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ABSTRACT

THE VISION EXPERIENCE:
.A NEOAEVOLUTIDNAR! STUD!

By

Patricia Carol Albers

The vision experience was an important cultural phenomenon among
the Indians who inhabited the greater Plains region of the United
States and.Canada.during the 17th through 19th centuries. For the
most part, previous discussions of this subject either have document-
ed variations in its form and function or have interpreted it in
terms of its psychological meanings and functibns.

using the ethnographic literature on the vision experience
in societies of the Plains and of peripheral areas, this thesis
attempts to demonstrate that variations in the meaning and function
of the vision experience are systematically related to differences
in selected social structural features. In so doing, it also tries
to show that the vision experience was a form of rationale which
served to Justify a society's manner of distributing power, prestige
and privilege. More generally, it endeavors to explain how varias
tions in the vision.experience are associated with evolutionary
changps between three ecological types of societies, namely, peri-
pheral hunting and gathering societies. True Plains societies and
peripheral horticultural societies.

The findings of this thesis suggest that the vision experience
can be viewed as an adaptive mechanism, whose meaning and manner of
functional integration change in response to overall modifications
in social structure and.u1timately. ecology. More specifically, it
has been found that the circumstances. recipients and meaning of
visions changed regularly with alterations in.modes of status allo-
cation. basic social units, degree of social differentiation and
leadership patterns. It was further found that divergence in the
vision experience was related to structural variations between each
of the three ecological types of societies. Conversely, similarities
in the vision experience were found to be the result of convergence
in structural features within each ecological type and in some

instances between these types.

THE VISION EXPERIENCE:
A NEO-EVOEUTIDNAR! STUDY

By

Patricia Carol Albers

A THESIS
Submitted to
‘ Michigan State University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of
MASTER OF SCIENCE

Department of Anthropology

1969

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I wish to acknowledge my indebtedness to Professor Seymour
Parker. He not only supervised this study, but he also provided
the constructive advice and consistent encouragement that made it
possible. Many of his insightful ideas served as the foundation
from which this thesis deve10ped. Consequently, this thesis owes
its existence to his influence and support.

Professors Charles Hughes and Iwao Ishino have also been of
great assistance and have offered their encouragement.

In a larger sense, this study was influenced by the empirical
and theoretical contributions of several social scientists, parti-
cularly, Ruth Benedict, Gerhard Lenski, Symmes Oliver and Julian
Steward. In addition. the ethnographic literature on Plains
societies has provided the necessary data to support the problems
undertaken in this thesis.

TABLE OF'OONTENTS

I. htmd‘wtion C O O O O O O O O 0

II. The Relationship of the Vision Experience to Other
Sociocultural Phenomena: A.Conceptual Framework .

III. The Vision Experience in Peripheral Hunting and

Gathering Societies

IV. The Vision Experience in True Plains Societies .

V. The Vision Experience in Peripheral Farming Societies

VI. Conclusion

Bibliography

iii

71
134
180
197

INTRODUCTION

The Indians who inhabited the Plains between the 17th and 19th
centuries shared with other North American Indians an esteem for
vision experiences. In all of the Plains societies and in most of
those adjacent to this area, the vision experience was an institu-
tionalised cultural phenomenon. As used in this thesis and in accord
with the descriptive definitions of other anthropologists (Iowie,
1954: 170; Benedict, 1931+: 39). the expression "vision experience"
designates a culturally prescribed dream or hallucination, which
was interpreted as a revelation of supernatural entities resulting
in the recipients acquisition of power, advice or ritual privileges.

Although the vision experience was a universal phenomenon in
North America, it displayed considerable variation in both form and
function. The parameters of this variation are amply documented in
a number of Wraworka (1922; 1923; 193k). wherein she
contended that it assumed a.multiplicity of forms and as such, was
impossible to describe in a uniform fashion. In reference to the
Plains societies, she stated:

"Each tribe has its own distinctive version, a pattern

so distinct that any random reference to fasting and
vision in the native texts could almost without fear
of mistake be assigned to the one particular tribe

from which it was collected - at most to two or three
which are in some way closely associated" (1922: 3).

2

Since the goal of this thesis is largely to explain in a sys-
tematic fashion how variations in the vision experience. on the
Plains and in adjacent areas, are regularly related to other socio-
cultural phenomena, it seems appropriate at this time to briefly
discuss Benedict's position on this subject and to describe some
limitations of her views.

Benedict, like her peers. during the historicalist-diffusionist
phase of American Anthropology conceived of culture as an aggregation
of traits which could be analyzed independently or in association
with others. In her early studies (1922 & 1923). Benedict treated
the vision experience as a discrete entity to be seen in its associa-
tion with other cultural characteristics like: guardian-spirits,
shamanism. puberty rites and so on. For the most part, her major
contributions to the study of this phenomenon were to establish its
distributional parameters in North America and to demonstrate varia-
tions in its relationship with other cultural factors in different
societal contexts. The following paragraph best summarizes her aims
and theoretical position with respect to the vision experience on the
Plains:

"The very great diversity of the vision pattern even in
one culture area such as the Plains is therefore evi-
dent. Not only are the general traits unevenly distri-
buted and even entirely lacking in certain tribes. but
local developments of one kind and another have overlaid
the common pattern till it is at times hardly recogni-
zable. A blanket classification under some such head as
'acquiring of guardian-spirits,‘ leads us nowhere. Corre-
lated with the use or disuse of torture; with the exis-
tence of a shamanistic caste, or the free exercise of
supernatural powers by all men; with the conception of
visions as savings-bank securities or as contact with
the compassion of wakanda, - are and must be psycho-
logical attitudes of the utmost diversity which make
Plains' religion a heterogeneity which defies classifica-
tion. Animism, magic, mana-ism, religion - Jostle each
other in this one area; and after all these headings were

3

tabulated, the real diversities would still remain out-
side. For this reason, topical studies of religion
must lack the rich variety of actuality, and.imply a
false simplicity. Is it not our first task to inquire
as carefully as may be in definite areas to what things
the religious experience attaches itself, and to esti-
mate their heterogeneity and their indefinite multipli-
city" (1922: 21) ?

The context, in which the above paragraph was written, is better
understood if the reader takes into consideration that Benedict's
essays were a reaction to a.number of poorly formulated and undocu-
wanted generalizations on the vision experience prevelant during the
early 1900's. An example of one such reaction will serve to ’ ~23
illustrate this point. Justifiably, Benedict objected to Hutton
Hebster's generalization that visions were synonymous with puberty
rites (1923: #9). As she demonstrated, the vision experience was
indeed associated with puberty rites in a number of historically
divergent societies, but these two distinct traits also existed inde-
pendently of each other in many areas (i.e. the Plains). Therefore,
she argued that it was false to assume that vision experiences were
the inevitable forerunner of puberty rites (1923: h9_§l). Although
each of these traits are often not concomitants, Benedict does not
attempt to explain why certain societies linked the two and others
did not. Instead, she merely offers examples of variation in the
combination or non-combination of these two traits.

The major problem with Benedict's interpretation is that she
relies on the particularistic argument - that connections between
Visions and other cultural traits are "essentially fortuitous" and
"tire result of specific factors in the tribal situation" - to explain

the lack of uniformity in this phenomenon's distribution (1923: 58).

2+

within the context of modern anthropological theory, one can
certainly question the adequacy of Benedict's explanation for the
vision experience's heterogeneity in different cultural contexts.
The assumption that the relationship between visions and other
sociocultural phenomena is "fortuitous" denies, at least implicitly,
the possibility that systematic regularities can exist between
these phenomena in historically divergent societies. It is impor-
tant to note in this context that although Benedict recognized

the existence of cross-cultural uniformities, her attempts to
explain.the existence of these parallels never went beyond histori-
cal fortuitousness. At this point it might be suggested that the
existence of regularities between a large or limited number of
societies was contrary to her major research goal, which was to
prove the "indefinite multiplicity" of the vision experience and
other religious phenomena.

One of the unfortunate consequences of her research strategy
was that many interesting observations concerning the functional
relationships between visions and other sociocultural characteristics
were never developed. For instance, she noted that the occurence
of "vested rights and privileges" among certain Northwest Coast and
Prarie Plains societies was probably related to their placing
restrictions on who could receive visions. She further indicates
that this was in direct contrast to the situtation among High
Plains societies, wherein the vision experience allowed for
considerable, individual freedom in decision-making and action (193k:
83-84). The differences in the form of the vision between these

two groups of societies is anchored in the fact that the vision

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5
is a part of a society's unique configuration and cannot be
understood without reference to all features that make up this
pattern. Thus, instead of pursuing her important observation whc
which deals with the relationship between a society's modes of
status allocation and its visions, she moves on to demonstrate
how the vision varies in its relationship to other parts of the
society's configuration.

A major limitation of her approach was that the cultural charac-
teristics with which she was dealing were all treated as if they
were on the same level of abstraction. In other words, shamanism,
puberty rites, economic factors and so on were all conceived as
having equal status in a society's configuration, and consequently,
they were all viewed as being related to the vision experience in
equivalent degrees. Clearly, the fact that shamans may or may not
have visions is certainly not on the same level of discourse as the
fact that modes of status allocation may or may not be connected
with the form the vision experience assumes in different societial
contexts. While this author shares Benedict's tenet that cultural
phenomena of the same generic type display cross-cultural diversity
and that they are related to other sociocultural factors, I do not
share her position that the variation is to be explained by rele-
gating all of one's variables to the same level of abstraction or
by assuming that the features under consideration are related to
each other in the same degree.

Given the excellent and lengthy discussions of the vision
experience in various ethnographies, it is notable that Benedict
never presented a detailed interpretation of the meaning and

functional integration of this phenomenon in any one society.

6
Instead, her essays on the vision appear as encyclopedic inven-
tories in which the vision is related to other sociocultural features
in an indiscriminate fashion and in which the variables under study
are, for the most part, treated in abeyence of their larger socio-
cultural contexts. Thus, in spite of the fact that Benedict gathers
together volumous amounts of information on the extent to which the
vision experience varies, cross-culturally, her efforts never
resulted in a systematic explanation for this diversity. In spite
of these general limitations, a number of interesting insights in
her essays do serve as a baseline from which further research can be
conducted. ’

Although the anthropological literature on vision experiences,
particularly those of Plains societies, is abundant, most of it is
confined to descriptive accounts in various ethnographies. Given
the availability of rich source materials, it is striking that the
phenomenon in question has not received extensive treatment since
Benedict's works in 1922 and 1923. Instead, it has been given only
limited attention in textbooks on religion or in the context of
other empirical and theoretical issues. A number of authors, in
addition to Benedict, have provided descriptive discussions and
outlined the parameters of the vision's variations in particular
culture areas. For instance, Lowie (195#) briefly discussed
variable features of the vision experience on the Plains; Ray (1939)
described cross-cultural differences in this phenomenon on the
Plateau; and.Underhill (l9#8) compared vision experiences in the
greater Southwest and demonstrated that the patterning of complex
ceremonies among the Zuni, Hopi and Pueblo were an extension of the

structural formula in visions. Other authors, who have dealt with

7
the vision experience, in contrast to Benedict, have essentially
avoided the issue of its heterogeneity. At least, they do not
offer empirical and theoretical explanations for cross-cultural
differences in its form and function. Rather, they have provided
explanations for certain of its functions in a large or limited
number of North American societies. For example, Pettit (l9h6)
dealt with it as an educative experience; Erickson (1950) considered
its relation to role transitions; and Wallace (1956) viewed it as a
form of personal therapy. In the following chapter, the contribu-
tions ofthese and other authors will be discussed in more detail in
the context of specific problems and issues.

In view of the present status of the literature on the vision
experience, the goal of this thesis isto try to order a portion of
the widely dispersed information on this phenomenon in the general
Plains area so that variations as well as regularities in certain of
its aspects can be explained. Attention will largely be focased on
four specific aspects of this phenomenon: its circumstances,
recipients, manifest content and functions. The circumstances de-
scribe the culturally defined situations under which visions are re-
ceived and publically recognized. The recipients refers to the
kinds of individuals who receive the vision and how this phenomenon
is distributed among individuals occupying different status positions
in the society. The manifest content relates to the manner in which
the recipient and his larger society define and interpret the sym-
bolic content and behavioral directives of the vision. And finally,
the functions designate the manner in which the vision articulates
with the larger sociocultural system or portions of it.

A cursory review of the ethnographic source materials on the

.0 '
'l. h

 

8
general Plains region suggested that it might be useful to examine
variations in these aspects of the vision experience in the context
of ecological and nee-evolutionary theory. The overall orientation
of this thesis is very similar to Julian Steward's position, as
expressed in the following statement:

"Hultilinear evolution is essentially a methodology

based on the assumption that significant regularities

in cultural change occur, and it is concerned with

the determination of cultural laws. Its method is

empirical rather than deductive. It is inevitably

concerned also with historical reconstruction, but

it does not expect that historical data can be

classified in universal stages. It is interested

in particular cultures, but instead of finding

local variations and diversity troublesome facts

which force the frame of reference from the parti-

cular to the general, it deals only with those limit-

ed parallels, of form, function and sequence which

have emprical validity" (1955: 18-19).

To put it differently, this thesis is primarily concerned with
adaptations in the context of what Sahlins(l960) has referred to
as specific evolution.

The position of Steward (1955), Service (1962), Lenski (1967)
and other nee-evolutionists that social organization is an adaptive
mechanism, which facilitates a society's adjustment to existing
ecological conditions and the level of technological development has
some interesting implications for the study of cultural phenomena
such as the vision experience. First, if cultural phenomena, parti-
cularly that which is subsumed under the category "religion," legi-
timizes and facilitates the operation of the social structure, it
flight be argued that adaptive changes in the social structure create
commenserate alterations in religious phenomena. In other words,

religion (or that portion of culture which rests on supernatural
Premises) is viewed as an adaptive mechanism, as well, which changes

“1 -1P1ssponse to changes in social structures. Thus, it might also be

9
argued that if the manifest content of religion is a reflection of
its social function, adaptive social structural changes should
equally influence modifications in manifest content. Generally,
my position approximates Gocde's (1951) structural-functional
analysis of primitive religion, wherein he indicated that religious
rituals create linkages between religion, as a belief system, and
"other spheres of action" (i.e. economy, poltical structure and
social arrangements). In his analysis, he demonstrated through a
comparison of five differently organized societies how changes in
secular "spheres of action" are related to changes in ritual link-
ages and finally, to alterations in the symbolic content of the be-
lief system. Although Goode does not advocate neo-evolutionary,
interpretations, his framework provides a baseline from which struc-
tural-funotional analysis of religious behavior can be synthesized
with neo-evolutionary orientations.

In view of the preceeding assumption that religion is an
adaptive mechanism, it is the position of this thesis that evolu-
tionary continuums formulated for technological and social structural
features can be extended to cultural, specifically religious pheno-
menu, as well. Thus, if systematic changes of an evolutionary nature
occur between hunting and gathering societies and horticulturalists
in basic social units (Steward, 1955; Service, 1962), modes of status
allocation and leadership patterns (Lenski, 1967), as a result of
alterations in food supply, increased technological developments
and so on, it might be expected that aspects of religion change in
accordance with evolutionary modifications in other spheres. More
specifically, it might be possible to demonstrate how changes in

technology and social organization viewed in a sequence of

10
increasing complexity affect changes in the meaning and functional
integration of religious phenomena.

At this point, it is worthwhile to briefly discuss other evolu-
tionary considerations of religion, as they contrast or compare
with the approach suggested in this thesis. In the past, evolutionary
studies (Tylor, 1889; Fraser, 1922) viewed religion as a self-con-
tained mechanism which evolved by its own volution. Aside from
general criticisms directed at the arguments of the classical evolu-
tionists, it is important to note that they did not attempt to
interrelate their proposed schemes of religious evolution with evolu-
tionary changes in other sectors of the total sociocultural system.

Since the writings of the early evolutionists, little has been
done to order data on religious phenomena from an evolutionary
perspective. Bellah (1952), Wallace (1967) and Swanson (1960), how-
ever, have developed evolutionary schemes or typologies for broad
application. Bellah's framework, on the one hand, involves distinc-
tions of an evolutionary nature that are based on symbolic systems
of qualitatively different orders. Essentially, he demonstrates
that religious symbol systems have evolved from compact to complex
ones. Hallace's framework, on the other hand, is concerned with
the identification of particular types of religion as distinguished
from each other on the priority of a particular cult institution.
These types can be viewed on a continuum from those which are
composed of only individualistic and shamanic cult institutions to
those in which ecclesiastical institutions predominate. Using
Sahlin's (1960) distinction, both of these authors can be said to
have employed general rather than specific evolutionary frameworks.

Although both of these authors have made some interesting

11

observations about the evolution of religious phenomena and have
related their typologies, in a general fashion, to evolutionary
changes in other spheres of action, they do not for the most part
explain specific linkages in any great detail.

Unlike these writers, Swanson systematically demonstrated the
association between specific kinds of theological beliefs and
particular aspects of the economy and social structure. Like Durk-
heim, Swanson argued that the supernatural can be seen as the sym-
bolic equivalent of society. In this context, he considers dieties
and spirits as equivalents of sovereign groups and views mana as
corresponding to "primordial links" between men. Although Swanson
does not explicitly formulate a developmental typology, many of the
factors he interrelates have evolutionary implications. For instance,
he demonstrates that beliefs in high gods are significantly related
to the overall social complexity of a society and that beliefs in
a number of superior gods is strongly associated with the ranked
stratification of sovereign groups within the society (1960: 6h-
67). In general, his evidence not only supports the contention
that religion is an adaptive mechanism but also gives credence to
the position that religious phenomena can be viewed from the per-
spective a: an evolutionary continuum.

Given the theoretical assumptions briefly outlined in the
preceeding pages, the major goal of this thesis is to show how
the form of the vision experience changed systematically in response
to its functional relationship to social structures viewed in a
sequence of increasing complexity. More specifically, it will try
to understand how specific variations in the form and function of

the vision experience are associated with different ecological types

12
of societies. The rationale for organizing sociocultural data
within the framework of ecological or technological types is nicely
expressed by Goldschmidt, who states:

"If we consider that the development of technology

is the prime mover in social evolution and that

it operates on the social level through changing

population density, settlement patterns, economic

well-being and the like, then it follows that this

evolution is not simply a matter of stages of a

set character. Rather, there are infinite degrees

of development, and these in turn are subjected to

factors external to the sociocultural system which

here and there alter the underlying regularity.

Yet, a taxonomy of societies based upon the manner

in which a people exploit their environment to

obtain their basic needs is not entirely off the

mark, for broadly speaking and with these reserva-

tions in mind, these productive techniques fulfill

the basic needs of human sustenance and set the

conditions to which a host of secondary circum-

stances must conform. (1959: 132-133).

In this context, the ecological and technological aspects
(e.g. nature of food supply, subsistence techniques, population
size) of the societies under consideration will serve as the inde-
pendent variables, while the aspects (manifest content, circumstances,
recipients, social functions) of the vision experience will serve
as dependent variables. The structural and organizational aspects
(basic social units, modes of status allocation, leadership patterns),
on the other hand, will be utilized as intervening variables to
explain relationships within each type of society.

As indicated previously, attention will largely be directed to
empirical evidence from those societies that inhabitied the Ameri-
can and Canadian Plains between the 17th and 19th centuries or that
utilized this environment during certain portions of the year
(i.e. Oto and Kutenai). However, additional evidence will be pre-
sented from a number of peripheral societies, who did not utilize

the Plains to serve as reference points for contrast and comparison.

13

One attempt to categorize groups in the greater Plains area
on an ecological-technological basis was carried out by Symmes
Oliver (1962), whose classification consisted of three types: peri-
pheral hunters and gatherers, True Plains societies and peripheral
farming groups. Oliver demonstrated that the differing technologi-
cal and ecological basis of these types was reflected in certain
distinctive variations in their social systems. He argues that True
Plains societies, originally of either hunting and gathering (i.e.
Comanche and Blackfoot) or farming (i.e. Teton Dakota and Cheyenne)
backgrounds adapted their social organizations in similar fashions
to meet the requirements of a new ecological situation, created
largely by the acquisition of the horse, by the seasonal movements
of the major food resource, buffalo, and by the periodic unity and
dispersal of the bands. On the other hand, peripheral societies,
who entered the Plains, periodically, although affected by the new
developments in the central Plains region, maintained in part their
respective emphasis on either hunting and gathering or farming.
Hence, they also retained organizational features characteristic of
their type. For the most part, the peripheral hunters and gathers
(i.e. Lemhi and Kutenai) included those societies, who inhabited the
region to the west and north of the central Plains, whereas the
peripheral farming groups (i.e. Oto, Omaha, Pawnee) occupied the
fertile farmlands to the east.

Although societies of a given type shared many organizational
features due to similar ecological conditions, Oliver indicates that
existing differences within each type are explainable in terms of
differing historical backgrounds and/or ecological idiosyncracies.

He points out, for example, that organizational differences between

1#
True Plains societies are related to their former modes of existence.
Depending on their previous origins, they shared particular organiza-
tional features with either the hunters and gatherers or farming
groups.

Further, Oliver's study lends support to the neo:evolutionary
position that societies can be placed on a continuum of increasing
complexity. Thus, the peripheral farming groups exhibit greater com-
plexity in their social organization than the peripheral hunting and
gathering peoples. The True Plains societies, on the other hand, are
seen as being in the middle range of this continuum.

With respect to the vision experience, it is the position of this
thesis that the social organizational adaptations of True Plains and
peripheral societies affected the form and function of the vision ex-
perience. Thus, given the briefly outlined conclusions of Oliver's
study, we should expect certain uniformities to occur within each
ecological type and that patterned differences will exist between
them. These are explainable in terms of convergent or divergent
structural aspects and ecological conditions. It is clear, however,
that Imall variations in the vision experience will also exist within
each of these ecological types. These differences can often be
explained by idiosyncratic circumstances or historical background
differences. While this thesis will note some of these differences
particularly, between True Plains societies, it will attempt primarily
to set forth major uniformities of the vision associated with the
threefold ecological classification.

It must be made clear, however, that no attempt has been made
in this thesis to cover all salient sociocultural features of the

societies under concern. Instead, a number of organizational and

15

ecological features have been chosen on the basis of their direct
relevance to the problem. A more detailed discussion of the socio-
cultural aspects chosen for comparison is provided in the following
chapter.

It is hoped that this thesis will contribute to our under-
standing of the vision experience's meaning and functional integra-
tion among North American groups, in general, and among Plains
societies, in particular; that it will illustrate the systematic
relation between ecology, social organization and religion; and that
it can provide a model for the extension of neo-evolutionary frame-

works to other religious features.

Chapter II

THE RELATIONSHIP OF THE VISION EXPERIENCE
TO OTHER SOCIOCULTURAL PHENOMENA:
A CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

Before inquiry into any subject, it is obvious that one must
define and clarify the terms to be employed and the phenomena to be
explained. Since the problem of concern in this thesis is essentially
comparative in its orientation, it is necessary at the outset to de-
lineate the sociocultural features chosen for comparison. The purpose
of this chapter, therefore, is to define the aspects of the vision
experience, social organization and ecology to be investigated in each
of the three types of societies. In so doing, specific references
will be made to literature referring to relevant subject matter and
issues.

I. ASPECTS OF THE VISION EXPERIENCE

A cursory review of the literature on the vision experience in
North America leads one to the conclusion that first, there are
subtle disagreements over the range of behavior which legitimately
constitute this referent and secondly, there are variations in inter-
pretation with respect to its pertinent structural and functional
aspects. However, while there are many ways to concieve the vision
experience, these viewpoints are not always mutually exclusive.
Rather, differences in definition and in explanation appear to stem
from the frame of reference used and the type of vision experience
under investigation. Since the vision experience displays consider-

able variation in different cultural contexts, it can be noted that

16

17
many definitions and explanations are approPriate under certain
circumstances, but less suitable under others. Therefore, it must be
made clear that it is not my purpose in the following pages to mini-
mize the contributions of other authors on this topic, but rather to
elaborate on certain of their insights and to offer alternative
definitions and explanations.

In the introduction (p. 1), the vision experience was briefly
defined as a religious activity, which involved "a culturally pre-
scribed dream or hallucination interpreted as a revelation of super-
natural entities resulting in the recipients acquisition of power,
advice or ritual privileges." Although this definition is one which
is generally accepted in the literature and one which has cross-
cultural applicability, it describes, only in a general fashion, cer-
tain generic features of the phenomenon under concern. It is
necessary therefore, in the following pages to discuss these core
variables in a more precise manner. This disscussion will proceed
from two points of reference: First, certain structural aspects (i.e.
circumstances, recipients, manifest content) will be outlined and de-
fined, and secondly, the functional relationship of the vision exper-
ience to other sociocultural phenomena will be considered. Since
Benedict (1922 & 1923) and others (Lowie, l95h; Ray, 1939; Underhill,
19h8) have already documented the variation of these aspects in
different cultural contexts, I will only briefly present certain of
the divergencies in this chapter.

Before describing the structural aspects of the vision exper-
ience, it is necessary to make a conceptual distinction between
idiosyncratic and institutionalized visions. Visions, if we view

them merely as supernatural revelations in the form of a dream or

18
hallucination (D‘Andrade, 1961: 313), occured in all North American

societies, and contrary to Benedict's assertion (l93#: 89) existed
among the "Appollonian" Pueblo of the Southwest (Eggan, D., 1952).
Although visions may be universal phenomena in North America, they do
not in all instances follow culturally prescribed patterns nor are
they institutionalized in every social setting. The visions that
occur among the Pueblo, for instance, are generally idiosyncratic
forms of behavior, which have no culturally standarized meaning for
the society at large. Although their manifest content may be influ- -
enced by the sociocultural context in which they occur, they are not
explicitly defined by the society. In contrast, the symbolism and
behavioral directives of institutionalized visions follow culturally
prescribed patterns and articulate in a definable manner with other
sociocultural spheres of action. This thesis, therefore, will not be
concerned with visions, as idiosyncractic forms of behavior; rather,
it will deal only with those visions, wherein circumstances, recip-
ients and manifest content are associated with a specified range of
standarized meanings in the society.

Ruth Benedict (1923: 26-27) noted that the North American Indians
recognized two means of acquiring visions. On the one hand, visions
were directly sought by the individual, often through various techni-
ques of self-mortification (i.e. fasting and self-torture). 0n the
other, visions could appear to individuals, "involuntarily," without
any conscious effort to solicit.them. Although these two means of
acquisition could be recognized as legitimate ways to receive visions,
in many instances, only one of the forms was in fact institutionalized.
Among certain True Plains societies, for instance, the prescribed

pattern was for males to seek visions under conditions of

i
l
L;

19

self-deprivation. Although involuntary visions did occur and were
often socially recognized, they were usually viewed as less effective
than sought after visions. Iowie (1925: 338) records an example of
this, where a Crow recieved a vision during sleep, believed it in-
effective, and later went through the prescribed pattern, which in-
volved self-laceration, to recieve a socially acceptable vision. In
contrast, certain of the peripheral societies in the Great Basin did

not seem to institutionalize sought visions. Instead, qgltfl:all!.£§9‘

scribed visions appeared a , slee or le
hunting (Steward, 1934' . .
w _'

The range of possible circumstances under which sought or
spontaneous visions could be acquired is defined on a temporal as
well as spatial basis. By spatial, I am referring to the culturally
prescribed occasions on which visions are legitimately received.
Cross-cultural differences in the spatial variable are to be seen in
_terms of the type and variety of occasions. Thus, while one society
may limit socially recognized visions to the occasion of a medicine
bundle transfer, others will allow visions to be sought on a number
of different occasions such as: prior to a raid or hunt, during mourn-
ing, for naming a child and so on. It must be indicated, however,
that while visions may be sought on the occasion of a group ritual,
like the Sun Dance, the actual solication occurs, privately. In
general, it can be stated that the vision experience is a solitary
religious activity, insofar as it is most often recieved under condi-
tions of isolation rather than in the context of a group activity.

The temporal variable, on the other hand, refers to the
appropriate time or times during which visions are sought or likely

to be received, spontaneously. In most of the peripheral societies,

‘,D-‘

20
individuals commenced the quest for visions during childhood or
early in adolescence, but solicitation would cease upon the receipt
of an appropriate vision or at the onset of puberty (Benedict, 1922:
1-2). As Landes (1937: 118) indicates for the Rainy River Ojibway,
children were sent on preparatory trials that could extend over a
period of several years, but the actual receipt of a vision usually
occured only once. Although the solicitation of visions ceased at
puberty in many societies, involuntary visions might be recieved dur-
ing adulthood. In contrast, members of True Plains societies did not
begin to solicit visions until the early years of adulthood, and in
addition to the reciept of a "primary vision," were allowed to
legitimately seek visions on a number of different occasions through-
out adulthood (Benedict, l922::1 & 17).

If I understand Benedict correctly, the "primary vision" is
analagous to the vision received at or around puberty in the peri-
pheral societies. For the most part, the manifest content of
"primary visions" is related more to the life-time goals and activi-
ties of an individual than to his participation.in immediate and par-
ticular endeavors.

It must be indicated at this point that the circumstances under
which an individual receives a vision is to be differentiated from
the occasion and time at which the vision is publically recognized.
ENen though the receipt of a vision may occur under appropriate cir-
cumstances and the manifest content may conform to culturally pre-
scribed patterns, these factors do not necessarily imply that the
Vision will be recognized by the society. In most North Amarican

9°<=ieties, public recognition does not occur until such a time that

thfli recipient can, as it were, validate his rights to a vision

is

2h

30:

we
14

N

9°.
3,.

m
0:1

w

M

21

through such things as the exercise of personal abilities, display of
wealth or ascription. Among the Sanpoil, for instance, "primary
visions" are solicited during childhood. However, these visions are
not openly discussed, revealed through songs or fetishes and display-
ed in spirit dances, until the recipient can force their validation
through personal achievements (Ray, 1940: 186). And among the Oto,
while any individual might receive a vision, socially recognized
visions were usually confined to individuals whose vision could be
validated through inherited rights and family wealth Whitman“ 1932).

The second aspect of the vision experience to be considered is
the recipients. It is apparent, when reading the ethnographic litera-
ture, that variations in the vision experience occured not only
between different societies but amongst the members of the same
society. Therefore, this thesis will address itself to the following
questions: which individuals in the society are eligible to receive
a vision, what kinds of vision, as defined by the manifest content,
do they receive, and finally, how are visions distributed among
individuals occupying different status positions in the society?

Societies in North America ranged from those in which all
members were expected to receive visions through those in which
visions, in general, were potentially available to all but certain
ones restricted to a few, and finally, to those in which visions are
the prerogative of specific persons. Aside from age, there are a
number of different criteria, which North American societies employed
to determine the eligiblity of individuals with respect to all or
Particular visions. It must be indicated, however, that the vision

axExerience was most often a male rather than a female pursuit. Al-

though fe owed to r eive visions, it w ly

22

not incumbent upon their status to do so. Since most of the
WM” .._,. - “fig/J"

literature on the vision experience deals with visions received by
males, sex, as a criterion, will not be discussed in any detail.
Therefore, in the following portions of this thesis, references to
individuals, recipients or persons designate males, unless otherwise
indicated.

Ascribed and/or achieved membership in a given sodality may deter-
mine whether or not an individual has the right to a vision. In some
societies, all socially recognized visions were inherited and formally
restricted to individuals on the basis of their position in certain
kin-based sodalities. The literature on the True Plains societies
suggests, on the other hand, that while there was,ideally, a free
access to visions, certain kinds of visions were frequently restricted
to religious practionners or members of certain men's societies. For
instance, among the Arapaho, only certain individuals on the basis of
their prior achievements in warfare were allowed to receive visions
prerequired for entrance into a leadership sodality (Elkin, 1959:
238).

Whether or not visions are formally restricted on the basis of
age, sex, prior achievements or family affiliations, it is clear from
numerous ethnographic accounts that success in attaining visions .
varied amongst members in the same society. Thus, while visions may
not be the prerogative of certain persons, it often happens that
specific individuals on the basis of their prior achievements are
more likely to receive visions than their less successful counter-
Parts. Lewis (1935: 232) illustrates this in a quote from a Crow
informant: "All who were well-to-do had visions...I was to be poor

80 I had no visions." Steward (193k: #23-h38) suggests for the Owens

23
valley Paiute that visions, although desired by and open to all males,
were not received by everyone.

Although the relationship between the status of recipients and
the manifest content of visions will be discussed in more detail in
a subsequent section of this chapter, it is worthwhile at this point
to note that the vision is often an after the fact phenomenon, which
does not really dictate future experiences but is based on past ones.
Ray (1940: 186) and Lewis (1935: 241) suggest that the account a
recipient gave of his vision was in all likelihood reconstructed to
meet his adult status. Steward (l93h: 423-h38) and Erickson (L950:
152) note that the type of vision, as defined by manifest content,
an individual recieves was often conditioned by his past experiences.
In accord with these authors, it is my position that who receives a
vision and what kind of vision they receive, positively corresponds
to their social status, as defined by specified, secular criteria.

As I will attempt to demonstrate later, a primary function of the
vision is to legitimate a society's mode of status allocation and
concomittantly, its distribution of social powers and prvileges.

The final aspect to be considered in this thesis is the
manifest content or the manner in which the individual and his larger
society interpreted the symbolism and behavioral directives of the
vision experience. Since the interpretation of a vision's manifest
content rested largely on beliefs in supernatural beings and powers,
it is necessary to briefly describe the symbolic representation and
meaning of these concepts. Although the societies in the general
Plains region and in peripheral areas did not interpret the manifest
content of visions in a uniform fashion, it is possible to delineate

certain generic features common to a large number of these groups.

2L.

Within the respective belief systems of these societies, there
existed a wide variety of supernatural beings, some of which frequently
manifested themselves in visions. These beings could represent vaguely
defined entities, concrete conceptions of fauna, flora and physical ‘
objects, or highly personified beings inhhuman forms. Despite varia-
tions in their physical representation, all manifested some degree of
personification; they could talk, feel, think and/or act in a human-
like manner. For the most part, supernatural beings represented in
visions can be classified as animistic spirits in opposition to a
class of powerful. gods or dieties. In the sense that Tylor (1971:

9) used it, animism refers to beliefs in the existence of numerous
personified spirits whose powers and abilities are specific and limit-
ed.

The nature of these spirits has often been described as "personal"
in that the spirits were identified with specific individuals and
granted their recipients personal favors. There are, however, spirits
who may be described as "social" because they were symbolically
associated with collective groups like. men's societies, clans,
lineages and so on, and because they were related to the social group
to which the recipient will or does belong. Moreover, when "social"
spirits appear in visions, they usually bestow favors phrased as
ritual privileges, ceremonial instructions and so on, all of which
have collective significance. Societies in North America may range
from those wherein the spirits revealed in visions are predominately
"personal" through those wherein "social" spirits prevail and
finally, to those, wherein both forms may occur.

