Section 2

The Crows do not recognize a malevolent spirit and have no
4 CROW INDIAN MEDICINE BUNDLES
belief equivalent to the white man's concept of Satan. Good and evil are mixed in every being, real or supernatural.
Old Man Coyote and the wind are the commanders of sickness, Baesane, and they are generally recognized as its cause. The spirits of the dead also can cause sickness, particularly if one of them has a grievance against a living person. These spirits are thought to place some object, most frequently a cactus needle, in the body of the person, causing sickness. The Indian doctor attempts to extract this object from his patient. Still a fourth cause of sickness is witchcraft, practiced by Indian doctors who employ their powers to cause people to become ill, and then collect fees for effecting cures. Neither sickness nor death is attributed to natural causes.
ORIGINS OF MEDICINE BUNDLES
Dreams. The medicine bundles of the Crows originated almost without exception in dreams or visions. The Crows distinguish four different grades of dreams. Lowest in grade are the ordinary dreams to which no mystic values are attached. They are called Etahawasheare, meaning "no account dreams". Cold Wind de- scribed one of these dreams:
"I dreamed I was riding on my horse. The Crows and Sioux had a battle. I rode close to the Sioux and was wounded in the breast. I returned to camp and the people came to see me. I heard someone say, 'He is not shot badly and will soon recover.' This made me feel good. Then I awoke."
Next in grade were the Marehemmasheare, the wish or sleep dreams. These dreams were thought to possess minor Maxpe power. But they mostly refer to visions of the different seasons and to the acquisition of propierty. Any Indian may have such a dream, although some Indians are more favored with them than are others. These dreams are expressions of hope and prayer, believed to be bestowed by some supernatural power whose identity cannot be established through a dream. It is of interest to note that the Crows realize that these wish-dreams do not always come true.
These wish-dreams often are given to other members of the tribe by the dreamers at the sweat bath ceremony or in return for presents donated on special occasions. The gift may be either absolute or participating. The absolute gift of a dream may be conferred in the following words: "I saw in my dream the trees
INTRODUCTION 5
coming into leaf. May you live to see this coming season even if I should die before that time." The participating gift may be expressed as follows: "I saw in my dream the trees coming into leaf. May we both live to see this coming season." Of these two wish-dreams, the absolute gift ranks higher than the participating one.
The following is an example of the absolute gift of a dream of this second class:
Comes-From-Above had from time to time received many presents from a woman named High Up. He was a member of her father's clan. Once, during a public celebration, she gave him a span of horses and a buggy. Comes-From-Above arose and publicly made the following announcement : "Once in my dream I was given by the 'Without Fires' a long life. I now transfer this gift to High Up and do not retain it for myself . " This happened many years ago and Comes-From-Above died shortly after he made this public statement. The woman, High Up, is still living (1927).
Dreams of property are considered of the same value as wish- dreams. The Crows understand anything loose, scattered on the surface of the earth, to be property, Baxemane. All property, whether old or new, is believed to have been owned by some one. Blankets, shawls, war bonnets, dresses, vehicles etc., belong in this category.
The following is an informant's narrative of a property dream:
"I was a poor young fellow and the weather was becoming cold. I suffered from the cold on account of lack of property. To make things worse the people with whom I lived gave some bedding away at a give-away dance, making us still poorer. That night I suffered terribly. But I slept and I had a dream. In this dream I felt myself covered with plenty of blankets and warm things. When I awoke I felt doubly miserable, poor and disappointed.
"Four days later the Piegans came and stole a number of our horses. I joined the Crow party trailing them. I carried my medi- cine flute. We followed the Piegans for several days. One night my flute medicine told me we were on the wrong trail and showed me the place where the Piegans were camped. I told the members of the war party of my dream and we returned to the place indicated. There we found the enemy. One of our men made a noise when close to the enemy and then the Piegan fled, leaving their horses behind. We recaptured them and returned to our camp. Stolen horses, when recaptured, lose their ownership. But in return for
b CROW INDIAN MEDICINE BUNDLES
restoring the horses to their original owners I received all the blankets and warm clothing I needed."
The next highest order of dreams are the medicine dreams, Bashiammisheek (literally, "he has a medicine"), the highest grade of which are known as Baaheamaequa (literally "something you see"), or visions. A medicine dream, however, can be superior in power to a vision. The superiority of either is often tested in shamanistic contests, as related in Lowie's The Religion of the Crow Indians (Lowie, 1922. p. 344). These contests were called "taking each other's arms," meaning, making each other helpless. The difference between the medicine dream and the vision is ob- vious. The medicine dream is received by the Indian while asleep, while the vision is the appearance of some supernatural being to the Indian while he is wide awake. In both a supernatural being appears to the visionary and gives to the Indian his power.
