Books: An introduction to the mortuary customs of the North American Indians

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"Slaves were killed in proportion to the rank and wealth of the
deceased. In some instances they were starved to death, or even tied
to the dead body and left to perish thus horribly. At present this
practice has been almost entirely given up, but till within a very few
years it was not uncommon. A case which occurred in 1850 has been
already mentioned. Still later, in 1853, Toke, a Tsinuk chief living
at Shoalwater Bay, undertook to kill a slave girl belonging to his
daughter, who, in dying, had requested that this might be done. The
woman fled, and was found by some citizens in the woods half starved.
Her master attempted to reclaim her, but was soundly thrashed and
warned against another attempt.

"It was usual in the case of chiefs to renew or repair for a
considerable length of time the materials and ornaments of the burial-
place. With the common class of persons family pride or domestic
affection was satisfied with the gathering together of the bones after
the flesh had decayed and wrapping them in a new mat. The violation of
the grave was always regarded as an offense of the first magnitude and
provoked severe revenge. Captain Belcher remarks, 'Great secrecy is
observed in all their burial ceremonies, partly from fear of
Europeans, and as among themselves they will instantly punish by death
any violation of the tomb or wage war if perpetrated by another tribe,
so they are inveterate and tenaceously bent on revenge should they
discover that any act of the kind has been perpetrated by a white man.
It is on record that part of the crew of a vessel on her return to
this port (the Columbia) suffered because a person who belonged to her
(but not then in her) was known to have taken a skull, which, from the
process of flattening, had become an object of curiosity.' He adds,
however, that at the period of his visit to the river 'the skulls and
skeletons were scattered about in all directions; and as I was on most
of their positions unnoticed by the natives, I suspect the feeling
does not extend much beyond their relatives, and then only till decay
has destroyed body, goods, and chattels. The chiefs, no doubt, are
watched, as their canoes are repainted, decorated, and greater care
taken by placing them in sequestered spots.'

"The motive for sacrificing or destroying property on occasion of
death will be referred to in treating of their religious ideas.
Wailing for the dead is continued for a long time, and seems to be
rather a ceremonial performance than an act of spontaneous grief. The
duty, of course, belongs to the woman, and the early morning is
usually chosen for the purpose. They go out alone to some place a
little distant from the lodge or camp, and in a loud, sobbing voice
repeat a sort of stereotyped formula, as, for instance, a mother, on
the loss of her child, _'Ah seahb shed-da bud-dah ah ta bud! ad-de-
dah,_ Ah chief!' 'My child dead, alas!' When in dreams they see any
of their deceased friends this lamentation is renewed."

With most of the Northwest Indians it was quite common, as mentioned
by Mr. Gibbs, to kill or bury with the dead a living slave, who,
failing to die within three days was strangled by another slave, but
the custom has also prevailed among other tribes and peoples, in many
cases the individuals offering themselves as voluntary sacrifices.
Bancroft states "that in Panama, Nata, and some other districts, when
a cacique died those of his concubines that loved him enough, those
that he loved ardently and so appointed, as well as certain servants,
killed themselves and were interred with him. This they did in order
that they might wait upon him in the land of spirits." It is well
known to all readers of history to what an extreme this revolting
practice has prevailed in Mexico, South America, and Africa.

AQUATIC BURIAL

As a confirmed rite or ceremony, this mode of disposing of the dead
has never been followed by any of our North American Indians, although
occasionally the dead have been disposed of by sinking in springs or
watercourses, by throwing into the sea, or by setting afloat in
canoes. Among the nations of antiquity the practice was not uncommon,
for we are informed that the Ichtliyophagi, or fish-eaters, mentioned
by Ptolemy, living in a region bordering on the Persian Gulf,
invariably committed their dead to the sea, thus repaying the
obligations they had incurred to its inhabitants. The Lotophagians did
the same, and the Hyperboreans, with a commendable degree of
forethought for the survivors, when ill or about to die, threw
themselves into the sea. The burial of Baldor "the beautiful," it may
be remembered, was in a highly decorated ship, which was pushed down
to the sea, set on fire, and committed to the waves. The Itzas of
Guatemala, living on the islands of Lake Peter, according to Bancroft,
are said to have thrown their dead into the lake for want of room. The
Indiana of Nootka Sound and the Chinooks were in the habit of thus
getting rid of their dead slaves, and, according to Timberlake, the
Cherokees of Tennessee "seldom bury the dead, but threw them into the
river."