The spirits manifested in visions have also been described

as guardian-spirits (Benedict, 1923). This expression has served

25.
as an all-encompassing rubric under'which is subsumed most of the
animistic spirits in North America. Unfortunately, this term has been
loosely, and in some instances, mistakenly applied to spirits present
in.visions. While it is certainly normative for some societies to
view these spirits as guardians in its literal sense, it is not so in
others. Protection is only one of the many roles that spirits could
assume vis fi'vis their suppliants. In reaction to Benedict's use of
the term "guardian-spirit," Jacobs (1964:266) argues that the animis-
tic spirits in North America are projections of various kinds of
secular relationships, and will be viewed in accordance with the
nature of particular aligmments that are important in the society. As
he illustrates, they need not be protective or authoritative figures,
but could equally be viewed and addressed as a brother, sweetheart or
peer. In fact, it is even possible for such spirits to be conceived
as malfarious. Among the Winnebago, for instance, prior to the
appearance of a benevolent spirit, evil beings might be manifested in
visions to disuade the recipient from his quest (Radin, 1937: 162).
Jacobs' idea is certainly supported by the study of Spiro and
D'Andrade (1958: h56~466), wherein they demonstrated that a society's
attitudes towards its gods are largely reflections of the child-
parent relationship. Since Nbrth American societies differ with
respect to behavior characterizing a given social relationship (i.e.
parent and child), it should be expected that conceptions of these
animistic beings will also vary.

Although this thesis does not deny the existence of varying
conceptualizations concerning the suppliant-spirit relationship,
attention will be directed towards their function as benefactors.

Throughout North America, the vision conformed to a formula wherein

26
a supernatural being would appear to the recipient and bestow upon
him various supernatural favors (Benedict, 1922: 1). As Benedict
rightly argued, attempts to enter into relationships with spirits were
not the primary purposes of the vision experience. Rather, these re-
lationships were viewed merely as means for persons to gain access to
supernatural powers and other necessary favors. Therefore, these
spirits, in addition to other functions, can be seen as primarily
serving the individual in an intermediary capacity.

While the spirits represented in visions were often believed to
have greater access than humans to certain kinds of supernatural '
powers, they were not necessarily viewed as their ultimate source.

In many instances, visions involved direct symbolic representations

of conferred favors and did not contain or embody intermediary spirits.
If the primary purpose of visions was not to enter into relationships
with supernatural bangs, the question arises as to what was its 553522.
33353. In accordance with Benedict (1922: 17; 1923: 28) and others,
this author subscribes to the idea that the vision experience was
primarily a means through which supernatural powers and favors were
acquired. Since beliefs in supernatural powers were central features
of the religious belief systems in the general Plains region, it is
imperative that we understand the basic premises upon which this con-
cept rested and its relationship to the vision experience.

Generally speaking, supernatural power was viewed as an omni-
present and impersonal force, which could be embodied in material
objects, natural phenomena, human beings and supernatural entities.

In the vocabularies of most Nbrth American Indian societies, there
exists equivalent words or phrases to denote this power, which

variously served to describe objects, QUalities, states or actions.

27

Moreover, the expressions for power could be phrased as nouns,
verbs, adjectives or adverbs (Lowie, 1959: 17).
Power received in a vision could be interpreted, for instance,
in a personal manner. In this sense, it might be conceived as a
quality specific to certain spirits and embodied in certain indivi-
duals in the society. As a quality, personal forms of power were
related, on the one hand, to abilities, skills or talents of indi-
viduals and spirits in one or many endeavors like hunting, curing
warfare, gambling, love-making and so on. On the other hand, power
was conceived less as an ability but more as a generalized kind of
luck or success in one or more of the above endeavors. Moreover,
personal, supernatural powers might be considered the private posses-
sion of individuals not to be openly discussed much less transferred.
However, when personal forms of power are in addition described
as a form of wealth, they often became transferable commodities that
could be variously sold, given-away or bequeathed. In this instance,
the power an individual possessed or could make use of was usually
embodied in material objects like personally owned medicine bundles
and other paraphenalia rather than embodied merely as a quality in
the individual. Most, if not all, medicine bundles or tokens owned
by individuals were initially inspired through a vision, and could be
considered tangible symbols of the power or powers an individual
controlled.
Secondly, supernatural power could be interpreted in a
°Ollective manner. In this sense, it was viewed as the quality or
Possession of a sodality or the entire society. When a person re-
°¢1ved a vision symbolizing collectively owned power, he was usually

a‘ented privileges or rights overs its control and/or instructions

 

28
fer its use. Moreover, rights to these powers are not received from
personal spirits, but from spirits that are often symbolic represen-
tations of social groupings like clans, lineages, men's societies and
so on. Further, collective powers may be described as a form of
wealth and embodied in material objects like medicine bundles, shield
emblems or crests. Here, however, while their care and management
are entrusted to a particular individual, they are owned by a social
group or the entire society. It is interesting to note that specific
and ritualized kinds of visions are often required of individuals be-
fore they can assume control of collectively owned bundles.

It should also be noted that power received through a vision
experience could be viewed as either the permanent or temporary
possession, quality or privilege of an individual. If permanent, the
individual retained rights to personally or collectively defined
powers throughout his life time. In contrast, many visions granted
their recipients powers that could be used only during the duration
of a particular event. Some of these conceptual differences can be
illustrated by reference to the Crow, wherein an individual may
receive personal power that will enable him to be a talented and suc-
cesful warrior, he may also acquire rights over collectively owned
powers embodied in a medicine bundle, and finally, he may be granted
power which might enable him to successfully seek revenge (Lewis,
1935). As visions and the power they bestow rest on a temporal-acti-
vity continuum, they also can be viewed on a spatial-activity con-
tinuum. Thus, just as visions may or may not be limited in time, they
can be limited to certain activities or they can be more generalized
encompassing a variety of actions.

In so far as the vision experience was interpreted in terms of

29

the revealed powers, and in some cases, the advice of a personified
spirit, the usages of supernatural power can be discussed in the con-
text of the vision's behavioral directives. In general, it can be
said that the use and/or possession of power in North America implied
an individual's or group's control and manipulation of phenomena in
their behavioral environment for personal and/or collective ends.
Essentially, cross-cultural differences are to be found with respect
to who or what was being controlled and who was given the prerogative
of controlling. While the vision experience was an individualistic
religious activity rather than a collective ritual or ceremony and
while the behavioral directives of visions indicate, for the most
part, the use and control of power by the recipient, supernatural
power revealed in visions might be directed towards either individual
or group ends. For instance, among the Mandan, an individual might
receive a vision which directed him in the use of a medicine bundle
owned by his lineage. However, while he is instructed in the cere-
monial use of this bundle, the power embodied in the bundle is
ideally used for group interests not personal aggrandizement (Bowers,
1950: 170). Since powers acquired in visions could be applied to
individual and/or group ends, I see no need to categorize the direc-
tives of the vision experience, as exclusively magical (i.e. personal).
For this reason, I would disagree with Province's assumption (1955:
368) that the vision experience among Plains societies was "carried
on purely individual ends."

In the foregoing discussion, I have only briefly outlined cer-
tain dimensions and variations in the circumstances, recipients and
manifest content of the vision experience. In spite of certain varia-

tions in this phenomenon, it is possible to see visions as existing

30
on a continuum from those wherein symbolism is individualistic and

interpreted in a personal manner to those wherein symbolism is
collective and understood within the context of social groups. More-
over the behavioral directives of visions may be applied to individual
and/or community ends.

As indicated previously, a number of explanations have been pro-
posed to account for the function of the vision experience in North
American societies. The majority of these explanations, however,
have taken the individual and psychological premises, as their pri-
mary points of reference. While this author views visions as pro-
viding a rationale for legitimizing the manner in which a society
distributes its status, powers, and privileges, it is appropriate to
view them within other theoretical frameworks.

Given the widespread occurence of visions in North American
societies, where hunting and/or warfare are institutionalized, a
number of authors (Wallace: 1966; Petitt: 1996; D'Andrade: 1961;
Underhill: 19h8) have suggested that the search for power served to
reduce stress and anxiety in situations of uncertainty. Generally,
they argue that because anxieties over unpredictability and danger
are likely to deter success in activities vital to the society, the
vision experience can be seen as a mechanism which instills confidence
in its members to effectuate control over their environment. Wallace
(1966: 175), for instance, argues that technological rituals in
general augment the mobilization of human effort in direct proportion
to uncertainties and risks involved.

Wallace (1956: 272) has also related the existence of visions
to anxieties over independence. Referring specifically to, u

Visions, wherein guardian-spirits are manifested, he argues that the

31
protection and authority provided by parent-like, supernatural
figures serve to displace unacceptable wishes for dependence and
nurturanoe in societies, where males are forced or pressured to be
self-reliant and independent. In a similar fashion, D'Andrade (1961:
320-327) concludes on the basis of comparative evidence that anxie-
ties over independence and isolation are related to the presence of
culturally patterned dreams involving the search for and control over
supernatural powers. He further demonstrates that these types of
dreams were more prevalent in hunting and gathering societies, where
value was placed on independence, achievement and self-reliance than
in horticultural societies where emphasis was placed on nurturance
and obedience.

Although the existence of a number of visions can be explained
by their functional relationship to anxieties over uncertainty, inde-
pendence, isolation and so on, such explanations are not universally
suited to all visions in North America. As will be demonstrated in
this thesis, visions symbolizing power and personified spirits could
occur in both hunting and gathering as well as horticultural
societies, but their manifest content was phrased and interpreted in
very different manners.

It has also been demonstrated in the literature (Wallace: 1956;
Petitt: 1946; Erickson: 1950) that visions facilitated role transition.
Petitt, for instance, stated in a manner analagous to D'Andrade that
the vision experience was an educative mechanism, whose purpose was
"a practical attempt to give greater assurance to achievements in
life and to produce an independent, self-reliant personality." Al-
though there is little doubt that anticipatory socialization is an

important function of visions, particularly, those that occured at

Q

32
or during puberty, Petitt's description of the personality
characteristics it supposedly reinforces is clearly limiting. Socio-
psychological independence is certainly a desired male trait in.many
areas of North America, but it is not necessarily a.valued feature in
all societies that institutionalize visions. Moreover, as will be
demonstrated visions in which the manifest content is highly formal-
iced, do not appear to reinforce self-reliance. Rather, they often
condition an individual for anchorage in or reliance upon certain
social groupings. Therefore, while many visions prepare individuals
for the assumption of new roles or statuses, they do not necessarily
reinforce similar personality characteristics.

In contrast, but not in contradiction, to the previous func-
tional explanations, this author would like to propose that the vision
experience was a form of social identity, which served to legitimate
an individual's actions and status in the comunity. Looking at the
vision experience from the perspective of the society, it can be
argued that visions were utilized to Justify the manner in which the
society distributed its status positions, secular powers and privi-
leges. In general, it can be further said that visions and their
derived power were a form of rationale, which explained to members
of the society why certain individuals were more capable of assuming
positions of privilege, prestige and authority.

There are several reasons, which can be briefly outlined at this
point, for supporting this position. First, supernatural power can
be seen as the symbolic equivalent of social power. As will be
demonstrated in the forthcoming chapters, supernatural powers, like
secular forms of power, were not distributed equally amongst members
of the same society but differentially allocated to individualh on

33
on the basis of their ascribed and/or achieved position in the

society. Thus, it does not appear fortuitous that persons, who
occupy positions of prestige and leadership, are also the individuals,
who ideally possess or'have control over the most valued kinds of
supernatural power. A good example of this differential distribution
of supernatural power and its relation to the recipient's status is
provided.in Steward's autobiographies (1934) of two Owen's valley
Piaute. The first Piaute was very successful in life, as a hunter,
gambler and lover; his reason for this success was explained by the
fact that he had on various occasions received supernatural powers
though spontaneous visions. In contrast, the second Piaute was a
failure in life, and consequently, he rationalised his lack of suc-
cess, as a result of not having acquired power through a vision.
There are also a number of instances in the ethnographic
literature, wherein the symbolism and behavioral directives of
visions are directly related to the status position the recipient
occupies. Erickson (1950), for instance, suggests that among the
Dakota the visions of the Berdache and £31255 facilitated their
placement in status positions to which their previous experiences
had already prepared them for. The relationship between visions and
one's social status is clearly seen for the Mandan. In this instance,
individuals recieve inherited visions, whose manifest content is
directly related to their ascribed membership in a kin-based
sodality (Bowers, 1950: 156). The fact that visions are often after
the fact phenomena is particularly important in this context. Al-
though the acquisition of a vision is seen as a.means to social
power and privileges, it is obvious that the vision is also a sign
of one's position in the society. Lewis (1935: 25h), for instance,

3#
indicates for the Crow that visions are often remolded by indi-

viduals to meet "the needs of the moment." And Ray (1940: 186)
points out for the Sanpoil that visions, received at puberty are for-
gotten and not recalled until the recipient reaches adulthood. He
further argues that " without conscious falsification" the details
of the vision are reformulated to meet the circumstances under which
the individual finds himself.

As indicated in a previous section of this chapter, after an
individual received a vision, he often had to validate his right to
it; hence, he must Justify his claim to supernatural power. Thus,
if visions do legitimate status, it can be argued that the credibility
of one's claim to power directly corresponds to the position one
occupies in the society. It would stand to reason, therefore, that
an individual would not discuss the contents of his vision until he
was assured of its validation.

It should also be indicated that visions were also used to vali—
date decision-making in a number of groups. The Northern Shoshone,
for instance, use visions to organize and plan for raids. However,
as Lewis (1909: 226) points out, warriors were more likely to follow
a leader whose visions had already been proven. The employment of
visions in decision-making served to validate the rights of particu-
lar individuals make choices, particularly, in unpredictable activi-
ties like hunting and warfare.

The societies to be compared in this thesis vary in their modes
of status allocation, leadership patterns, degree of social differen-
tiation and basic social units. Thus, if the vision does in fact
legitimate status, secular powers and privileges, it would be ex-

pected that systematic changes in social organization will create

35
modifications in the vision's form and function. In the following

section of this chapter, I will briefly outline the organizational
features to be compared and to set forth certain propositions cone
cerning their functional relationship to the vision experience.
II. ASPECTS OF SOCIAL ORGANIZATION

A. Modes of Status Allocation - It has been demonstrated by
Oliver (1962) and Lenski (1966) that very different kinds of cri-
teria are used to allocate statuses in the three ecological types of
societies to be considered in this thesis. In hunting and gathering
societies, personal achievements are principal criteria; among True
Plains societies, wealth and achievements in warfare are the basis
for status conferral; and in the peripheral horticultural societies,
statuses are largely defined by ascription and wealth. Since it can
be demonstrated that visions and their derived powers also serve as
a formal or ideal basis for status conferral, it should be expected
that the eligibility of recipients, the symbolic representation of
supernatural power and the behavioral directives of visions are
functionally related to these groups modes of status allocation.

B. Leadership Patterns - Directly related to a society's mode
of status allocation are its leadership patterns. Here attention
will be directed to the individuals who are eligible to become
leaders, to the kinds of privileges that accompany these positions,
and to the degree of power or authority they exert in such statuses.
Thus, it might be expected that there is a relationship between who
is eligible to recieve visions, hence, supernatural power, and who
is eligible to assume positions of leadership. For instance, in
societies where leadership positions are restricted to certain mem-

bers on the basis of ascribed criteria, it would be expected that

36

visions are also restricted.

C. Social Differentiation - A society's degree of social
differentiation is another variable to be considered in this thesis.
The primary question under consideration is the relationship between
inequalities in the distribution of property,wealth, secular powers
and privileges and inequalities in the distribution of supernatural
power. Clearly, in a society where there is little social differ-
entiation it would be expected that supernatural powers might be more
equally distributed and freely accessible than in a society with a
highly formalized and stable ranking system, in which case super-
natural power would likely be restricted to and exclusively con-
trolled by certain segments of the society.

D. Basic Social Units - In this thesis, the basic social units
of the societies under consideration range from simply organized
societies with only nuclear families or hands to coaplexly organized
societies where clans and other corporate, organizational devices
exist. With respect to Swansea's (l96#) hypothesis that the
pantheon of supernatural beings reflect a society's organizational
complexity, it might be expected that the personified supernatural
beings manifested in visions are a reflection of basic structural
units. Thus, in societies where individuals are primarily anchored
in nuclear families and social independence is valued, the personi-
fied spirits might be interpreted in a personal manner and be more
closely aligned to specific individuals than in societies where
anchorage is in clans and dependence is stressed. Moreover, whether
supernatural power is an individualistic representation or a
collective one should reflect the importance of either personal or

social (i.e. group) alignments. The distinction between "personal"

37
and "social" forms of the vision experience is clearly related to

Cohen's (1964) proposition that transition rights in childhood and
adolescence reflect the kinds of social units into which individuals
are being anchored.

Since a number of different authors (Isnski, 1967; Steward,
1955; Service, 1962;Oliver, 1962) have demonstrated that these
organisational variables systematically change in response to altera-
tions in environmental potential and the level of technological
development, it is to be expected that the vision experience will
exhibit systematic variations that correspond with changes in modes
of status allocation, leadership patterns, degree of social differ-
entiation and basic social units. Since I will discuss the ecological
and technological features in detail in the context of a discussion
on each type of society, I will merely list these varhbles at this
point. They are as follows: availability and predictability of food
resources, basic subsistence activities, population size and con-
centration, level of economic surplus, and the presence or absence
of warfare.

In the following three chapters, the ethnographic data relevant
to the problems under consideration will be presented. A.number of
. societies have been chosen for comparison on the basis of ready
availibility and completeness of data on vision experiences and other
pertinent sociocultural features. An effort has been made to include
in the sample a variety of societies, who differ with respect to both
existing social institutions and ecological backgrounds. Each chap-
ter, however, will deal only with the societies of a given ecological
type. To recapitulate, the ecological types are: peripheral hunting

and gathering societies, True Plains societies, and peripheral

38
farming societies. Further, these chapters are organized into three

sections. The first section will include an introductory presenta-
tion of comon or shared ecological and social organizational fea-
tures. However, when important differences arise in these variables,
as among True Plains societies, they will be indicated as well.

This is followed by a section devoted to ethnographic descriptions
of at least four representative societies. These separate descrip-
tions are provided in order to give the reader an integrated picture
of the relationship between the vision experience and social organi-
zation fluvparticular societies. The final section will contain a
general summary of the vision experience, wherein significant cross-
cultural uniformities will be outlined and explained within the con-
text of shared ecological and organizational features. Again, when
apparent differences exist in the fbrm and function of visions within
a particular ecological type, these will be described and explained.
The format of these chapters has been designed to provide 5 a

systematic framework upon which the final comparative analysis of all

three types will rest.

Chapter III

THE VISION EXPERIENCE IN

PERIPHERAL HUNTING AND GATHERING SOCIETIES

The societies chosen for comparison in this chapter can be
divided into two broad groups. The first group includes four socie-
ties that lived in areas peripheral to the Central Plains but did not
participate in a Plains economy. These societies, the Western Sho-
shone of the Great Basin, the Sanpoil-Nespelem of the Plateau, the
Slave of the Mackenzie Basin and the Rainy River Ojibway of the Hood-
lands area are fairly representative of hunting and gathering socie-
ties in their respective culture areas. As a group, these societies
provide an interesting point of reference for contrasting certain
sociocultural variables with True Plains societies. The second group
of hunting and gathering societies, on the other hand, acquired
horses and occupied the Central Plains region during certain seasons
of the year. Thus, while the Kutenai and Northern Shoshone exhibited
sociocultural characteristics more common to True Plains societies
due to their periodic participation in a Plains way of life, they
still displayed features that were more typical of hunting and
gathering societies.

A. ECOIDGY AND TECHMDIOGY - As their name implies, the subsis-
tence techniques of these peoples primarily involves hunting, fish-

ihguand/or gathering of wild plants. For the most part, societies in
North America that employ hunting, fishing and gathering techniques
live in environments of rather meager and unpredictable food

resources. In addition, the existing plant and animal resources are

39

#0
usually scattered over large territories nQchssitating a low density

in human population. Moreover, besides the limited potentiality of
food resources in their respective environments, it is also noted that
the technology and.means of preserving food resources in hunting and
gathering societies is extremely limited. As.such the ecological
conditions under which these groups live is not conducive to the pro-
duction and maintanence of a measurable surplus in either material
items or food resources. There are, of course, differences between
hunting and gathering groups in the nature of their technology and in
the potentialities of their respective environments, but it can be
said, for the most part, that the limitations of their environment
and technology set very definite and similar parameters on the organi-
zation and complexity of their social units.

B. SOCIAL.ORGANIZATIDN ~ Small, autonomous and self-sufficient
bands, villages or families are the characteristic social units of
simpler hunting and gathering groups in north America. The ecological
conditions under which these groups lived precluded the development
of social units larger than a family, band or village. First, the
limited availability of food resources restricted the size of these
social units from approximately fifty to one-hundred members (Steward,
T955: 125). However, under extremely favorable environmental condi-
tions, larger groupings numbering up to two-hundred were known to have
existed in groups like the Sanpoil-Nespelem. Secondly, since food
resources are usually unpredictable, population size and membership
in particular units are not constant, but fluctuate according to sea-
sonal and overall changes in.snvironmental conditions. Thus, an
important characteristic of these social units is their organizational
flexibility. Further, mobility is demanded of these groups in

#1

situations where natural resources are scattered over large terria
tories. Although most hunting and gathering groups are nomadic for
a greater part of the year, semi-nomadic conditions may arise when
favorable environmental conditions allow for partial curtailment of
mobility. Consequently, in some instances, semi-permanent residence
in villages or campsites develops for certain portions of the year;
in other instances, conditions may allow for continued semi-perma-
nent residence (Steward, 1936: 33l_}3#). And finally, since subsis-
tence activities did not require the cooperation of groups larger
than the band or family, specialized and corporate organizational
devices were usually not needed.

The environmental limitations imposed on hunting and gathering
societies and the general composition of their basic social units
permitted but little status differentiation considered in terms of
both its horizontal and vertical dimensions. As Lenski (1967: 103)
points out in his recent book, limited food resources and a fluid“
organization of subsistence units preclude the development of strati-
fication based on either economic or political-power criteria. For
the most part, societies falling into this category can be described
as "egalitarian." This is true in two respects: 1) The available
economic resources are usually equally distributed among the populat-
tion; 2) All individuals have the potential right to assume positions
of privilege and leadership.

Since the economic resources are limited, marked inequalities
in their distribution would in all probability affect the overall
survival of the group. In contrast, inequalities in the distribu-
tion of prestige and privilege have functional value. As Lenski

states:

42

"Here there is no problem of short supply and in-

equality does not threaten the group's chances of

survival...In other words, the benefits and

honors enjoyed by a few represent a return for

services rendered to the many under conditions

free from any form of social coercion or man-made

shortage" (1967: lOQ_l05).
To put it differently, personal abilities and skills in activities '
crucial to the survival of a group are important assests in hunting
and gathering societies. Aside from their survival value, they also
serve as. basis for social inequalities in prestige and influence.
This as Lenski (1967: 105) indicates is a "more satisfying arrange-
ment" than "potentially disasterous inequalities" in material items
and food resources. Althougisome social inequalities do exist in
these groups, the degree of social differentiation is much narrower
than in other types of societies. All individuals, regardless of
their kin-affiliations, and provided they possess requisite skills
and talents, have the potential right to assume positions of pros-
tige and privilege.

Since social inequalities are largely a function of individual
differences in abilities or age and sex status within the family,
social privileges and leadership positions were usually not heredi-
tary prerogatives. Individuals had to continuously'validatO their.
claims through the exercise of their skills and talents. Although
in the more affluent of these groups, there existed an incipient
trend towards ascription, this pattern was weak and did not always
run in particular family lines. Consequently, sons of untalented
fathers were not restricted from social privileges and leadership
positions (Lenski, 1967: 110-111). Therefore, it can be stated that
in general status positions were allocated on the basis of personal

achievements rather than ascription or wealth.

43
Although social and political power is exercised by individuals

in positions of prestige and leadership, by and large, this power is
restricted to particular spheres of action. As such, the power of
shamans, communal hunt leaders, and so on does not extend beyond the
limits of their circumscribed activities. While generalized leader-
ship positions do exist, they are usually accompanied by leadership
positions of a more specialized nature. It must also be noted that
leadership was often informal and spontaneous; it was usually not
associated with a formal office. Moreover, the power these leaders
exerted is better described as charismatic rather than authoritarian.
As Lenski argues:

"In hunting and gathering societies, prestige usually

goes hand in hand with political influence. The rea-

sons for this are not hard to find. Government by

coercian is an impossibility in these societies. The

leader of the group is not supported by a force of

specialists in violence who are dependent on his

favor and therefore motivated to follow his orders...

Furthermore, dissatisfied followers may always

desert their leader and attach themselves to

another band. It follows, therefore, that govern-
ment must be by persuasion" (1967: 106).

C. ETHNOGRAPHIC DESCRIPTIONS
The Western Shoshone

This group, like other Shoshonean speaking peoples of the
Great Basin, is known for the simplicity of its institutions and mode
of organization. The nuclear family or at the most three families
searched for food and lived by themselves for the greater part of the
year (Steward, 1955: 105). During the winter, when pinon nuts were
in abundance, twenty or more families camped together. However, as
Steward (1955: ll#) noted, "they were not tightly nucleated settle-
ments," but encampments of widely scattered families within the

pinon region. The only cooperative endeavors in subsistence were

Lu,
periodic communal hunts of rabbits, antelope, mud hens, and deer.
However, these took place only when there was sufficient game, when
appropriate leaders were on hand, and when enough people could be
gathered together to participate (1955: 109). Steward attributes
this organisational simplicity to the general scarcity and unpredic-
tability of food. He states:

"Shoshonean society was affected not only by the erratic

and unpredictable occurence of practically all princi-
pal foods and by the limited technical skills for har-
vesting and storing most of them, but it was also
shaped by the predominant importance of mild vegetable
products, which put a premium upon family separatism
rather than upon co-operation" (1955: 107).

Property, like subsistence, activities, was largely restricted
to individual families. Rights to natural resrouces " resulted from
work expended by particular individuals or groups and from habitual
use" (Steward, 1955: 107). Because of the unpredictability of food
resources, families did not retain permanent or exclusive rights to
any bounded territory. Instead, the Western Shoshone roamed large
areas in an unpredictable fashion, whih was determined by the availi-
bility of food resources (1955: 108).

Status among the Western Shoshone was not inherited, but was
accorded to individuals on the basis of subsistence skills. Further,
it was restricted and defined within the parameters of nuclear fami-
lies or small encampments during the winter (Harris, 19#0: 52).
Leadership positions were largely limited to specialized hunting
leaders known as "bosses" and to religious practioners or shamans.
These positions were acquired on the basis of skill and experience,
and the power these leaders exercised was restricted to their parti-
cular spheres of action. As Harris states:

"It is apparent that the opportunities for social
dominance were restricted. There were occasions

‘5

however, when certain individuals had somewhat more
authority than others. These opportunities were vague
and few. Only under exceptional circumstances would
the leadership of one man be recognized in the cluster
of camps which made up the winter community...The
more common pattern, by far, was that of a winter
village where each camp maintained its fundamental
social, economic, and political autonomy" (19l+0: 52).

Religion, as Steward indicates, was primarily "a matter of indi-
vidual concern" (1955: 114). Except for informal dances dedicated to
fertility and general well-being, ceremonies and rituals propagated
for group interests were nonexistant. The concept of buha, an omni-
present, supernatural force, was the central feature in Shoshonean
religious beliefs. Harris states that "merely in order to live every
person.must possess the bird-like Buha, the life principle" (1940: 56).
Further, all individuals had the right to acquire additional power
beyond the minimum required for life. The additional power was
obtained principally through two types of vision experiences. 0n the
one hand, power was recieved through involuntary dreams, and on the
other, it was delibrately sought in specific localities such as
valleys, caves, and mountain passes. Power acquired through direct
solicitation was considered more efficacious than that recieved in
involuntary dreams (Harris, 19h0: 57). Harris provides an ideal
description of a sought vision experience, which is worth quoting.
He states:

"The suppliant remained here overnight; if the

"powers" desired that he recieve Buha, he ex-
perienced the proper vision. If not, the indi-
vidual was prevented from sleeping or frightened
away by ogres or mountain dwarfs. If allowed to
dream, he was directed by an unseen force, or as
in one case, by a 'huge, handsome Indian whose
face I could not see;' to follow certain instruc-
tions. The suppliant's ability in fulfilling
these requirements often determined the strength,
if not the type of Buha recieved. Each locality
conferred by one kind of power so that no confu-

sion could result. Upon awakening, the

Q
‘ C

d- , -D u“

#6

individual would find certain paraphenalia; an
eagle feather, a weasel skin, etc. which he
used or displayed thereafter in curing or in
the exercise of power" (19h0: 58).

The "powers" or tutelaries represented in visions ranged from
plants, clouds, animals to other types of natural phenomena. Each of
these tutelaries, in turn, symbolized certain types of skills or
abilities. Thus, bears represented strength in fighting, the wolf
depicted hunting prowess, clouds indicated the ability to run fast
and so on (Harris, 19#0: 60).

Although all individuals hoped to contact these tutelaries and
receive power from them in the form of special talents, not all
individuals were fortunate enough to receive visions and hence, power.
Power was distributed in varying degrees among the Shoshone with indi-
viduals possessing different amounts as well as kinds of power (Harris
19h0: 57). It is intersting to note that an individual was not be-
lieved to possess power until such a time he could demonstrate its
efficaciousness (Harris, 1990: 58). Further, the power an individual
possessed was believed to benefit the recipient only, it could not
be transferred through sale, inheritance or given-away (Steward, 1955:
11#). The power a shaman received was, of course, an exception in
that its use directly benefited others.

Among the Western Shoshone, visions and their derived power
appear to Justify the possession of personal abilities and skills.
Further, as in the case of "bosses" they may serve to validate
decision-making with respect to the time and place to initiate com-
munal hunts (Steward, 1955: 119). In general, Shoshonean life afford-
ed few opportunities to acquire permanent positions of influence and
prestige. Therefore, the use of visions in the validation of leader-

ship positions is limited to a few part-time specialists like shamans

4?
and"bosses."

'ghg_Northern Shoshone
T This group provides an interesting contrast to the Western
Shoshone because of certain notable differences in their social
organization and vision experience. Around 1800 the Shoshone of
Idaho and Wyoming acquired horses and preceeded to take up bison
hunting and warfare. The previously dispersed families became united
in "predatory bands," which functioned primarily "in raiding and de-
fense against white reprisals" (Steward, 1955: 113). Although a large
number of the families in this area amalgamated in bands, those who
did not have horses_ continued to live according to the older pattern
of dispersed.family units (Lewis, 1909: 208). For the greater part
of the year, the Northern Shoshone bands remained separated; however,
Lowie (1909: 209) suggests that a few bands may have joined forces
during the summer for communal Buffalo hunts.

In contrast to the Western Shoshone, the economic endeavors of
the Northern groups were largely collective activities. During part
of the year, they fished for salmon in the tributaries of the Columbia
River. As many as 50 to 100 men were needed to trap fish in wiers and
baskets. In addition, communal buffalo, rabbit and antelope hunts
involved large cooperative endeavors (Lowie, 1909: 18h-185). Further-
more, raiding parties usually contained between 10 and 15 men.

With the evident changes in the economy and organisation of
social units, transitions in status allocation and leadership patterns
also took place. While skills in basic subsistence activities was
still an important basis for status conferral, achievements in warfare
became increasingly important determinants of privilege and prestige

(Lowie, 1909: 208). Further, there were more opportunities for

1:8
individuals to gain permanent positions of influence. First, there

existed in addition to the head chief, a group of "little" chiefs who
attained their positions through successful exploits in warfare. The
responsibilities of the head chief included: general director of the
camp, recognition of visitors from other groups, presider at councils
and organizer of hunting and fishing endeavors. The "little" chiefs,
on the other hand, merely served in advisory capacities to the head
chief and the group at large (Iowie, 1909: 208). Steward, (191:3: 85)
however, adds to the list of leaders among the Northern Shoshone with
the inclusion of specialized hunt leaders, who organized and directed
communal rabbit, buffalo and antelope hunts. Furthermore, shamans
were accorded established positions of influence (Lewis, 1909: 218).
However, as with the Western Shoshone, the power exercised by leaders
was limited to their particular spheres of action, and can be d9?
scribed as a form of personal persuasion rather than absolute author-
ity (Lewis, 1909: 208).

Among the Northern Shoshone ceremonial organization was extre-
mely simple being limited to a number of informal dances. These were
organized under the direction of dance leaders, whose informal
authority was limited to this particular activity. The dances did
not occur at definite times, but only when enough people congregated
in any one place (Lewis, 1909: 206).

Although religion in general was still an individualistic mat-
ter, there are some significant differences in interpretation. Here,
as among the Western Shoshone, an omnipresent supernatural power and
a variety of tutelaries were central elements in religious behavior.
Steward (l9h3: 93:95) reports that all Northern Shoshone children

were expected to have special dreams of power to be interpreted by

49
shamans. In addition, early in adulthood males would delibrately

seek visions in isolated places in the mountains under conditions of
fasting without food and water. The power bestowed upon a recipient
was usually revealed to the individual in the form of an animal or
bird. For instance, wolves, bears, and coyotes were believed to confer
war power, while beavers and eagles conferred doctoring power. Most
often the power granted was for success in war, but it might also be
granted for success in other endeavors like hunting and gambling.
Again, shamans differed from laymen in the curative nature of their
Power. Lewis (1909: 225) notes that once power was acquired, it
remained with an individual throughout his life time unless he dis-
obeyed the advice of his guardian-spirits. In addition, to the
power received through direct solicitation, power might come to an
individual involuntarily, as in a dream; this could happen at any
time during a person‘s life. Frequently, involuntary visions served
as a basis from which men organized hunting or raiding parties
(Lowie, 1909: 226). Further, supernatural power appars to more
clearly validate claims to positions of social prestige and influence.
Lowie (1909: 226) notes that the Northern Shoshone attributed the
success of chiefs to their possession of supernatural power. In a
sense, the conception of power was a convenient way to rationalize
why one man was more capable than another to assume positions of
leadership and to justify why certain men should organize others
for a raid or hunt.

