practically
 all the members of the tribe belong to 
the  ,midewiwin1 and the tribe may be   
said to be divided into four divisions4 
7,however1 in this case the main        
element1 that of the association of a   
certain age with a certain degree1 does 
not exist1 because there is no  fixed   
age at which a man buys admission into  
the higher degrees47    ,it will        
consequently be necessary to determine  
the significance of  degrees in each    
particular case before any general      
significance can be  attached to them4  
#c4 ,exclusion of ,women4--,the         
admission of women into a society is1   
according to ,schurtz1 a secondary      
feature4 ,this followed directly from   
his negative position with regard to    
women's ,geselligkeitstrieb1  and from  
his assumption that societies were      

merely transformed  men's associations1 
which in turn were transformed age      
groups4 ,the  question of the           
,geselligkeitstrieb of women hardly     
lends itself  to any accurate           
discussion1 as1 generally speaking1     
women have not  been surrounded by those
 conditions which played an important   
part in  developing that trait among    
men4 ,in our own civilization1 where men
 and  women are to a certain extent     
subjected to the same conditions1 a     
large  number of women societies has    
developed1 and large numbers of women   
have been admitted into men's societies4
 ,among us1 this admission of  women is 
due to the fact that they are now in the
 same industries that  men are4         
,however1 there are manifold factors    
which can and do bring  about the       
admission of women into men's societies 
or their exclusion  therefrom4 ,the     
nature of some societies may exclude    
men1 just as it may  exclude women4 ,a  
soldiers' society will exclude women1   

because women  are not soldiers4        
,similarly a sewing society will        
probably exclude  men4 ,the exclusion of
 women will therefore depend upon the   
specific  functions of a society2 but   
the right of women to participate in    
certain activities will again depend    
upon the manner in which each  specific 
culture area separated the spheres of   
action of men and women4    ,the        
possibility of infinite variation must  
force upon us the conclusion  that we   
can only begin to investigate the       
reasons for the exclusion or  admittance
 of women when we have a clear          
understanding of the ideas  each tribe  
possesses with regard to the specific   
functions of the men  and women4 ,this  
determination is in a large number of   
cases utterly  impossible1 because we   
are in no position to know whether the  
reasons  now given are historically the 
true ones4 ,if1 for instance1 in a men's
  college fraternity women are debarred 
on the ground that the fraternity  is   

interested in fencing1 card-playing1    
etc41 which are occupations of  men1    
historically this is not the true       
reason4 ,originally fraternities  were  
merely social gatherings of individuals 
who attended a college4  ,there were no 
women students to admit4 ,to-day1 when  
women attend the  colleges1 wherever new
 fraternities arise1 women are admitted4
 ,it is  thus apparent1 that1 in the    
absence of historical evidence1 we must 
be  extremely careful in interpreting   
the reason for this exclusion4    ,in   
,melanesia1 for example1 women are      
entirely excluded from the  societies4  
,however1 in ,melanesia1 societies are  
associated with a  multitude of         
religious and social functions in which 
women are not  permitted to participate4
 ,in other words1 the ,melanesians draw 
the line  of demarcation between the    
activities of men and women along these 
lines4 ,if1 for instance1 in the ,new   
,hebrides1 women have nothing to do     
with the funeral and mortuary rites1 and

 a secret society is intimately         
connected with such rites1 then we ought
 not to be surprised that women  are not
 admitted into the society4 ,it seems to
 me1 therefore1 that we  should make    
much better progress in our study of    
this phenomenon in  ,melanesia and in   
,polynesia1 if we were first to examine 
whether either  the conceptions of the  
tribe1 or the nature of the specific    
society1 or  the cultural elements with 
which it was associated1 debarred women 
from  membership4    ,a few examples    
from ,africa will emphasize this point  
even more  forcibly1 and at the same    
time indicate along what lines the      
respective  spheres of men's and women's
 actions are drawn there4 ,in the       
,purrah  ,society1 women are excluded4  
,the society has general war and        
judicial  functions which do not come   
within the domain of women1 according to
  the ideas of the tribe4 ,in the       
,attonga ,society#dd of ,senegambia1    
only  women are admitted1 and the       

