RELIGION AND MYTHOLOGY. To the Indian every animal, plant, and object of nature was ani mated by a spirit, beneficent. or otherwise, ac cording as it was propitiated or offended. Cer tain of these were regarded as especially power ful or active, as the sun, fire, and water among the elemental gods, the buffalo, eagle, and rattle snake among the animals, and the cedar, cotton wood, corn, tobacco, and peyote among plants. The number four was peculiarly sacred, as hav ing reference to the cardinal points. Colors had symbolic meanings, and somel imes also sex and local abiding-places. Thus with the Cherokee the red gods of victory lived in the Sunland or east, while the blue spirits of disaster dwelt in the north. Spirits were propitiated and implored with prayer. sacrifice, vigil, and fasting, and the purificatory sweat bath usually preceded every im portant ceremony. There was no overruling `Great Spirit,' excepting as certain gods were f more frequent importance than others. Among the plains Indian, the spirit buffalo %%lot, all important, while with the agricultural tribes the rain-gods took preeedeno. The sou and its rep re,elltil ive. tire, were ry 111.111.: Neneratcd. Certain tubes had tribal 'medicine' or pa with) which 11.1 t 1)11 1 as -;111ip.0•491 to lx• 1•)111111 11 p and around which centred their most elaborate ceremonial. Thus the Klima had their Taime image of stone, the Cheyenne their sacred arrows, the c)111;11111 their great shell. Earl' man had also his own secret personal medicine.
The priest was also a doctor, medicine and re ligion being so inseparably connected in Indian idea that there was usually- but one mi to designate both. The priests were frequently or ganized into cult societies, and thew were also brotherhoods hound together by certain secret rites. threat stress was laid 11 p011 dreams and sacrifice. Among the Pawnee. in former times, a captive girl was annually sacrificed to the god do ss of fertility. The cannibalistic practices of the Eastern tribes after a victory, and the canni bal feasts of the Northwest coast, in which it slave was the usual victim. were also more or less sacrificial in motive. With these exceptions human sacrifice was rare, such bloody rite: as those of the Aztecs being unknown in the North. There were special ceremonies for girls at pu berty, and for young men on first taking rank with the warriors. Among the great religious
ceremonials may be noted the green-corn dance of thanksgiving for the new crops. among the Eastern tribes; the sun dance and the 1111"V re cent ghost dance of the plains tribes: the sal mon dance of the Columbia region, and the cele brated snake dance of the Hopi of Arizona. To these may be added the peyote cult of the South ern plain,. Tribal religions were sub ject to revival or revolution as new prophets arose from time to time. Thu: the religion of the ghost dance, which has practically super seded the old beliefs and ceremonial forms of the plains tribe,. had its origin in Nevada about fif teen years ago.
Each tribe had its genesis tradition and its culture hero—usually a great triekster and fre quently an anthropomorphic a nitnal—b 'get her with giants. dwarf:. fairies, witches. and various monsters, as well as animal tribes and chiefs. concerning all of whom there was a great deal of myth and folk-lore. Certain stories must be told only in winter, and others only at night. in order not to offend the chief personages coneerned.
Socl AI, ORGANIZATION. government was based upon the or elan system everywhere ex c•pting among certain tribes of the plains and the Pacific region, notably the Kiowa and Klamath. Under this system the tribe was or ganized into certain clans or genies. the members of each clan being considered as so closely related to each other that intermarriage within the clan was forbidden. Children usually belonged to the mother's clan and descent was in the female line. Chiefship and Certain civil and religious func tions inhered in particular clans. Captives or other aliens nmst be adopted into a famil; and elan in order to become members of the tribe. These clans were commonly known by the name of sonic class of animals, e•g, hear, beaver. wolf. Me.; more rarely by plant or other designations. In other words, the elan was distinguished by a totem, as it is now universally called, and the totemic practices were inseparably tied up with their religious rituals and social organization. fee the plains tribes generally the elan system was either absent or quiescent, the unit being the band. each hand having its twit ap 111119. in the eamping circle at the great tribal gatherings, a, for instance the annual sun dance.