The fact that Northern Shoshone males as opposed to Western
Shoshone were urged to deliberately seek power under conditions of
self-mortification might imply, as Underhill (l9h8: 2) argues, a

greater degree of unpredictability and irregularity in major

90
subsistence activities and warfare, but it might also imply greater

group rather than individual pressures exerted upon males to succeed
and to perfbrm these activities well. Since success in secular
activities is correlated with the possession of power and a band de-
pends on the successful performance of certain of its members, it does
not seem unreasonable to argue that supernatural power received by an
individual also benefits all the members of the band. Thus, a
warrior, who possesses strong war power, is a valuable assest to a
band with predatory interests. unlike, the Western Shoshone male, who
is responsible only for his immediate family, the Northern Shoshone's
activities in hunting and warfare reflect obligations to a larger
collective group. Moreover, band organization demands certain formal
modes of reciprocity between its members. Here services rendered to
the group by a few are exchanged for positions of prestige and influ-
ence. The Western Shoshone, on the other hand, do not have formal
modes of reciprocity; individuals provide for themselves and their
immediate family or when need arises, to other families in the imme-
diate vacinity (Steward, 1955: 220). Although the possession of
supernatural power by an individual has important implications for
both groups, it would appear that the social organization of the
Northern Shoshone is more conducive to exerting group pressure on the
individual to recieve a vision, hence, supernatural power.
'Thguganpoil-Nespelem

Sanpoil and Nespelem refer to a series of villages in the
Plateau area of Washington, which are culturally and linguistically
related. However, these designations do not refer to any sort of
political unity, for each village was a politically independent unit

(Ray, 1932: 15-17). The residence patterns of this area were

51
characterized by semi-permanent villages inhabited in the fall and
winter but during the summer abandoned for temporary campsites near
lucrative fishing spots. The population size of any one village was
not stable, but in the course of several years could range from 25-
200. As Ray points out, villages were extremely fluid organizations;
he states:
"A person was bound in no way to any particular village.

as was privileged to change his residence at any time,

selecting as his new home any village of the group.

Families often lived for a few years at one location,

tired of it or became dissatisfied, and moved to

another settlement. This might be continued indefi-

nitely. 0n the other hand a certain proportion of the

Sanpoil remained in their respective villages through-

out life but this sedentary group was always in the

minority" (1932: 109).

The semi-sedentary nature of Sanpoil and Nospelem social units
is no doubt related to their major source of subsistence, fishing.
The abundance of fish in certain areas of the Plateau and Northwest
Coast is an important ecological variable, which allows for a num-
ber of organizational cbviations from the ideal description of hunt-
ing and gathering societies in the introduction to this section.
However, unlike the more prosperous societies on the Northwest Coast,
the fish resources of the Sanpoil and Nespelem were limited and had
to be supplemented during the winter months with animal foods acquir-
ed through hunting. Both subsistence activities, fishing and hunting,
involved individualistic as well as communal techniques. The choice
of technique appears to be related to the habits of the animals or
fish (Ray, 1932: 57__71).

The distribution of economic resources was almost entirely on an
egalitarian basis. Land, fishing places, and berry patches were not
owned by individuals or villages, but shared by all individuals in

the area. Food acquired in communal subsistence activities was

52

evenly distributed among all members, while food acquired by indi-
viduals did not have to be shared. Although natural resources were
relatively plentiful in this area, Ray (1932: 25_26) states that
"wealth did not carry with it an advanced status." It is interesting
to note, however, that shamans were considered wealthy men, who
received sizable renumerations for their services (1932: 26). This
is an interesting contrast to the Western Shoshone shamans, who as
Harris (19%: 57) indicates, were expected to be "poor and humble"
and received only trivial and worthless items for their services.

Privileges and prestige among the Sanpoil and Nespelem were
assigned to individuals through achiemts as well as ascription.
The position of village headman was an hereditary position, which ran
through certain family lines. His duties were largely advisory and
consisted of settling disputes and organizing activities in the vil-
lage. His power was extremely limited in view of the overall popu-
lation fluctuations in village membership. Futher, successful hunters
or fishermen were accorded positions of leadership in communal sub-
sistence activities. However, their authority and influence were
limited to these activities (1940: llObllZ). Shamans, on the other
hand, assumed important social as well as political roles. Their
prestigeous status was achieved through the possession of both
qualitatively and quantitatively greater supernatural power. In
accordance with their possession of superior supernatural powers,
they possessed considerable secular power and.inf1uence, which often
superseded that of the village chief (Ray, l9#0: 200.204).

However, to understand the distribution of secular privileges
and prestige, it is necessary to discuss in detail the role of

vision experiences among the Sanpoil and Neapelem. At a very early

53
age all boys as well as some girls were required to go on a series of
vigils in isolated places without food and water. Children were
continually sent on vigils until they came in contact with guardian-
spirits in a vision, for failure to recieve a vision denoted misfor-
tune in adult life. As Ray states:

"At an early age every Sanpoil boy sought a guardian-
spirit...No parent would jeopardize the future of his
boy by permitting neglect in this matter. Only the
meanest kind of existence could be anticipated by a
young man who had passed puberty without having’ob-
tained a supernatural tutelary. Perhaps one man out
of ten ~certainly not more - failed in all attempts
to gain a guardian-spirit" (l9h0: 182).

It is interesting to note that the guardian-spirits, themselves,
were usually the symbolic representation of a specific kind of power.
Thus, an eel might confer swimming power, a wood rat gave powers to
get food easily, birds often bestowed overall luck and so on (l9h0:
182). A general description of the manifest content of visions is
nicely summarized by Ray.

"The vision usually involved meeting a spirit in the
guise of a human being. A conversation followed in
which the spirit revealed its true identity and told
the child when he reached adulthood he would be cap-
able of doing certain things. The spirit customarily
added that in times of trouble it would aid and guard
him. General powers were conferred, such as gambling
skill, but also specific talents were granted, for
instance, skill in the stick game. Immunities were
conferred; the novice was, for example, told that
h°.not fear arrow wounds. The message of the spirit
was sometimes expressed figuratively or symbolically.
If a person were told that he was to be a cloud it
meant he would be able to bring rain in times of drought.
Or if told that he would be a stone it was interpreted
to mean that he could not be injured. Before leaving,
the spirit gave its charge a song, one entirely new and
unique. While departing it changed to its true form"
(l9h0: 183).

At the time of puberty vigils were discontinued; the manifest
content of the vision forgotten and not recalled until the suppliant

reached adulthood. Ray offers an interesting*explanation for the

5#

function of this repressicnal period, when he states:

"By the time the spirit returned the individual had
more or less definitely found his place in the
community. His talents were known to himself and
to others, and his character likewise. The type of
activity which was to predominate in his life was
usually fixed. Now none of these factors could
have been determined by the person's guardian-
spirit experiences for they had not even.been
thought of since puberty. When recalled after this
period of enforced forgetting the details of the
experiences would naturally ,without conscious falo
sification, be reconstructed to fit the situation
in which the individual himself established" (1940: 185).

This statement nicely confirms an observation alluded to ear-
lier in this thesis that visions are after the fact phenomena, which
are frequently formulated and designed to meet the circumstances
under which an individual finds himself. Thus, they serve to vali-
date an individual's status in the community. Further, Ray reports
that spirit power in order to be effective had to be exercised.
Even in later life the power one possessed did not have to be dis-
cussed, for the community recognized an individual's power by their
deeds, fetishes and behavioral characteristics (l9h0: 187).

At this point it should be noted that spirit power, tor for
that matter one's vision, were not transferrable. The power or
powers one acquired were completely the result of individual en-
deavors. Individuals, particularly, shamans could possess various
kinds of spirit power, hence a number of different spirit helpers.
The number of spirit-helpers ranged from two or three to a shaman's
6 or 8 (19h0: 183). The increased number of spirit-helpers for
shamans is certainly in accord with their prestigous and powerful
positions in the community.

The Winter dances, important communal events for members of

various villages, illustrate a formally institutionalized device

55
in which one's powers could be displayed publically. Here indi-

viduals impersonated the behavior and actions of their spirits in
dance. Thus, winter dances might be viewed as mechanisms which
reinforced to the commity the respective abilities, hence statuses
of its members (Ray, 19#O : 190-195).

‘Thg'lutenai

The Kutenai, also a Plateau peoples, were divided into two main
groups, the "Upper River Peoples," and the "Lower River Peoples." This
division was largely ecological because the Upper Hutenai were pri-
marily bison hunters, while the Lower Kutenai were fishermen. These
two divisions were in turn divided into a number of politically auto-
nomous bands. Further, the Upper Kutenai lived in skin tipis and
were nomadic, entering the True Plains area during the summer for
bison hunts; whereas, the Lower Kutenai were semi-sedentary and
occupied villages along major rivers in northeastern Montana (Turney-
High, 1991: 15-17). It must be indicated at this point that the
Upper Hutenai joined forces during the summer at the time of the
annual Sun Dance; and.they, along with the Flathead and the Ne: Perce,
were the only Plateau groups, who were organised into larger socio-
political units (i.e. interband councils and men's sodalities) than
the autonomous band or village. Ray (1939: 23) attributes the
change in social organization to alterations in the mode of subsis-
tence after the acquisition of the horse.

Subsistence activities in both divisions of the Kutenai were
largely communal endeavors. The fishing of the Lower Kutenai involved
large numbers of men to trap the fish during seasons of their abun-
dance, and the hunting of deer, ducks and other animals in "drives"
demanded large numbers of men. The buffalo hunts and raids of the

Upper Kutenai were collective enterprises, as well. However, both

56
activities were organized by members of the band only; they did.not

involve a large amalgamated group of bands (Turney -High, 1941: 147-
153).

Except for the individual ownership of horses and material
possessions, territory was owned and controlled by each band. More-
over, food acquired by an individual was his own property, and food
acquired in communal endeavors was evenly distributed among all mem-
bers of the society. An interesting diversion from the societies thus
far mentionned is the importance of wealth among the Upper Kutenai.
Here we find that the ownership of horses has become an important
basis for inequalities in the distribution of ecnnomic resources
(1991: 196).

Leadership patterns and the allocation of statuses differed : 3
between these groups, and reflects certain differences between them
in their modes of subsistence. Among the Lower Kutenai, status was
largely a function of an individual's abilities in particular subsis-
tence activities. However, there existed an incipient tendency for
sons to inherit the leadership positions of their father, but if the
sons were not capable other men could acquire the positions as well.
Leadership was highly specialized with each leader being responsible
for only certain clearly defined activities. Further, the authority
of these leaders did not extend beyond the activities of which they
were in charge. In this instance, the deer chief, duck chief, fish
chief, band chief and shaman directed only endeavors under their
control (l9hl: lSl-l5#). Among the Upper Kutenai, on the other hand,
two factors appear to determine an individuals status: 1) wealth
individually acquired or inherited from one's family; and 2) per-

sonal achievements, particularly, in warfare. It is interesting to

57
note that, unlike the Sanpoil-Nespelem, families among the Upper
Kutenai appear to be ranked according to their possession of horses
and other valued goods (Turney-High, 1941: 151). Chiefs achieved
their positions by having counted a standard number of five coupe,
and they had the privilege to attend informal councils, which function-
ed only in an advisory capacity. They were usually older men and did
not exercise any power during hunts or raids. The organization of
these activities was in the hands of individual hunters or warriors,
who had reputations for being successful in their specific endeavors.
Moreover, the warriors were organized into threezmen's sodalities
entrance into which was based on personal achievements (1941: 146-
151). The manner of status allocation and leadership patterns of
the Kutenai is clearly distinct from other societies in the Plateau
and for hunting and gathering societies, in general. Although, as
will be seen in the discussion of True Plains societies, their organi-
zational patterns are clearly related to the nature of the buffalo
hunts, to the acquisition of horses and to participation in raids,
they have been included under hunting and gathering societies because
they only utilized the Plains environment during the summer months.

The Kutenai, like the Sanpoil-Nespelem, believed it was a social
necessity for every individual to possess power. Turney-High (1941:
170) reports that girls as well as boys were encouraged to quest as
early as six years of age. However, he indicates that it was more
likely for boys to recieve power and it was considered more of a
necessity for them to possess it as well. Among both divisions of “"“mwww
the Kutenai, children were taken to isolated places in the mountains
by shamans or relatives, where they remained for periods of time with-

out food or water. After several days, the instructor would return

58
to his charge to see if he or she had been in contact with the spirits.

A child, who had not received a vision, was instructed to continue his
vigil at a later time (1941: 170).

Again, like the Sanpoil-Nespelem, the spirits appear to the
suppliant first in human form and reappear to reveal their true
identity to the recipient. These spirits, in the form of an animal
or bird, assumed a highly benevolent role vis a vis their suppliants.
Moreover, they bestowed highly specialised powers for success in hunt-
ing, warfare, scouting, curing and so on (1941: 170_l7l). In addition,
individuals may have contacts with more than one spirit in order to

increase their powers. It is interesting to note hatmpower was be~
‘~MWM__,___,,1

‘-,4~

Maw—“M“

 

lie d to diminish through use and had to be renewed periodically

_.__,—._,W ,.. -

 

 

 

 

'Wbfiw

 

 

 

the Kutenai, unlike other Plateau groups, continuously sought power
for specific endeavors such as raids, hunts and so on. However, once
power was acquired, it was not discussed with other persons, but was
usually guessed by the recipient's personal talents (Ray, 1939: 78).

Turney-High (l9hl: 170) also indicates that fathers often
told their children the appropriate spirit to obtain; often the spirit
revealed was in fact identical to that of the father. Given the ten-
dency among the Lower Kutenai, in particular, to inherit the positions
of their father, the acquisition of spirit and power like the father's
no doubt further validated the son's claim to inherit a particular
leadership position.

Another interesting characteristic of the Kutenai is that every
individual owned one or more medicine bundles, which were token repre-
sentations of the power the individual possessed. These bundles
based on powers received in visions were never sold and could not

be transferred except upon the death of the owner (19hl: 173).

59

Unfortunately, neither Turney-High nor Hay in their discussions of the
Kutenai vision experience ever indicate if there were differences
in this phenomenon between the two divisions. This author, how-
ever, can infer on the basis of patterns among True Plains societies
that the representation of power in a tangible object like a medicine
bundle was in all probablity a feature of the Upper Kutenai, where
wealth becomes an important basis for status conferral. For in many
True Plains societies, the medicine bundle was not only a sign of
power but a sign of wealth as well. Further, the seeking of visions
on recurring occasions during adulthood was possibily limited to the
Upper Khtenai, who like True Plains societies were constantly faced
with pressures from raids and reprisals. Unlike the Lower Kutenai,
the Upper Kutenai during the summer months on the Plains undertook
military precautions to protect their hands from the attacks of the
Blackfoot and other groups indigenous to the True Plains (Turney-
High, l9hl: 1&2). The role of the vision experience in this group
will be more clearly understood after the discussion of True Plains
societies. Although many of the features of the Kutenai vision ex-
perience may be a product of diffusion, as Ray (1939) argues, the
reason for their acceptrnce might be explained by the Kutenai'a
shifting emphasis in subsistence activities and changing social
units and leadership patterns.

EMMM‘W
The Rainy River Ojibway of southern Ontario are like the Western
Shoshone in their lack of social and political unity even at the band
level. Landes (1937: 9§_97) points out that families hunted on their
own during the greater part of the gear and only in the spring and

summer did they congregate in larger social groupings. These -

60
groupings, summer villages, however, were not political units but

were formed purely for reasons of sociability.

The extreme autonomy of the Ojibway social units is directly re-
lated to the nature of their subsistence activities. Hunting, trap-
ping and fishing were all conducted by individual families; communal
economic activities did not exist. As Landes states, "each hunter is
absolutely self—dependent never giving though: to aiding or competing
with the hunters of other households" (1937: 88). It must be noted,
however, that the autonomy of Ojibway families is probably not an
aboriginal condition, but one which developed in response to the im-
pact of the fur trade (Service, 1962: 8&_86).

Unlike other groups thus far discussed, individual families own
the territory upon which they hunt and trap, and they rarely trespass
on the land of others. Landes indicates that "the absoluteness of
individual ownership excludes even the closest relative" (1937: 88).
Property is legitimately acquired by staking unclaimed land, by re-
ceiving it as a gift or through inheritance. However, lands used
during the summer for hunthg and collecting berries are allocated on
a first come basis (Landes, 1937: 86-88).

Although individuals may receive prestige for their hunting
abilities, leadership positions among the Ojibway are limited to war-
fare and religion. The leader of a raid is one who has had a series
of visions, in which precise conditions for a future campaign are
defined (Landes, 1932: 118). The manner in which such a position
is acquired and the authority individuals exercise in such a position
is best described by Landes.

"When a man has a vision depicting success in the

warpath, he sends out invitations to the men in the

village inviting them to attend a 'smoker' in his
wigwam. When they arrive, he tells them of his

61
vision, and requests volunteers to follow him on

the warpath. Those men volunteer who trust his

reputation as a warrior and visionary, and agree

to train for war through the following year. They

seek visions, and then repeat their visions to the

self-appointed captain to secure his approval. The

next summer they meet and train again. The men re-

jected by the captain are supposed to be debarred

from the expedition, for their presence, unem-

powered by the supernatural will threaten the

safety of the entire party. Actually, any man

who cares to flout the captain, does so" (1937:110).
This is an excellent description of the use of visions to validate
leadership in a particular, secular activity. Moreover, Landes in—
dicates that "a man who has successfully captained a war party adds
to his personal reputation and is facilitated in organising a future
party" (1937: 11).

The most influential position, however, among the Ojibway was
that of the shaman, who again acquires his position by virtue of poo-
sessing supernatural power. There are various kinds of shamans each
specializing in a different type of curing or divining. Many of these
shamans hold positions in the MIDEHan society, wherein.membership is
based not only on the possession of power but on the ability of the
individual to purchase a position. This society is usually graded
in a hierarchical fashion on the basis of the relative powers each
member possesses(l937: 99 & 111-112). As Landes (1937: 111) notes,
it is only in the area of curing that Ojibway'families are not self-
sufficient and thus must secure the talents of a shaman. Since
shamans require fees for their services and since payment is graded
according to the prestige of the shaman, these individuals, as among
the SanpoiI-Nespelem, are usually the wealthiest individuals in the
area. Moreover, there is a tendency for this position to be inherit-
ed through specific family lines and validated by appropriate kinds

of visions. Landes elaborates upon this point in the following

62
statement:

"Thus, compare a waif with a child born into a family
of superior individuals. In such a family, though
there is not investiture of the younger generation
with the accomplishments of the older, there is a
constant suggestion on all levels to take up the
offices of the older generation" (1932: 116).

Among the Ojibway, the possession of supernatural power is the
primary basis of status conferral (1937: 100). Visions, the primary
means through which power is acquired, are open to all members of the
society. Parents urge their children to seek visions as early as 6 or
7 years of age. The following paragraph from Landes best describes
the vision experience during childhood:

"The boy's face is smeared with charcoal, and he is
sent out without breakfast to play with his siblings
or village mates. The very young child is made to
abstain from one meal a day at intervals that are
graduated to the fanaticism of the parents. The
common fasting period is in the winter. Between
eight and ten years, the child may fast a couple
times a week for several weeks on end. It is insist-
ed that he fast for knowledge and abilities or he
will be helpless in the struggle for life. At puberty
boys are sent out to seek the great vision" (1937: 117-118).

This particular description is an excellent example of how fasting
and the quest for visions served as a mechanism in antcipatory
socialization. In this case, the preparation of children to endure
the winters and to provide for themselves under harsh conditions has
an important socializing function. As for the"great vision," Landes
provides another description which is worth quoting at this point.

"Alone he passes days of hunger and thirst, yearning
for the realization of his hopes. If he is success-
ful, he is vouchsafed a vision which is given him in
the most personal terms: the supernatural benefactor

says, 'My grandchild (or brother or sweethear or any
other relationship term which has emotional signifi-

cance), I have taken pity upon you. I have seen you

in your sufferings, and I have taken pity upon you. I
will give you something to amuse yourself with.’ And

then a moving panarama unfolds in which the visionary
sees what he will, henceforth, be able to practice.

63
He may see an act of divining, or a successful
hunt or warpath. What he sees in his vision
will come to pass. The gift, even a doctoring
gift, need not be used for the good of people,
though a few individuals say that they believe
doctors receive their gifts in order to help
people. It is given with the recommendation
that it 'amuse' the beneficiary. The guardian
spirit is not thought of as philanthropically
minded. The beneficiary knows that his guardian
expects a return for his gift, that is, periodi-
cal offerings of tobacco. Indeed, the relation-
ship is one of purchaser and seller. The indi-
vidual supernatural sells his powerful wares to
individual supplicants in return for a periodic

payment of tobacco" (1937: 97__98).

Landes also notes that visions and their derived power were
considered "exceedingly personal property." The contents of the
vision are not discussed openly and as she states, "it is a compact
between the beneficary and the supernatural, and therefore, it should
be confined to consultations with the supernatural" (1937: 117).

The ownership of supernatural power parallels the ownership of secu-
lar forms of property in that individuals have "absolute rights over
them" (1937: 99).

In addition to the primary vision received at or around the time
of puberty, it appears from Landes accounts that spontaneous visions
were received during adulthood. These visions variously served to
validate raids, to initiate dances (which incidentally were.owned and
controlled by individuals), to name children and to decide on advan-
tageous locations to hunt or trap.

In general, it can be stated that visions and their derived
powers served, as a rationale among the Rainy River Ojibway, to
justify awarding certain members prestige and to validate decision-

making for immediate types of activities.

6#

The expression "Slave" refers to a linguistically and culturally
defined Athapaskan group in the Mackenzie Basin of northern Canada,
but it does not designate a sociopolitical entity. Like the Ojibway,
the Slave were affected by the impact of the fur trade during the
17th through 19th centuries. The major social unit was the "micro-
cosmic band," which included several related families. The band tend-
ed to be fluid with respect to the persistence of membership, and it
was not a land owning unit (anigmann, 1946: 6%).

Again, the simplicity of the Slave's social unit can be attri-
buted to the‘nature of the ecology and to the types of subsistence
activities, which were the hunting and trapping of fur-bearing
animals, particularly, moose, bear and beaver, as well as fishing
(l9h6: 59). anigmann (l9#6: 60) reports that the food resources .
were such as to preclude an economic surplus and extensive periods of
leisure. Further, most subsistence activities were conducted by indi-
viduals, alone, rather than in the context of a group.

Property, in the form of land, was neither owned by the band or
by individual families, but as among the Western Shsshone, rights were
determined largely on the basis of individual use. Families, however,
owned the materials used for subsistence, and individual hunters had
rights over game and made decision with respect to its distribution
(Bonisnann. 19%: 52).

Skills and talents in subsistence activities appear to be the
primary avenues to prestige among'the Slave. anigmann (l9t6: 63)
indicates that the hunter's products were invested with considerable
value. Successful hunting of game animals and the possession of

supernatural powers appear to be the two primary criteria for status

65
conferral. Successful hunters exchanged their profits for prestige

in the community. It was an "obligation," as Honigmann (1946: 6S)
puts it, for a successful hunter to share his gains with his less
fortunate brethern. Leadership positions in the microcosmic band
were invariably allocated on the basis of achievements in hunting.
As chigmann states;

"The leader was always a distinguished and success-
ful hunter, the 'best man' of the group. As a
hunter he was also apt to be the most determined
man in the group, for 'only brave men would keep on
after game without becoming downbearted.' The suc-
cessful hunter was defined as one who 'stayed out'
until he secured game. Success in hunting was not
phrased as luck and, conversely, the poor hunter
was not pitied for his bad luck but was apt to be
condemned as lazy or'no good.‘ The leader was not
elected but assumed leadership by virtue of general
ability and knowledge plus strength of character
and supernatural power. The leader 'made' others
follow him, the people often fearing a powerful man
because he could use his power or medicine 'like a
witch" (19#6: 65).

Among the Slave all individuals except females solcited power
in a formal manner. The nature of the quest is best described in the
following account by Mason:

"The guardian spirit is obtained at a very early age.
When a child is able to speak fairly well and to
perform simple duties at about the age of five, he
dreams or enters a trance unexpectedly. A spirit
of an animal, of the wind, of water, or of some
other phenomenon, appears and speaks to him and
thereafter remains his protector, guardian,
familiar spirit or medicine. It appears when called,
protects him from misfortune and magic, helps him to
confure, prophesy and to see and understand the in-
visible world" (19#6: 38).

In general, the "animal people" were the major source of
power, and they bestowed on their suppliants specific kinds of
powers which functionned in hunting, curing and in other contexts.
The nature of this power, however, was not . revealed, and it was

accompanied by the imposition of certain taboos upon the recipient

66
like not eating the meat of a certain animal (Bonigmann, l9h6: 76-
77).

Mason reports that in later years one summons his spirit for aid
and protection through particular songs and each spirit is known to
have a special one. It is quite obvious that through these songs
other individuals would know the power that a particular individual
possessed. Riddington (1967) makes an interesting observation with
respect to the use of visions and their derived power among the
Beaver, a neighboring Athapaskan group. He states:

"Claims to supernatural power are based on vision quests
experienced between weaning and puberty. Through these
quests, the individual is supposed to acquire animal
friends, songs, medicine bundles, and abilities and
taboos related to the species specific behavior of the
animal, but vision quest experiences are not used as
political capital, are not publically announced, until the
individual is in a position to force their validation...

For a younger man the opportunity comes most often through

his hunting ability. In a system of generalized reci-

procity the hunter distributes meat to other members of

his residential group, and these gifts lay an obligation

on the recipients, who are forced to recognize the power

of the giver" (1967: h-S).

It is also interesting to note that in this area power could be
used to control people. This was already mentionned with respect
to leaders by Honigmann, but Mason (19%: ’40) indicates that indi-
viduals who possessed sufficient power could use it to destroy others.
This was particularly true of shamans, who had influential positions
among the Slave. They, however, used their powers primarly in
curing but they could be used in divining and in helping other indi-
viduals to regain their rapport with their guardians in theemant they
had disobeyed the taboos imposed on them. Riddington (1967: 657)
also indicates that power among the Beaver, as among the Slave,
allows individuals to kill and protects them from being killed.

He argues that this conception is in opposition to the situation in

67

real life, wherein individuals often do not kill and may lose their
life, if they are not able to kill animals. He states, "in the
Beaver schedule of utilities the value placed on control is a func-
tion of its actual scarcity" (1967: 7).
D. THE VISION EXPERIENCE IN HUNTING AND GATHERING SOCIETIES

From the foregoing ethnographic descriptions, it is apparent
that there are a.number of striking uniformities in the form and
function of the vision experience among hunting and gathering
societies. While there are certain differences, as among the Upper
Kutenai, this would appear to be related to specific changes in sub-
sistence activities and historical influences.

With respect to the manifest content of visions, it is noted
that in all of these societies the conferred powers symbolize per-
sonal skills and talents in specific activities such as hunting,
warfare, curing and so on. This is directly in accord with the fact
that status is allocated in these groups on the basis of personal
achievements. While interpretation of power as a personal-achieved
quality is functionally related to modes of status allocation, it is
also, in a general way, a function of ecology and the nature of sub-
sistence activities. Scarcity and unpredictability in food resources
no doubt contributed to these societies placing a high premium on
their members possessing supernatural powers related to vital activi-
ties. If these societies' male members do not possess requisite
powers or skills that will enable them to kill game or ward off
enemies, as the case may be, the group faces starvation or annihila-
tion. Thus, power phrased as a talent or ability is not only
important to the recipient's status mobility, but it is an asset, if

not a necessity, in a community whose primary activities involve

68
grave subsistence stresses and uncertainties.

Moreover, since surplus in the form of wealth is negligable in
these communities, it is highly unlikely that power would be defined
or interpreted in such a manner. The Ojibway and Kutenai, however,
are exceptions in a limited manner. Landes, as indicated previously,
refers to power among the Ojibway as a form of private proerty, which
is interesting in that they are also the only group where land is a
form of private property. The Kutenai, as was noted, own horses and
place value on powers embodied in medicine bundles, which is probably
related to the emergence of wealth in the form of horses, a product
of shifts in their modes of existence. Even though these societies
appear to equate supernatural power with wealth, they still define
it also in terms of skills and abilities.

It is also interesting to note that supernatural power in these
societies is not transferrable; again the Ojibway and Kutenai, who
may bequeath it, are exceptions. I would argue in this instance that
since individual talents are not transferrable commodities in the
sense that material resources are, visions as well cannot be alienated
through transfer (i.e. sold or inherited).

In accordance with the fact that all members in hunting and
gathering societies are potentially able to assume positions of
prestige and privilege, all persons are eligible to receive visions,
hence supernatural power. Therefore, visions as with secular privi-
leges are not restricted to individuals occupying specific status
positions or having certain kin affiliations. It is also important
to remember that in most ofthese societies visions are not only
desirable but a social necessity. This stands to reason in view of

the fact that individual achievements are ncessary to the survival

69
of the group.

However, while all members have access to visions, they
differ in their success in attaining them and in the kinds of power
they receive. Further, just as social inequalities in the distribu-
tion of power and privilege are a function of individual differences
in skills and talents, so there exist inequalities in the distribu-
tion of personal, supernatural powers. In most of these societies,
there is a direct correlation between the amount or kind of power 62
one receives and.one's status position in the community. Thus,
among the Sanpoil and Kutenai, for instance, the most prestigious
positions are occupied by persons with the greatest supernatural
powers and among the Owen's valley Piaute (Steward: l93fi) individuals
who are not successful in life are believed to have no power.

The conception of spirits as personal tutelaries and the indi-
vidualistic interpretation of power appear to be related to the fact
that individuals are primarily anchored in nuclear families rather
than in permanent social groups. Even though individuals associate
with a particular band or village, it is not a permanent alignment.
Band and village membership are flexible so that personal alignments
seem to be based more on reciprocities resulting from the food quest
and other vital activities than on one's membership in specified
groups.

It is also important to note that in hunting and gathering
societies there is a distinction between the time at which visions
are sought and when they are reported by the recipient and recognized
by the community. In most of the groups described, "primary visions"
(those relating to the life long attributes of the individual) are

solicited during childhood or adolescence. This period of init1a1

70
questing certainly functions as a mechanism in anticipatory sociali-

nation. However, these visions are not openly discussed, revealed
through songs or material objects, and displayed in dances, until

the recipient can legitimate his claim to supernatural power. Since
powers revealed in the visions of hunting and gathering societies
relate to personal abilities, the credibility of one's power or
vision can only be verified through the public exercise of talents
and skills. Even visions received,spontaneously, during adulthood
are unlikely to be made publically known until the recipient can prove
their validity.

Visions and their derived powers, in addition to validating
one's status in the community, can serve as a basis for justifying
the on-going decisions of members in the community. In a number of
the previous descriptions, it was noted that visions were used to plan
raids and to organize communal hunts. Again, the credibility of a
person's vision is in direct proportion to the success or failure of
the endeavor he is leading. Thus, it is more likely that individuals
whose visions have proven true will be followed than those whose
visions have proven false.

In summary, visions that occur among hunting and gathering
societies legitimate personal abilities and achievements rarely
ascription and ownership of property. Therefore, it can also be
argued from the perspective of the society that they legitimate and
reinforce modes of status allocation and leadership privileges,
which rest on personal achievements in activities vital to the

society.

Chapter IV

THE VISION EXPERIENCE IN
TRUE PLAINS SOCIETIES

Between the 17th and 19th centuries the area of the Great
Plains in the Uhited States and Canada witnessed the arrival of pop-
‘ulations from diverse sociocultural backgrounds. As indicated in the
introduction to this thesis, True Plains societies came from two dis-
tinctive backgrounds, one of hunting and gathering and another of
incipient farming. Oliver (1962) demonstrated that the social organi-
zation of the True Plains societies represented a response, not only
to their shared ecological situation, but also to their different
historical backgrounds. The process of cultural continuity apparent
in these societies makes for a heterogeneity of organisational
structure that is difficult to summarize as simple modal patterns.
Likewise, the form and function of the vision experience is not uni-
form but reflects to a certain extent the differing origins of these
groups. The True Plains societies to be described in this chapter
will be divided into two major groups (after Oliver, 1962); they in-
clude: the Comanche, Blackfoot and Assiniboine, formally hunters and
gatherers and the Crow, Teton Dakota, and Cheyenne, formally inci-
pient horticulturalists. In addition, the Kiowa, whose origins are
unknown, will be described.

A. ECOLOGY AND TECHNOLOGY - With the introduction of the horse
into the Plains area great changes took place in the subsistence
economy of a number of societies that inhabited both the western

portion and eastern periphery of the Plains. First, the rapid

71

72

mobility brought about by the horse made possible new and more
efficient ways of hunting the major food reanunce in this area, the
buffalo. The large scale, summer buffalo hunt is a good example of
a more efficient technique provided by the availability of the horse.
Secondly, the horse provided an impetus for the growth of the raiding
complex, which developed in response to a need for more horses and to
insure exclusive hunting privileges in a given territory. Moreover,
the raiding complex, itself, became an important status conferring‘
activity. The importance of the raiding complex among True Plains
societies distinguishes them from Type I groups in that warfare, as
an organised activity, was absent among most of the nomadic hunting
and gathering societies. More importantly, however, both the horse
and buffalo represented sources of riches that provided the basis

for an economic surplus and a growth of inequality in wealth, factors
which were negligable in Type I societies.

8. SOCIAL.ORGANIZATION - The subsistence activities of True
Plains societies differed according to the seasonal migrations of
the buffalo. As a consequence, a dualism in modes of existence was
required. In the winter and spring, when the buffalo were dispersed
in small groups, subsistence activities were largely individualistic.
At this time, the basic organizational units of True Plains societies
were dispersed, nomadic and politically autonomous bands. Band
organization, however, was not only a response to the cyclical
movements of the buffalo but an adaptive consequence of the perilous
conditions created by endemic raiding and warfare (Oliver, 1962: 53).
The relationship between the ecological conditions of the Plains and

the presence of band organization is nicely summarized by Eggan.

73

He states:

"The conditions of Plains life demanded a local group

small enough to subsist by hunting and gathering, but

large enough to furnish protection against hostile

war parties and raids. The extended family was

adequate for the first condition but was at the

mercy of any war party; the tribe, on the other hand,

was too unwiedly to act as an economic unit for very

long. The band provided an adequate compromise; this

is perhaps the most important reason for its almost

universal presence in the Plains area" (1955: 85).

In contrast, during the summer and early fall, when the buffalo
were congregated into large herds, communal subsistence techniques
of a large scale were demanded. It was during this seasonal period
that many of the autonomous bands gathered together into an organized
camp circle, engaging in collective rituals and recreational activi-
ties and finally, participating in the communal buffalo hunt. The
large population concentrations created by the coming together of
various bands demanded organizational features to insure cooperation
and social control. The buffalo hunt, itself, required coordinated
activities and a carefully deliniated,division of labor; while in the
camp circle, rivalries and arguments between autonomous bands had to
be curtailed. Thus, while the True Plains societies shared with the
groups of Type I, dispersed and nomadic, they diverged from these
groups in that subsistence activities and concentrations of population
during certain seasons of the year required corporate devices which
transcended the capacities of the nomadic band or small kin group.

These corporate devices, importantly, were not organized
on the basis of kinship. Clan organization was absent except
among the Crow. As Olver (1962: 56) indicates, the flexibility and
mobility demanded of True Plains societies produced asltuation in

which the proliferation of the kin principle, as a basis for

74
organization would be clearly inappropriate. He states:

"People were constantly on the move; individuals who

belonged to one band might not see individuals who

belonged to another band but once a year. People

shifted from one band to another. Land was not own-

ed in the same sense as land was owned among farming

peoples. Corporate responsibility would have been

very difficult to maintain among people as dispersed

as were those on the Plains. In short, the can does

not seem to be well suited to the necessities of

Plains life" (1962: 56).