society is associated with mortuary     
rites4  ,in the ,dschengu we have       
another women society connected here    
with the  cult of some water deity4#de  
,in the region around the mouth of the  
,ogowe there are a number of powerful   
women societies associated with  various
 elements4#df    ,if we now proceed to  
,schurtz's contention1 that women       
societies are  merely imitations of     
men's societies1 we shall see that1 as a
 general  statement1 this is as         
unjustified as is his interpretation    
that the  admission of women into       
societies is a secondary feature4 ,that 
it  is true in a number of cases1 is    
unquestioned4 ,however1 when1 as in     
,africa1 we see a very strong tendency  
for the formation of societies1  and see
 at the same time a very large number of
 women societies1 it  seems far more    
justifiable to assume that the women    
societies are  formed in response to the
 same tendencies as those of men4 ,to   
judge  from parallels in other parts of 

the world1 it is extremely likely that  
women will form societies wherever men  
show a strong tendency to do so4  ,a    
number of factors may1 however1         
interfere with a development of such    
societies4 ,for instance1 it is quite   
plausible that where1 as among the      
,melanesians1 a strong society-forming  
tendency existed1 and women did  not    
participate in it1 some strong reason   
existed which might perhaps  be ascribed
 to the fact that women do not there    
participate in those  rites that are    
almost universally associated with      
societies4    ,in ,north ,america there 
are numerous examples of women belonging
 to  men's societies4 ,a cursory        
examination will bring out what were the
  possible factors at work there4 ,in   
the ,objibwa-,menominee ,midewiwin1     
women are admitted4 ,now1 in the        
,ojibwa-,menominee culture1 women may   
become shamans as well as men1 and the  
society based on shamans will  naturally
 include both sexes4 ,if there are fewer

 women than men1 this  is because fewer 
women become shamans4 ,in the ,winnebago
 ,medicine ,dance1  wealth and certain  
requirements possessed by both men and  
women are the  only essentials for      
admission2 and both sexes can           
accordingly become  members4 ,in the    
present ,sore-,eye ,dance1 women are    
admitted4 ,formerly  the same society1  
known as the ,night ,dance1 excluded    
women4 ,the  reason is very simple4     
,formerly1 supernatural communication   
with the  night spirits was essential   
for membership1 and owing to the        
specific  associations attached to these
 night spirits1 women never obtained    
visions from them4 ,when subsequently it
 was no more essential to have  had a   
vision1 and membership could be         
purchased by any one1 women were        
admitted4 ,among the ,blackfoot1 women  
are part members of the religious       
society1 because1 according to          
,blackfoot ideas of property1 the former
  have a part in the medicine-bundle of 

the man4 ,the possession of the         
medicine-bundle is necessary for        
admission into the society4#dg ,it is   
thus apparent that the explanation for  
the exclusion of women from a  society  
must lie in a large number of factors1  
not the least important  of which is the
 nature of the specific ideas of        
property and the  respective spheres of 
activity of men and women4    #d4       
,functions of the ,society4--,our       
analysis of the five ceremonies  has    
clearly established the differences in  
the functions of the  societies4 ,to    
,schurtz these differences were due to  
developments from  one historically     
primary function4 ,his line of argument 
is a direct  consequence of his         
assumption that secret societies have   
developed from  the men's associations4 
,if we glance at the ,west ,african1 the
 ,melanesian1 the ,polynesian1  ,north  
,american1 and our own societies1 we see
 that their functions are  legion4 ,now1
 it can be demonstrated that where the  