After a careful search for well-authenticated instances of burial,
aquatic and semi-aquatic, but two have been found, which are here
given. The first relates to the Gosh-Utes, and is by Capt J. H.
Simpson: [Footnote: Exploration Great Salt Lake Valley, Utah, 1859, p.
48.]

"Skull Valley, which is a part of the Great Salt Lake Desert, and
which we have crossed to-day, Mr. George W. Bean, my guide over this
route last fall, says derives its name from the number of skulls which
have been found in it, and which have arisen from the custom of the
Goshute Indians burying their dead in springs, which they sink with
stones or keep down with sticks. He says he has actually seen the
Indians bury their dead in this way near the town of Provo, where he
resides."

As corroboration of this statement, Captain Simpson mentions in
another part of the volume that, arriving at a spring one evening,
they were obliged to dig out the skeleton of an Indian from the mud at
the bottom before using the water.

This peculiar mode of burial is entirely unique, so far as known, and
but from the well-known probity of the relator might well be
questioned, especially when it is remembered that in the country
spoken of water is quite scarce and Indians are careful not to pollute
the streams or springs near which they live. Conjecture seems useless
to establish a reason for this disposition of the dead.

The second example is by Catlin [Footnote: Hist. North American
Indians, 1844, II, p. 141] and relates to the Chinook.

"... This little cradle has a strap which passes over the woman's
forehead whilst the cradle rides on her back, and if the child dies
during its subjection to this rigid mode its cradle becomes its
coffin, forming a little canoe, in which it lie floating on the water
in some sacred pool, where they are often in the habit of fastening
their canoes containing the dead bodies of the old and young, or,
which is often the case, elevated into the branches of trees, where
their bodies are left to decay and their bones to dry whilst they are
bandaged in man skins and ominously packed in their canoes, with
paddles to propel and ladles to bail them out, and provisions to last
and pipes to smoke as they are performing their 'long journey after
death to their contemplated hunting grounds,' which these people think
is to be performed in their canoes."

LIVING SEPULCHERS

This is a term quaintly used by the learned M Pierre Muret to express
the devouring of the dead by birds and animals or the surviving
friends and relatives. Exposure of the dead to animals and birds has
already been mentioned, but in the absence of any positive proof it is
not believed that the North American Indians followed the custom,
although cannibalism may have prevailed to a limited extent. It is
true that a few accounts are given by authors, but these are
considered to be so apochryphal in character that for the present it
is deemed prudential to omit them. That such a means of disposing of
the dead was not in practice is somewhat remarkable when we take into
consideration how many analogies have been found in comparing old and
new world funeral observances, and the statements made by Bruhier,
Lafitau, Muret, and others, who give a number of examples of this
peculiar mode of burial.

For instance, the Tartars sometimes ate their dead, and the
Massageties, Derbices, and Effedens did the same, having previously
strangled the aged and mixed their flesh with mutton. Horace and
Tertulian both affirm that the Irish and ancient Britons devoured the
dead, and Lafitau remarks that certain Indians of South America did
the same, esteeming this mode of disposal more honorable and much to
be preferred than to rot and be eaten by worms. To the credit of our
savages, this barbarous and revolting practice is not believed to have
been practiced by them.

MOURNING, FEASTS, FOOD, DANCES, SONGS, GAMES, POSTS, FIRES, AND
SUPERSTITIONS IN CONNECTION WITH BURIAL.

The above subjects are coincidental with burial, and some of them,
particularly mourning, have been more or less treated of in this
paper, yet it may be of advantage to here give a few of the collected
examples, under separate heads.

MOURNING.

One of the most carefully described scenes of mourning at the death of
a chief of the Crows is related in the life of Beckwourth, [Footnote:
Autobiography of James Beckwourth, 1856, p. 260.] who for many years
lived among this people, finally attaining great distinction as a
warrior.

"I dispatched a herald to the village to inform them of the head
chief's death, and then, burying him according to his directions, we
slowly proceeded homewards. My very soul sickened at the contemplation
of the scenes that would be enacted at my arrival. When we drew in
sight of the village, we found every lodge laid prostrate. We entered
amid shrieks, cries, and yells. Blood was streaming from every
conceivable part of the bodies of all who were old enough to
comprehend their loss. Hundreds of fingers were dismembered; hair torn
from the head lay in profusion about the paths, wails and moans in
every direction assailed the ear, where unrestrained joy had a few
hours before prevailed. This fearful mourning lasted until evening of
the next day....

