Omaha Dwellings, Furniture and Implements Part 2

Equipage for Horses.

Saddles (canakage) were in use before the coming of the whites. They were made of wood, around which was wrapped hide, while still "?aha-nu?a" (green or soft). According to Joseph La Fleche these saddles did not rub sores on the backs of the native horses (Indian ponies), but Dougherty[1] said, in 1819, "The Indians are generally cruel horse-masters, perhaps in a great measure through necessity; the backs of their horses are very often sore and ulcerated, from the friction of the rude saddle, which is fas.h.i.+oned after the Spanish manner, being elevated at the pummel and croup, and resting on skin saddle cloths without padding." They ride very well, and make frequent use of the whip and their heels, the latter being employed instead of spurs.

For bridles and halters they used strips of hide, out of which material they made also lariats. The bridle used consisted of a withe, one end of which was wrapped two or three times around the animal's lower jaw, while the other was held in the hand, forming but a single rein. This did not hinder the rider from guiding his horse, as he was able to turn him to the left by pressing the single rein against the animal's neck, as well as by the use of the right heel against its side. When he wished to turn to the right, he pulled the rein and pressed his left heel against the horse's side.

Whips were of three kinds. The wahi wegasapi was attached to a bone handle. The handle of a ja^{u}'ukein wegasapi was made of common wood.

That of a zanzi wegasapi was made of Osage orange wood, which is very hard. The whip was attached to the wrist by a broad band, which pa.s.sed through a hole near the end of the handle. The handle was about 15 inches long and was very stout. A specimen that has been deposited in the National Museum (a gift to the author from an Omaha) has a lash 2 feet long, composed of 8 thongs one-fifth of an inch wide. These are plaited together in one rounded plait for 18 inches, the rest of the lash being in 2 plaits of 4 thongs each, knotted near the ends.

The la.s.so was called man'tanah-iize, i.e., "that by which (a) wild (horse) is taken." It was made by taking the hair from the head of a buffalo and plaiting it into a very strong rope as thick as one's thumb.

This rope was called "?aha-isan," and was utilized by the Omaha and Ponka instead of the common la.s.so for catching wild horses in northwestern Nebraska. One end of the rope was formed into a noose large enough to slip over a horse's head, and the ends of this noose were secured to a long pole by small cords. The other end of the rope, arranged in a coil, was fastened to the belt or waist of the man. He rode with the pole held in one hand and tried to thrust the noose in front of a horse. When he succeeded in pa.s.sing the noose over the head of an animal, he threw away the stick, which had become separated from the noose, and held the rope alone, which he pulled toward him. When the horse was caught, the man made an induicin. (bridle or face cover), being careful to place some buffalo hair over the nose and under the chin, to guard against paining the horse, whose eyes remained uncovered.

[Footnote 1: Long, S. H.; Exp. Rocky Mts., vol. 1, p. 291, Phila., 1822]

Trappings for the saddle (sin'de-ehee) were used. Some years ago a specimen of Omaha trapping was presented by the writer to the Anthropological Society of Was.h.i.+ngton, and subsequently was deposited in the National Museum.

Traveling Gear.

Snow-shoes (se-hinbe) were worn by the Omaha and Ponka when they traversed a region, north of their modern, habitat.

For traveling on foot a staff (hi-mange) was used when it was necessary to pa.s.s over mountains; also when, heavy loads had to be carried. This staff differed from the crutch (i-mange).

The women had maca?a^n, or straps, for aiding them in carrying loads of wood, etc.

Boats.

When they wished to cross streams they made hide boats, or mandeha.

These were manufactured from dried buffalo hides, which were sewed together with sinew, and so tightly that no water could penetrate the seams. Ten branches of red willow were placed within, the ends being bent upward and fastened by withes to two other saplings, which extended the whole length of the boat at the inside of the gunwale. The ten pieces were the ?ici-iki[p]adan. The rudder or steering oar (iisan'e) was fas.h.i.+oned like the oars (manduugahi), with the blade flat and of the breadth of two hands. The rowers (uugahi aka) sat near the bow, and the steersman (isan'a aka) took his seat at the stern.

Musical Instruments.

Battles were of five kinds, [P]exe were generally gourds; watan' [p]exe, gourd rattles, were always round, and were partially filled with seed, fine shot, or gravel, [T]ahanu?a [p]exe, green-hide rattles, were of two sorts, one of which is "iguje," bent a little. Specimens of this form are in the National Museum.

Two kinds of rattles were called ?a-cage, i.e., "deers-claws," from the composition of one variety, though the other was made of molars of the elk.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 317--Skin drum.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 318--Box drum.]

The Omaha used three styles of drums. The exe-ga?u baska, or flat drum, is ill.u.s.trated by a specimen (no. 21675) in the National Museum.