whole or a large  part of the tribe is  
included in a society1 that society will
 possess  many of the functions of the  
tribe1 because individuals are primarily
  carriers of their culture1 and        
secondarily members of a society2 or1   
it might be better said that these two  
functions of an individual are  so      
inextricably connected that they cannot 
be thought of apart4 ,it  can also be   
demonstrated that specific societies    
have associated with  them a variety of 
functions4 ,in each case we are dealing 
with the  same phenomenon4 ,the number  
of possible combinations is practically 
infinite4 ,it is1 however1 a suggestive 
fact that certain functions of a        
society are distributed over large      
areas4 ,in ,melanesia1 for instance1    
the most constant functions of societies
 seem to be those connected  with       
mortuary rites and ancestor worship4 ,in
 ,africa1 again1 they are  primarily    
judicial and administrative4 ,in the    
case of our five ,north  ,american      

ceremonies1 they are religious and      
magical4 ,for the latter our            
explanation lay in assuming that we were
 dealing there with a common  cultural  
background4 ,the same explanation holds 
true for ,melanesia and  ,africa4 ,in   
other words1 societies1 like all other  
social units in which  an individual    
takes part1 must necessarily associate  
themselves with  the cultural background
 in which they are set4    #e4          
,conclusion4--,the study we have        
undertaken can only indirectly be       
considered an examination of ,schurtz's 
theories4 ,what we have attempted  is   
the analysis of a number of ceremonies1 
in order to discover what  tendencies   
were operative in their growth4 ,these  
examples1 combined  with others taken   
from the ,south ,seas and ,africa1 have 
demonstrated  clearly that there exist  
in the world certain general ideas that 
may associate themselves with any type  
of social and ceremonial  organization4 
,ceremonies in origin historically      

distinct may thus come  to possess      
general and often specific resemblances4
 ,it is consequently  of extreme        
importance1 in any scheme of social     
reconstruction1 to  determine first     
whether the common elements in the      
ethnological data  compared are not due 
to such a convergent evolution4         
,,footnotes3    #a ,the description of  
the ritual is based on material         
collected by me1  and now in the        
possession of the ,bureau of ,american  
,ethnology4 ,the full  description will 
appear as a memoir of the ,bureau4    #b
 ,x'ok means literally 8root0 or        
8ancestor40 8,ancestor-host0 will  be   
used as its equivalent4    #c ,this word
 means literally 8he who puts himself in
 the place to  benefit his relatives40  
,the reference is to the ,rabbit1 who1  
at the  first performance of the        
ceremony1 acted as host and initiated   
his  relatives2 i4 e41 the human beings4
    #d ,the speeches are not actually   
rehearsals of speeches to be  delivered 

during the ceremony proper1 but they    
refer to the purpose of  the ,medicine  
,dance much in the same way as do some  
of the speeches in  the ceremony proper4
 ,a large number of miscellaneous myths 
are likewise  related4    #e ,this has  
been contradicted by some of my         
informants1 who claim  that only the    
,east and ,north ,bands have            
representatives at the brush  ceremony4 
#f ,annual ,report of the ,bureau of    
,american ,ethnology1 vol4 vii1 p4      
#ahh1 diagram4    #g ,annual ,report of 
the ,bureau of ,american ,ethnology1    
vol4 vii1 pp4  #bde1 #bee-bgd4    #h    
,ibid41 p4 #beg4    #i ,ibid41 pp4      
#afg-aha4    #aj ,ibid41 p4 #afh4    #aa
 ,annual ,report of the ,bureau of      
,american ,ethnology1 vol4 xiv1 p4  #fi4
    #ab ,compare diagram1 ibid41 p4 #ge4
    #ac ,ibid41 p4 #ge4    #ad ,heinrich
 ,schurtz1 ,altersklassen und           
,mnnerbnde1 #aijb2 cf4  especially pp4  
#a-hb4    #ae ,wherever the phrase      
8instinct for association0 is used1 it  