Instead, the True Plains societies developed a series of
organizational devices on a non-kin basis. Among the devices that
appear at this level are men's societies and governing councils.
Organized primarily on military premises, the men's societies played
an important integrating role among these groups. Specifically, they
functionned in the maintainence of order in the camp circle; they
policed communal hunts; and they provided a social context in which
an indvidual's military achievements could be publically recognized.
ruthermore, membership in these associations was frequently a pre-
requisite for the assumption of many leadership positions. It must
be indicated, however, that these societies were, for the most part,
only in operation during the summer months, when the bands joined
together as a temporary sociopolitical unit. Likewise, the decision-
making functions of the governing councils, to be discussed later,
were limited to summer activities (Oliver, 1962: 56-58).

Additionally, there existed a number of societies organized
on religious premises. These societies, like their military
counterparts, are fraternities of persons, who share similar skills
and abilities. More importantly, however, they share similar
supernatural powers and often share similar visions. In some True
Plains societies, shamanistic or dancing societies appear to parallel

military sodalities because these societies are often divided

V-

75

according to their members specialities as well as to their members
relative success in particular roles. Further, like military socie-
ties, they are usually organized on a non—kin basis. Personal achiev-
ments and wealth, rather than ascription, tend to be primary deter-
minants of membership. In some societies, like the Tobacco Society
of the Crow, kinship also influences membership (Lewis, 1935: 27#).

The ecological conditions and social situation of True Plains
societies also created a number of changes in the allocation of
statuses, privileges and prestige. As in hunting and gathering
societies, the allocation of statuses on the basis of kin associa-
tions, for the most part, was absent. As will be described later,
ascription was of some importance for the assumption of certain leader-
ship positions in a number of True Plains societies of horticultural
origins. Personal achievements, particularly in warfare, were a
fundamental basis for status conferral. In addition, oratory skills,
shamanistic talents and wisdom were considered important. Although
personal achievements, as in hunting and gathering societies, are
still important basis for distributing privileges and prestige, wealth
acquired through individual efforts or received through extended
family lines begins to influence and limit access to many status posi-
tions. It is quite apparent in a number of True Plains societies that
personal achievements when not accompanied by wealth remained un-
recognized. More specifically, it was the ownership of horses that
provided an additional criterion for status acquisition and that
created a system of rank based on inequalities in wealth and personal
achievement. The importance of the horse among True Plains societies
is best summarized by Oliver, when he states:

"It can be argued that both the custom of giving horses
away and the custom of acquiring by raiding were

76

effective techniques in Plains societies. In a

culture so dependent on horses for efficient hunt—

ing, it was of obvious desirability to have all

hunters as well equipped with horses as possible.

And the technique of stealing horses from other

tribes offered a dual advantage; it increased tri-

bal horse holdings of the successful raider at the

same time it reduced the effectiveness of the com-

peting society" (1962: 64).

It must be indicated, however, that the individual's possession
of horses did not in itself confer prestige. It was required that
horses be used as well as owned. Status, therefore, had to be
validated by military performances as well as through generosity.
Thus, it was more important in True Plains societies for a man
to be generous with his horses than to merely accumulate them.
Additionally, since horses could be inherited in some societies
(i.e. Kiowa and Blackfoot), some families were in advantageous
positions because of their control over large herds of horses. The
unequal distribution of horses led to situations wherein wealthy
fumilies often had greater chances of gaining leadership than
poorer ones because they could publicize their members achievements
through the giving-away of horses. Although rank distinctions on
the basis of wealth existed, they were not crystallized so as to
preclude status mobility. Importantly, there existed, simultaneously,
two channels for mobility, military achievements and the acqusition
of horses. Thus, a boy from a poor family, who was a skilled warrior,
could accumulate horses and have access to positions of leadership,
as well.

Although all True Plains societies ranked individuals accord-
ing to personal achievements and ownership of horses, they varied

in the extent to which formal proceedures were employed in the
evaluation of individuals for the assumption of leadership positions

77

and for the right to gain entrance into certain men's societies.
This variation among True Plains societies appears to be related to
their differing historical backgrounds. As Oliver (1962: 58-61)
indicates, individuals in societies of hunting and gathering back-
grounds could assume positions of privilege and leadership, spon-
taneously, through their own efforts or with the help of extended
kin. In contrast, many societies with horticultural origins had
formally sancticnned offices, for which formal methods of selection
were usually required. The different methods True Plains societies
utilized to apportion leadership positions is best discussed.in the
context of patterns of leadership and authority among these groups.

Most societies of hunting and gathering backgrounds were
characterized by informal leadership patterns. Their leaders arose,
spontaneously, through achievements in warfare, ownership of horses,
and personal charisma. Since members of bands could change residence
at will, these leaders or more precisely, headmen had little power
over band members. Their authority was largely contigent on the
consent and will of the people under their jurisdiction. They
functicnned, primarily, in an advisory capacity helping to settle
disputes and.making decisions relating to the movements of the band
and locations of campsites. During the summer months, these band
leaders formed an amorphous governing council to advise and direct
actions in the camp circle and on communal hunts. Although these
governing councils were informally organized, they exhibited consi-
derable power and authority in directing communal buffalo hunts and
in maintaining order in the camp circle.

In contrast, among groups with horticultural backgrounds, for-

mal patterns of leadership prevailed. In these societies, leaders

78
occupied positions, which approximated offices with a title and

a specified set of privileges and responsibilities. The Cheyenne
are an excellent example of a society, where elected leaders occu-
pied formal<ffices and held these positions for prescribed,periods of
time (Hbebel, 1960: 37-h8). Individuals were chosen or admitted to
these offices on the basis of their personal achievements (i.e.
military prowess, oratory skills, wisdom), generosity and in some
instances, family affiliations. The summer councils were, in turn,
formally organized with a definite set of offices, whose privileges
and responsibilities were explicitly defined. These councils served
primarily in an advisory capacity and had the power to enforce their
authority through the support of police sodalities. As in the
societies of hunting>and gathering backgrounds, governing councils
were only operative during summer months. For the rest of the year,
each band had a leader who usually occupied a position on the summer
council.

An important distinction, however, must be made between the
so-called "peace" and "war" leaders. The peace leaders or band
chiefs, on the one hand, were usually older men who had a reputation
for military achievements, level-headed Judgement, generosity and who
controlled sufficient wealth. War leaders, on the other hand, were
usually aspiring younger men who had gained a reputation for their
bravery and strategy in raiding. In the former horticultural socie-
ties, it should be noted that raiding was not a spontaneously organi-
zed activity, as in former hunting and gathering societies. Rather,
it was formally planned and permission of the presiding band chief
was usually demanded. While in former hunting and gathering societies

war leaders might exert more power and influence than'peace leaders,

79
in societies of a horticultural origin there was usually a strict
division of labor in terms of the rights, duties and parameters of
authority that either type of leader could exert. It should be
noted, however, that within the confines of raiding activities, war
leaders had absolute authority over the members of their raiding
party in all True Plains societies (Oliver, 1962: 58-62).

In addition to war and peace leaders, there existed as well
other positions of privilege in Plains societies. For one, indivi-
duals could assume leadership positions in various men's societies
which may or may not be coterminous with leadership positions at
large. Moreover, leadership could be gained through skill in
religious activities. In most True Plains societies, there were
individuals or shamans reknowned for their skills in curing and/or
general control over various kinds of supernatural power. Addi-
tionally, in some True Plains societies (i.e. Cheyenne and Teton
Dakota) there were religious practionners who occupied formal
offices. These individuals are better described as "priests" than
"shamans," for they acquired“their positions by gaining knowledge
of ritual for communal purposes; they did not acquire their positions,
as did most shamans, by virtue of their personal supernatural powers
and abilities.

C. ETHNOGRAPHIC DESCRIPTIONS
SOCIETIES OF'HUNTING AND GATHERINGrORIGINS
‘E§g_Comanohe
The Comanche are often considered an anomaly on the Plains
because they lacked.many of the institutionalized features char-
acteristic of other societies in the area, such as: Sun Dances,

men's societies, police and tribal governing councils (Oliver, 1962:71),

80

Hereover, the Comanche, unlike other Plains groups, remained in dis-
persed and politically autonomous bands, numbering between #O-lOO
families during the entire year. These deviations from basic Plains
patterns are attributed to both historical and ecological factors.
First, as indicated by Wallace and Hoebel (1954: 22), the Comanche
entered the Plains from the Great Basin, where dispersed families
or bands were basic social units and where corporate devices tran-
scending the band were non-existent. Secondly, it has been suggest-
ed by Colson (1954: l5_lh) that the ecological conditions of the
Southern Plains were sufficiently different from the Northern Plains
to have affected organizational patterns. More specifically, she
states:

"The Comanche lived in the best buffalo country. The

herds were widely spread, some hunting was possible

right through the year. The summer hunt was not of

the same crucial importance. Winter conditions were

not so severe. The bands, the permanent local units,

seem to have been larger than in the Northern Plains.

In these circumstances, there was little need for tri—

bal summer mobilization and there was none. Since the

communal hunt was the activity of the band, and not a

collection of bands, the normal organization of the

band could operate to maintain order during the hunt"(195h:15).

In spite of their lack of certain characteristic organizational
features, the Comanche participated fully in the horse-buffalo com-
plex of the Plains. In fact, it is believed that at one time they
were the wealthiest Plains tribe with one band reported to have had
over 15,000 horses (Richardson, 19#O: 23). Except for communal
buffalo hunts during the summer, which involved an entire band, most
Comanche activities were conducted on an individualistic basis.
While men's dancing societies and medicine sodalities existed, they
were not formalized, as in other Plains groups (Wallace and Hoebel,

195“: 276). Wallace and Hoebel's description of how raids were

81
organized is of interest; they state:

”The prosecution of warfare was a.matter of individual
discretion. Any Comanche was theoretically eligible

to lead a war or raiding party, for there was no legal
authority to restrain him. Although a vision was not
deemed necessary as a sanction for starting a war party
it was in many cases the effective stimulus. Should a
man inexperienced in warfare and without an establish-
ed reputation attempt to organize and lead, a party he
would be unlikely to secure a following...0n the other
hand, a.man whose qualities of bravery and leadership
had been demonstrated in combat seldom found any dif-
ficulty in mustering a following when he announced

his intention to go on the warpath. Nobody would risk
leading a party without power...It was for each indi-
vidual to determine for himself whether his own and

the leader's power was working for success" (1954: 250).

Property, in the form of horses, was highly valued along the
Comanche. with reference to the value placed on the ownership of
horses, wallace and Hoebel state:

"Horses constituted the most important type of pro-

perty and the staple form of wealth. Because taking

them under difficult conditions had a sociopsycho-

logical value, the acquisition of a large herd added

greatly to the prestige of the owner. The owner of

a large herd could make more munificent gifts to a

prospective wife and members of her family and to

other members of the tribe. Horses served also as

an informal medium of exchange" (1954: 36).

Although Hallace and Hoebel do not explicitly indicate the extent of
status inequalities according to wealth of individuals and families,
there is a brief reference which indicates that the chief of one
band owned half of the band's horses (1954: 39).

In addition to wealth, military achievements were a primary
basis for according status, privileges and prestige. As Hallace
and Ebebel state, "war honors provided the basis of the whole sys-
tem Of rank and social status in Comanche society" (1954: 245). In
accordance with other Plains societies, the Comanche followed the
institutionalized pattern of counting coup, as a basis for the

public recognition of the warrior's deeds (1954: 246). Determinents

82

of status among the Comanche can be more fully illustrated by refer-
ence to the differential qualifications of band versus war leaders.
In the following paragraph, Wallace and Hoebel nicely summarize the
qualifications and duties of a band leader.

"The peace chief was known as "pa?ia:Bo" and each family

encampment had its "pa?ia:Bo" whom we shall call either

'peace chief‘ or 'headman.‘ There was reluctance on the

part of the Comanches to accord him formal recognition,

but genuine recognition of his powers was reflected in

the attention given to his advice and in the general

subordination to his influence. It was one of these

family headmen who was elevated to the position of head

peace chief of the band; the remainder of the chiefs

functioned as an advisory council for the band as a

whole and at the same time maintained their positions as

family headmen to their own group of followers...A peace

chief rose to his position of leadership by combining

generosity, kindness, eveness of temper, wisdom in

council, and knowledge of his territory with good sense

and the ability to speak persuasively on matters at

issue. The man whose advice was most consistently fol-

lowed was a peace chief for his group" (1954: 210-211).

In addition, there is some evidence to indicate that there was a ten~
dency for sons of chiefs to take over their father's position. More-
over, the authority of the peace chief was nominal and advisory in
nature, and as Wallace and Hoebel indicate, "he relied more upon per-
sonal influence than upon delegated authority" (1954: 211:;12).

Var leaders, as indicated previously, assumed their positions
solely on the basis of their success and skill in raiding. Wallace
and Hoebel indicate that there are differing opinions, as to the rela-
tive importance of civil and war leaders, they state that the "bulk
of evidence indicates that the head civil chief was superior to the
war chief in theory, but that if the civil chief was aged and decrepit
and the war chief vigorous and popular, the authority of the civil
chief would be more theoretical than real" (1954: 213). However, un-
like the civil chief, the Comanche war leader exerted absolute power

over individuals under his jurisdiction during a raid (1954: 275).

83

As among the groups in the Great Basin and in hunting and
gathering societies in general, religion was primarily an individua:_
listic undertaking. Except for the Beaver ceremony and Eagle dance,
religious activities involved personal contacts with the supernatural;
the vision experience being the fundamental means (1954: 175 & 155).
As Wallace and Hoebel state, "psychic experiences were socially
recognize and regarded as the very cornerstone of cultural life" (19
(1954: 155).

Visions and their derived power were usually sought under condi-
tions of self-mortification. Although the Comanches recognized un-
sought, involuntary visions, the power received from such a vision was
not regarded as sufficient. Consequently, direct solicitation of
visions was the prescribed form (1954: 155:156). Hallace and Hoebel
provide an interesting description of the vision experience sought
around puberty; they state:

"The initial vision quest was made about the time of
puberty, before the youth had gone on the warpath for
the first time. The vision-seeker was usually prepared
by a local medicine man for the desired experience. As
a fOrm or symbol of purification, the candidate was re-
quired to bathe, in a preliminary step to seeking rela-
tions with the supernatur 'Inwlt was necessary or e
afididateflto possess" hinge: a buffalo robe, a bone
a ipe, and the material for producing a light. Clad only
breechclout and moccasins, he set out to find a place
rfar enough removed that would not distrub him, and still
near enough to camp that it would not be too difficult
to return when weak from hunger. He stopped four times
on the way, each time smoking and praying. The spot
selected was a solitary place at the toplof a bin, or
perhaps the site of a grave of a famous warrior or,
) more especially, of a medicine man who had the kind of
A. power the\gandidate desired. .He~was—required—te~fast/
during the vigil, but unl some Plains people, in-
flicted no self-torture. The Comanche was confident
of himself as a man he was reverent toward the power-
giving spirits, but he felt no need to debase himself
before them, to lacerate or mutilate himself in sacri-
fical appeasement. He was quitely humble before the
sources of spiritual power, but he saw no call to demean
- himself in lamentation and self-pity...The regular

    
   
  
 
  
 

 

84

pattern called for the candidate to remain at his

solitary watch for four days and nights, but the

quest might be prolonged. He waited until he re-

cieved a vision, or else abandoned the quest to try

again at a later time when conditions were more

propitious...The newly acquired guardian spoke and

understood the language of his ward and possessed

special attributes or powers which it could trans-

fer...During the revelation, the guardian-spirit

emphasized certain tabus and proceedures which his

ward must carefully follow; otherwise the medicine

would not work or would cause evil" (1954: 154-156).

Spirits that appeared in visions could represent nearly all natu-
ral phenomena. The powers received in a vision were defined in terms
of the qualities of specific spirits. For instance, eagles conferred
power relating to warfare and deers as well as bears bestowed power
effective in curing (1954: 205:;04). Moreover, once received, power
was represented in tangible objects, such as personal charms and
medicine bags, which contained material representations of the various
powers the owner controlled (1954: 159-160).

Importantly, the power received by the suppliant was not to be
disclosed. Again, the Comanche like other societies so far discussed
were pragmatists. As Wallace and Hoebel state, "The supreme test of
power was whether a revelation worked...Not everyone who claimed
supernatural gifts was signally sucessful. Either the medicine was
not strong enough, or the protege did not carry out the commands

accurately, or the visionoseeker had been maliciously deceived"
(1954: 156).

While all Comanche males and some females possessed some sort of
power, they varied in the kinds and the effectiveness of the powers
they controlled. It should be noted that power could also be obtained
through purchase or as a gift from a medicine man, if the individual
could not acquire any for himself. This is quite unlike the situation

among the Western Shoshone, where power could not be transferred.

85

Since the owner's power diminished with each transfer, usually only
those who possessed large amounts of power could share it with others.
Individuals, who were singled out for having exceptional powers in
any of a variety of activities such as warfare or curing were called
"medicine men" (195h: 160-161). Generally, the possesion of super-
natural power in Comanche society was correlated with one's prestige
and as Wallace and Hoebel state, "the greater one's power, the greater
prestige one achieved" (195h: 160).

Although supernatural power was transferred in Comanche society,
it is not clear from Wallace and Hoebel's account, if power was ever
bequeathed. In addition, there is no explicit indication whether or
not the Comanche conceived of power as a form of wealth. Hy own im-
pression is that they probably did. This can, however, be clarified
in more detail after having discussed societies wherein supernatural
power was definitely associated with individual or family wealth.

In general, supernatural power among the Comanche appears to
signify an individual's success in particular activities. While this
power was sought on initial quests at puberty, it is important to
note that adults could seek power on recurring occasions, for mourning,
for curing, for a raid, for a hunt and so on (l95h: 160).

223.Assiniboine

The Assiniboine, who resided in Northern Plains area of
Canada, were organized in hands during the greater part of the year.
As Rodnick states, "The band was the political unit in the Assiniboine
life. It was autonomous in nature and completely sovereign. Indi-
vidual affiliation with the band was loose, since it was relatively
simple to form new bands, or for an individual to leave one and Join

another" (1938: 33). Although Oliver (1962: 27) argues on the basis

86
of Lowie and Jenness's accounts of the Assiniboine that the entire

tribe joined forces in the summer, I am inclined to disagree on the
basis of early historical accounts (see: Coues, 1897). While this is
not the time to go into an elaborate defense of my position, early
historical evidence indicates that a number of bands in contiguous
areas not all bands linguistically or culturally identified as Assimi-
boine, formed a tribal unit during the summer. In view of the dis-
parate locations of many Assiniboine bands in the Canadian Plains and
their alignments with different "tribes" (i.e. Cree), I doubt that all
bands were ever amalgamated into a unified tribe in the same sense as
the Cheyenne. Moreover, when Assiniboine bands united during the sum-
mer they did not form a formal political organization, as each band re-
mained relatively autonamous in the camp circle (Rodnick, 1938: 35).

Hunting activities were conducted on a communal basis, as in
the great buffalo hunts during the summer, or by small parties and
single hunters during the rest of the year (Lowie, 1909: ll). Raiding
and warfare were spontaneous activities and formed on the basis of a
dream or vision. Lowie (1909: 28) indicates that "a man would not
offer to lead a war party , unless he had a dream to that effect...

In each case, the dreamer would summon other young men and announce
.his dream. If they agreed to go, they got ready to start."

It is important to note that the Assiniboine, relatively speak-
ing, were not a group rich in horses, and it is unlikely that indi-
viduals or families had large herds to the extent of the Comanche and
Blackfoot. Prestige and privilege among the Assiniboine could be
acquired through a variety of channels, which included: achievements
in warfare, success in hunting, acquisition of horses and the
possession of supernatural powers (Rodnick, 1938: 36). Rodnick,

8?
however, points out that "there was no guarantee that rank once
gained would continue to be held, since status was a purely relative
matter in the judgment of the band, rank being defined in terms of
competition for the cultural stamp of superiority" (1938: 36). In
this context, it is important to note that the wealth of a boy's
parents was an added asset because it helped to the child a head
start in the competition for privileges and prestige (Rodnick, 1938:
36).

Band leaders among the Assiniboine achieved their authority on
the basis of "personal characteristics: such as bravery, liberality,
or the possession of 22552 power" (Lowie, 1909: 35). Each band had a
number of leaders with one being particularly outstanding. The bands
held their own councils and on occasion interband councils were held.
Rodnick.nicely describes the organisation and duties of such councils.

"The council was composed of those men within the band

who had reached a high status through success in war

and in the hunt. All men of family and all warriors

whose prestige was considered of sufficient importance

by band opinion were eligible to join in council meet-

ings, therebeing no election to the office of councilor.

The council was the legislative body of the hand, no

decisions being final unless by it" (1938: 35).

It is not apparent from the accounts of Lowie or Rodnick whether or
not the Assiniboine had a "tribal" council nor is it apparent whether
they had sodalities organized on a "tribal" basis. There was, however,
a military society of noted warriors in each band, who acted as police
in communal buffalo hunts, enforced decisions of the band council and
supervised activities in the camp (Rodnick, 1938: 39). Lowie (1909)
also indicates that there existed two major medicine societies and

a number of dancing societies among the Assinibcine.

The available information on Assiniboine visions is extremely

88
sparse. Lowie's account (19:?) indicates that all men received power

via dreams or visions, and they also received instructions in the use
of power from medicine men without solicitation. While solicitation
of visions through means of self-mortification is a prescribed pattern
among the Assiniboine, it is important to note that among the Assimi-
boine (Stoney) of Alberta individuals dream only when young receiving
instructions from spirits who supposedly visit them only once (Lowie,
1928: 50). The nature of a quest involving direct solicitation is
best illustrated by the following story from the Fort Belknap, Assimi-
boine.

"Long ago people used to go and pray for mysterious power
on the conical eminence at one extremity of Snake Butte.
Frequently, the supplicants were attacked by snakes, and
relatives going in search of them would only find their
skeletons. Nevertheless, one young man, setting at
naught the advice of his friends, decided to go there.
With him he took his two~edged knife, stripped naked,
and lay down. Suddenly, in the night, he heard a sound
and beheld a large number of rattlesnakes approaching
him. He did not know what to do, In his frenzy, he
began cutting off strips of flesh from his own body,

and fed them to the snakes. Then one very large snake
rose from its hole, and thus addressed him. 'I am

very thankful to you for feeding my children. None of
the other men have done this before, that is why they
were all devoured. Come, follow me, there is some one
that wishes to speak to you.’ The youth went down into
the hole and was ushered to a large blue tent, encircled
by two large snakes. as was welcomed by two curly-
haired black men, who spoke Assiniboine to him, and from
them and the snakes he received religious instruction" (1909: #8).

unfortunately, the Assiniboine's conception of supernatural
power and its relationship to particular spirits seen in visions is
not made clear in Lowie's account. One can, however, infer from
Dorsey's account(1894: #33-4h“) that the Assiniboine conceived, on
the one hand, a series of familiar spirits which bestowed on their
supplicants specific kinds of power and on the other, a series of

diety-like spirits which could grant highly specific types of power

89
as well as generalized powers of group interest.

Power among the Assiniboine could be represented in tangible
objects like war-shields, war-shirts and war-charms; the former two
objects contain designs which are representations of personal visions.
Interestingly, these objects are buried when the owner dies. War-
charms, on the other hand, are purchased from medicine men who predict
the buyers future in raiding and warfare (Lowie, 1909: 30-32). . ".
Further, there are a series of bundles which are believed to embody
powers of collective interest (i.e. Sun Dance bundle)(Lowie, 1909:
30-32).

In addition to visions relating to an individual's life—long
activities, there also existed visions upon which dancing societies
were founded (Lowie, 1909: #9). Whether or not entrance into these
societies demanded specific visions is unclear from Lowie's account.
It should be noted that innovative visions of the above sort are
also to be found among the Comanche (Wallace and Hoebel, 195h: 216).

It is important to note that among the Assiniboine individuals
who led the Sun Dance were required to have certain "prerequisite
supernatural experiences" before the Sun Dance could begin. very
often, however, rights to lead a Sun Dance were transferred through
paternal lines of descent and the necessary supernatural experiences
were believed to more readily avail themselves to individuals in these
descent lines (Lowie, 1909: 58).

While the information on Assiniboine visions is scanty, there
are indications that the possession of supernatural power is asso-
ciated with prestige, since as indicated previously one of the quali-
fications of a leader was to possess such power. Additionally,
various activities could only be initiated when individuals had

appropriate communications with the supernatural.

90

The Blackfoot

The Blackfoot of Montana and Southern Alberta were divided into
three major sections, the Blood, Piegean and the Blackfeet. These
units were in turn divided into a number of politically autonomous
bands, who remained dispersed for the major portion of the year. The
importance of the band as a socioeconomic unit in Blackfoot society
is best described by Steward, who states:

"The real economic and social unit of the Blackfoot is
the hand. These are groups centering around men and
their male descendents and others who desire to join
them. The band winters together, hunts together, and

is entirely autonomous except for such special occa-
sions as the Sun Dance or communal hunts when higher
authority was instituted. To a slight degree, the

band regulated marriage in that it was preferably

though not necessarily exogamous and patrilocal...

The idea of descent from a common ancestor, kinship and
totemism are lacking among the Blackfoot, making it entirely
incorrect to speak of their groups as gentes" (l93#b: 7).

Hunting, as among the Comanche and Assiniboine, was conducted
on both a communal and an individualistic basis. During the summer,
when the bands were united, the large scale buffalo hunt was the
primary economic activity. For the rest of the year, small groups
of men or individuals, alone, hunted buffalo and a number of other
animals (Grinnell, 1962: 226—241). Further, raiding and warfare
were conducted in small groups and were organized, informally, on the
basis of a dream. As Grinnell puts it,

"Among the Blackfeet a war party usually, or often had

its origin in a dream. Some man who has a dream, after

he awaken tells of it. Perhaps he may say: 'I dreamed

that on a certain stream is a herd of horses that have

been given to me, and that I am going away to get. I

am going to war.I shall go to that place and get my

band of horses.‘ Then the men who know him, who believe

that his medicine is strong and that he will have good
luck, make up their minds to follow him" (1962: 250).

91

Among the Blackfoot, the primary means of status conferal was
based.on the ownership>of horses. Although the counting of coup
and recognition of military exploits were important, it was neces-
sary to own horses to gain prestige and status in Blackfoot society
(Ewers, 1955: 3385. In fact, without horses, it would be impossible
for a man to gain entrance into the higher ranked, age-graded
sodalities and it would be impossible for him to assume positions of
leadership. For example, Lowie (1928: 254) notes that it takes
an individual much longer to gain entrance into sodalities by his
own efforts than it does for an individual who comes from a family
rich in horses. In addition to horses, the ownership of medicine
bundles (objects which embodied supernatural power), to be discussed
later, is another basis for conferring status. As Ewers (1955: 169)
notes, men of distinction are usually those who own the most valued
and greatest number of medicine bundles in the society. Since
medicine bundles are transferred only through purchase and since
horses are the medium of exchange, only those wealthy in horses can
afford to accumulate large numbers of these bundles.

As a result of the emphasis placed on wealth in the form of
horses and medicine bundles and as a result of the stabilization of
wealth in certain families, leadership and other positions of pree-
tige are increasingly limited to individuals from wealthy families.
The assertion that personal achievements are likely to remain un-
recognized when not accompanied by wealth certainly holds true for
the Blackfoot.

The manner in which an individual acquires the position of
band heathen nicely illustrates the importance of wealth among the

Blackfoot. Vissler provides a good summary statement of this process.

92

As he puts it,

"These head men may be considered as the social aris-
tocracy, holding their place in society in the same
indefinite and uncertain manner as social leaders in
our own communities. Thus, we hear that no Blackfoot
can aspire to be looked upon as headman unless he is
able to entertain well, often invite others to his
board, and make a practice of relieving the wants of

his less fortunate band members. Such practices are
sure to strain the aspirant's resources and.many sink
under it; but he who can meet all such demands soon
acquires a place in the social life of the band that

is often proof against 111 fortunes of later years...
Presently,he wakes up to the situation and entertains
an ambition to become the leading headman of his band,
or even of all bands. Then begins a campaign. He makes
feasts, gives presents, buys medicines and supports cere-
monies; thus making his home the center of social and
ceremonial activities, the leadership of which he assumes.
His rivals are stirred to activity also and the contest
goes on apace. From observation, we believe that bank-
ruptcy is the usual result; but, unless this comes at
the very beginning of the effort, the aspirint acquires
enough prestige to give him some claim to being head-
man for the rest of his days even though he becomes a
hanger-on at the door of a younger aspirant" (191l: 23).

It is to be noted that the above statement nicely illustrates the
fact that prestige and leadership is not accorded by the mere
accumulation of wealth but by its redistribution.

It is to be noted that every band had a number of these head-
men, one of which assumed the position of band chief (Wissler, 1911:
23). The principal tasks of headmen involved directing the movements
of the bands and settling internal disputes. Their authority, how-
ever, was limited and rested largely on personal influence. Further,
the band chief rarely made decisions without the advice and consent
of other headnen in his band; to do so would endanger his already
uncertain tenure (1911: 23-26).

In addition to positions of leadership in the autonomous bands,
each of the three tribal units of the Blackfoot had a tribal chief,

who was selected from among the band chiefs. Ewers (1955) describes

93

the role of this chief. He states:

"The most influential band chief became recognized as

the head chief of the tribe. However, his rank was of

little significance except during the period of the

tribal encampment in summer. Even then his role was

more that of chairman of the council of chiefs than of

ruler of his people...The chiefs exercised little disci-

plinary power over their followers" (1955: 97).

It is also interesting to note that while the position of
tribal chief was not hereditary, there was a tendency at least among
the Pigean for the chief's successors to come from his own band
(Hissler, 1911: 25). Furthermore, the Blackfoot did not make a clear
cut distinction between war and peace chiefs. Rather, certain head-
men might have gained a reputation for achievements in warfare, but
not necessarily all (1911: 26).

The tribal council of the Blackfoot was composed of band
chiefs and other important leaders in the society. It was operative
only during the summer and made decisions regarding'matters in the
camp circle and on communal buffalo hunts. This council's orders
were enforced by organized.men’s societies, which functionned only
during the summer policing the communal buffalo hunts and camp circle
(1911: 26-27). _‘

erlff““

Although the Blackfoot have the most complex ritual scheme(aޤh. 1

least as can be ascertained from the available literature) of any of .

the societies so far discussed, the vision experience is the basic

religious element in the society and one from which more complex A,,;>’

rituals are.believed to have originated. Thus, the following dis-
cussion of Blackfoot visions will not only entail a presentation of
the visions important components but will also involve a brief exe_
amination of some of the more complex rituals. I

The Blackfoot conceive of three distinct but related ways to \

9h
acquire supernatural power, all of which directly or indirectly
involve visions. First, visions and their derived power can be
directly sought through fasting in isolated locations. As Vissler
describes it,

"A youth is likely to be directed by a man of medicine
experience and to be made the object of preliminary
ceremonies to propitiate the dream, but he makes the
Journey alone. While at the chosen place the seeker
of dreams or visions is expected to seek all the things
of the sky, earth, and water to take pity on him. This
call is a mournful wail almost like a song, the words
being composed at will. The only object used is a
filled pipe offered to all the beings addressed and
kept readiness for the manifestations of the dream
person previously discussed. It is said that the ma-
jority of young men fail in this ordeal as an unrea-
sonable fear usually comes down upon them the first
night, causing them to abandon their post" (1912: 10k).

Secondly, power may be recieved through involuntary visions, while
the recipient is sleeping. This, however, is believed to only
happen to individuals experienced in the use of supernatural power.
And finally, individuals may purchase visions and their associated
powers, when represented in songs and bundles, without personally
attempting to gain a vision. However, while pinions may be pur:.
chased, Hissler (1912: 109) indicates that all men of distinction

l’"

 

are expected to have some sort of direct experience on their own.

All individuals have the right to acquire power in this
society. through any of the previously mentionned ways. Individuals,
however, vary in the kinds and amounts of power they possess. More-
over, individuals may amass pcwer in a cumulative sense through the
purchase of medicine bundles. Hissler (1912: 278) notes, for instance,
that tribal dandies, young men from wealthy families, could procras-
tinate in their search for power because they possessed the wealth to

purchase power from others. In contrast, young men from poor families

95
had to quest for power in hopes that they would be granted powers
to capture horses and be able to purchase medicine bundles. As noted
previously, ownership of medicine bundles was a prerequisite for
acquiring a leadership position in this society. The differential
distribution of wealth and secular privileges is best discussed in
the context of Blackfoot medicine bundles.

All bundles and other paraphenalia:symbolic of power in Black-
foot society originated in a vision. When power is transferred to
the original recipient from a supernatural being, it occurs within
the context of a vision. The ritual transfer, as described by
Wissler, is as follows:

"The being appearing in the dream offers or consents

upon request to give power for some specific purpose.

This is done with more or less ceremony; usually the

face and hands of the recipient are painted songs sung,

directions given for invoking the power and certain

obligations, or taboos laid upon the recipient. The

being conferring power is not content with saying

that it shall be, but formally transfers it to the

recipient with appropriate ceremonies. This is re-

garded as a compact between the recipient and the

being manifest, and each is expected fulfill faith-

fully his own obligations" (1912: 103)

If the original recipient decides to sell his power, he must
reduplicate the contents of the original transfer for the next owner,
which means that this new owner must be instructed also in the
songs, techniques for using the power and obligations associated
with it (1912: 104).

The beings manifested in Blackfoot visions can represent all
forms of natural phenomena. Most often, they bestow upon their
recipients highly specialized powers for activities such as warfare,
curing, acquiring horses and so on. They may, however, bestow
generalized powers, which function on a societal rather than on an

individual basis. It is interesting to note that animals or other

96

natural phenomena are usually associated with specific powers.

They can, however, bestow more than one kind of power on their
suppliant. Vissler (1912: 67-90) records a number of visions where
the supernatural being not only gave the recipient curing powers but
also powers to acquire food or property. These two types of powers
are obviously related, for if one is a successful curer, it is likely
that he will have means to acquire desired forms of wealth. In
addition, certain animals are believed to have greater powers over
others. Thus, while the bear and wolf have very strorg powers, the

raven is considered less strong. geogfl*ifffr¢8tindizlflgfgflffifléflggfiflhm

 

and forsight, powers usually received by chiefs (Grinnell, 1960: 260-

“h“.