The exe-ga?u gadaje is made of buffalo hide, cowhide, or the skin of a horse. An example of this drum (no. 24682) is also in the National Museum, and is ill.u.s.trated by the accompanying figure 317. The jan'

exe-ga?u, or ?uge exe-ga?u, is a wooden or box drum, represented by the accompanying figure 318, also from a specimen (no. 58610) in the National Museum.

Whistles were made of elder (ba?uci-hi, or popgun wood) by pus.h.i.+ng out the pith. No holes were made in the sides of the tube.

Nisude ?an'ga, or large flutes, were made of red cedar. A branch was cut off, rounded, split open with a knife, and hollowed out; then six holes were made in the side of one of them, and the halves were stuck together again. When one of these instruments is blown it produces quavering notes. The best specimens were made by [P]ain-?an'ga, Big p.a.w.nee.

The large flute is ill.u.s.trated in figure 319.[1] Wahi nisude, or bone flutes, were made of the long bones from the eagle wing. These small flutes have only one hole. Reed flutes, iqe nisude, were made of a kind of reed which grows south of the Omaha territory, probably in Kansas. The Omaha obtained the reeds from some of the southern tribes and made them into flutes having but one hole each.

[Footnote 1: Compare Ree fife, "AMM 129-8429, Gray and Matthews," in the National Museum.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 319.--Omaha large flute.]

WEAPONS.

Clubs.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 320.--Omaha club (jan-[p]a?na).]

The jan-wetin, "striking-wood," is a four-sided club. It is made of ash, and is as long as from the elbow to the tips of the fingers. The ja^n-daona, "wood with a smooth head," is a club made of ironwood, which is very hard. According to the late Joseph La Fleche, the Omaha form of this weapon had a steel point projecting from the ball.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 321.--Omaha club (jan-da?na).]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 322.--Omaha club (weaqade).]

Figures 320 and 321 are forms of the jan-[p]a?na which may be seen in the National Museum (nos. 2649 and 22419). The weaqade, another kind of war club, is made of some kind of hard wood. There are two varieties, one of which is shown in figure 322 (National Museum no. 23729). The other has a ball carved at the end of a straight handle, with a wooden point (of one piece with the ball and handle) projecting from the ball, making an angle of about 130 with one side of the handle. There is a steel point inserted in the ball, forming an angle of about 110 with the other side of the handle. The in'-wate-jin'ga is something like a slung shot. A round stone is wrapped in a piece of hide which is fastened to a wooden handle about 2 feet long.

Tomahawks.

The heads of tomahawks as well as of battle-axes were at first made of stone; but within the last century and a half they have been fas.h.i.+oned of iron.

Spears.

Lances, darts, or spears are designated by the general term man'dehi.

The jan'-man'dehi are made of ash, and are from 6 to 8 feet long. There are two kinds, of one of which the handle is round, and about an inch in diameter, and the point is flat and about the width of three fingers at its juncture with the handle.

Besides these there are the lances, called waqexe-aze, of which there are two varieties. One consists of a straight pole, which has been thrust through a piece of buffalo hide that has its long end sewed together, forming a sort of covering. To this hide are fastened feathers of the crow and min'xa-san, or swan, in alternate rows or bunches.

Between the feathers are fastened square pieces of blanket. About the middle of the pole a s.p.a.ce of nearly 6 inches is left without feathers, and this is the place where the spear is grasped. When the pole was not set into a metal point the lower end was cut very sharp.[1] The other variety, or mandehi iguje, "bent spear," is the weapon which the Dakota call "wahukeza." It is ornamented with eagle feathers placed at intevals, one being at the end of the curved part; and it generally terminates at the bottom in an iron point. It is possible for one of these waqexeaze to reach a man about 6 feet distant; and even mounted men have been killed by them. Spears are used also in some of the dances. Around the shaft is wrapped the skin of a swan or brant. The end feather at the top is white; the other feathers are white or spotted.

The bent spear is no longer employed by the Omaha, though the Osage, p.a.w.nee, and other tribes still use it to a greater or lesser extent.

Bows.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 323.--Omaha bow (zanzi-mande).]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 324.--Omaha bow (?a?an-mande)]

Bows (man-de) are of two kinds. One is the man-de or zanzi-mande (bow-wood bow), having an unbroken curve past the grip to within an inch or two of each nock.[2] The other kind is the ?a?an-mande, so called because it has deer sinew glued on its back.[3] Bows were made of hickory, ash, ironwood, or zanzi, the last being greatly preferred. It is a wood resembling that of the Osage orange, with which some persons confound it; but it is black and much harder than the former, the Osage orange wood being yellow, soft, and easily cut. The zanzi is probably that which Dougherty[4] called "bow-wood (Maclura aurantiaca of Nuttall)."