"A herald having been dispatched to our other villages to acquaint them
with the death of our head chief and request them to assemble at the
Rose Bud in order to meet our village and devote themselves to a
general time of mourning there met in conformity with this summons
over ten thousand Crows at the place indicated. Such a scene of
disorderly vociferous mourning no imagination can conceive nor any pen
portray. Long Hair cut off a large roll of his hair, a thing he was
never known to do before. The cutting and hacking of human flesh
exceeded all my previous experience; fingers were dismembered as
readily as twigs, and blood was poured out like water. Many of the
warriors would cut two gashes nearly the entire length of their arm,
then separating the skin from the flesh at one end, would grasp it in
their other hand and rip it asunder to the shoulder. Others would
carve various devices upon their breasts and shoulders and raise the
skin in the same manner to make the scars show to advantage after the
wound was healed. Some of their mutilations were ghastly and my heart
sickened to look at them, but they would not appear to receive any
pain from them."

From I. L. Mahan, United States Indian Agent for the Chippewas of Lake
Superior, Red Cliff, Wisconsin, the following detailed account of
mourning has been received.

There is probably no people that exhibit more sorrow and grief for
their dead than they. The young widow mourns the loss of her husband;
by day as by night she is heard silently sobbing; she is a constant
visitor to the place of rest; with the greatest reluctance will she
follow the raised camp. The friends and relatives of the young mourner
will incessantly devise methods to distract her mind from the thought
of her lost husband. She refuses nourishment but as nature is
exhausted she is prevailed upon to partake of food; the supply is
scant, but on every occasion the best and largest proportion is
deposited upon the grave of her husband. In the mean time the female
relatives of the deceased have according to custom submitted to her
charge a parcel made up of different cloths ornamented with bead-work
and eagles' feathers which she is charged to keep by her side--the
place made vacant by the demise of her husband--a reminder of her
widowhood. She is therefore for a term of twelve moons not permitted
to wear any finery, neither is she permitted to slicken up and comb
her head; this to avoid attracting attention. Once in a while a female
relative of deceased, commiserating with her grief and sorrow, will
visit her and voluntarily proceed to comb out the long-neglected and
matted hair. With a jealous eye a vigilant watch is kept over her
conduct during the term of her widowhood, yet she is allowed the
privilege to marry, any time during her widowhood, an unmarried
brother or cousin, or a person of the same _Dodem_ [_sic_]
(family mark) of her husband.

"At the expiration of her term, the vows having been faithfully
performed and kept, the female relatives of deceased assemble and,
with greetings commensurate to the occasion, proceed to wash her face,
comb her hair, and attire her person with new apparel, and otherwise
demonstrating the release from her vow and restraint. Still she has
not her entire freedom. If she will still refuse to marry a relative
of the deceased and will marry another, she then has to purchase her
freedom by giving a certain amount of goods and whatever else she
might have manufactured during her widowhood in anticipation of the
future now at hand. Frequently, though, during widowhood the vows are
disregarded and an inclination to flirt and play courtship or form an
alliance of marriage outside of the relatives of the deceased is being
indulged, and when discovered the widow is set upon by the female
relatives, her slick braided hair is shorn close up to the back of her
neck, all her apparel and trinkets are torn from her person, and a
quarrel frequently results fatally to some member of one or the other
side."

The substitution of a reminder for the dead husband, made from rags,
furs, and other articles, is not confined alone to the Chippewas,
other tribes having the same custom. In some instances the widows are
obliged to carry around with them, for a variable period, a bundle
containing the bones of the deceased consort.

Benson [Footnote: Life among the Choctaws, 1860, p. 294.] gives the
following account of their funeral ceremonies, embracing the
disposition of the body, mourning feast and dance:

"Their funeral is styled by them 'the last cry.'

"When the husband dies the friends assemble, prepare the grave, and
place the corpse in it, but do not fill it up. The gun, bow and
arrows, hatchet and knife are deposited in the grave. Poles are
planted at the head and the foot, upon which flags are placed; the
grave is then enclosed by pickets driven in the ground. The funeral
ceremonies now begin, the widow being the chief mourner. At night and
morning she will go to the grave and pour forth the most piteous cries
and wailings. It is not important that any other member of the family
should take any very active part in the 'cry,' though they do
participate to some extent.