-Mwl
m“...- Muawa

 

"M ~ -

Among the Blackfoot, all forms of supernatural power received
in visions are represented in tangible objects which range from
unique charms to standarized bundles of tribal importance. Personal
charms, as described by Wissler (1912: 91-10?) were owned almost
exclusively by men and the power represented was related to male
activities such as: curing, warfare, hunting and so on. These v
charms were unique, in so far as they were not duplicated in form
and the songs which accompanied them were specific to the person
who had acquired the power. These charms were transferred through
purchase to other persons. However, once the charm was _transferred,
the former owner no longer retained_right§flgver_theipower in the
charm. Although..-§.h~§_,«9fihm§m MQQHldlheitransfggrgggmany times, the
ritual\\md songs, as conceived in the vision originating the charm
essentially remained unchanged. H

Hissler (1912: 10h) makes two interesting observations on the

construction of bundles and the composition of songs. First, he

97
indicates that bundles or charms are usually constructed several
years after the recipient received a vision designating the power
he was to receive. Secondly, he notes that songs are often composed
before the actual vision. For instance, he describes an incident
where an individual had arranged words for a song and then stated
that he 'expected to dream something.‘ Both of these observations
support the contention that visions are often after the fact pheno-
mena, which are constructed to meet the circumstances under which the
individual findslimself and not necessarily unconscious psychic
phenomena.

So far the discussion of Blackfoot visions and their repre-
sentations in tangible objects is in accord with information on
other True Plains societies - that is with respect to the nature of
personal-private visions. The Blackfoot, however, also have a
distinct category of highly standarizedlnndles. While all of these
bundles are owned by individuals, many to described have uses that a
are not particular to the owner but open to the society at large
(Vissler, 1912: 107-108).

Among the standarized bundles, there exists various kinds of
paraphenalia directly related to an individual's success in warfare.
These objects, war-shirts, shields, bonnets and lances are standari-
zed in so far as their general form is duplicated, although they may
have unique designs painted on their surface. All of these objects,
originally conceived in visions, are believed to embody power for
success in warfare. In fact, as Hissler (1912: 117-125) notes,
certain of these objects are particularly noted for bringing
success to their owner. The greater an object's reputation, the

greater will be its purchase price when sold. 0! further interest,

98

war bonnets appear to be restricted to members of the Bull Society,
a sodality of older men, whose war exploits have been recognised
(1912: 116). It is clear from Hissler's accounts that while the
ownership of such objects may signify one's success in warfare, they
more importantly signify the owner's wealth. It is to be noted that
son's of wealthy fathers are encouraged to display their wealth,
publically, in institutionalised parades around the camp (1912: 279).
Clearly, for the Blackfoot it can be seen that control of super-
natural power, as represented in the ownership of bundles, corre-
sponds with secular power, as represented in the ownership of horses.

while there are a number of other kinds of bundles in Black-
foot society, in addtion to those relating to warfare, the most
important bundles are the "Pipe—Bundles" and the "Beaver Bundles."
The functions of these two categories of bundles are of communal
rather than personal interest. PipeABundles, for instance, when
revealed.in ceremony, are believed to cure illness, alleviate mis-
fortune and bring success in war. A war party planning a highly
important raid may pay the owner of a Pipe—Bundle a sizable fee to
witness a specific ritual associated with this bundle. Beaver-Bundles
on the other hand, function in "calling-the-buffalo," forcasting
weather and insuring a tobacco harvest. It is to be noted that
both types of bundles have their origins in Blackfoot myth, which
tell of the bundle's original formation, as inspired in a vision.
Visions, however, by subsequent owners often initiate additional
songs and functions for these bundles.

Individuals, who own these bundles, assume great prestige and
have special privileges accorded to them. Since these bundles are

credited with generalized powers, the owners receive sizable

99
payments for their services in evoking their powers in ritual. To
give an indication of the value attached to these bundles, Hissler
(1912: 154) records one transfer, which involved a payment of forty-
seven horses in addition to a variety of other goods. It is to be
noted that these bundles do not appear to inherited. Rather, they
are sold before the owner dies to another wealthy'member of the
society, who receives not only the bundles but elaborate instructions
in their care and ritual use. Moreover, the transfer of these
bundles is frequently validated through a vision, wherein a super-
natural being appears to the owner and informs him to whom it should
be transferred (Wissler, 1912: 136-209).

At this point, it is worthwhile to contrast and compare certain
features of the vision experience in True Plains societies of
hunting and gathering origins and to indicate as well their similarity
or dissimilarity with the visions described for the peripheral
hunting and gathering societies in the previous chapter. For one,
the emphasis on the accumulation of both secular wealth and super-
natural power in Blackfoot society and its use for personal aggran-
disement does not appear to be equalled in Comanche or Assiniboine
society. The Assiniboine, on the one hand, had few horses, so that
it might be argued that serious inequalities in the distribution of
wealth (horses) and supernatural power would be dysfunctional in
terms of the overall survival of the society. The Blackfoot, in
contrast, did not lack horses, so that serious inequalities in the
distribution of both forms of wealth.would not impinge upon the
survival of the society. According to Ewers (1955: lbO), the
Blackfoot were divided into three classes, which were determined

by the relative number of horses individuals or families owned.

100

Why the Comanche who were wealthy in horses did not explicitly
at... supernatural. power with the acquisition of wealth is difficult
to answer or to dooment from Hallace and Boebel's account (1955). It
might be suggested, however, that the origin of the Comanche in the
Great Basin area, where gross status inequalities were non-existent
may explain why they did not emphasise wealth, as a basis for status
allocation or explicitly associate wealth with supernatural power to
the extent of the Blackfoot. There is some indication from early
historical sources (Cons, 1898) that the Blackfoot had clearly defined
inequalities in status before the arrival of the horse. Thus, the
acquisition of horses may have contributed to a further elaboration of
an already existent system of status inequalities in secular as well
“Pomtunl power.

It is important to emphasise at this point that although the
True Plains societies from hunting and gathering backgrounds described
here varied in the extent to which they stressed wealth as a primary
status determinant, all of these societies appear to have conceived
of supernatural power as a transferrable comedity. This is a signi-
ficant divergence from the peripheral hunting and gathering eoc ieties
who with the exception of the Kutenai and Rainy River Ojibway did not
conceive of supernatural power and visions as extrinsic and alienable.

kcept for the Comanche, who are like the peripheral hunting and
gathering societies in their conspicuous absence of collective ritual,
the other True Plains societies. namely, the Blackfoot and Assiniboine
have collective rituals that are accompanied by medicine bundles,
supernatural powers and mythical visions of tribal significance. The
elaborate proliferation of medicine bundles of comunal sigiificance
among the Blackfoot may be related to the existence of "tribal" .-'; .

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101
forms of integration during the summer months. As indicated pre-
viously, the Comanche never derIOped formal tribal units and the
Assiniboine did so only to a.minimal extent.
29.: saws

The origins of the Kiowa are unknown. There is, however, evi-
dence of a linguistic nature which relatee the Kiowa with the Tanosn
speaking peoples of the Southwest. Additionally, Mishkin (1960: 17)
suggests that they came from a simple nomadic, hunting and gathering
background rather than a farming one.

According to Richardson (l9k0: 6-0), the Kiowa were organised
into ten or more bands, which united during the summer on the occa-
sion of the Sun Dance and.communal buffalo hunt. The band, however,
was the fundamental social grouping and consisted of an extended
family group to which a number of non-relatives were attached (Hishkin,
1960: 26).

Hunting activities followed the same pattern as described for
other Plains societies. Raiding was not a controlled activity but
exclusively under the control of the individual leading the war
party. Visions were often used to sanction raids, but they were not
a necessary prerequisite (Hishkin, 1960: 3Q'31).

The Kiowa, like their neighbors, the Comanche, were extremely
wealthy in horses. However, the Kiowa like the Blackfoot developed
a definable class system based on inequalities among flamilies in the
possession of horses. Although ownership of horses was important,
it was equally imperative that the owner redistribute some of his
herds to his less fortunate relatives and other band.members.
According to Hishkin (1960: 26), the wealthy and hence, dominant

families in a band exerted considerable influence over poorer members.

102

The impact of the Kiowa class system on the allocation of
statuses and prestige is nicely described by Mishkin, who states:

"The wealthy class could afford to set their offspring on

the path to military careers while the poor, for the most

part, were compelled to specialise in prosaic activities,

hunting, camp duties, etc. The wealthy because they con-

trolled the channels of publicity (could advance the in-

terests of their descendants). Finally, the achievement

of great war renown and the winning of leadership in war

opened the way to further wealth accumulation. Thus the

mechanism for rank perpetuation acted to create an aristo-

cratic caste" (1960: 62-63).

The three classes in Kiowa society were differentiated, as follows:
the highest class contained individuals who possessed snought property
to be generous and.who had distinguished themselves in war; the second
division was madeaup of individuals who possessed wealth but who did
not have necessary war deeds; and finally, the lowest grade lacked
property and.military achievements (hishkin, 1960: 35-37).

Leaders in Kiowa society were drawn completely from the highest
hierarchical division. Publicity and possesion of military attain-
ments combined were determinants for the selection of incumbents to
political offices. While a war record and publicity were necessary,
it was even more important for a man wishing to assume a leadership
position to come from a large and wealthy family who could support his
economic responsibilities in give-aways and so on (Hishkin, 1960: #1).

According to Richardson (l9h0: 7-9), each band contained a head-
man, who was selected from.the most dominant family in the social
group. This position was often.hereditary, but if the son was not
competent, it could equally pass to a more capable relative. These
headmen comprised an informal band council, which functioned primarily
in an advisory capacity. In addition to the band headmen, there exist-
ed a number of war leaders, who were also drawn from the wealthiest

class.

103

Although the information on Kiowa visions is extremely scanty,
there is evidence which indicates that the distribution of super-
natural power and the role of visions clearly reflects the operation
of an emergent class system. Hishkin (1960: 50) notes that the
solicitation of visions was generally a matter for individuals in the
lower classes, who wished to acquire wealth and become successful
warriors. In contrast, members of the upper class did not apparently
need to solicit visions, as they could afford to buy their medicine
fromieligious practionners who were particularly adept in gaining
access to specialized types of power.

As among the Blackfoot, supernatural power was represented in
personal objects like shields, charms and so on. Additionally,
power was embodied in the "Ten Grandmothers" the sacred bundles
of the whole Kiowa tribe. These bundles were controlled by the
wealthiest families in each band and appear to have been inherited
from father to eldest son; the inheritor of the bundle was expected
to have a standarized vision to validate its transfer (Marriot, l9#5:
#149).

(SOCIETIES 0F BDRTICULTURAL.ORIGINB)
it: 22:22.

The Crow before they acquired the horse were horticuluralists
like their linguistically related.neighbors the Mandan and Bidasta.
According to Lowie (1935: 4), the Crow were divided into three
politically independent bands, which united during the summer upon
the occasion of the Sun Dance and communal buffalo hunt. Moreover,
the Crow, unlike other True Plains societies, wee grouped into thir-
teen exogenous, matrilineal clans. These clans were important in
that as Lowie (1935: 7) puts it, "fellow clansmen recognised.mutual

104
obligations, which characteristically overrode their sense of duty
to any larger group." It is to be further noted that each of the Crow
bands contained members of all the different clans.

Bunting among the Crow followed the same pattern of other
societies so far discussed with ccmunal buffalo hmts:'.in sulmner and
individual or small group endeavors during the rest of the year (Lowie,
1935: 72-73). Raids, however, among the Crow seem to have been
organized on a more formal basis. They were usually planned by per-
sons known as "captains" or"pipe-owners". While these ventures were
individualistic undertakings in ncrway directed by a band chief, it
could be curtailed by him, if he felt it to be "impolitic" (1935: 219).
Lewis offers an interesting description of how raids were organized;
he states:

"Sanction was necessary for a party, but was strictly

supernatural. The organiser had dreamt about his enter-

prise or seen in a vision full particulars about the place

to go to, the tribe to be raided even the kind of loot -

to the color of a horse's skin...1"ailing such inspiration,

a would-be leader would apply to a man of note owning a

war-medicine and follow this mentor's directions, likewise

based on dreams. An untried captain might not succeed

in mustering a large company, for there were always skeptics

doubting the potency of his revelation. Even if his medi-

cines were strong, strict rules went with them. In some

cases, for instance, no one might pass on his right side;

and however, inadvertently the law was broken, dire mis-

hap would befall the entire party" (1935: 219).

Status among the Crow was based primarily on achievements in
military affairs and ownership of horses. Achievement and wealth
were obviously interrelated, since the primary motive behind raiding

. was to acquire booty in the form of horses. In addition to achieve-
ments and wealth, status was partially influenced by family connections.
As Lowie (1935: 7) puts it, "No worse insult could be hurled at a
Crow than to say, 'you are without relat ives' it meant that he was a

Parson of no account...A man of vigorous character, surrounded by tea

105
twoscore young daredevils related to him, might easily dominate a
band.of a few hundred souls."

Band leadership in Crow society appears to be largely determined
by achievements in warfare. Lowie provides a nice summary statement
of how‘a band chief acquired his position. He states:

"The native term, batse'tse...denotes the standing that goes

with military achievement, but need not imply an governmen-

tal functions. There were four normal types of creditable

exploits: leadership of a successful raid: capturing a horse

picketed within a hostile camp; being first to touch an

enemy; and snatching a foeman's bow or gun. A.men who had

scored at least once on each of these counts ranked as a

batse'tse. Such men formed a body of social leaders; on the

'3353;_533d, to lack all of these standarised points was to

be a nobody. Possibily at one time, only men attaining or

approaching’a.chief's record made up the band council. At

all events, one member of this military aristocracy without

acquiring a special title became the head of the camp"(l935: 5)
Iowie goes on to describe the power and authority exercised by these
leaders over the bands, when he states that -

"He was neither a ruler nor a Judge and in general had no

power over life and death. He decided when and where to

pitch and move their lodges. Further, every spring be

appointed one of the military clubs to act as police some-

times reappointing the same society several times since

there was no fixed rule of rotation" (1935: 5).

Although Lowie describes Crow bands, there is little evidence in his

accounts to the effect that a tribal form of organization existed
Superseding the autonomy of individual bands. Although he notes that
the bands gathered together during the summer for the communal buffalo
hunt, his descriptions do not go beyond references to band and clan
organisation.

The societies of the Crow were essentially of three types. The
first type, Tobacco societies, were intimately tied up with the clan
system and entrance into these groups was based on kinship as well
as wealth (1935: 271.476). It is to be noted that each clan had a
headman, who inherited his status and controlled special bundles

106
important in the rituals of the Tobacco societies. The second type,
Men's Clubs, were organized entirely on the basis of military achieve-
ments. They were composed.of members from all clans and the leaders
were usually older men, who had gained a reputation for their achieve-
ments in war. The primary function of these fraternal, men's clubs
was to police the camp and buffalo hunts (1935: 172-173). And
finally, there existed a number of shamanistic societies, which were
composed.of individuals with similar curing skills.

Among the Crow vision experiences were of great importance in
their religious life. As Lowie states,

"The importance of visions in the life of the Crow can be

hardly overestimated. not only the general course of

sacred ceremonies but even such details as particular

songs or specific methods of painting are traced to visions.

Through them it was possible to rise from abject poverty to

affluence and social prestige. Even war parties were, at

least in theory, wholly dependent on them, for a man organi-

zed one only when prompted by a vision or when dispatched by

another man who had received such a supernatural communica-
tion. Since success in life was conceived as the result of
these revelations, probably all men tried to secure a vision,
though.many of them failed. Conversely, lack of success was
attributed to lack of visions...However, through transfer-
ability of medicine power it became possible for people not
blessed with visions to participate in the benefits accruing

from such experiences" (1922: 323).

Supernatural power, as among the Blackfoot, could be acquired
through purchase and.from sought or involuntary visions. "Men who
received.unsought supernatural communications of importance without
being placed in.sonditions of stress," as Lowie notes (1922: 325),
"were relatively few in number and were regarded as remarkably for-
tunate since they esoapted the necessity of torturing themselves."
On the other hand, however, many unsought visions were considered of
little worth, so that the individual had to acquire power through
direct solicitation (1922: 330). Moreover, Lowie (1922: 330-331)

speaks of a separate category of involuntary visions, which he

107

categorizes as "unsought stress visions." These visions are said
to occur under conditions of anxiety, misfortune and so on, wherein
a supernatural being bestows power on the individual without being
”liOitOde

Sought visions, in contrast, are the most col-son way for an
individual to acquire supernatural power. Lowie (1922: 323) records
cone of the various ways in which an individual can :nduce a vision.
First, individuals who participated in the Sun Dance ceremony by sus-
pending themselves from poles, could expect to receive visions.
Secondly, individuals could fast in the Tobacco Gardens in hopes of
receiving a revelation. mirdly, individuals could dream in their
lodges. These individuals according to Lowie usually became "rich,
acquiring plenty of horses." And finally, the most cannon way was
for the individual to retire to an isolated spot and fast, as Lowie
(1922: 332) puts it,

"The would-be visionary generally retired to a lonely

peak, theoretically for four days, in consonance with

the mtic notions clustering about that amber, possi-

bly in addition chopping off a finger-joint as an offer-

ing to conc ilate the spirits invoked."
Incidentally, those individuals who fasted in the mountains were
expected to "dream of guns, coupe and horses." In direct contrast,
it is interesting to note that poor people "would fall asleep some-
where when tired and get a vision" (1922: 323).

The nature of supernatural beings manifested in visions is highly
variable, and Lewis states the following:

"From the variability of individual visionary experiences

it follows that the number of superantural beings is in-

definite: and as pointed out above, the character of these

beings is ill-defined. Nevertheless, catain natural pheno-

mena and mythological personages lend at least their sales

to the spirits that figure in religious belief and prac-
tice" (1922: 318).

138
As among the other True Plains societies mentioned, spirits in visions
appear to be associated with particular powers. For instance, Lowie
(1935: 251:) sentions that an animal spirit who is the leader of a
herd (i.e. buffalo) my grant leadership powers. Personal powers that
spirits can grant range from safety in battle, to the acquisition of
wealth, to success in warfare and to the ability to cure (1922: 31?).
Additionally, spirits can grant their recipients instructions in the
use of collective power, as eaployed in ceremonies of the Tobacco
Societies and Sun Dlnce.

Once power is received in a vision ,it can be enbodied in objects
such as medicine btmdles and other sacred paraphenalia. Host of
these objects were related to warfare; some were unique charns and
others were standarined shields, bonnets, shirts and tipis varying
only in the design painted on then. ihese objects could be transfer-
red through purchase and could be amassed in a cusulative sense
(Lowie, 1922: ‘002-1032). In addition, there existed bundles which
had generalised rather than particular powers. These bundles, the
Sun Dance Doll, Arrow Bundle and Tobacco bundles, were owed by in-
dividuals and inherited within prticular family lines. When they
were transferred, the next owner was expected to have a vision of
a standarined nature to validate his ownership prior to the transfer
(1922: 391-401). Although these bundles was owned by individuals,
they were used for collective purposes.

Except for the visions validating the transfer of iaportant
bundles, all individuals regardless of age, sex and family status
were eligible to seek and receive visions (1922: 332). Although
all individuals night attempt to solicit visions, not all were equally
successful. Some individuals were extremely adept at acquiring

109
power and became known as medicine men. As Lowie indicates, "their
fame rested on proofs of their worth" (1935: 238). He further
states, "Tliey differed in degree not in kind, from others who had
successfully sought visions and it is quite impossible to segregate
them as a definite group from the rest of the commity" (192233“).

It is also interesting to note that if a boy came from a
wealthy fsaily, he did not have to seek a vision. However, if he -
case from a poor family, he would "go out, fast and thereby come to
own property" ( 1922: 333). he fact that it is more necessary for
the poor to acquire visions, if they wish to be successful, concurs
with the information from the Blackfoot and Kiowa.

22.2. 2222. am

The Dakota, originally a farming peoples before their assup-
tion of a True Plains way of life were divided into seven subtribes.
These politically independent subtribes did not unite to fan a
large tribal unit. Although bands within each of these seven
major division often joined forces during the smer at the time
of the comunal buffalo hunt and Sun Dance, they did not necessarily
follow subtribal divisions. The bands among the Teton were of a
fluid nature and were composed of 10-20 families who could change
their allegiance at will (HacGregor, 19%: 52-53).

Hunting activities were also seasonal among the Teton; when
the bands were dispersed, individualistic techniques prevailed and
when they were united, comunal activities were normative (Johnson,
1965: 357-358). Raiding, however, was usually organised on a
small group basis. As Johnson states,

"Each war party was headed by a single leader. These

men were normally not chiefs and council members, but
were younger men anxious to make a place for themselves

110

in the Teton world. Any man might organise a war
party. He needed only to hang his decorated raw-

hide aheild before his lodge to publically announce
his intentions. If he were a man who had been success-
ful in the past or a man who had dreamed of a success-
ful war ventlu-e, he would undoubtedly attract young
men to his standard. lhose who did accompany him did
so voluntarily" (1965: 369).

Among the Teton determinants of status and rank were based
on both achievements in warfare and ownership of horses. As
Johnson points out in the following paragraph:

". . .Bravery, oratorical ability, supernatural powers,
generosity and many other factors were much more
important. Teton society emphasised individual achieve-
ments above all else and ascribed status was extremely
rare. Kinsmcn and wealth were no hindrance to gaining
status, however, for both were needed to gain admittance
to important societies..." (1965: 373).

The subtribes of the Teton had chiefs who were selected on
the basis of their past achievements in warfare, generosity, oratory
skills and good judgement. The leaders formed a subtribal comcil,
which according to Johnson was loose in its structure. The power
of this council is described as follows:

"'lhe council acted as a unit, their deliberations were

calm and their unanimous decisions were made within the
framework of the consensus of the band as a whole. Their
actions were not arbitrary nor authoritarian and they

lacked the force necessary to back"their decisions"(l965:366).

Johnson also makes another interesing observation regarding the
as... or K chief, when he states:

"Hen reached the status of chief among the Teton when

public opinion supported their claims. This same public
opinion might dispose of a chief, for continued correct
actions were required. The man who did not live up to

the obligations of the rank was quickly relieved of his
position and was powerless to avoid this. Strong pressures
were applied to an individual chief and he had to continually
validate his status by showing his generosity to the poor,

by demonstrating his judgement, even temper and concern. for
the welfare of the band" (1965: 367-368).

While the above descriptions appdar to be normative patterns

111
for many of the subdivisions of the Teton, it appears from Uissler's
accounts that the Ogalala had a much more complex and formalised
pattern of leadership. Here the subtribal council was composed of
seven chiefs who were formally elected to their offices for life.
Often these offices were occupied upon the death of a chief by his
son or another worthy relative. In addition, there were four "shirt
wearers," who occupied their office for one or two years. ’nlsse were
usually men with favorable military reputations, who helped the
seven chiefs in issuing orders for welfare in the cup (Vissler, 1912:
8).

Among the Ogalala division if the Teton, there were three types
of societies. The first type was composed of warrior societies, in
which membership was contigent on military achievements and ability
to pay membership fee. They functioned, as in other True Plains
societies, to police the camp and communal hunts as well as to foster
solidarity among the male members of the society. The second type
was composed of a umber of dancing societies which were organised
primarily by women. Appropriate visions and membership fees were
required for entrance. The final type of society demanded appropriate
visions for entrance and was of a shamanistic nature. It is impor-
tant to note that the vision required for entrance into these societies
was of a standarined nature (Hissler, 1912: 35-95).

The. information on Dakota religious beliefs is somewhat con-
fused because of the fact that information on the Teton and Eastern
branches of the Dakota are often merged under one description. Since
these two branches lived under very different ecological conditions
and maintained different organisational features, it is dangerous
to use certain early sources, as did Benedict (1922) for descriptions

112
on Dakota religious beliefs. Much of the infometion Benedict
provides in this article is based on the Eastern Dakota, who were
not a Plains people but lived in a Woodlands area.

Among the Teton Dakota young boys usually solcited visions
at or around the time of puberty. The nature of this quest is best
described by Johnson, who states:

"A boy was usually prepared for the vision quest by a

shaman who instructed him in the necessary ritual pre-

paration and in the way he should conduct himself while

seeking the vision. . .ihe vision quest itself involved

fasting, isolation, and self-torture. The young boy

fasted four days before leaving camp and took ritually

purifying sweat' baths in the small dome-shaped sweat

house. On leaving camp, the boy found an isolated place

where he waited four days and nights or until he received

a supernatural vision" (1965: 375).

Contrary to Benedict's assertions that the Teton had no
concepts of guardian-spirits (1922: 11), it is my impression that
during the initial questing of the Teton contact was maintained with
personal tutelaries of various kinds (Dorsey, 1891:: “55). Specific
powers relating to life long endeavors were believed to be acquired
from these questsWissler, 1912: 81). It is to be noted, however,
that as among the Crow individuals could receive powers from super-
natural beings who ranged from ill-defined spirits, through ghosts
and to spirits that seemed deific proportions (Dorsey, 1894).

The importance of visions and their renewals later in life is
nicely stmarined by Johnson, when he states:

."The vision quest, if successful, gave the boy a guardian

spirit on whom he could call in times of need throughout

his life. Hen frequently fasted and sought renewals of

their visions during their life. The boy would also be

told in the vision what items he should collect to carry

in a small pouch on his person for protective purposes.

Host also received songs which were theirs and which, when

sung, gave supernatural aid. The vision was a highly per-

sonal experience, and an experience vital to success in
Teton society. The shaman received his calling through a

113

vision and the warrior received supernatural aid for

life. All visions were not of equal potency, however,

and the Teton looked upon variable success in warfare

among several men or the differing powers of shamans

as indicative of the power of their separate super-

natural guardians. All boys did not receive visions

either, and he who was not successful suffered in

consequence. The unsuccessful candidate tried again

for a vision experience and some men received their

first later in life" (1965: 375).

Rapport with the supernatural could also be gained,as among
the Crow and.Cheyenne, by pledging oneself to the Sun Dance. Per-
formance in this ritual, which entailed dancing anyone of three
dances - some more efficacious than another - involved self- torture
by tearing one's flesh as one gazed at the Sun. Although visions
were not received during this ritual, all men who successfully
performed.one of these dances were expected to receive a vision from
the Sun during the following year (walker, 1917).

As in most other True Plains societies, once power was
acquired, it could be represented in tangible objects. Although
individuals owned personal charms, shields, tipis and so on,
there is no direct indication if these objects were ever trans-
ferred. It is known, however, that individuals successful in
acquiring powers could sell portions of their power to their
less fortunate brethern. In spite of more conclusive information
on this point, it is probable that these personal typgg of para-
phenalia were transferred. It is quite clear, however, that the
generalised tribal bundles were transferred. Sun Dance paraphenalia,
Otter Skin bags and sacred pipes were usually bequeathed. Whether
or not visions were necessary to validate such a transfer is,
however, unclear. It is known that prior to transfer the re-
cipient had to be trained in their ritual use and told the details

of the mythical vision that was associated with it (Vissler, 1927:

11#
113-119; Thompson, l9#l: 60k-609).

The Dakota appear to make a distinction between religious
practioners who are shamans and those who are "keepers" of the
tribal bundles. It is also to be noted that unlike . the Crow
shamans were differentiated from laymen not merely because they
possessed or controlled greater powers but because they received
their calling from specific supernatural beings invvisions. Thus,
as an example, the Egyggg'or contraries of Dakota societly could
always be recognized because their visions contained the symbolic
element of a thunderbird (Walker, 1917: 83-84). Additionally,
shamans formed distinct societies membership into which required
receiving a standarized vision.

‘Thg_Chezenne

The Cheyenne were probably the last horticultural group to
enter the Plains and assume a fully nomadic life. They were organi-
zed into ten bands, which united during the summer into a highly
formalised tribal unit. The nature of Cheyenne bands is nicely sum-
marized by Hoebel, who states:

"The core of a band consists of one or several closely

related kindreds, although some families not directly

related may choose to live with some particular band.

The one great exception is the Dog Soldier band, the

most powerful of the Cheyenne military societies. This

group began living together as a unit at some time in the

past and formed a band not at all based on kinship ties"(l960:37).

Hunting activities among the Cheyenne are again determined by
the cyclical movements of the buffalo with communal hunts during the
summer and individual or small group hunts during the rest of the year
(Hoebel, 1960: 61+). According to Hoebel (1960: 70-75). the Chey-
enne have three types of war parties, none of which require the en-

dorcement of a vision; these are "private, fraternal and tribal."

115
The private parties are formed by any "properly qualified Cheyenne,"
who first must make an offering to the Sacred Arrows before he can
call fellow friends together to organize a raid. In contrast to
small raiding parties, organized usually to acquire horses, raiding
parties which engage in revenge are composed of members from a mili-
tary society. These punitive expeditions must also be sanctioned
by making a vow to the Sacred Arrows. In addition, it is to be
noted that the tribal council has the right to prohibit a group
from engaging in a war expedition (1960: #7).

Determinants of status among the Cheyenne were based on a com-
bination of both military achievements and ownership of horses. In
addition, if an individual wished to gain the position of peace
chief, he must be energetic, even-tempered, wise and generous
(1960: 37).

The peace chiefs of individual bands, who were also members
of the council, were chosen for a term of office which usually last-
ed for ten years (1960: 36). The manner in which an individual
acquired this status is described by Hoebel as follows:

"Each chief, if he is still alive at the end of his term

chooses his own successor from within his own band. Thus

every hand normally has at least four representatives on

the council. Although the office is not hereditary, a

man frequently chooses his own son to succeed him - if

the son measures up to the qualification for chieftain-

ship. The office is always looked upon as a grave re-

sponsibility and not a political plum. It brings respect

and honor, but nothing else. There are no economic ad-

vantages; quite the contrary, being a chief means having

a drain on one's resources..." (1960: 46).

The tribal council composed of forty-two members, who were ritually
initiated into their offices, received an approximately equal num-

ber of representatives from each band. Of these members, five were

chosen to occupy the positions of sacred chiefs. The sacred chiefs

116
occupied their offices for the same period of time as an ordinary
chief (1960: #5). The functions of this tribal council are nicely
sumuarized by Hoebel; he states:

"In addition to treating such matters as camp moving and
tribal (as against individual raiding expeditions) war
policy, the council also acts as a judicial body in cases
involving criminal act. In governmental affairs, it fur-
ther serves as executive and legislative authority over
the military societies, which act as the administrative
police branch. In matters of war and peace, however, the
warrior groups have an active say in the decision-making
process. They can, in fact, ignore and thereby nullify
the ruling of the council in matters in which they are
vitally concerned. The council, although it has the con-
stitutional authority to act on its own, takes realistic
conizance of this hard fact " (1960: #7).

Cheyenne religion, unlike other religions thus far discussed
at this level, is not organized around the primacy of vision ex-
periences. Although visions have a definable role in Cheyenne
society, they play a subordinate role to the more highly formalized
rituals.

As among other True Plains societies, Cheyenne men may fast
in isolated locations in hopes of receiving personal powers.

As Beebel puts it,

"A man who wants personal power for healing or immunity

in battle may fast in a lonely place and beg the spirits

for indulgence and aid. If favored by a spirit, he re-

ceives a blessing along with instructions as to how to

prepare specific amulets and how to paint himself and

what to sing to evoke power" (1960: 85).

Although men might desire to seek personal powers in this manner,
according to Gladwin (1957: 118), few were successful.

A more common way for a Cheyenne to gain rapport with the
supernatural was through a sacrifical offering. As Gladwin notes,
"These ordeals were reserved for times of greatsat anxiet33‘for a

young man before he led his first war party, or in response to a

vow made in requesting supernatural aid during illness of a close

117
relative" (1957: 122). In Cheyenne society, an individual pledges
himself to a ceremony, as " an offering in exchange for help"
(Boebel, 1960: 85). As Hoebel (1960: 85) notes, "gifts are given
to the Medicine Arrows and Sun Dance Lodge. Skin is cut from the
arms, and men hang from the pole or drag buffalo skulls." Most
frequently, such acts took place on the occasion of the Sun Dance,
but it was also possible to make these offerings on other occasions
as well. When performed at the Sun Dance, Hbebel writes, " the act
also brings great public approval and is a consipcuous means of gain-
ing prestige" (1960: 16). Although a vision may be the outcome of
such a performance, as Benedict (1922: 1%) states, " it is hardly
more than a postscript." It is important to note that these visions
did not raise any question of acquiring personal, supernatural pa-
trons; it was the ritual which invoked power not the guidance of
a special tutelary.

While supernatural power or aid could come to an individual
through visions or sacrifical offerings, it could also come from
purchasing medicine from a religious practioner or from careful
Observances of ritual. Unlike other societies so far discussed,
it appears from Hbebel (1960) and Grinnell's (1923) accounts that
power received from visions was not sufficient to bring success and
good fortune into one's life. Rather, all important activities had
to be supported through necessary ritual Observances. Fer instance,
although a man may have a dream, in which a design for a war-shield
is inspired, no man can decorate his shield without the aid and
ritual direction of an established shield-maker (Hoebel, 1960: 75).
In general, it is to be noted that personal charms are most often
purchased from competent religious practitioner rather #11931 {res

118
inspirations in dreams or visions.

Moreover, it is important to note that religious practitioners
among the Cheyenne function as intermediaries (1960: 83). This is
interesting, in so far as in.many other True Plains societies, it
is the supernatural being in a vision who is the intenmediary. More-
over, among the Cheyenne religious practioners need not have visions
to validate their religious activities. These are validated in
mythical visions, wherein the bundles they keep originated. Further-
more, these leaders do not require personal forms of supernatural
power to perform their rituals, but rather require elaborate instruc-
tions in the use of collective power found in bundles (Hoebel, 1960:
83-84). Here,as among the Teton, "keepers" are a distinct group
from shamans and laymen in religious matters.

The subordination of visions and the increased importance of
collectively sanctionned ritual among the Cheyenne places them in a
somewhat unique position among True Plains societies. Although I
have not presented ethnographic evidence on the Arapaho, according
to Elkin's account (l9#0), they are quite similar to the Cheyenne
in down playing visions and in.smphasizing collectively sanctionned
ritual. In general, it would appear from the evidence so far pre-
sented that increased formalization in political organization and in
modes of status allocation is accompanied by a tendency to deempha'
size the role of personal-private religious experiences, like visions,
and to stress standarisation in ritual. It is interesting to note
that the Cheyenne and Arapaho have the most formalised leadership
patterns and governing councils (Oliver, 196A: #7), This..gcord.
ing to Oliver, is a function of cultural continuity specifically
their horticultural origins. Since the Cheyenne and Arapaho were

119
probably the last groups from farming lackgrounds to enter the Plains,
I would argue that their emphasis on standarization in ritual at the
expense of more spontaneous forms, like the vision, is also a
function of cultural continuity not ecologicaladaptation to the Plains
situation. The Crow and area Ventres (see Flannery and Cooper, 1952)
also of horticultural backgrounds had more informal leadership pat-
terns and also stressed visions, as a means for validating prestige
and privilege. According to Lowie (1935: 258), emphasis on personal-
private visions was in all likelihood a recent development among the
Crow.
D. THE VISION EXPERIENCE IN TRUE PLAINS SOCIETIES

As evidenced.in the preceeding ethnographic descriptions,
vision experiences among True Plains societies do not conform to a
simple modal pattern. Although the vision experience is a variable
phenomenon at this level, it is possible to speak of two major
tendencies in the meaning and function of visions in this area.