Cold Wind related the following account of a medicine dream which he experienced:
"I was camped on the banks of the Missouri and was doing scout duty on a high pinnacle. When tired, I was relieved by an- other scout. I went to sleep and dreamed of a chickenhawk which came flying toward me. When it alighted, it changed into a human being and said to me, 'When I do this they are afraid of me.' As it spoke these words, enemies came around me. The man- hawk gave battle to them and they ran away. After the battle, the man-hawk came back to me and sat down. The enemies dis- appeared. Whereupon the man-hawk changed into a hawk again and flew away.
"I first thought this was an ordinary, no-account dream. But when I dreamed the same dream sometime later I knew it was a medicine dream. I made a medicine of a chickenhawk and carried it with me while I was doing scout duty for the U. S. Army."
Numerous examples of visions (dreams of the fourth class) are related in the origin legends of the specific medicine bundles appearing in later pages of this study. However, the vision quest pattern is deserving of detailed consideration.
The Vision Quest. The medicine bundles of the Crows most commonly originated in visions that were deliberately sought. Seldom did a boy undertake a vision quest before the age of adolescence. Generally it was not necessary for parents to encourage a boy to seek a vision. The urge to do so emanated from tribal traditions, the tales told by the older medicine men and chiefs to
INTRODUCTION 7
which all children listened with respectful silence. However, if a young man went on several war parties as an assistant and showed himself to be brave and resourceful, but still obtained no medicine, his father urged the lad to seek a vision, telling him that a medicine acquired by personal effort and fasting was preferable to one transferred from someone else. During manhood, even in middle and old age, fasting was repeatedly undertaken. Females also might seek visions, but only on rare occasions did a woman attempt to do so until she was of marriageable age. Then she was induced to fast by sorrow caused by the death of a very close and dear relative, or by disappointment in love.
When the time came for a young man to join war parties, it was customary for him to secure a sacred helper which would protect him on the dangerous paths he would soon follow. Often the young man who set out to seek a vision lacked the courage to continue his fast long enough to obtain a vision. Or he might obtain a vision which proved unlucky, so that a second fast was necessary. A Crow might fast five, six, seven, or even more times during his lifetime. White-Man-Runs-Him fasted 14 times.
Preparation for a vision quest required purification of both mind and body. The Indian cleansed his body by thoroughly scrubbing it, being careful that no dirt remained even under his fingernails and toenails. He prepared a sweat-bath and prayed to "First Worker" to send him one of his powerful helpers. Then he purified his body again in the smoke of pine needles. From this moment he took no food or water until the completion of his vision quest. He believed that suffering would assist him in arousing the pity of a supernatural being, causing it to give him its medicine and thus to become his sacred helper. Abstinence from food and water also eliminated the odors of them, odors which the Crows believed were objectionable to the "Without Fires".
Following the sweat-bath and purification of his body, the Indian proceeded to the place he had chosen for his fast. Usually this was at some elevated place ; most frequently on the summit of a mountain or a high hill. For a covering he carried a newly dressed buffalo robe rubbed with clay, a symbol of cleanliness. For a bed he built a small rocky elevation about two or three feet high and of sufficient width and length to allow his body to lie upon it when reclined at full length. He was careful to orient this rocky mound east and west so that in his recumbent position he could always face east. Then he covered the rocks with branches from pine trees.
8 CROW INDIAN MEDICINE BUNDLES
If the vision seeker chose as his fasting place a lonely ridge on the prairie, rather than a rocky elevation, he cleared the ground of the scrub and brush and reclined on the bare ground, always facing east.
Many but not all fasters tortured themselves as an aid to securing their visions. The faster cut off a small piece of his flesh, commonly the tip of a finger of the left hand, and held it upward toward the sky, uttering a prayer that this sacrifice might induce a certain spirit to have pity upon him. Some questers cut horse tracks or straight lines on their arms or chests. The horse tracks indicated the faster's desire to obtain many horses on forthcoming expeditions; the straight lines showed his wish to count coups in future encounters with the enemy.
Then, reclining on his prepared couch, the vision-seeker prayed to "First Worker',' to the sun, moon, stars, and to all the super- natural beings, asking them to have pity upon him, for one of them to come to his aid and give him a powerful medicine and become his lifelong helper.
The vision quest seldom lasted more than four days and nights. If, at the end of that time the faster saw no vision, he broke his fast and returned to camp. However, a fast always was broken after a vision was obtained, even if it was received on the first day. The quest er then returned home and resumed his daily duties.