"The widow wholly neglects her toilet, while she daily goes to the
grave during one entire _moon_ from the date when the death
occurred. On the evening of the last day of the moon the friends all
assemble at the cabin of the disconsolate widow, bringing provisions
for a sumptuous feast, which consists of corn and jerked beef boiled
together in a kettle. While the supper is preparing, the bereaved wife
goes to the grave, and pours out, with unusual vehemence, her bitter
wailings and lamentations. When the food is thoroughly cooked the
kettle is taken from the fire and placed in the center of the cabin,
and the friends gather around it, passing the buffalo-horn spoon from
hand to hand and from mouth to mouth till all have been bountifully
supplied. While supper is being served, two of the oldest men of the
company quietly withdraw and go to the grave and fill it up, taking
down the flags. All then join in a dance, which not unfrequently is
continued till morning; the widow does not fail to unite in the dance,
and to contribute her part to the festivities of the occasion. This is
the '_last cry,_' the days of mourning are ended, and the widow
is now ready to form another matrimonial alliance. The ceremonies are
precisely the same when a man has lost his wife, and they are only
slightly varied when any other member of the family has died. (Slaves
were buried without ceremonies.)"

FEASTS

In Beltrami [Footnote: Pilgrimage, 1828, ii, p. 443.] an account is
given of the funeral ceremonies of one of the tribes of the west,
including a description of the feast which took place before the body
was consigned to its final resting place:

"I was a spectator of the funeral ceremony performed in honor of the
manes of _Cloudy Weather's_ son-in-law, whose body had remained
with the Sioux, and was suspected to have furnished one of their
repasts. What appeared not a little singular and indeed ludicrous in
this funeral comedy was the contrast exhibited by the terrific
lamentations and yells of one part of the company while the others
were singing and dancing with all their might.

"At another funeral ceremony for a member of the _Grand
Medicine,_ and at which as _a man of another world_ I was
permitted to attend, the same practice occurred. But at the feast
which took place on that occasion an allowance was served up for the
deceased out of every article of which it consisted, while others were
beating, wounding, and torturing themselves, and letting their blood
flow both over the dead man and his provisions, thinking possibly that
this was the most palatable seasoning for the latter which they could
possibly supply. His wife furnished out an entertainment present for
him of all her hair and rags, with which, together with his arms, his
provisions, his ornaments, and his mystic medicine bag, he was wrapped
up in the skin which had been his last covering when alive. He was
then tied round with the bark of some particular trees which they use
for making cords, and bonds of a very firm texture and hold (the only
ones indeed which they have), and instead of being buried in the earth
was hung up to a large oak. The reason of this was that, as his
favorite Manitou was the eagle, his spirit would be enabled more
easily from such a situation to fly with him to Paradise."

Hind [Footnote: Canadian Red River Exploring Expedition, 1860, ii, p.
164.] mentions an account of a burial feast by De Brebeuf which
occurred among the Hurons of New York:

"The Jesuit missionary, P. de Brebeuf, who assisted at one of the
'feasts of the dead' at the village of Ossosane, before the dispersion
of the Hurons, relates that the ceremony took place in the presence of
2,000 Indians, who offered 1,200 presents at the common tomb, in
testimony of their grief. The people belonging to five large villages
deposited the bones of their dead in a gigantic shroud, composed of
forty-eight robes, each robe being made of ten beaver skins. After
being carefully wrapped in this shroud, they were placed between moss
and bark. A wall of stones was built around this vast ossuary to
preserve it from profanation. Before covering the bones with earth a
few grains of Indian corn were thrown by the women upon the sacred
relics. According to the superstitious belief of the Hurons the souls
of the dead remain near the bodies until the 'feast of the dead';
after which ceremony they become free, and can at once depart for the
land of spirits, which they believe to be situated in the regions of
the setting sun."

SUPERSTITION REGARDING BURIAL FEASTS.