On the one hand, there existed in all True Plains societies
sought and involuntary visions of a personal-private sort. It is
probable that the proliferation and importance of these visions in
most True Plains societies were a response to the anxieties and
challenges created by the demands of the raiding complex and a
highly competitive system of individual ranking. While it is likely,
for reasons to be discussed later, that personal-private visions
increased in number and importance for groups of horticultural back-
grounds, like the Crow (Lowie, 1935: 228), they are probably a con-
tinuation of an already existent pattern for groups of hunting and
gathering backgrounds - though interpreted in a different manner.

while personal-private visions could be sought on recurring

120

occasions at any time during a persons life, the initial pursuit of
visions usually began in late adolescence or early adulthood. With
respect to the age at which these visions are initially sought in
True Plains societies, Benedict (1922: 1-2) indicates that a major
differenc albatuQealme—Plaina—mcifimlniiheas-iBQfiPBSESLEPWPPP. .
\EngggWEEQw§hsiilg§imaxsflevisionsone:ewsoughtisarlyiin”adulthood,.
QPEEQWPPQKIQPQ§Fiisheen!innito_oriaround_pnbfirt¥+fllmflnswthflmlltt0?-
This divergence in the time at which visions were initially pursued
appears to me to be a function of age differences in the assumption
of adult robs. While in hunting and gathering societies young boys
usually began to train for and participate in subsistence activities,
in True Plains societies the conditions under which raiding and war—
fare took place were probably too perilous for young, inexperienced
adolescents. It would appear to me, therefore, that given the con-
ditions of raiding among True Plains societies, rigorous anticipa-
tory socialization for the assumption of the male role would take
place later in the life cycle than it does in hunting and gathering
societies. Therefore, it would seem probable to me that, if in fact,
the vision experience is a mechanism in anticipatory socialization,
the age at which it would be initially pursued would be consistent
with the person‘s ability to participate in adult activities.

The supernatural power acquired in personal-private visions
among True Plains societies was related to the recipients success
or "luck" in any one of a variety of endeavors important in these
groups. Most often, power acquired in personal-private visions was
equated with skill and success in warfare and in raiding than with
skills or abilities relating to subsistence activities like hunt-

ing. The association of power with success in warfare is clearly

121
related to the fact that status, at least partially, was accorded
on the basis of personal achievements in warfare rather than in
hunting. This change in emphasis can also be seen as a general
function of Plains ecology. Here societies were not primarily con-
cerned with the scarci’w‘ and unpredictability of food resources
since the buffalo were, for the most part, plentiful. Rather, these
groups placed a premium on their members acquiring power that would
protect them from enemies and that would enable them to maintain as
well as increase their most valued resource, the horse.

Since True Plains societies have a definable economic surplus,
namely horses, it is not surprising to find that supernatural power
is increasingly interpreted as a form of wealth. In many societies
at this level, it is evident that visions and their derived powers
not only reflect a person's competency in a given activity, but they
also imply the recipient's success in acquiring property. Thus,
while supernatural power can represent a personal quality or ability
of an individual, it can also symbolize his material gains.

One of the clearest indications that supernatural power is
viewed as a form of property or wealth is its embodiment in tangible
objects, which can be amassed by individuals in a cumulative sense
or transferred (i.e. sold, given-away or bequeathed). In most
True Plains societies, once power is acquired in a vision and vali-
dated through successful use, it can be represented in any of a
variety of objects. These objects, war-shields, war-bonnets,
tipis, unique charms and so on can be transferred with their
accompanying‘vision, ritual and power to persons other than the
original recipient. As such, persons if they possess requisite

wealth, can amass power without necessarily searching for it on

122
their own. In this context, it is to noted that there are persons,
especially competent in acquiring and using specialised kinds of
power, who make it their business to sell their services and powers
to their brethern. Love, horse, gambling and war medicines can be
purchased from certain individuals for indefinite or limited kinds
of use. Here it might be argued that since material gains are not
embodied in the individual, supernatural power is also increasingly
defined as an extrinsic property or possession rather than merely
a unique and intrinsic quality of the individual.

Personal-private visions, like positions of prestige and
privilege in True Plains societies, were not formally restricted to
individuals on the basis of status, age or sex. In general, there
was an open access to or free competition for personal-private
visions and their derived powers. However, as in hunting and gather-
ing societies, not all individuals are equally successful in acquir-
ing visions nor are all persons alike in terms of the kind or amount
of power they receive in visions.

The reasons, however, for differential “mess to personal forms
of supernatural power among members of True Plains societies is
somewhat different. Here the failure to receive visions could be
interpreted as either lack of success in curing or military activi-
ties and/ or failure to acquire property; this latter reason is ob-
viously dependent on one's success in the aforementioned activities.
As in the case of Lowie's informant Littlerump, he received no
visions because he was going to be poor (1935: 22#). Generally, in
those societies where status is defined or validated, primarily, by
one's material possessions, there is a direct correlation between

one's secular wealth and the amount of supernatural power one has

123
access to. In fact among the Blackfoot, as described previously,
supernatural power embodied in medicine bundles and other sacred
paraphenalia was considered a form of wealth, and individuals, who
owned the largest number of and most valued, sacred objects in the
society most often occupied the highest status positions.

It is quite apparent in many True Plains societies that success
in acquiring supernatural power either through purchase or direct
solicitation is limited by wealth acquired through one's own efforts
or though extended family lines. Thus, if one comes from a wealthy
family, one can purchase necessary supernatural powers without direct
solicitation or procrastinate in one's personal search. Conversely,
it is often stated that only individuals of poor families desiring
fame and fortune need to search for visions. Therefore, in.many
groups it is not considered a social necessity for certain indi-
viduals to acquire personal-private powers through direct solicita-
tion.

The limitations on visions in True Plains societies is no doubt
related to the fact that secular wealth (horses) to a large extent
restricts access to status positions. Despite slight differences
of emphasis with respect to wealth over personal abilities, as
primary determinants of status, it can be argued that since wealth
is an important basis for validating status mobility, supernatural
power would also be extended to a material realm. Furthermore,
since supernatural powers can be embodied in material objects, they
can be alienated from the original recipient like any other tangi-
ble resource including horses. Therefore, personal—private visions
appear no longer to validate merely private attributes but now
represent a.means for justifying the differential accumulation of
wealth.

12h

While most males attempt to acquire personal-private visions,
whose powers are usable throughout the recipient's life time until
transferred or misused, many individuals seek or receive, involun-
tarily, visions whose powers are limited spatially and temporally.
Visions designating the details of a raid or a revenge party are a
case in point. These visions,as in hunting and gathering societies,
serve primarily to direct decision-making. Interestingly, the rela-
tive importance of these sorts of visions seems to vary in True Plains
societies - so that we find in groups where leadership is spontaneous
and informal visions have a more important role in decision-making
than in societies where leadership is more formalized. A brief con-
trast between the Comanche and.Cheyenne will serve to illustrate this
particular point. Among the Comanche, as indicated previously,raids
were sanctionned and planned on the basis of a vision. Here any per-
son who could acquire followers was free to engage in warfare and
raiding activities. The peace chiefs had no authority to curtail their
actions. In contrast, the Cheyenne who had a highly formalised poli-
tical system demanded that individuals planning a raid undergo neces-
sary ritual precautions as performed by religious practitioner,
Although visions may inspire a raid among the Cheyenne, the raiding
party is ultimately under the sovereignty of a Fisher authority, a
religious practioner or a peace chief. Additionally, there are a
number of other occasions for which an individual might wish to
solicit a vision whose powers are limited in duration such as: during
mourning, before naming a child, prior to a gambling event, during
courtship and so on.

It is worthwhile at this point to bring to the reader's atten-

tion the existence of what can be best described as "prophetic"

125
visions. These visions are to be distinguished from the personal-
private visions described, in so far as they generally do not raise
any question of acquiring supernatural powers. These visions are be-
lieved to indicate a future event (i.e. a forthcoming death) and have
a Wows; or precognitive aura about them. In most True Plains
societies, as well as in many hunting and.gathering societies, pro-
phetic visions were quite common. In fact, certain individuals were
renowned for their talents in this area and their side was often
solicited for finding lost objects, indicating the auspiciousness of
a raid and so on.

The visions of True Plains societies, so far discussed, concur
in.sany respects with the visions found in hunting~and gathering socie-
ties. They are similar because they are of a personal-private nature
and because they are not restricted, ideally, on the basis of status.
Moreover, individuals in societies at both levels vary in terms of
their relative success in acquiring these visions.

However, as I have tried to indicate in the preceeding paragraphs,
personal-private visions differ between the two types of societies
primarily on the basis of their increasing association with wealth
in True Plains groups. The most important implication of this is that
visions :and their derived powers become extrinsic and transferrable
rather than intrinsic and unalienable. Furthermore, by way of trans~
fer and direct solicitation, personal-private powers like wealth can
be amassed in a cumulative sense.

In most True Plains societies, the most common way in which
personal-private powers were transferred was through direct sale or
purchase. Although personal-private powers could be inherited, this

was, for the most part, an uncommon method of tran‘fgr. Inheritance

126
was probably uncommon because in most True Plains societies secular
forms of wealth were not bequeathed upon the owner's death to near
kinsmen but given to persons outside the extended family. Moreover,
most positions of prestige and privilege were not directly inherited
even though one's family affiliations might be considered. Thus, Just
as access to most status positions and to wealth was not an hereditary
prerogative, so access to supernatural powers was not restricted by
inheritance. Although.individuals born of families with both secular
and religious forms of wealth might be more likely to succeed in True
Plains societies, this did not preclude an individual from a poor
family from acquiring these forms of wealth by his own efforts. In-
portantly, vertical mobility in either direction was possible for
individuals in True Plains societies.

At this point it is important that I briefly describe what was
involved in the transfer of personal-private powers and visions.
Theoretically, when an individual desired to purchase power, he had
to participate in a ritual, which was supposed to be an exact repli-
cation of the original owner's encounter with a supernatural being.
The contents of the original vision, its songs, instructions and
special powers were transferred without the next recipient having to
recontact the sponsoring supernatural being. Thus, the major differ-
ence between a ritual of transfer and direct solicitation is that a
human being assumes the role of benefactor and no direct, supernormal
experience is involved. As Wissler (193“) has indicated for the
Plains area, the basic pattern of visions was not only extended to
rituals involving transfer of powersgand sacred objects but to the
format of collective ritual as well. The relationship between the

patterning of vision experiences and other rituals will be discussed

127
in greater detail in the concluding chapter to this thesis.

While personal-private visions were very important in True Plains
societies, there also existed another type of vision in which the
symbols contained.in the manifest content are clearly associated with
social groups and in' which the instructions were directed, for the
most part, towards group rather than personal ends. In True Plains
societies, men's sodalities, religious societies, group rituals and
so on were all believed to have been formed on the basis of contact
with a supernatural being through a vision. Moreover, additions to as
well as alterations in existing secular and religious institutions of
a group nature were based on visions. It becomes quite apparent after
reading the ethnographic literature on the True Plains that there was
a general proliferation of visions with innovative goals. The pre-
sence of and increase in these types of visions in True Plains
societies is no doubt related to the drastic alterations taking place
for groups in the midst of rapid changes. More specifically, they
can be viewed as a rationale for justifying changes or additions in
organizational devices as a response to new ecological circumstances.

Once a group activity has become institutionalised the vision
validating its creation is often relegated to myth. Many myths (not
all) in True Plains societies are legendary or actual accounts of
visions which justified the formation and continued existence of
certain collective institutions. More specifically, they are publi-
cally standarized and sanctionned descriptions of the circumstances
under which the vision was received, characteristics of the vision's
recipient as well as the contents and behavioral directives of the
vision, itself. The myth explaining the origins of the Cheyenne,

Sacred Arrows, for instance, can be viewed as a standarined.account

128
of a vision which justified their formation and continued use
(Grinnell, 1926: 3-9). In essence, these myths can be viewed as
collective visions, whichflare known to the society at large or to
particular sectors, therein. Importantly, they are no longer
private - that is only known to the original recipient and to the
select few to whom the vision might later be transferred. This is to
be expected, in so far as their content is of direct interest to the
public rather than a select few individuals. Moreover, unlike per-
sonal-private visions, visions that justify the creation of collective
institutions and which later assume mythical proportions do not
validate an individual's idiosyncractic activities, abilities and
achievements, but rather they validate activities of individuals as
members of a group or participants in a collective activity.

In this context, it is important to bring to the reader's atten-
tion the existence of visions that involve a supernormal experience
but are highly standarized in their content. unlike personal-private
visions, the symbols and behavioral directives are not unique to the
recipient. Rather, these visions have a highly regularized content
even though received by different persons. In other words, identical
visions, ideally, are received by different individuals. These visions
also differ from personal-private visions in a number of other ways.
Like the visions that originate a group activity, the content of
standarized visions contains symbols and behavioral directives that
are clearly associated with a group or group activity. The power repre-
sented in these visions is to be applied, ideally, for communal ends
rather than purely personal ones. Most often, standarized visions 5.:
grant the recipient the right to use and/or control power for cclec-
tive purposes. It is of interest to note that they are often related

to a myth, which accounts for the formation and existence of the group

129

or group activity to which these specific visions are associated.
Moreover, these visions, unlike their personal-private counterparts,
are restricted to persons, who meet necessary requirements prior to
their assumption of communally sanctionned positions. The most fre-
quently used criteria for restricting these visions is ascription.
Thus, they often become an hereditary prerogative.

At this point, it is worthwhile to list some examples of these
standarized visions. In several True Plains societies, receipt of
an appropriate, standarized vision was required before certain
medicine bundles could be transferred. The Crew, for instance,
appear to have required standarised visions to validate the inherited
transfer of tobacco bundles, whose ownership was necessary in order
to assume certain privileged positions in the Tobacco Society. The
Kiowa also appear to have validated the inherited transfer of their
sacred bundles, the "Ten Grandmothers," via standarised visions
(Mariott, 1915) . The Blackfoot, on the other band, do not bequeath
bundles used for collective purposes. Rather, these bundles are
limited to persons of wealth who can afford to purchase them. Here
the owner of the bundle receives a visions which designates to whom
it should be transferred. It is important to note that in the above
three cases, these medicine bundles were owned by families or indi-
viduals, even though the powers embodied therein were used for band
or tribal purposes. It would appear that these standarised visions
legitimate the inherited transfer of religious privileges and/or
support the rights of wealthy families in acquiring these privileges
and in monopolising secular power.

It appears, however, from the literature that standarised.visions

are not always necessary to validate the inherited transfer of

130
collective medicine bundles. Among the Cheyenne and Ogalala divi-
sion of the Teton Dakota certain medicine bundles were owned by the
entire society but entrusted to specific persons for their care and
use. Succession of the office of bundle keeper or priest was based
on ascription and an appropriate vision was usually not required to
validate transfer from father to son or to other related kinsmen.
Why the transfer of bundles required validation via a standarised
vision and other bundles did not might be related to who in fact owns
the bundle. The evidence from True Plains societies does not allow
for a definite answer at this point; the evidence, however, from the
peripheral horticultural societies will allow for a more careful con-
sideration of this question.

Receipt of a standarized vision is also necessary to some
societies before one can gain entrance into certain secular or
religious sodalities. Among the Arapaho, for instance, entrance into
a high ranking leadership sodality required a standarised vision
(Elkin, 19th: 168). Membership in a number of Dakota religious
societies also required the receipt of an appropriate vision, as
mentioned earlier. Again,a.more complete understanding of these
visions will emerge after a discussion of visions in peripheral
horticultural societies.

It can be briefly suggested here that the development and/or
continuance of standarized visions and their mythical counterparts
are to be explained by reference to both ecological and historical
factors. Like governing councils and.non-kin sodalities, collective
visions (myths), bundles and rituals were important devices in lain-
taining and reinforcing tribal and/hr band unity for communally
organised activities. The Sun Dance, for instance, was an annual

ri‘. :.

131

ritual which involved the cooperation and participation of members
from different bands. It occured prior to the communal buffalo

hunt and can be viewed as a device which motivationally prepared
members of autonomous groups for a collective and highly organised
economic activity. It is interesting to note that male participation
in the Sun Dance was believed by many True Plains societies to in-
sure success in acquiring a vision, hence supernatural power. Al-
though the visions recieved by persons who particpated in the Sun
Dance were of a personal-private sort, their relation to this group
activity is important, in so far as this suggests that personal
powers are not to be acquired by one's own efforts alone but can also
be received in the context of services to the society at large.

The acquisition of supernatural power through one's services to
a group is most clearly developed.among True Plains societies of
horticultural backgrounds and only slightly developed, if at all,
among the former hunters and gatherers. This is no doubt related to
the fact that corporate organizational devices were more formally
organised among the societies of farming backgrounds than those of
hunting and gathering ones.

Along these lines, it is also to be noted that standarised
visions and ritual, in general, are most highly developed in the
former horticultural societies, many of which had formalised modes of
status allocation and a formal political organization. Conversely,
they are either completely absent or nominally present among the
former hunters and gatherers.

This situation is also directly related to the relative impor-
tance of personal-private visions amongst the different True Plains

societies. Here formal versus informal patterns of leadership and

132

modes of status allocation is also relevant. Among the Comanche,
the most infbrmally organized of the True Plains societies, infor-
mal patterns of organization existed and personal-private visions
predominated. In contrast, among the Cheyenne, the most formally
organised of the True Plains societies, formal patterns existed and
standarized ritual was stressed at the expense of the more personal—
private forms. The Crow, although of horticultural origins, were
in a midway position. For the most part, leadership patterns were
informal, but there were a few instances of more formal patterns of
leadership within the clan and.certain religious spheres. Here
personal-private visions assumed considerable importance, but there
also existed scattered instances where standarised visions were
appropriate.

The implications of this dualism both in terms of the formality
or informality of leadership patterns as well as the personal-pri-
vate versus the standarised nature of visions will become more
apparent after a discussion of horticultural societies, where formal
leadership patterns and standarized visions predominated.

Before concluding this summary of the vision experience in
True Plains societies, it is necessary to briefly describe the nature
of the supernatural beings manifested in visions. In personal-pri-
vate visions, the supernatural beings may appears as ghosts, animals,
dwarfs, inanimate objects as well as mythical personages. These
supernatural beings appear in most instances to bestwo powers fit?
that are specific to their kind or species. It also appears that
spirits may have at their disposal a variety of powers, which they
can bestow on their suppliant. It is interesting to note that

spirits are often ranked relative to one another. Lowie (l95k: 17h),

133
notes that among the Crow and Comanche open debates often took
place between individuals over the relative strength of their
guardian's powers. This also appears to be the case for the Dakota
(Dorsey, 1894: ##1). This situation is clearly in accord with the
rigorous and competitive system of ranking of individual 3 in
secular activities like warfare. Impedantly, spirits revealed in
personal-private visions were not placed in absolute positions of
rank, just as mobility between ranks was normative in True Plains
societies.

The supernatural beings revealed in standarized visions were in
all cases associated with a social group or ritual activity. Impor-
tantly, they were conceived of as supervisors or sponsors of collec-
tive endeavors not personal-private ones. Whether these beings were
a distinct class from those seen in personal-private visions is diffi-
cult to determine from the available literature. It appears to me,
however, that in a number of societies the same category, class or
species of beings could manifest themselves to individual's for
personal or communal purposes. In other words, it does not appear
that certain spirits have exclusive control over either individual
or collective activities. Supernatural beings, however, may be more

commonly associated with one activity over another.

Chapter V

THE VISION EXPERIENCE IN
PERIPHERAL FARMING SOCIETIES

The last group of societies to be discussed in this thesis are
the village-dwelling, horticultural societies, who lived in the
Prarie Plains area directly east of the High Plains region or who
occupied locations along the tributaries of large rivers in the
High Plains. The societies from this area chosen for comparison are
the Oto, Mandan and Omaha. In addition, an ethnographic description
will be included on the Winnebago, who resided in the Central Hood-
lands area. Moreover, the summary statement on the vision experience
will also include evidence from other societies outside the general
Plains region like the Delaware, Creek, Papago, Zuni and so on.
Finally, evidence from societies on the Northwest Coast is relevant
here not because these groups were horticulturalists, but like the
groups described in this chapter, they had a relatively stable food
supply and were settled in villages organised along lines of kinship
and rank. Since horticultural societies in North America vary in
terms of both their ecological circumstances and social organizational
devices and since the Prarie Plains farming groups are not entirely
representative of all societies in North America engaging in plant
cultivation, this additional information will provide the reader
with reference points for broader contrasts and comparisons.

A. ECOLOGY AND TECHNOLOGY - The fact that all horticultural
societies depend more or less on food cultivation, as a primary source

of sustenance, is an important ecological consideration. Farming,

134

135
as a type of subsistence, appears to be directly related to the

presence of a predictable and regular food supply. This is, for
the most part, in direct contrast to the situation among the hunting
and gathering societies described, where the food supply was irregu-
lar and unpredictable. This regularity in food supply, in turn,
appears to be related to the existence of stable and relatively
large concentrations of pepulations in sedentary villages. Although
the location of villages was periodically changed, this seems to be
a product of territorial pressures from outside sources or the
result of infertility in land created by continuous use.

Fhrming, as a.major means of subsistence, also contributed to an
economic surplus in food products. The Mendan, for instance, built
large enclosures to store their surplus corn (Bowers, 1932).
Importantly, much of this surplus food was used, as a medium of
exchange, in trading for horses, furs and other commodities that
could be provided either by the True Plains societies to the west or
by the fur traders. It is necessary to note that many of these.
groups assumed a very important place in the trading complex on the
Northern Plains. Trading was particularly significant, since it
provided these groups with additional and varied sources of wealth.

Although the term horticulture implies cultivation of plants,
these societies did not completely rely on the cultivation of plants
for their sustenance. Although horticultural societies in North
America varied in the extent to which they relied on farming, all
engaged in hunting and/or fishing to some extent. In all of the
societies to be described in this chapter, hunting was carried on
singly or by small groups throughout the year. With the develop-
ment of the horse-buffalo complex in the Central Plains, many of

136
the farming societies directly adjacenttn this region staged seasonal
buffalo hunts and assumed a nomadic way of life for brief periods
of time. However, unlike the Crow and Cheyenne, these groups did
not completely give up their farming and pursue a completely nomadic
way of life. Thus, except for brief periods of time, when the total
social unit or a large portion, thereof, commenced the hunting of
buffalo, these societies occupied villages in relatively stable
locations. Generally, farming and village life dominated the life
ways of these groups.

It should also be mentionned that horticultural groups in North
America engaged in warfare. Again, the extent to which they stressed
this activity varied. Although the groups directly adjacent to the
Central Plains engaged in warfare, they seem to have done so pri-
marily on a defensive rather than an offensive basis (Eggan, 1956: 63).
Unlike True Plains societies, they were organized primarily for peace
rather than war.

B. SOCIAL ORGANIZATION - The social organization of these
societies is characterised by highly specialised groups that are
intricately interlocked to form a more complex and tightly organized
structure than is found among True Plains societies. Eggan (1966: 6k
& 1955: #2) indicates that the social organization of these societies
was "well adapted to agricultural life." He argues it»: is probable
that a more sedentary and dense population,having access to a relae
tively large and stable economic surplus, was associated with the
existence of clan organization in these societies. He states:

"The increased density of population requisite for

village life was made possible by the increased food

supply resulting from combining maize agriculture with

hunting and gathering. The utilization of fertile
bottomlands along the Missouri and its tributaries

137

made it possible for these villages to be both

large and relatively permanent; the problems of

integrating the population around common activities

in connection with agriculture and hunting, with re-

gard to both subsistence and rituals, made the develop-

ment of segmentary clan organization highly probable.

Uhereever it is essential to hold property in trust

or to maintain rituals from generation to generation,

unilateral organizations or 'corpcraticns' are far

more efficient than bilateral ones. The clan gives

a greater degree of stability and permanence but

has in turn a limited flexibility and.adaptability

to new situations" (1952: #2).
Thus, the very advantages, maximization of continuity and increased
stability, clan organization has in the horticultural societies would
create difficulties in the nomadic groups at the previous levels
having more unpredictable lifeways. Here a more flexible organiza-
ticnal device (e.g. band) is required that can readily adapt its
numbers and geographical location to fluid situations.

Clan organization provided a basic integrating framework in
these societies. In addition to regulating marriage, clans often
regulated the control of land and other property, maintained control
over both secular and religious positions of leadership anl.had
specific responsibilities and duties in both secular and religious
spheres of activity.

In addition to clans, there existed a number of other organi-
zational devices, which crossfcut kin—based groups. Among these
groups were the warrior societies, governing councils and religious
sodalities, all of which were organized primarily on a non-kin basis.
These groups, however, were dependent indirectly on clan organiza-
tion, in so far as membership was usually an hereditary prerogative.
Although these organizations were composed of members from different
clans, individual families controlled certain positions by heredi-

tary right. Since villages were not clan specific, organizational

‘0. ..- ' . . s ‘ .

act'-

138
devices transcending the clans were important basis for maintaining
village solidarity. It can be further argued that they provided a
basis for village cooperation and thus, helped to minimize rivalries
and disputes that might be created by placing primacy on individual
or family affiliation with a clan.

Moreover, with the emergence of a sizable and stable economic
surplus, striking inequalities in the distribution of both tangible
and intangible forms of wealth develop. unlike True Plains societies,
many of the horticultural societies have stablized their wealth by
allowing certain families to maintain absolute control over specific
types of property. This situation created in a number of these
societies definable and permanent social strata. Further, not only
might families occupy different ranked positions within a clan, but
clans might occupy different ranked positions within the society at
large.

Status inequalities based on differential access to both
material wealth and secular power increases sharply in these horti -
cultural societies. The acquisition of leadership positions and
social privileges is determined primarily by ascribed status posi-
tions that tend to be hereditary and are validated by family wealth.
Use of certain tracts of land, religious and secular privileges as
well as rights to leadership positions are now, for the most part,
bequeathed within the confines of particular extended family lines.
Personal achievements, therefore, play a less important role in
status allocation. Status mobility and competition, when it does
exist, is usually limited to achievements within one's own kin group
or to certain limited activities like warfare, where achievements

play a more important role in defining positions of leadership’and

139
prestige. Generally, it might be stated that since most positions of
privilege are the prerogative of certain families and since these
positions are ultimately arranged along clan lines, free access and
unrestricted competition for assuming them would in all probability
make for social instability.

Leadership positions in horticultural societies are formalized
offices with clearly delimited and in most instances, specialized ‘
functions. In most of the peripheral horticultural societies, there
are clear cut distinctions between the rights and duties of persons,
who hold offices of civil chief, war leader or keepers of sacred
bundles. As indicated previously, most of these positions are usually
the prerogative of certain families, whose rights are determined by
ascription and validated by wealth. Moreover, individuals, who occupy
these offices, exercise considerable authority and have at their year
around disposal a specially selected group of "soldiers" to enforce
their demands.

The emergence of a political structure based on ascription and
wealth with formal offices, which are accompanied by explicitly de—
fined responsibilities and authority, leads to a situation in which,
as Lenski (1966: 133) puts it, "rights to offices are regarded as
'prcperty,‘ which can be retained indefinitely or transmitted within
families without regard to the qualifications of the possescr." The
latter part of this quote is not completely applicable to the
societies under consideration here because although families can be
viewed as owning offices, the qualifications of the incumbent to the
office are certainly considered. While hereditary succession often
moves from father to son or from mother's brother to mother's son,

it is not absolute. If a direct descendant is not capable, it may

lhO

pass on to another near relative but always within the appropriate
lines of descent. Thus, competition for leadership positions is
not eliminated in horticultural societies but restricted.
C. ETHNOGRAPHIC DESCRIPTIONS

2229::

The Oto were a semi-sedentary village tribe, who lived in the
southeastern corner of the present state of Nebraska during the 19th
century. There were five villages among the Oto comprised of "vol-
untary groupings of families" (Whitman, 1937: 2). It appears from
Whitman's account (1937: 16) that these villages were organized
along clan lines at one time but in later years were comprised of
families from a variety of clans.

Agriculture was the primary means of subsistence for this group.
Corn, squash, melons and beans were among the plants grown. Im-
portantly, both men and women participated in farming activities.

In addition, hunting was an important male activity, which could be
carried on singly or in groups. It was believed that an individual's
success in hunting was due to the possession of supernatural power
acquired in visions (1937: 6).

During the early summer and late fall, the Oto participated in
the buffalo hunt. This biannual affair involved men and women from
several villages and rigid cooperation was demanded amongst those
participating. This communal affair, additionally, demanded that
members of the villages assume a nomadic mode of existence for brief
periods of time. Although buffalo hunts were an important source of
food, they were not like agricultural products, the major source of
food. Because of the Oto's heavy reliance on farming, Uhitman
states that "village life cutranked the life of the buffalo hunt in

ltl
importance" (1937: 5).

Land used for agriculture was not owned by clans or individual
families. Instead, the village was the land holding unit. Families
controlled rights to particular plots of land through habitual use,
and they owned the produce from the plots that they worked on
(Whitman, 1937: 5).

warfare seems to have been of little importance among the Oto.
Although warfare did take place, it seems to have been waged on a
defensive rather than an offensive basis. The Oto, according to
Whitman (1937: 10), were organized for peace rather than war.

Oto villages were divided primarily along two lines, kinship
and rank. In reference to the former, each village was divided into
a number of gens and subgentes, each of which had its own privileges,
institutions, peculiar idiosyncracies and supernatural origins (1937:
18). Within each gene, certain families largely because they con-
trolled both intangible and tangible forms of wealth, occupied the
highest status positions in the village and in the tribe as a whole.
Importantly, it is the family among the Oto, which is the principal
social unit and around which politics and other activities center.
As Whitman states:

"But more important than the gens, more important than'

the individual is the family. Conceptually the family

like the gens, has individuality; the family is respon-

sible for its members; family prestige and prerogatives

extend into all forms of Oto activity" (1937: #2)

With respect to rank, Oto families were members of three
distinct classes. According to Whitman, A

"Oto recognize status, and even today they distinguish

between those families from whom chiefs spring, noble

families from whom are drawn'those with priestly pow-

ers, warriors and the rich; and the common families
which do not amount to much" (1937: #2).

142

From Whitman's account, it appears that the Oto system of rank was
stablized and access to positions of privilege and prestige was based
primarily on ascription. "Families," according to Whitman, "control
and Jealously maintain their intangible privileges" (1932: 36).

Whitman's discussion of modes of status allocation among the Oto
is extremely meagre. However, it appears that mosthOBitionB-
of leadership were hereditary. Each gens, theoretically, had an
hereditary chief and each village had a chief. According to Whitman,
chiefs who resided over villages and the tribe as a whole came from
the leading subgens among the Bear gens. The biannual buffalo hunt,
on the other hand, was led by individuals who came from the leading
family among the Buffalo gens. The manner in which leaders assumed
their positions is best described by Whitman, who states:

"A chief it was said had to be a good man, a man of peace.

He was considered to be the father of an extended family,

whose first duty was to care for his peeple, to help them

in trouble, to lift the aged and the fallen and to aid the

orphan. Although the office was hereditary it did not

follow that the oldest son was always selected to the

chieftainship in the place of his father. A second son,

who showed himself more fitted to chieftainship than his

older brothers might become chief in his place" (1932: 36).
In addition, to the peace chiefs were the warriors or soldiers.
These were men of rank who succeeded to their positions through their
kin affiliations and generosity. They functioned in carrying out
and executing the orders of the peace chiefs. While Oto villages
were organized along secular lines, they were also organized along
ceremonial lines. Leadership positions in the religious sphere were
also acquired through ascription. There were leaders who kept and
knew how to use the society's sacred bundles and there were leadgrg

of religious societies, which functionned primarly in curing.

These leadership positions are best described as "offices" because

143
they were accompanied by definite rights and privileges.
Among the Oto, supernatural power could either be acquired
by an individual through his own efforts or through inheritance.
Powers of a personal-private nature could be granted in a vision for
use in hunting, curing and so on. Early in adolesence individuah ‘
would initiate their search for power. According to Whitman,

"The fast and vision quest was the Oto boy's first appeal
as an independent individual to the supernatural forces
which pervaded the world in which he lived. But because
power was conceived as being handed down from father to
son through family inheritance, it was the appeal for
blessings which was important rather than the vision.
Strictly speaking, vision might or might not be a
blessing; evil supernaturals or omens might appear to
the visionary. Proof of blessing was later success

in life. 'If a man says he heard (God), and has neither
a good house nor is well-taudo, they (the people) don't
believe him' (1932: 82).

As indicated in the previous paragraph, power was believed to be
handed down within family lines. Power that is owned and in the
possession of the family is socially important; individually owned
power is of little significance (1932: #0). With respect to the
role of visions in.0to society, Whitman states the following:

"Fasting is not nearly so important among the Oto as it
is among the Central Algonkians and even other members
of the Southern Sioux. Whether this is a breakdown in
form or whether the vision quest never assumed a place
of great importance in.0to life, I do not know. I could
find no one living who had had a vision during puberty
fast. Today the Oto have no concept of a guardian
spirit. Vision is an omen of future success or the
revelation of a rite for achieving success" (1932: 81).

He goes on to state later that

"Among the Oto, vision, when accepted by the community,
primarily served as the validation of personality. It
justified individuality. It gave prestige and power.
Though any man or woman might have a vision, there were
definite checks on vision experience. True vision
proved itself. If a man had a vision of curing and a.
could not cure, his vision was suspect; if a man had a
vision of wealth and were not wealthy, his vision was
a deceit, either practiced on him or by him. Moreover,

l#4

visions, unproved in time did not confer either honor
or privilege. And there was still another check.

The power that was associated with vision might be
double edged. The possession of power implied corre-
sponding payment to the supernatura1"(l932: 86).

Additionally, Whitman points out that

"Vision might come at any time, in ‘ “' youth or in old
age. If it came in youth it was discounted until proved;
if it came in later life it was also discounted unless
the man or woman was already powerful. Although each
boy went out on a vision quest, there are few accounts
of any who had visions, and fewer still of those who
became powerful on account of them"(l932: 87).

The preceeding statements of Whitman bring to the reader's attention
two important points; first, abilities or powers granted in visions
had to be validated;and secondly, few people gained success through
individual efforts, hence, personal-private visions. This would
certainly stand to reason, if one remembers that most positions of
privilege and prestige in Oto society were based on ascription.
Whitman, in describing visions that grant powers for curing , makes
an interesting observation about the disruptive nature of visions in
Oto society. He states:

"Power to cure and to diagnose could be gained through vision
or could be inherited. Unquestionably in the old days men
with strong visions undertook to practice medicine, but
vision was not said to be a fundamental prerequisite as it
was among neighboring tribes. Too many visions with their
resultant powers would have upset family status too easily.
Unlike the Ponca to whom power was more important than
family, the Oto relied on the family for their sense of

security. They accepted vision with reserve; power they
made the servant of the family not its masterII (1932: 101).

