THE WAYS of the WINNEBAGO

Ladies' Mirror, Volume 3, Issue 7, 1 January 1925, Page 55

THE WAYS of the WINNEBAGO

HPHE Winnebago, one of the leastknown tribes of American Indians, are the subject of a valuable monograph by the Bureau of American Ethnology. The Winnebago had social habits, customs, rites, a language, and a primitive civilisation of their own. They were once a multitudinous race organised into clans, each under a chief, with a super-chief as head of all the clans. They are now a diminutive body, but retain many distinctive characteristics. Dr. Paul Radin, the author of the American monograph, spent many years in research and has obtained a great deal of original information. Tobacco and "Spirits" HiPHE Winnebago believe in spirits .: evil spirits, war spirits, and good spirits of various kinds. Their god is the Earthmaker who, after he created all things, created man. The Earthmaker put each spirit in charge of something. To man he gave tobacco. They were among the first natives of America to create a tobacco cult. When the French explorers discovered the Winnebago, "the Indians put tobacco in their hands," but "the French did not know what tobacco was." "Suddenly a Frenchman saw an old man smoking and poured water on him. They knew nothing about smoking or tobacco." Tobacco enters, into all the feasts and rites of the Winnebago. They have some quaint religious rites. They hold four night wakes over their dead, and several long descriptions are given of wakes. 5 Tobacco is given to the spirit of the deceased. A mourning warrior addressing the spirit says:— - "I suppose you are not far away, that indeed you are right behind me. Here is the tobacco and here is the pipe which you must keep in front of you as you go along. Here also

WHERE MOTHER-IN-LAWS ARE SACRED

is the fire and the food which your relatives have prepared for your journey." The spirit of the departed is expected to offer tobacco to other spirits whom he meets on his road, and finally, "when you reach Earthmaker offer him your pipe." Weeping Widows Prohibited HPHERE were special customs for widows of the Winnebago:— "In olden times the widow was supposed to continue single for four years. She is strongly admonished, nevertheless, not to continue in low spirits, and to consider herself free to act in any way that will make her happy. She is told to play games or dance, or in fact do anything that will make her forget her sorrow, and she is told that no one will hold her conduct against her as disrespectful to the deceased. . . The prohibition of weeping is further strengthened by the fact that it. is customary to say that any woman who weeps too profusely at "the death of her husband is in reality thinking, in the midst of her tears, of the one she is going to marry next. The people will then tell one another not to put themselves out too much as the widow will soon forget her mourning and show no respect to the memory of the dead, but instead look after her own pleasures." There is a wide range of relationship terms among the Winnebago, who have invented a new relationship. That is a joking relationship. A man is not permitted to joke with his mother-in-law or father-in-law, or take the slightest liberties with i them. He can, however, joke with "his mother's brothers' children; his mother's brothers and his sisters-in-law and brothers-in-law. In the two cases last-named not only was a man permitted to joke with those relatives but he was supposed to do so j

whenever he had an opportunity. If a person attempted liberties with people who did not belong to the category of the 'joking relationship' they would stop him immediately, saying 'What joking relation am I to you " : - t:t" " '■'". Social Etiquette MOTHERS-IN-LAW enjoy a splendid isolation and worshipful respect among the Winnebago. Dr. Radin discovered the following curious example of social etiquette. He says : > "In former times the mother-in-law and father-in-law taboo was in full force. No man was allowed to talk directly to his mother-in-law or to look at her. and the same rule held with regard to the attitude of a woman towards her father-in-law. Even accidental meetings of these relatives, as on the road, were attended with great embarrassment. The author never learned of any way in which either the mother-in-law or the father-in-law taboo could he relaxed even temporarily, much less done away with entirely." This versatile tribe have a peculiarly protective treatment for young people of a susceptible age, strict marriage customs, and admonitory education for children. They have games of their own, including lacrosse—for men and women — football, cup and ball, a tree game, women's dice game, etc. They have also the "kicking game," which is quite simple in its ferocity.

"Two men took turns in kicking each other as hard ;as ~i they could, the one who held out the longer being the winner." Not Corporeal ~ ; ■ 'THE Winnebago have many-reli-gious concepts, and while " they believe in spirits do not believe in their corporeality. The Winnebago cku'm that what is thought of, what is felt, and what is spoken, in fact anything that is brought before his conscience, is a sufficient indication of its existence, and it is the question of the existence and reality of these spirits in which he is interested. The question of their corporeality is of comparative unimportance, and most of the questions connected with the. personal or impersonal, nature- of the spirits do not exist. The Winnebago method of bringing the spirits into relation with man is fasting, mental concentration, offerings and sacrifices, and prayer. Fasting is a very important rite, and is considered essential to enable individuals to overcome certain crises in life. The efficacy of the service which spirits can render is in proportion to the intensity of mental concentration when the spirit is "being called up. If there is failure in war or lack of completeness in a ritualistic ceremony it is all attributed to the lack of intense concentration of mind. Evil spirits also take a hand in upsetting the Winnebago plans. " ■; ;