Frequently two or more Indians went out together to seek visions. Each member of the party chose his own resting place, always at some distance from the others. It was usually planned that he who first broke his fast, whether voluntarily or after ob- taining a vision, would proceed to a certain rendezvous point, prepare a meal and wait for his comrades to join him. At this meeting place it was customary for each faster to relate his ex- periences, unless he had received instructions in his vision never to reveal it to others. Communications at this time were held sacred. Under no circumstances would an Indian reveal another's dream experiences unless he had been authorized to do so.
After his return to camp the successful vision seeker might invite one or more well-known men of the tribe to take a sweat-bath with him. There he related his vision, hoping, with the aid of the superior wisdom of these leaders, to obtain a correct interpretation of it. This practice was never compulsory, however, except in cases where the faster believed his vision was powerful enough to entitle him to the rank of pipe-holder or camp chief.
INTRODUCTION 9
The next important step was the making of the medicine bundle. This could be done soon after the taster's return to camp or it could be deferred until a later time. Often the dreamer received vision instructions telling him where and when to make preparations for this ceremony. If the dream spirit represented some animal or bird it was necessary to obtain the skin of this particular one. Very often it was necessary to acquire several skins. The dream spirit nearly always appeared to the visionary in some special make-up which had to be carefully duplicated in his medicine bundle.
All the necessary materials procured, the Indian prepared his bundle. This might be done in secrecy, or the visionary might request the assistance of a pipe-holder or a noted medicine man. The medicine man might call a council of other medicine men of the village to which the dreamer would bring all the articles which he thought should belong to his medicine. In this council he related his dream and showed the articles he intended to include in his bundle. If the council approved, he made his bundle as he had planned it. Otherwise, he altered it in accordance with their instructions.
MEDICINE BUNDLE COVERS AND CONTENTS
The covers (containers) of all medicine bundles usually were made by the women, most frequently the wife of the owner. It was considered a great honor to be requested to make a bundle cover. It was also thought to bring good luck to the maker. The cover was made in accordance with the visionary's instructions. Designs painted on covers had symbolic meanings known only to the bundle owner. The colors used were also symboUc of the power vested in the bundle. Color symbolism differed from bundle to bundle. However, it generally represented the seasons, symbohzing the fact that the power of the bundle lasted from season to season and from year to year. Cold Wind represented the various seasons by color as follows: winter, white; spring, green; summer, red; and autumn, yellow.
The contents of medicine bundles comprised symbolic repre- sentations of the supernatural beings and forces seen in the owner's dream or vision. Together with the owner they formed a clan. The chief of this clan, the principal supernatural responsible for the vision, is represented in each bundle. With it are included its helpers or servants who assist in guarding the life of the owner.
10 CROW INDIAN MEDICINE BUNDLES
The vision may also have been seen wearing distinctive facial or body painting. If so, different paints were included in the bundle. If a certain kind of necklace was worn by a supernatural visitant, a close copy of it was made and placed in the bundle. Added to these were the charms, not credited with special potency but thought to assist the owner in accomplishing his desires. These are most frequently pieces of horse hair to aid the owner in obtaining many horses. Similarly elk teeth and beads s5niibolize the owner's desire for property. Beads in large numbers are found in the rock medicine bundles.
The contents of Crow bundles were rendered even more het- erogeneous by the fact that the supernatural visitants seen in more than one vision might be found in a single bundle. If a Crow fasted several times in his lifetime, which was more frequently the rule than the exception, all the supernatural beings seen in his various visions, together with the Indian owner, formed one clan. Even if a former medicine was eclipsed in power by a later one or even neglected on account of its apparent lack of sufficient pro- tective power, its clan would still be represented in later bundles of the owner.
A vision of the sun automatically included its first helper, the eagle, as a member of the clan of the bundle. The sun was regarded as the chief of the sky beings, yet it rarely was seen or even sought in Crow vision quests. According to Crow belief, anyone favored by a vision of the sun will become a great medicine man, but those adopted by the sun invariably will be short-lived. The sun is thought of as a great gambler who frequently loses; hence the early death of those adopted by the sun. The sun is also believed to eat (absorb) its own children — another reason for the early death of its adopted ones. The sun is always considered a male.
The moon is believed to be the sub-chief of all the sky beings. It is considered both male and female because it has appeared in some visions in both masculine and feminine form. Its chief helper is the owl. The Crows favored a vision from the moon because those adopted by it were frequently given long life. Although the moon often gambled, it was invariably the winner. If the moon wishes to adopt an Indian it sends its chief helper, the owl, to appear to the dreamer. However, in some manner the moon will appear, indicating its protection.