Importantly, among the Oto it is the family which gives an indivi-
dual power for personal use, as well as grants him rights over
power for collective purposes. As Whitman indicates in this regard:
"In ritual ceremonies as well as in the exercise of power
it is the family and not the gens which maintains control
through right of transmission. Gentile ceremonies and

gentile power are limited; there is a spring ceremonial
when the sacred gens bundles are ceremonially aired; there

l#5

are naming ceremonies and such privileges; and there is

gens leadership during the year. But it is in family

lines that these prerogatives are transmitted even in

gens rituals, and in prerogatives that have no gens

relevance the family controls all transmission of

power" (1932: 85).

Membership in important curing societies was, therefore, a
family prerogative. For instance, the Medicine Lodge among the Oto
was a prestigious group which was limited to members of chiefly and
noble families. Entrance, while based on ascription, was also
determined by wealth. Individuals not only had to pay exorbbetant
prices to Join this society, but they had to continue to validate 3}
their right to membership by gift giving. Importantly, visions were
not necessary for membership. However, it is important to note that
initiation ceremonies were based on patterns analagous to those in
vision quests. As a part of the initiation, members who had power by
virtue of their belonging to the lodge imitated various animals with
whom the initiate spoke and through whom he received power and learn-
ed special songs (1932: Ill-116). The fact that visions do not
guarantee membership in a society is also illustrated by reference
to the Buffalo Doctor's Lodge. Whitman describes a case, where a man
received power from a buffalo for cuirng, but because his family did
not have rights to membership in this lodge he could never join
(1932: 105-107). Thus, it would appear that even if an individual
receives a vision of a buffalo but is not a member of a family with
rights to the position of buffalo doctor, the vision is essentially
worthless in terms of validating status.

It is important to note that among the Oto medicine bundles
and religious sodalities with their associated ritual have their

origin in visions, which have now been relegated to the status of

a myth.

1%

The Omaha

 

The Omaha, like their linguistically related relatives
the Oto, were a semi-sedentary peoples. However, unlike the Oto,
they resided in only one village, which was located along the
Missouri River in eastern Nebraska.

The Omaha were, according to Head (1936: 1), also a peaceful
people, who relied heavily on the cultivation of plants for their
sustenance. Land was owned by the entire village but distributed
to individual families for cultivation. Probably, one of the primary
reasons that land was not owned by individual families among these
groups was because of their constant changes of location due to in-
fertility of soil, on the one hand, and from pressures of impinging
True Plains societies, on the other. In addition to horticulture,
hunting was a major occupation, which could take place by individuals,
alone, or in small groups. Furthermore, the Omaha engaged in buffalo
hunting. biannually. This was a communal affair and a large pra"
portion of the village left to pursue a temporary existence of no-
madism.

Warfare was of limited importance and was not emphasized to the
extent that it was among True Plains societies. Raiding for horses
did take place and success in this activity was somewhat important
for assuming secular leadership positions (Fletcher and LaFlesche,
1911: sou-205). It is important to note that warriors were required
to fast and receive visions prior to a raid (Dorsey, 1889: 390). Here
warriors and their leaders addressed their "prayers" to the Thunder-
being. In addition, prior to large war parties, keepers of certain
sacred bundles are expected to conduct rituals to bring success on

the warpath (Dorsey, 1889: 382). Incidentally, these customs also

l#7

appear to take place among the closely related Ponce and Kansa
(Dorsey, 1889: 382 & 390).

The Omaha village, like Oto villages, was divided along the
principles of kinship and rank. This village, on the one hand, was
divided into two moieties and ten exogamous, patrilineal clans, which
were in turn subdivided into lineages (Fletcher and LaFlesche, 1911:
7#6). These clans had hereditary leaders, special privileges and in
some instances, special functions. On the other hand, Omaha society
was divided according to rank. There were three distinct classes.
which included chiefly families, priests and doctors, and the under-
privileged; admission to the privileged classes was based on trans-
mission usually through paternal lines (Dorsey, 1882: 216).

Although status in Omaha society was primarily determined by
ascription, wealth and limited achievements were also of importance.
Extended families, as among the Oto, controlled rights to both
secular and religious positions of prestige and privilege. However,
among the Omaha a family had to validate their right to all status
positions through purchase. Secular leadership positions appear
to have been completely based on ascription and wealth but in more
recent times personal achievements were also involved. In order to
assume the office of village chief, it was expected that a man
perform a series of graded acts, which involved limited war achieve-
ments and extensive gift giving. According to Fletcher and La
Flesche (1911: 213), it required considerable wealth to become a
chief.

Among the Omaha there existed a governing council which was
composed of seven chiefs and five keepers of sacred bundles.

Fletcher and La Flesche best describe this council, when they state:

198

"Among the duties of the council of seven besides that

of maintaining peace and order within the tribe were

making peace with other tribes, securing allies, deter-

mining the time of the annual buffalo hunt, and confirming

the man who was to act as leader , on whom rested the

responsibility of this important movement..." (1911: 209-210).
It appears that among the Omaha clans were not as important in
directly providing leadership for specific functions like the buffalo
hunt.

The Omaha council can be viewed as an important interlocking
device transcending the autonomy of individual clans. In a similar
manner, the various medicine societies, which crossecut clan divisions,
also served to create solidarity amongst members of different clans.
The role of these societies will be elaborated upon in more detail
in the following paragraphs.

According to Fortune, Omaha visions can be divided into two
categories: "solitary visions" acquired through the individual's own
efforts and "acquired visions" received as an hereditary prerogative.
As among the Oto, solitary visions were of little importance in gain-
ing prestige and privileges in the society at large. Fortune makes
the following observation:

"It is interesting to note how the unconventional valued

the solitary vision. It was socially stressed but yet

rejected in terms of institutions; so that the social

stress led to nothing concrete...the initiate into a

society laid aside his solitary vision and depreciated

its power in comparison with his acquired vision. His

acquired vision was associated with public respect,

public power and a traditional doctoring good will" (1932:55).

Although all important secular and religious positions in
Omaha society were based primarily on ascription and although all
socially acceptable forms of supernatural power were inherited, it
is quite obvious from Fortune's account that individuals were

directly encouraged to seek visions and supernatural power on their

199
own initiative.
Fasting for "solitary" visions began in the middle years of
childhood. The following excerpts from Fortune best describe the
nature of this initial, questing period:

"Small boys of seven or eight years of age upwards were
sent out together in the early morning with faces cover-
ed with clay by their parents to one of a few selected
spots. This happened every fine spring morning...They
(the small boys) were technically fasting as they went
out before breakfast. They cried out at the sacred
spot as theyhhad been instructed to do in singing re-
frain, 'Haka da! here needy he stands and I am.he.'

One man told me that as a child he cried out incorrectly
under these circumstances, when his father appeared from
nearby and corrected him. It appears, as might be ex-
pected, that the small boys needed close supervision ,
at least at their first appearance before the super-
natural.

The small boys cried out and waited for some time as they
had been told to wait. A supernatural being'might appear
to them and give them something very good, they had.been
told. They went home, at breakfast and forgot the super-
natural entirely in playing all day, as one man put it

to me. Next morning they went again unless it was

stormy weather.

Small boys never 'got anything good' as they had been
told they might. They went out Spring mornings because
they were told to go, it appears. Naturally, I do not
know how well they were kept up to the mark. But I am
sure their elders' seriousness must have impressed them
considerably. And.they must soon have discovered that
'something good' meant curing powers, or hunting powers,
or fast running powers that the supernatural beings might
give them at any moment" (1932: 37-38).

"In such a manner in formal and in informal training a
small boy was directed towards hope of great gifts

from a Patron. And even if small boys received no very
striking supernatural appearances on their formal early
spring morning excursions, the foundations of belief in
the supernatural was firmly laid in them" (1932: 39).

After puberty boys were expected to go through a more
rigorous period of vision questing known as nonzhinzhon. As in the

early childhood quest, the youth searching for a vision hoped to

150
encounter a supernatural being, who would grant him hunting powers
or the more valued doctor's powers. According to Fortune,

"The youth before going out to request a revelation
(usually termed.vision or dream in the literature) the
gift of power, had not heard any detailed account of

any previous vision told. The telling of visions merely
to satisfy curiosity was not done in Omaha. Such action
would have led to nonka. If a father possessed a power
from revelation, he would only tell a son the details in
return for a heavy payment from the son, and only in
giving over the power to his son and so denuding himself
of it. A son offering such payment and begging the deed-
ing over of the power from his father to himself was re-
questing transfer cf his father‘s immunity from sickness.
An adult realised that fully and believed that such action
might precipitate his father's death" (1932: 39-k0).

He further states:

"There was an avoidance of public mention of the facts of

transfer of supernatural power. It was publically given

out that power was a direct endowment of a solitary by

a Supernatural Patron. That was natural enought. It was

what every father hoped for his son. The factual alter-

native, although true, was not platable for public mention.

It was actually not realised that transfer was the only way

in which 'tricks' could be handed on even by initiates into

the 'trick' practising societies. They, believing in an

ultimate origin from a Supernatural Patron giving the power

and 'trick! (miracle rather) to a man, hoped that their sons

might tap the original fontc again, even if they had not"

(1932: h0.4l).
As can be seen from the above statements, adolescents were encouraged
to quest in good faith for benefits that were difficult to acquire
from such a venture. This may appear a contradiction,but as inferred
in the above statement, transfer of power was a complete secret, the
disclosing of which was believed to bring on death. This contri-
diction, however, has important and positive functions. First, it
might be suggested that individual achievements in Omaha society were
not impossible, even if rare. Secondly, encouraging everyone to

search for power has value, in so far as it instills in the youth

a belief that supernatural power is to be gained by visions and

'
b

 

151
as such, it indirectly serves to validate the rights of those who

have received visions to positions of prestige and privilege.

In spite of the secretiveness. which surrounded the transfer of
power, youths did know the names of the supernatural beings, the
powers they bestowed and the places these beings inhabited or fre-

quented. As Fortune states,

"He was told that near by the sacred fireplaces in the
sacred places of revelation quest the Grizzly Beer Spirits
lived underground. He knew that they could give powers of
bleeding and had powers of bleeding (without skin cutting).
Above in the distant sky was the Thunder Bird Spirit, who
could give powers of weather control...In a popular legend
he had probably heard that Buffalo Spirits wen through the
air with a rushing sound. They could give powers treating
wounds. Ghosts commonly manifested themselves as whirl-
winds or in human forms except that they walked on air, a
foot or two above the ground. They could give powers of
treating paralysis or delirium or unconsciousness. If they
chose so to do they might paralyse him instead of giving
him immunity and power to cure others; just as the Thunder-
bird might strike him down by lightning" (1932: #1).

The individual also understood that all members of the sacred
societies had received their powers from supernatural beings in
visions. As Fortune indicates,

"The members of every sacred society (the Hidewiwin or
Shell Society excluded) were all understood to have ob-
tained their powers directly from the respective Super-
natural Patrons of their societies. Thus a Grizzly
Bear Society doctor avowed absolutely that his power
came from an encounter between him and the Grizzly Bear 3
Supernafiural Beings...The youth going out on his impor-
tant no zhi zho experience hoped for such an encounter
with a Supernatural Being who might become his Super-
natural Patron and give him such supernatural powers

as the doctors had for instance: or else supernatural
help in hunting or in foot racing. Doctors' powers

were most highly valued however, as the power that could
cure others also gave its possessor immunity from sick-
ness and hence long life, it was believed. Moreover,
fees secured in curing others kept the doctor protected
from want. Again all the important associations were
doctor's associations, the Thunder Bird Society, thg
Horse Society, and one or two others excepted; the
Hidewiwin or Shell society was another exception but

it wasunot taught that it could be entered by individual

152

solitary success in securing a Supernatural Patron.

Hence public prestige and society admittance was to

be gained from doctor's powers most prominently, with

few other avenues" (1932: 39).

Fortune also points out that youths, who could expect to gain ad-
mittance to a particular secret society might in fact know certain of
the details of the appropriate vision needed to be admitted. In
reference to the Buffalo Society doctors, he noted that fathers often
tell their sons a traditional vision account, as if recounting a
myth. The son in all probability recasts the mythical version into
a more personal form - so that while the son may in fact have a per-
sonal encounter with a supernatural being, it is in all «likelihood
that his account is based in prior tutoring (1932: 72-75).

The socially stressed quest that took place after puberty lasted
four days. It appears that as in other societies described not all
individuals were equally successful. If the youth were successful
in his quest, he told no one about it for four days, after which he
went to the member of the appropriate society, where his experience
and kin qualifications were judged by members of that society (1932:
#345). It must be pointed out that even if the youth had an
appropriate vision, it would be impossible for him to gain entrance
if.he did not have the appropriate family connections. On the other
hand, a young man unsuccessful in his quests, but who did have
ascribed rights in the society could still gain entrance. He would,
however, have to go through a specific ritual of transfer in order
to gain access to the power of the society he wished to enter.
Fortune describes this transfer as follows:

"Transfer was called 'to cause to see the supernatural.’

The initiator and the novice went away privately together.

The initiator taught the novice, the traditional vision of
the society, or the traditional form of it that descended

153

in his family line to be more exact; the sacred song or

songs of the vision; and the secret herbs, or the correct

performance of the 'trick' or both. He then handed over

the medicine bundle that went with the vision, the songs,

herbs or herbs and trick" (1932: 46).

He goes on to say in this context that

"It was understood by the outside public that a man had

such control of his Supernatural Patron that he could

induce vision of it in the novice whom be 'caused to

see the supernatural.‘ So vision by transfer was real

vision. The conventional phrasing of transfer was lin-

guistically an objection to mere transfer without some

show of supernormal experience" (1932: #7).

As indicated previously, entrance into all societies was by
transfer and it was believed that individuals gained their rights to
enter vis a vis a vision without human intervention. Fortune makes
some other important observations, which should be quoted at this
point. He states:

"Son succeeded father, or sister's son, mother's brother,

or son-in-law, father-in-law. The elders kept complete

freedom of choice. Some men had membership in several

societies, and they might distribute their membership in
succession or not, at will. No one got any direct social
power from the individual quest; but an air of illusion

in regard to the possibilities was general" (1932: #6).

It is important to note that certain of the contents of an
individual's vision could be depicted on buffalo robes and tipis.
Additionally, the right to picture certain symbols on one's'
own property could be bequeathed. It appears, however, from Dorsey's
account (189#: 39#-#05) that individual's had to also belong to the
society of the supernatural being represented on their property.

Interestingly, priests who controlled the tribal bundles (an
hereditary prerogative) did not, for the most part, belong to any
of the secret societies. The could, however, belong to the Hide-
wiwin society, wherein entrance was through 'apostolic succession"

to use Fortune's phrase (1932: 90). Furthermore, peace chiefs were

154

usually members of this society. Thus, it appears that the members
of this society were primarily those who occupied the highest status
positions in the society at large (1932: 169-174).

In concluding this section on the Omaha, the reader's attention
should be directed to the following summary statement by Fortune:

"This custom of claiming a derived vision as personal is

widespread amongst North American tribes. In.0maha it fits

so agreeably with the horror of the associations of transfer,

that it looks as if it were made amongst the Omaha to avoid

unpleasant reference. In Omaha it looks like an attempt re-

peated in each generation to encourage the next generation

to get away from the necessity of transfer, an attempt per-

petually doomed in each generation because more vision is

not enough..." (1932: 45).
It might also be suggested that "claiming a derived vision" also
fits in with the use of ascribed criteria as primary modes of status
allocation. If the cultivation of plants requires certain stability
in organization, as has been suggested by Eggan and if clan organi-
zation and ascription provide such stability, it would, therefore,
seem reasonable to argue that "acquired" visions have an important
function in validating the maintenance and continuance of prestige
and privilege based on ascription.

Thg'flandan

 

The Mandan, a semi-sedentary peoples, resided in several villages
along the upper waters of the Missouri in what is now the state of
North Dakota. This group relied on a combination of gardening, hunt-
ing, fishing and trading for their livelihood. Communal subsistence
activities were farming and buffalo hunting; the later activity being
carried on primarily during the summer. In addition, individuals,
alone or in small groups, hunted and fished.

The villages were economic, social and poltical units. With

respect to their economic functions, Bowers relates the following:

155

"Each village was an economic unit. It acted as a unit

when leaving on the summer buffalo hunt, although there

was a certain amount of cooperation among villages in the

matter of protecting the old people left behind and in

keeping enemy raiding parties from burning the lodges

during their absence. Each village had its garden sec-

tion which was separate from other village garden areas,

\ although my informants claimed that at one time...a11

the available corn grounds were planted and that it was

necessary for the villages to meet in council to define

the garden limits of each village" (1950: 23).

As among the Oto and Omaha, villages were divided along lines of
kinship>and rank. Although the matrilineal clans had members dis-
persed in all villages, it appears that lineages were localized in
each village. Clans in Mandan society had their own leaders, cere-
monies and special functions. It is interesting to note that clans
controlled the right to raise certain stocks of corn. Lineages with-
in each village controlled rights over land on principles of usufruct;
they did not, however, own the land, which was under village owner-
ship. The extended family household appears to have been the func-
tioning economic unit and.members of it worked together in gardening
and in hunting (1950: 25-35).

With respect to rank, it appears that within Mandan villages
certain clans and their lineages had higher positions than others.
In addition, households had differential status positions within the
lineage. According to Bowers (1950: A248), status within the
village depended largely on a family's ownership and control of im-
portant medicine bundles and their associated ceremonies. Bruner
(1961: 223) notes that in all Handan villages the Hazikena clan
occupied the highest status positions because they controlled the‘
most valued bundles in the society, those connected with the Okipa

ceremony. Bruner makes some interesting observations about differ-

ential ranking in villages. He states the following:

156

"Mandan society was stratified into classes based upon
the inheritance of tribal bundles. Those who owned
important bundles were usually wealthy, as they received
goods and property for performing sacred rites and could
marry two or more wives, who in turn produced corn,
dressed skins and brought other economically valuable
assets. The lineages in possession of tribal bundles
tended to preserve their wealth by arranging selective
marriages with other important families" (1961: 227).

Modes of status allocation were based primarily on ascription
and validated by wealth. Additionally, personal achievements were '
of some importance. Bowers states the following:

"A man's social status at any one period varied groatly
between individuals. It was in part determined by birth,
those being born in households having important bundles
and a well-balanced household economy and particularly if
there were many brothers and sisters, had a great advan-
tage over those whose households had been broken up by
death or divorce" (1950: 80).

Achievements in warfare were also of importance, and Bruner
observes the following:

"Those who were not eligable to inherit a tribal bundle
could achieve recognition through personal achievements
and military glory; the path was open, but it was dif-
ficult and uncertain. A young man who had no medicine
could fast, engage in self-torture, perform acts for
village welfare, and if he were a member of a large
kin group that could provide necessary goods, he could
give feasts to bundle owners. If he performed these
acts, he would receive some sacred object or medicine
associated with a ceremony which enabled him to become
a war leader. Without proper medicine and sacred know-
ledge a man could not lead a war expedition, as others
would not follow" (1961: 227)

In this context, Bowers (1950: 63) POints out that fasting was re-
quired before one could participate in war expeditions. He also
indicates, which is inferred in the preceeding paragraph, that young
men desiring to become war leaders had to undergo a period of appren-
ticeship. Selection of war leaders appears to have occured annually
and they were chosen on the basis of their personal skills as well as

upon their ownership of a buffalo skull received through inheritance

157
and purchase or through receipt of an appropriate vision and pur-

chase. It was the war leaders prerogative to decide whom he would
like to follow him on an expedition.

In addition to war leaders (they were also in control of
communal buffalo hunts), were village and clan leaders. These
latter positions were based primarily on ascription and wealth.
With respect to village leaders, Bowers makes the following state&-
ment:

"Mandan village and tribal leadership was vested in a

hierarchy of bundle-owners or priests who constituted a

group of headmen whose number varied from time to time

depending on the status of various bundles. From this

group two leaders were selected whose war or peace-

making record exceeded that of all others or who, because

of other practices, had acquired considerable popularity

with the people" (1950: 3k).

Clan leaders also appear to have been elected along similar lines
as the village headmen. The authority of both types of leaders was
minimal. According to Bowers, "his principal authority was derived
from his ability as an orator to persuade the council of older men
to sanction his opinions" (1950: 3h).

There also existed in Mandan society a series of age-grade
societies. Entrance into these societies was based on a combination
of criteria, which included family affiliations, limited achieve-
ments and wealth. It is interesting to note that entrance into the
higher age-graded societies was more expensive than the other ones,
thus limiting the number of persons who could reach positions in the
highest sodality (Bowers, 1950: 62-63).

In.Mandan society, supernatural power could be acquired for
personal use in a variety of ways including: fasting, receiving
visions, purchasing medicine bundles, offering feasts to bundles

and so on (Bowers, 1950: 211). It appears from both the accounts of

158
Bowers and Bruner that individuals not only varied from others in
the amount of power they possessed, but they also varied in the
amount of power they possessed at different times during their own
life cycle. Power could be amassed through the ways indicated above,
but it also could be expended through use. In this context, Bruner
states the following:

"The quantity of power possessed by an individual varied

throughout his life career. Children had no power; they

were not born with any. As a young man began to fast,

engage in self-torture and participate in the ceremonies,

he gradually acquired power. His quantity of power was

built up to its peak as he approached middle age, at about

the time he became involved in village administration;

thereafter there was a slow decline, until, in old age,

his power was gone. An old man who had completed the

cycle was regarded with great respect; his material needs

were provided by gifts from the young men just starting

their power quest" (1961: 228).

Individuals began their search for power during their middle
childhood years and could continue the search until the age of fifty
(Bowers, 1950: 107). YOung boys usually began their search for power
by fasting during the Okipg ceremony. The length of time devoted to
fasting'increased until the age of seventeen. It was believed that
fasting in this ceremony would help the individual later to acquire
a vision (Bowers, 1950: 111).

Bowers (1950: 109) notes that visions did not always accompany
fasting during childhood. Serious solicitation of visions and a
guardian-spirit seems to have occured around the "property owning
age." Three methods seem to have been employed to induce a vision
at this time: inflicting self-torture, offering goods to a bundle, ;
and fasting. Interestingly, the search for visions took place out-
side the village, where the youth paid his mother's brother to help
him induce a vision and interpret it. If a boy did not receive a

vision through this method of questing, a ceremonial clan father often 2

'1'
,/

159

would give the youth a sacred object from a clan bundle to induce
a vision(Bowers, 1950: 63).

In Mandan society, there was a distinction between personal and
tribal bundles. This incidentally was also the case for the Omaha.
Both of these types of bundles could be transferred through inheri-
tance and purchase. Visions were the basis upon which a bundle was
formed and according to Bowers (1950: 182) , the visions were short-
lived, if not incporated into a bundle rite. Elaborate rites accom-
panied the transfer of bundles, which involved instructions in its use
and mythical background, as well as instructions in inducing appro-
priate visions connected with the bundle (Bowers, 1950: 211). Thus,
bundles as well as their associated visions became hereditary pre-
rogatives. It is interesting to note in this context that if an
individual was not in a direct line of descent for a bundle but had
received an appropriate vision, he could claim the bundle by virtue
of his special vision providing he could afford the purchase price
(Bowers, 1950: 107).

At this point it might be worthwhile to bring to the readerds
attention an excerpt from Benedict which describes the practices of
the neighboring village tribe, the Hidatsa; it is as follows:

"The Hidatsa are matrilineal; but medicine bundles are

inherited in the father's line. It was an uncoordinated

process by which rights to visions were perpetuated, for
though it was obligatory that it descend in the male line,

one must also have the same vision before one inherited

and one must likewise pay a purchase price. Since an

inheritor must have a vision from the family bundle, the

function of the father in preparing the mind of the
suppliant for this particular spirit-visitant became

impertant. Not only was supervision exercised by the
father over fasting; but ceremonies had to be performed a

under th§)superintendence of duly qualified bundle owners"
1922: 1 .

As has been inferred in the preceeding paragraphs, a rather similar

160

practice occurs among the Mandan, wherein relatives supervise the
questing for visions. This direct supervision certainly is not
incongruent with the factors of inheritence in bundle transfers.
Receipt of an appropriate vision, therefore, would seem to serve as
an ideal way to validate the individual's hereditary prerogative to
a certain bundle, its powers and associated ceremony.

‘ghg_Winne§§gg

The Winnebago, who lived in the present state of Wisconsin, are
the final semi-sedentary village peoples to be discussed in this
section. As in the other groups so far described, villages consisted
of groupings of families belonging to different clans. Members of the
same clan, however, lived in separate sections within each village
(Radin, 1916: 115).

The Winnebago also relied on both horticulture and hunting for
their sustenance. Extended family groups cooperated amongst them-
selves in the cultivation of corn, beans and squash. The°hunting of
deer, bear, buffalo and other animals was carried on by individuals
or by groups. Communal hunts were conducted under strict rules and
as Radin notes, "individuals were strictly prohibited from taking
initiative except by permission" (1916: 11%).

unlike in some of the other horticultural societies described,
warfare took on considerable importance among the Winnebago. Certain
of Radin's observations on this matter are worth quoting here. He
states:

"War was one of the most important elements in the life

of the Winnebago. The life of the warrior was the ideal

toward which all men strove. It not only satisfied certain

emotional needs but it was so inextricably interwoven with

social standing in the community and with individual pres-

tige that Winnebago life is unthinkable without it. An
element of culture fraught with so much significance to the

 

ways

161

individual and the social group was bound to be sur-
rounded by innumerable customs, regulations and restric-
tions. It was a life that was at stake every time an
individual went on the warpath, and remembering the value
of each life to a small community, it is not to be won-
dered at if there is a definite attempt on the part of
the social group to restrict individual activity in this
particular regard. An individual might go on the warpath
either alone or in company with few people, but the com-
munity in the person of the chief, insisted that he show
some warrant for his action...It is hardly likely that
many men would willingly run the risks of unnecessarily
antagonizing their fellow tribesmen when the proper
means of preparing for the warpath was open to all...

Certain requirements were , however, necessary. It was
not left to each individual to decide for himself whether

he possessed these, but the final decision always lay in
the bud of the chief" (1916: 156).

Receiving a vision seems to have been one of the most important
to validate engaging in warfare, as Radin indicates:

"Any man who has been specially hessed with war powers
may go on the warpath. Such a man must not merely be
blessed with these general war powers that individuals
obtain during their puberty fast, but must likewise be
blessed with a definite enemy to kill or capture, as the
case may be, immediately before he starts out. In
practice this meant that whenever a pesson wished to go
on the warpath he fasted in order to obtain the necessary
guarantees of success. An account of the powers granted
by the spirit or spirits was then placed before the chief
and if, in hiscpinion, they justified‘the undertaking, the
man was permitted to go. If whey were insufficient the
chief expressed his disapproval and the contemplated under-
taking had either to be given up or the man would be com-
pelled to fast again for increased powers. There were a
number of men who were unable to obtain the requisite
powers. To them one of two alternatives was left open:
they might either purchase sufficient powers to go onus
warpath or they might volunteer to join a large warpath"
(1916: 157).

As mentioned previously, Winnebago villages were organised

along clan lines. These clans seem to have had definite ceremonial

and secular functions. Leadership for specialized activities was

drawn from clans, which were believed to control supernatural powers

over these activities. For instance, leaders in the Bear clan were

responsible for organizing and ordering all communal hunts. In

162

addition, this clan was responsible for providing men to police
the village. The Thunderbird clan, on the other hand, had the
prerogative to provide the village with its peace chiefs, while
the warrior clans prerogative was to provide war leaders. It also
appears that these clans were ranked in Winnebago villages with
the above mentionned clans assuming the most important duties and
responsibilities in the village. Other clans were apparently
ranked below these and assumed minor sociopolitical functions '
(Radin, 1916: 199-200).

In Radin's major work, The Winneb_agg M (1916), he, un-
fortunately, does not provide the reader with a concrete or
explicit statement on modes of status allocation. It can, however,
be inferred from this account that achievements, ascription and
wealth were in varying degrees determinants of status. It appears
that all males had a chance to achieve success in military acti-
vities and to gain positions of prestige and privilege in this
sector, irrespective of their clan association. Other leadership
positions, however, appear to have been restricted to members of
certain clans, as described in the previous paragraph. It seems
that there was a certain amount of status mobility within the clans
and that certain families did not have exclusive control over or
rights to specific offices. For instance, the peace chief of a
village is said to be "chosen" from the better families in the
Thunderbird clan on the basis of his temperment and good habits
(1916: 209). Additionally, keepers of sacred clan bundles also
assumed positions of prestige and privilege. It appears that as
among the Mandan,clan bundle owners also assumed positions of

leadership; these bundles were transferred through inheritance.

163
In addition, shamanistic talents and membership in certain religious
societies also conferred prestige and privilege.

The responsibilities and authority of the village peace chief
was clearly limited, in so far as all serious decisions had to have
the consensus of the entire village council, which was composed of
leaders from all clans (1916: 163-165). This council functioned
primarily in the settling of disputes and conflicts within the
village; it also had the power to curtail raich that it felt were
impolitic.

The Winnebago encouraged all males to begin their quest for
visions in early childhood, usually around five or six years of age.
Boys were sent out early in the morning to isolated spots without
food and water from autumn until spring. This was continued with
increasing rigor until the boy reached puberty or had received an
appropriate vision (Radin, 1916: 135). The Winnebago attempted to
insure that their youth receive appropriate visions by having male
relatives actively supervise them during the questing period. Accord-
ing to Radin, "it was customary for parents, generally grandparents
to tell youths who were fasting what kind of experience they were to
expect, and particularly how they were to recognize a true spirit
when.it should appear and thus guard against bang deceived by an
evil spirit" (1920: 7). Additionally, families who owned bundles
often placed them in front of the child's fasting hut to insure an
approved vision or else the child's but was placed near a place where
specific spirits were thought to reside. In reference to one
specific family, Radin states the following:

"Every Winnebago clan has at least one war-bundle; most

of them have more. The father of 8.3. possessed one,

and most of the 'power' resident in this particular
bundle was supposed to have been bestowed by the thunder-

16#

birds and night-spirits. Perhpas that is why a black-
hawk's nest was selected for the fasting-lodge, the
black-hawk being regarded as a thunder-bird, although

my interpreter was uncertain about this matter" (1920: 6).

' The above practices and further evidence provided by Radin
indicates that there was a strong tendency among the Winnebago for
visions and their accompanying powers and spirits to remain in
certain family lines. At one point, he infers that certain spirits
are more difficult to get at then others, even though some families
are known to see them in visions quite frequently. In this regard,
he states:

"Some spirits are more difficult to approach than others.
The black-hawk, regarded as the chief of the thunder-
birds is one of the most difficult spirits to obtain
blessings from. However, Hessings from him were quite
customary in S.B.'s family" (1920: 8).

It is important to note in this context that S.B.'s family were
members of the Thunder-bird clan and also had control of one of
the clan bundles. This is brought out in the following statement:

"To an old pious Winnebago such as S.B.'s father at this
time was, it was clear that the thunder-birds would listen
to his son's prayer for, first the family belonged to the
thunder-bird clan, and secondly, various members had re-
ceived blessings from them and thirdly, the clan war-
bundle which they possessed had been bestowed upon an
ancestor, not so many generations back, by the thunder-
birds" (1920: 37).

The tendency towards inheritance of spirits in visions is explcitly
indicated by Radin, when he states:

"In the concept of guardian spirits we have a.mixture

of both the 'mechanical' and the 'contract' theories.
The guardian spirits themselves are, to our mind, but
the transformed localized spirits, in other words, the
genii loci. Uhey are supposed to protect the individual
to whom they appear in the same way as the genii loci
protected their precinct. While theoretically every
Winnebago could have his own guardian spirit, there seems
to have been a marked tendency for certain guardian
spirits to be inherited. This was so, not because there
was any distinct development of the idea of inheritance,

165

but because certain definite powers were associated
with.the spirits, like success in hunting, fishing,

etc. Intenms of everyday life this simply meant that

a good hunter would try to make his sons and near
relatives good hunters; in religious terminology it meant
that a son was blessed by the same guardian spirit as the
father" (1916: 290).

The Winnebago believed that visions, wherein "True Spirits"
appeared, granted special powers to their recipients. Powers relating
to success in warfare, in doctoring and in acquiring wealth were be-
lieved to be granted by particular spirits revealed in visions. The
importance of power or "blessings" is aptly described by Radin, as
follows:

"...man, unaided, cannot overcome life's crises. The
proper and ideal help is to obtain paves (blessings)
from the spirits, but failing that, to purchase pro-
tecting medicines from those who happen to possess

them. Blessings from the spirits cannot be transferred
or purchased because the recipient must even then, theo-
retically, fast for them" (1920: 75).

The above paragraph implies that not all individuals are
equally successful in their search for power and must solicit aide
from their more fortunate brethren. Radin describes this in more
detail, when he observes that-

"His repeated insistence on this point shows how common
is lack of success in fasting. While this may represent
the modern demoralized condition of Winnebago culture, it
may also reflect a true old cultural fact, namely, that
not everyone was able to enter into communication with
the spirits. It may also represent, in a way, a kind of
competition between the priests, on the one hand, and the
doctors, shamans, and herbalists, on the other. The
greatest rivalry existed between them and they doubtless
made all the claims imaginable for their respective
powers" (1920: 79).

In this context, Radin also makes the following comment:

"not everyone who fasts is blesssed with power. For
those who are thus unable to obtain blessings directly
from.the spirits there is only one method of protection
against evils left - the purchase of plants with magical
properties from those who have been blessed with them.

166

These can be obtained by an individual no matter how
unsuccessful he has been in obtaining blessings through
personal fasting. All that is needed is sufficient

riches for purchasing them. Of course it goes without

saying that those who have been blessed with power may

and do also provide themselves with these medicines"(19l6: 170).

Since Radin spends a great deal of time discussing the nature of
spirits among the Winnebago, it is worthwhile presenting some of his
comments on this subject. Spirits among the Winnebago vary from very
vague kinds like fire, to specialized animal spirits, to spirits
associated with corporate groups and finally to spirits that assume
deity-like proportions. Importantly, all of these types of spirits
can manifest themselves in visions. As Radin states,

"To the average Winnebago the world is peopled by an
indefinite number of spirits who manifest their exis-
tence in many ways, being either visible, audible, felt
emotionally, or manifesting themselves by some sign or
result. From a certain point of view, all spirits de-
monstrate their existence by the result, by the fact
that the blessings they bestow upon man enable him to
be successful and this hold a Just as much for the
spirits who manifest themselves in the most intangible
emotional manner as for that one who is visible in a
vision" (1916: 281+).