is an  attempt to render the ,german    
,geselligkeitstrieb4    #af ,s4 ,r4     
,riggs1 ,dakota ,grammar and ,texts4    
#ag ,hoffman1 in ,annual ,report of     
,bureau of ,american ,ethnology1 vol4   
vii4    #ah ,ibid41 vol4 xiv4    #ai    
,boas1 ,the ,social ,organization and   
the ,secret ,societies of the  ,kwakiutl
 ,indians 7,annual ,report of the ,u4   
,s4 ,national ,museum for  #ahie1 p4    
#dhe74    #bj ,migis is the ,ojibwa term
 for the shell used in the ,midewiwin4  
,it  is employed here as a convenient   
term to designate the objects used by   
the ,winnebago and ,omaha in shooting4  
#ba ,alanson ,skinner 7,,ms474    #bb   
,frances ,densmore1 8,chippewa ,music0  
7,bureau of ,american  ,ethnology1      
,bulletin #de74 ,washington1            
,government1 #aiaj4    #bc ,annual      
,archaeological ,report1 #aije 7,report 
of ,minister of  ,education1 ,ontario71 
p4 #adf4    #bd ,annual ,report of the  
,bureau of ,american ,ethnology         
7#aije-jf71  vol4 xxvii4    #be ,annual 

,report of the ,bureau of ,american     
,ethnology 7#aije-jf71  vol4 xxvii4     
#bf ,in the ,cheyenne ,medicine ,arrow  
,society a similar association  occurs4 
#bg ,miss ,fletcher1 in ,annual ,report 
of the ,bureau of ,ethnology1 vol4      
xxvii4    #bh ,van ,gennep1 in a very   
interesting chapter on 8,initiatory     
,rites0  7,chapter ,,vi of his ,les     
,rites de ,passage71 has divided puberty
 into  two divisions1--pubert physique  
and pubert sociale1--and has shown  that
 the age variations of both are         
considerable4 ,he insists that many     
writers have considerably obscured the  
points at issue by confusing  the two4  
,van ,gennep believes that the pubert   
physique and pubert  sociale rarely fall
 together4 ,it seems to me that this is 
not entirely  borne out by the facts of 
the case2 for it must be remembered     
that1  accompanying the physiological   
changes at puberty1 there are mental    
changes which in many cases permit an   
individual to become of active  social  

importance2 and while ,i think that it  
is this social activity  that is        
emphasized by the initiatory rites1     
nevertheless the fact must  not be      
overlooked that this social activity    
often coincides with the  physiological 
puberty4 ,we must1 of course1 not       
identify physiological  puberty with any
 too definite a time1 but allow for     
considerable  fluctuations4    #bi      
,schurtz1 ,altersklassen und ,mnnerbnde1
 p4 #cgf4    #cj ,ibid41 p4 #cgi4    #ca
 ,schurtz1 ,altersklassen und           
,mnnerbnde1 pp4 #cgh ff4    #cb ,ibid41 
p4 #cgi4    #cc ,ibid41 pp4 #chf ff4    
#cd ,ibid41 pp4 #daj-dac4    #ce ,ibid41
 pp4 #dac-dae4    #cf ,ibid41 p4 #dae4  
#cg ,ibid41 pp4 #dcj ff4    #ch ,ibid41 
pp4 #dcc-dce4    #ci ,ibid41 pp4        
#dce-dcg4    #dj ,schurtz1              
,altersklassen und ,mnnerbnde1 p4 #chf4 
#da ,ibid41 p4 #daj4    #db ,ibid41 p4  
#dbj4    #dc ,ibid41 p4 #dbb4    #dd    
,schurtz1 ,altersklassen und ,mnnerbnde1
 p4 #daf4    #de ,ibid41 p4 #dbf4    #df

 ,schurtz1 ,altersklassen und           
,mnnerbnde1 p4 #dbi4    #dg ,oral       
communication of ,dr4 ,wissler4         
,transcriber's ,notes3      - ,text     
enclosed by underscores is in italics   
7italics74    - ,blank  pages have been 
removed4    - ,in the section on types  
of ritual1 7#h7 appears out of order1 as
 in      the original4