The following account is by Dr. S G. Wright, acting physician to the
Leech Lake Agency, Minnesota:

"Pagan Indians, or those who have not become Christians, still adhere
to the ancient practice of feasting at the grave of departed friends;
the object is to feast with the departed; that is, they believe that
while they partake of the visible material the departed spirit
partakes at the same time of the spirit that dwells in the food. From
ancient time it was customary to bury with the dead various articles,
such especially as were most valued in lifetime. The idea was that
there was a spirit dwelling in the article represented by the material
article; thus the war-club contained a spiritual war-club, the pipe a
spiritual pipe, which could be used by the departed in another world.
These several spiritual implements were supposed, of course, to
accompany the soul, to be used also on the way to its final abode.
This habit has now ceased...."

FOOD.

This subject has been sufficiently mentioned elsewhere in connection
with other matters and does not need to be now repeated. It has been
an almost universal custom throughout the whole extent of the country
to place food in or near the grave of deceased persons.

DANCES.

Gymnastic exercises, dignified with this name, upon the occasion of a
death or funeral, were common to many tribes. It is thus described by
Morgan: [Footnote: League of the Iroquois, 1851, p. 297.]

"An occasional and very singular figure was called the 'dance for the
dead' It was known as the O-he-wa. It was danced by the women alone.
The music was entirely vocal, a select band of singers being stationed
in the center of the room. To the songs for the dead which they sang
the dancers joined in chorus. It was plaintive and mournful music.
This dance was usually separate from all councils and the only dance
of the occasion. It commenced at dusk or soon after and continued
until towards morning, when the shades of the dead who were believed
to be present and participate in the dance were supposed to disappear.
This dance was had whenever a family which had lost a member called
for it, which was usually a year after the event. In the spring and
fall it was often given for all the dead indiscriminately, who were
believed then to revisit the earth and join in the dance."

The interesting account which now follows is by Stephen Powers,
[Footnote: Cont. to North American Ethnol., 1878, iv, p. 164.] and
relates to the Yo-kai-a of California, containing other matters of
importance pertaining to burial.

"I paid a visit to their camp four miles below Ukiah, and finding
there a unique kind of assembly-house, desired to enter and examine
it, but was not allowed to do so until I had gained the confidence of
the old sexton by a few friendly words and the tender of a silver half
dollar. The pit of it was about 50 feet in diameter and 4 or 5 feet
deep, and it was so heavily roofed with earth that the interior was
damp and somber as a tomb. It looked like a low tumulus, and was
provided with a tunnel-like entrance about 10 feet long and 4 feet
high, and leading down to a level with the floor of the pit. The mouth
of the tunnel was closed with brush, and the venerable sexton would
not remove it until he had slowly and devoutly paced several times to
and fro before the entrance.

"Passing in I found the massive roof supported by a number of peeled
poles painted white and ringed with black and ornamented with rude
devices. The floor was covered thick and green with sprouting wheat,
which had been scattered to feed the spirit of the captain of the
tribe, lately deceased. Not long afterward a deputation of the Senel
came up to condole with the Yo-kai-a on the loss of their chief, and a
dance or series of dances was held which lasted three days. During
this time of course the Senel were the guests of the Yo-kai-a, and the
latter were subjected to a considerable expense. I was prevented by
other engagements from being present, and shall be obliged to depend
on the description of an eye-witness, Mr. John Tenney, whose account
is here given with a few changes.

"There are four officials connected with the building, who are
probably chosen to preserve order and to allow no intruders. They are
the assistants of the chief. The invitation to attend was from one of
them, and admission was given by the same. These four wore black vests
trimmed with red flannel and shell ornaments. The chief made no
special display on the occasion. In addition to these four, who were
officers of the assembly-chamber, there was an old man and a young
woman, who seemed to be priest and priestess. The young woman was
dressed differently from any other, the rest dressing in plain calico
dresses. Her dress was white covered with spots of red flannel, cut in
neat figures, ornamented with shells. It looked gorgeous and denoted
some office, the name of which I could not ascertain. Before the
visitors were ready to enter, the older men of the tribe were
reclining around the fire smoking and chatting. As the ceremonies were
about to commence, the old man and young woman were summoned, and,
standing at the end opposite the entrance, they inaugurated the
exercises by a brief service, which seemed to be a dedication of the
house to the exercises about to commence. Each of them spoke a few
words, joined in a brief chant, and the house was thrown open for
their visitors. They staid at their post until the visitors entered
and were seated on one side of the room. After the visitors then
others were seated, making about 200 in all, though there was plenty
of room in the center for the dancing.

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