He also states:

"According to the Winnebago, spirits possess the power

of bestowing upon man all those things of socioeconomic
value to him. These may vary from such very important
economic things as rain or success on the warpath to the
most insignificant trifles. Practically, any spirit no
matter how indefinitely conceived, can bestow generalized
blessings. 0n the whole, however, these powers are > -
conceived of as being in the hands of a comparatively
small number and the same powers are frequently possessed
by different spirits" (1916: 289).

It is interesting to note that one of the most common types of
spirits to be revealed in a vision are those associated with clans.
Radin makes the following observation on this point:

"When animal names became associated with the social

groups they are accompanied by specific associations

clustering around these animals. These associations
were probably of the same type if not indeed identical

167

with those grouped around the animals as guardian
spirits. The clan animals are among the principal
guardian spirits to-day and we must expect to find an
explanation of the attitude toward them as clan animals
in the attitude exhibited toward the guardian spirit. To
a certain extent it would be quite correct to say that
the guardian became the clan animal. This does not, how-
ever, mean in the slightest degree, that the guardian
spirit of the individual became the clan animal, but merely
that the concept of the guardian spirit became associated
with a local group" (1916: 195).

He goes on to say later that-

"The attitude toward the clan animal differs from that
toward the guardian spirit in this characteristic respect,
that more emphasis is laid upon identification with the
animal itself than with the 'spirit.‘ As far as could be
determined, the clan animal is the thunderbird with his
characteristics of lightning and thunder, of the bear

who likes honey and raisins, etc. The animal is engraved
as clan symbol and used as a property mark, and.he is
brought into intimate contact with the group by the pos-
tuation of descent. Naturally, descent is not from the
'spirit' animal but from the living animal species.
Nevertheless the clan animal has, at the same time, re-
tained its place as a guardian spirit, and in a most
suggestive way, for the blessing of a clan animal is more
easily obtained by a member of the clan than by an outsider.
The clan animal is, in short, a clan protector" (1916: 196).

The association between clan animals and spirits seen in visions
is most adequately described for the Winnebago. Whether this
existed for other societies discussed. who also had clans is unclear.
Benedict (1923: 55-59) and Fortune (1932: 23) Paint out that Fletcher
and La Flesche in various of their works indicate an intimate rela-
tionship between clan animals and spirits revealed in visions; Fortune,
however, strenuously denies this by stating that clan animals are of
an entirely different category than spirits seen in visions. Dorsey's
account (1899) of Siouan cults indicates that there might have been
some such association among the Osage. It is apparent that this
type of association took place to a certain extent among the Mancini-01.1.
(Skinner: 1915) and among certain of the advanced hunting and gather-

ing societies along the Northwest coast like the Kwakiutl (Boas, 1895).

168
This association will be discussed in more detail in the conclusion
to this ch .- 5, which will immediately follow.

Among the Winnebago, there also existed several secret societies,
which functionned primarily in curing. Entrance into these societies
required an appropriate vision, usually one in which the animals
associated.with that grouptappeared. Unlike the societies, among the
Omaha, families did not control the positions, therein. All indi-
viduals could gain entrance provided they had the requisite vision
and provided they possess sufficient wealth to pay the purchase price
(Radin, 1916: 329-349). The one society that was an exception to
this was the Medicine Lodge, in which ascription was a ciiteria for
entrance. Like the Medicine Lodge of the Omaha, no vision was
necessary for entrance (1916: 357).

D. THE VISION EXPERIENCE IN PERIPHERAL FARMING SOCIETIES -

Generally, semi-sedentary horticultural societies diverge quite
significantly from hunting and gathering and True Plains societies not
only with respect to particular features of visions but to factors
relating to religious beliefs and actions in general. Although cer-
tain True Plains societies shared a number of features with horti-
cultural societies, as indicated in the last chapter, this seems not
to be so much a product of ecological circumstances but a result of
the fact that these groups practiced farming before they assumed a
True Plains way of life.

The peripheral horticultural societies discussed in this chapter
diverge from hunting and gathering as well as True Plains societies
in at least three important ways. First, most socially approved

forms of supernatural power are owned and/ or controlled by families

as members of larger corporate groups and are transferred through

169
inheritance within specified lines of succesion. Secondly, although
personal-private visions continue to exist, they are superseded in
number and importance by standarized visions, whose symbols are link-
ed to social groups and activities. And finally, institutionalized
restrictions on the right to receive publically recognised visions
and their derived powers fully emerges at this level.

In most horticultural societies, socially valued forms of super-
natural power were under the ownership and control of families rather
than individuals. Supernatural power, as in True Plains societies,
was considered a form of wealth or property, which could be embodied
in tangible objects like medicine bundles or other types of para-
phenalia. However, most types of supernatural power were not freely
accessible to all members of the society; the most valued forms were
mintained as well as transferred through inheritance within specific
family lines. Further, families not only controlled rights over the
use of certain or all kinds of power, but they also controlled rights
over the visions, which originated this power and/ or which validated
its transfer. In order to understand this situation, it is necessary
to discuss the role of personal and social forms of supernatural as
well as personal-private and standarized visions in these societies.

Visions which grant individuals personal powers related to skills
and achievements in activities like hunting, warfare and curing are,
relatively speaking, of lesser importance in gaining public prestige
and privileges than in the societies described at the previous two
levels. If personal-private visions do assume importance, there are
usually limitations on the range of activities to which they can be
legitimately applied. Moreover, even if an individual receives a

vision granting him personal powers in these activities, there is no

170
guarantee that the visions will receive public recognition. In most
of these societies few individuals receive visions which grant per-
sonal powers that can be used in gaining public prestige and privileges.
Gbnerally, it would seem that personal powers representing individual
achievements would be of little value in situations where most posi-
tions of leadership and privilege are determined by ascription and/or
inherited family wealth.

At this point it is worthwhile to discuss a few activities to
which personal-private powers acquired in visions can be‘applied and
the extent of their importance. As mentioned previously, all horti-
cultural societies engage in some form of hunting to supplement their
diet. This activity, however, is secondary to the major subsistence
activity, cultivation. Among most of the societies described in this
chapter and among the Papago (Underhill, 1946: l7#) of the Southwest,
Menominii (Skinner, 1913: #2) of the Central Woodlands and the Dela-
ware (Heckwelder, 1819: 238) of the Eastern Woodlands, individuals
who are good hunters were believed to be so by virtue of the fact that
they received hunting powers in a vision and/or purchased such powers
from a specialized practionsr- However, in most of these groups
success in hunting does not usually lead to positions of prestige and
privilege in the society at large. Since leaders. who govern communal
hunts. acquire their positions via ascription or achievements in war-
fare, it would seem that self-acquired personal powers relating to
hunting would be of little importance as a means for validating rights
to leadership.

The one activity in which achievements and personal, supernatural
powers seem to be universally important, as a basis for status con-

ferral,is warfare. However, horticultural societies vary in the

171
extent to which they engage in this activity and stress it as an
important male endeavor. Where warfare is unimportant, as among the
Oto, or where it is essentially absent, as among the Zuni (Steven-
son, 1904: 325) of the Southwest, it appears that the acquisition of
personal-private powers relating to warfare is of little significance.
In contrast, among horticultural societies, where warfare is stressed
as an important male activity and where leadership in this sphere is
based primarily on individual achievements, personal-private powers
relating to warfare become important bass for validating status
mobility in this activity. As described previously, the Winnebago
place great emphasis on the use of visions not only to validate the
right of an individual to lead a raid, but to sanction decision-making
in warfare, generally. The Delaware (Heckwelder, 1816), Greek
(Swanton, 1929) and the Papago (Underhill, 19%) also employed visions
_ to sanction warfare activities and leadership.

A third possible area where personal-private powers and visions
come into play is curing; this, however, is not universal among
horticultural societies. On the one hand, among some societies like
the Winnebago, Delaware, Papago and Iroquois°(Noon.,«l9l+9), shamans
exercise the right tapractice by virtue of the fact that they acquired
personal powers in a private vision or that they received a stan-
darized vision whose symbolism is related to any one of several cur-
ing societies. 0n the other hand, among the Prarie Plains societies
like the Oto, Mandan, Hidasta, Omaha, Kansa, Iowa (Dorsey, 189#), and
Pawnee (Murie, 1914), the right to become a shaman is an hereditary
privilege. Although visions may be used to validate this right, they
are inherited and standarized visions. In the latter group of

societies, families control rights over most positions of prestige

.O‘

172
and privilege in both secular and religious spheres. In contrast,
among the former group of societies, there appears to be a division
in the society with certain status positions being determined largely
by individual achievements and others, particularly those relating
to village maintenance and ceremonial being based on ascription.

The evidence on the vision experience in Prarie Plains, horti-
cultural societies and in North America generally, suggest that while
personal-private visions may be positively adaptive in situations
where achievements and competition is allowed, they are not in situa-
tions where families or larger corporate groups (i.e. clans) have
exclusive control over leadership positions and transmit rights of
control as an hereditary prerogative. As I have previously suggested,
free access and.competition for positions of prestige and privilege
would in all likelihood be dysfunctional in situations where ascrip-
tion and inherited family wealth are the primary determinant; of
status. Likewise, the use of personal-private visions, as a rationale
for validating personal achievements, would be at best inappropriate,
if not socially disruptive. More specifically, in situations where
families and lrger corporate groups rigidly control and jealously
exercise rights over power, privileges and prestige, self-acquired
personal powers would be in direct competition with family rights.

It is interesting at this point to note that conflicts did
arise over the legitimacy of personally acquired, supernatural power
and power inherited through family lines. Among the Pawnee (Murie,
l9lh) a Prarie Plains society, ambitious young men without hereditary
privileges were organizing new religious societies that became
rivals and imitators of the socially recognized and authorized

societies, where membership was based on ascription. Hurie

173
indicates that these new societies had no public functions and
were not officially recognized by members of the status quo.
Importantly, entrance into these new societies required the receipt
of an appropriate personal-private vision relating to achievements
in warfare. Conflicts eminating from rivalries between hereditary
prerogatives and individual achievements were probably common among
societies under increasing pressures of warfare.

The evidence so far provided in this and in the previous two
chapters suggests the following generalization: the extent to which
achievement dominates over ascription as a primary basis for status
conferral will be positively correlated with the importance and use
of personal-private powers and visions, as rationale for validating
positions of leadership, prestige and privilege.

It is quite apparent, however, that visions do not necessarily
disappear when ascription dominates over achievement. In this
instance, it seems that publically recognized visions were redefined
in accordance with the facts of ascription and/or inherited wealth.
In many of the peripheral horticultural societies, special visions
were redefined in accordance with the facts of ascription and/or
inherited wealth. In many of the peripheral societies, special
visions were required before an individual could gain entrance
into certain religious societies,assume ~ particular leadership
positions and/or transfer ritual privileges and paraphenalia. In
accordance with the fact that rights to the above mentioned positions
and privileges were often inherited within specific family lines,
these special visions usually followed lines of inheritance as we11.
Thus, just as families might control rights to positions of privilege

and prestige, they also, as might be expected, controlled the

174
visions, which sanctionned their hereditary prerogatives. Further
details about the inheritance of visions will be provided in subse-
quent paragraphs.

Unlike personal-private visions, the manifest content of these
special visions was highly standarized or stereotyped, in terms of
both the symbols and behavioral directives contained, therein. In
the previous chapter I referred to these special visions, as "stan-
darized visions" because their contents exhibited conformity between
different kinsmen within a particular descent line or between differ-
ent members within a particular society. The Omaha, previously
described in this chapter, provide a good example of standarization
in visions. Here in order to become a member of the Buffalo Doctor's
Society, as one example, individuals must receive a special vision
in order to gain entrance. This vision represents an encounter with
a buffalo, who is seen blowing water from his mouth, and whose powers
are directed towards specific types of curing techniques. However,
since membership in this society is based on ascription and wealth,
only those families have the right to enter can legitimately receive
the above visions. If it happens that an individual receives this
vision, but does not have sufficient wealth to join or does not have
appropriate family connections, the vision and the power it represents
are essentially worthless. The fact that members of several diff-
erent families receive the same vision is not fortuitous, for as will
be shown later, the Omaha and other farming societies employ super-
visory techniques to insure that the appropriate persons will gain
these visions.

The supernatural powers represented in standarized visions that
are needed to gain access to certain status positions is not specific

.8 *9! "3'.” "

O

175
to the individual recipient. It is rather specific to the social

groups, families, clans or non-kin based sodalities to which the indi-
vidual will or does belong. Importantly, individuals do not possess
these powers in an intrinsic fashion. Rather, like secular forms of
wealth, they are extrinsic and the individual merely gains rights to
their use and control. Although these powers, ideally, are used for
collective ends, they can be used for personal ends but only within
the context of the social group, which ultimately has complete rights
over their use.

Of further importance is the fact that the spirits represented
in these visions are associated also with the social group to which
the individual does or will belong. Among the Omaha, Winnebago, Oto,
Kansa, Iowa (Dorsey, l89#), Pawnee (Hurie, l9lh) and Iroquois (Noon,
1949) and among certain of the advanced hunters and gatherers on the
Northwest Coast like the Kwakiutl (Boas, 1895) and the Nootka(Druc-
ker, 1951), the visions required for entrance into certain religious
societies contained spirits associated with these groups. The dis-
cussion of the Buffalo Doctor's Society, on the previous page, ex-
emplifies this. Furthermore, standarized visions may manifest spirits
which are associated with the clan to which the individual belongs.
This appears to occur among the Kwakiutl (Boas, 1895), Menominii
(Skinner, 191%), the Osage (Benedict, 1923: 62) and the Winnebago,
as examples. Whether or not this type of association existed among
the Omaha and Oto is difficult to determine from the available
literature. There is, as previously mentioned, some dispute over
the existence of such an association for the Omaha, where Fletcher
and.Ia.Flesche argue, on the one hand that it did occur, and where

Fortune asserts, on the other, that it did not exist. It is quite

176
likely that this type of association might have existed at one time
but due to either recent historical factors and/or to the time at
which the data was collected by the ethnographers, such a relation-
ship was no longer apparent. And finally, standarized visions, which
were received prior to collectively owned, bundle transfers often
manifested spirits that were associated with the kin group controlling
the bundle and its associated ritual. In this context, it appears
that transfer of bundles owned by families within a specific clan
are often accompanied by a vision in which the spirit revealed is
related to the same category of beings which either founded the clan
and/or awarded it ritual and secular privileges.

Since positions of privilege were largely defined.in terms of
responsibilities to a collective group and since property was con-
trolled in a corporate manner, it is not surprising to find that
visions are also increasingly expressed in this manner. In horti-
cultural societies and in some True Plains societies, an individual's
prestige and behavior are affected and to a certain extent limited
by virtue of his membership'in certain kin or non-kin based sodalities.
Importantly, while individual initiative may be important within
certain contexts, it is still fashioned by obligations and respon-
sibilities to formalized groups.

Standarization in visions can also be seen as a function of
the increased formalization in modes of status allocation and in
patterns of leadership. Importantly, individuals do not arise to
positions of leadership and prestige, spontaneously, on the basis
of their own achievements and initiatives. Rather, they assume these
positions because they have met a predetermined set of qualifications

which may include control over wealth, membership in a given

177
kin-group and in some circumstances, limited achievements. In the
same way, if a vision is to validate an individual's right to a
particular position, its content should approximate or conform with
the specifications of the status position under question.

At this point, it would be instructive to discuss the ways in
which horticultural societies restrict access of their members to
standarized visions, in particular, and visions, in general. Al-
though all individuals in societies at this level are free to search
for visions from which they can hope to acquire powers and benefits
from the supernatural, as I have inferred in previous paragraphs, few
appear to be successful. In the societies described in this chapter
and among other horticultural groups like the Menominii, Delaware
and Pawnee, all prepubescent youths were encouraged to quest for
visions on their own initiative. This fasting continued until pu-
berty or until the boy had reached to use Bower's phrase, "the pro-
perty owning age," the rigor and time expended in questing increased.
One of the interesting ways in which horticultural societies depart
from the societies at the previous two levels is in the increased
supervision and direction provided youngsters during their quests.

In many instances, parents or near relatives actively watched over
and guided their younger kinsmen. In the process of supervising these
youths, it is quite apparent that certain kinds of a priori sugges-
tions were provided the youth. For one, although an elder could
rarely divulge the contents of his own vision, as Fortune (1932)
points out, the elder could recast the contents of his own vision, as
if he was telling the boy a.myth. A.more direct type of suggestion
occured when the young man is given a bundle owned by his family to
help him induce an appropriate vision. Here even if the youth does
not know the visions of male members in his family, he probably knows

178

the myth associated with the bundle. More specifically, he may
know the powers it is believed to contain and the spirit from whom
it originated. Another device was to take an individual to a spot
believed to be the common place of residence for the spirit that the
older generation desired its youth to contact. It would seem quite
reasonable to argue that these devices not only increased the possi-
bility that the youth would receive the same visions of their fore-
fathers, but also helped to limit certain visions to lines of des-
cent in particular families.

As I have indicated previously, even if an individual receives
a vision that is standarized and related to a particular group, there
is no guarantee that his vision will receive public attention. In-
dividuals who receive standarized visions that are socially accepted
appear to be few in number. In horticultural societies, standarized
visions could be restricted in any one of three ways. First, if an
individual received a vision of a spirit and powers associated with
a particular clan, it would stand to reason that he would have to be
a member of that clan to legitimately exercise his rights to these
powers. In a more direct fashion, certain families retained rights
to specific visions and it was their prerogative to decide to whom
they should be transferred. And finally, in many societies, indi-
viduals had to possess sufficient wealth to pay for rights into
certain positions of privilege. As a consequence, only those
individual8 of wealthy families could legitimately claim a stan-
darized vision to defend their rights to a particular status posi-
tion. Since social status in these societies is defined largely
by ascription and in many instances, family wealth, restrictions

based on kinship affiliations and ownership of wealth do- not

179
appear fortuitous.

Standarized visions in horticultural societies can be seen to
validate formal leadership patterns based on ascription and wealth. In
so doing, they also legitimate the inherited transfer of property and/
or other ascriptive rights. Furthermore, by virtue of the fact that
standarized visions are limited, they can serve to stabilize and re-
inforce the specialized functions of corporate groups as well as to
support the differential distribution of property, privileges and pres-
tige in a system with formalized status inequalities and limited ver-
tical mobility. Furthermore, standarized visions direct individuals
to anchorage in a formal social group and therefore, serve to rein-

force their obligations and responsibilities to a collective entity.

Chapter VI

CONCLUSION

This thesis has had three basic but interrelated aims. First,
it has attempted to demonstrate that the form and.function of the
vision experience changes systematically with concomittant changes in
selected social structural features. In so doing, it has also tried
to show that socially recognized visions were a form of rationale,
which served to legitimate the distribution of power, prestige and
privilege in a society. And finally, it has endeavored to explain how
variations in the vision experience are associated with evolutionary
changes between three different ecological types of societies in the
general Plains region of North America. With these aims in mind, I
would like to summarize the major findings of this thesis and to sug-
gest applications, along similar lines, to other areas of North Amer-
ica.

In this thesis, the vision experience has been viewed as an
adaptive mechanism, whose meaning and manner of functional integration
change in response to overall modifications in a society's social a
structure and ultimately, ecology. More specifically, it has been
found that the symbolism and behavioral directives of visions, the
circumstances of receipt and the characteristics of recipients changed
systematically with alterations in four selected organizational fea-
tures, namely, modes of status allocation, degree of social differ-
entiation, leadership patterns and basic social units. Moreover, it

was indicated that differences in the vision experience were related

180

181
to structural variations between each of the three ecological types

of societies: hunting and gathering, True Plains and peripheral farm-
ing. Conversely, convergencies in the vision experience appeared to
be a function of structural uniformities within and in some instances,
between these three types. At this point, a brief review of the major
findings of this thesis with respect to interrelationships between the
vision experience and social structure is in order.

The evidence in this thesis suggests that the symbolism and be-
havioral directives manifested in visions exhibited significant diff-
erences in each of the three ecological types of societies. First, as
a consequence of the development and formalization of organizational
devices transcending the family, band or village, the supernatural
powers and beings represented in visions appear to have become in-
creasingly associated with the ascribed attributes of individuals, as
members of social groups, rather than with the achieved and person-
alized characteristics of individuals. Secondly, with the development
of surplus resources and the use of wealth as a basis for status con-
ferral, visions and their derived powers seemed to be less an intrinsic
and unalienable quality of an individual but more an extrinsic and 3
transferrable form of property or wealth. And finally, increased
formalization in positions of leadership and privilege seems to have
wrought greater standarization in the overall content of visions. To
understand these changes more clearly, it would be appropriate at this
point to summarize the interrelationships between the vision experience
and social structure in each type.

In societies at the hunting and gathering level, for instance,
it was noted that positions of prestige and leadership were deter-

mined almost exclusively cn the basis of personal talents and -°

182
achievements in activities vital to the society. Here all socially

significant visions were interpreted in terms of the receipt of powers,
which represented personal skills, ability and success. Moreover,
since these societies lacked organizational devices beyond the band

or semi-sedentary village, the powers and beings manifested in visions
were specific to the individual and were usually not associated with
social groups or the society, as a whole. And finally, supernatural
power was an attribute of the individual which could not be trans-
ferred much less openly discussed; this it was argued was probably re-
lated to the relative lack of surplus resources and the general ab-
sence of concepts of wealth.

In direct contrast, the peripheral farming societies allocated
most of their positions of prestige and privilege on the basis of
ascription and wealth. iExcept in certain spheres of action like war-
fare, personal achievements were of little importance in gaining
prestigeful positions in the community. Likewise, visions symbol-
izing supernatural powers related to personal talents and achievements
had only a minimal role, if at all, in most of these societies.
Furthermore, farming societies were characterized by the presence of
clans and.non—kin societies which transcended the family and village.
Since secular activities and leadership were defined in terms of
duties and responsibilities to more formally organized, groups,
religious observances were increasingly directed towards group bene-
fits rather than purely persanal ones. It is, therefore, no surprise
to find that the supernatural powers and beings manifested.in visions
are increasingly associated with the attributes of social groups and
activities. In fact, most socially recognized visions and their

derived powers had to be related, in some form or fashion, to these

183
collective entities, if they were to be of any value. Additionally,

horticultural societies had highly formalized social positions with-
in these groups, the assumption of which were not spontaneous but
based on definite rules and qualifications. Within this context, it
was found that visions became more standarized reflecting the char-
acteristios of the social position not the incumbent. For instance,
entrance into most doctoring societies required the receipt of an
appropriate vision, the symbolism of which was associated with fea-
tures of the society not the personal attributes of the perspective
initiate. Unlike most socially recognized visions in hunting and
gathering societies, the content of the visions did not vary with the
personal features of the individual receiving them. Rather, all indi-
viduals by virtue of the fact that they were assuming similar or
identical social positions received visions whose symbolism converged.
I have chosen to discuss the symbolism of visions found in True
Plains societies last because they exhibit characteristics described
for both types of societies just discussed. In True Plains societies,
leadership and prestige were a function of personal achievements,
particularly in warfare, and ownership of horses. Ascription, as a
basis for status conferral was rare. When it did exist, it was limit-
ed, for the most part, to ritual leadership positions. As in hunt-
ing and gathering societies, visions representing supernatural powers
and beings specific to individuals generally assumed great importance.
I state that personal-private visions were generally important
because in some True Plains societies like the Cheyenne and Arapaho,
visions granting personal powers were down played in favor of
collectively orientated ritual. In general, personal-private visions

appear to be of greatest importance in the religious sphere among

181.

societies of hunting and gathering backgrounds or among those of
horticultural backgrounds but with informal leadership patterns.
Conversely, the relative importance of personal-private visions de-
creased in the highly formalized societies like the Cheyenne and
Arapaho.

Personal~private visions were probably important in most True
Plains societies, as in hunting and gathering societies, because
flexibility was demanded in organization and informality was required
in leadership positions to cope with the ever present military pres-
sures. Furthermore, unlike in the peripheral farming societies, an
individual's prestige and privileges were not contigent on his re-
sponsibilities to formalized and permanent social units except during
the summer. Although it was usually necessary to curb individual
initiative and competition during times when cooperation was demanded
(i.e. communal buffalo hunt), it was not always necessary or for that
matter feasible to do so, when these societies were organized into
autonomous bands. I would also argue that personal-private visions
defined in terms of individual initiative and achievements were no
doubt more positively adaptive than standarized visions; this would
seem reasonable in so far that warfare, as a primary male activity,
precludes the strict use of ascription as a basis for status conferral.

It is interesting to note, however, that a number of the
societies from horticultural backgrounds recognized standarized
visions, whose symbols were linked to formal gocial group., leader-
ship positions and communal activities. They were often required,
as in the peripheral farming societies, before entrance into certain
religious sodalities or before the transfer of ritual privileges.

Since these visions did not exist or at least do not appear to have

185
been reported for societies of hunting and gathering backgrounds, I
would argue that they were probably a continuation of already existent
patterns before these societies entered the Plains and were not a
recent development. Interestingly, they seem to have continued in
situations where formal requirements were necessary in order to enter
certain societies or to assume particular leadership positions.

It is also important to note in this context the existence of
innovative visions, which Justified the creation of a social group 0
or activity. It is significant that there is little evidence from
hunting and gathering societies and.farming societies to suggest that
such visions assumed any great importance. Except for Hurie's
(l9lk) explicit notation of the existence of innovative visions among
the Pawnee, a horticultural society under the increasing pressures
from the nomadic, True Plains societies, these kinds of visions
appear to have been uncommon or at least did not gain social recogni-
tion. The proliferation of these visions, as I argued previously,
among True Plains societies was probably a response to the increasing
demands placed on societies from divergent historical backgrounds to
reorganize and redefine their social groups and activities in accor-
dance with the ecological situation of the Central Plains.

Another fantor which influenced the interpretation of symbols
in True Plains visions was the increasing importance placed on wealth,
as a determinant of status. Since I have discussed this relation-
ship at some length in chapter four, it is sufficient to point out
here that supernatural power was no longer merely a personal-intrinsic
quality of the individual, as in hunting and gathering societies, but
it became an extrinsic form of property, which could be transferred

to persons other than the original recipient. Importantly, socially

186
recopiud types of power were most often conceived as individually
owned rather than, as in peripheral farming societies, owned by
families or corporate groups.

Along these lines, it is important to bring to the reader's
attention the fact that these three ecological types of societies
used and/or emphasized different means by which supernatural power
could be acquired. Just as in most hunting and gathering societies
the primary channel of status mobility was through individual achieve-
ment, the primary means by which an individual could acquire super-
natural power was through his own initiative - that is direct solici-
tation and contact with the supernatural. In contrast, among True
Plains societies there existed a variety of ways in which an indivi-
dual could assme positions of privilege and prestige; hence, there
existed a number of channels through which an individual could gain
access to supernatural power. In many True Plains societies, direct
solicitation was not a social necessity even though it was the most
desirable means for getting supernatural power. This seems to follow
the fact that in a large umber of these societies although personal
achievements in warfare were considered the most desirable routes
to success, the ownership and redistribution of horses was of equal,
if not of greater, importance in vertical mobility. Since horses
and supernatural power were extrinsic and transferrable comedities,
individuals could purchase power'en toto, as in the buying of a
medicine bundle and its associated vision or could purchase power,
impart, fromapersonwhowasparticularlyadept ingainingaccess
to the supernatural. Incidentally, supernatural power that was used
for collective ends, rather than purely personal ones, could also
be purchased outright or in some instances, it could be inherited.

187

And finally, individuals could gain acess to personal, supernatural
powers through participation in collective rituals like the 8m knee.
In accordance with the isportance placed on ascription as a basis for
statm conferral, the peripheral farming societies stressed the
inheritance of socially recognised, supernatural powers and visions.
Generally, visions and their derived powers acquired on one's own
initiative did not receive public recopiticn emcept in areas like
warfare. Moreover, as in some True Plains societies, supernatural
power and visions could be received through participation in commal
rituals, as in the Okipa ceremony of the Handan or the Hake cerencny
of the Pawnee. Searching for personal power in the context of a
group activity would appear very appropriate in societies where an
individual's responsibilities to a larger collective entity become
more important than his own isolated achievements; this would appear
most likely in the context of cousunal activities (i.e. buffalo hunt)
where individual initiative would have to be restricted.

With respect to the circumstances under which visions and their
derived powers are received, there are two other important areas
wherein variation takes place. Very briefly, it was noted that in
farning societies careful supervision and guidance was provided youth
during their initial search for power. Although guidance was pro-
vided macng societies at the other two levels, it was not, relatively
speaking, as delibrate and suggestive. As I have previously argued,
this rigorous supervision is no doubt related to the fact that
socially recognised visions are standarized. Kore specifically, it
would appear that increased supervision would augment the possibility
that visions and their derived powers would be kept in certain lines
of succession. Thus, it also served to insure that particular visions

188

would he received by socially defined and appropriate persons.

be other circustantial area which deserves brief attention
is concerned with the age at which individuals are likely to receive
visions and supernatural power. Again, as I have alreaw argued, it
is probable that visions were initially sought later in the life cycle
among True Plains societies because of the fact that males could not
fully participate in the activities of an adult until a later age.
Additionally, when hands are under constant military pressures , it
would be dangerous to have children in isolated spots, if a band had
to quickly move its camp site. In this context, it is important to
note that although in the peripheral farming societies individuals
began their initial questing in childhood, serious searching for
visions did not take place until after or just prior to the "property
owning age." This would further substantiate my previous observation
that if in fact the vision is a mechanic: in anticipatory socialise-
tion, questing would be more seriously undertaken at the time when
males are ready to fully participate in adult activities.

Another major focus of this thesis concerns itself with the
eligability of recipients with respect to visions and their derived
powers. Related to this is the question of how visions were dis-
tributed alongst individuals occupying different status positions
in the society. To begin, it is important to note that even though
in all of the societies under consideratim every individual had the
right to search for visions and supernatural powers, not every indi-
vidualh vision came to be publically recognised. Iaportantly, the
mere receipt of a vision did not in itself confer rights over super-
natural power; individmls had to prove they were worthy or eligable
by varims mechanisms (i.e. achievements, wealth and/or ascription)

.._" 11.» inst. . §' 35'

189
depending on how statuses were allocated in the society.

In hunting and gathering societies, just as all individuals
were potentially eligible to assume positions of leadership and pri-
vilege, so all persons could receive socially recognised.visions and
powers. In accordance with the fact that not all individuals were
equally endowed with respect to skills and talents, not all indivi-
duals were successful in acquiring visions nor did everyone receive
the same kind or amounts of power. Therefore, the differential
distribution of supernatural powers followed variations in individual
talents, success and achievements. Moreover, since there were not
appreciable differences between individuals with respect to rank, it
is likely that power was more evenly distributed amongst members of
societies at this level than at the other two levels.

In True Plains societies, while individual achievements were
important in gaining public recognition, they were likely to remain
unrecognised if not accompanied by wealth. Likewise, individuals
who were poor were less likely to gain access to power and visions
than their wealthier counterparts. who could afford to purchase addi-
tional powers. As such, individuals from families rich in horses
because they were able to purchase valued forms of supernatural
power could procrastinate in their own search for power. Since
supernatural power was considered, in.a number of societies, a form
of wealth, its distribution usually followed lines of secular forms
of property. Therefore, in contrast to hunting and gathering
societies, the differential distribution of supernatural powers and
visions was not merely a.matter of individual variations in talents
and achievements but also a product of individual and family control
over horses. It is important to point out that while mechanisms

190

existed in True Plains societies to limit access to supernatural
power, there rarely existed overt restrictions, as in horticultural
societies. he exceptions to this rule are standarined visions and
certain kinds of power, both of which are usually directed towards
commal instead of purely personal ends. Here only individuals
who meet necessary requirements prior to the assumption of a parti-
cular social position are allowed to receive the vision and control
the power associated with that position.

In line with the fact that most positions of leadership and
privilege in the peripheral horticultural societies are restricted
to individuals who meet the prescribed qualifications of a particular
office, most socially recognised visions and powers are equally re-
stricted. More specifically, important status positions are heredi-
tary privileges of certain families; therefore, rights to valued
powers and their associated visions are also conceived of as family
rights. As I have pointed out previously, even if an individual
. receives a socially recognised vision, it is essentially useless to
him unless he has the appropriate family connections and sufficient
wealth to prove his right to such power. In most farming societies,
families occupy stable positions of rank with little or no vertical
mobility in many spheres of activity. Consequently, it does not
appear fortuitous that publically approved visions would be restrict-
ed to member of those families who occupy the highest status posi-
tions and who control the greatest want of wealth. Therefore, it
would appear reasonable to argue that free access and competition
for positions of prestige as well. as for control over visions and
supernatural power would be at best inappropriate, if not disruptive
in a situation based on ascription and organised along clan lines.

191
Given the findings of this thesis with respect to the relation-

ship between social structural variables and the vision experience,
it would seem reasonable to asst-e that socially recognised visions
functioned as a form of ratinnale to explain why certain individuals
had rights to positions of prestige and privilege and others did not.
Visions, however, varied in terms of the kinds of rationale that were
incorporated into the manifest content to explain the existing system
of distribution. In hunting and gathering societies, they served to
explain inequalities in personal talents and achievements. While in
True Plains societies, they no longer appear to merely validate
differences in personal attributes nd achievements, but they now re-
present a means for justifying the differential accmulaticn of wealth.
And finally, in farming societies they serve to validate the inheri-
ted transfer of property and to legitimise ascribed status positions.
Moreover, the increasing standarisation in visions among societies

at this levels supports and reinforces the formalization of status
inequalities.

The evidence from this thesis also suggests that the specific
functions of visions in anticipatory socialization also changed. While
it would seem quite clear that in all of the societies under consi-
deraticn visions have in important role in motivating people to
conform with existing institutions, they again vary in terms of what
kinds of conformity are expected. In the peripheral hunting and
gathering societies as well as in the True Plains soéieties, most
socially recognised visions can be seen to function in encouraging
and in reinforcing personal achievements, initiative and independence.

However, when the symbolism in visions becomes a and is

associated with social groups, it appears to me more likely, as in

 

.1

" '—

192
the case of horticultural societies, that visions are reinforcing
anchorage and dependency upon a group rather than independence of it.
Therefore, depending on the symbolism manifested in visions, they
can be seen as reinforcing either psychological independence or
dependence.

It can be suggested at this point that the evolutionary con-
tinuum outlined for the general Plains region with respect to changes
in the meaning and.functional integration of the vision experience
can also be extended to other areas of North America. There is good
evidence (Ray, 1939; Boas, 1895; Drucker, 1951) from the Northwest
Coast and Plateau areas to suggest that a transition took place in
the vision experience from the more simply organised and egalitarian
Plateau hunting and gathering societies to the complexly organised
and ranked hunting and.gathering societies on the Northwest Coast,
who lived in an area with particularly abundant and.stable food
resources. Ray's survey article (1939) on the Plateau region suggests
that in the wealthier societies there was a greater tend€ncy for
positions of leadership and privilege to be based on ascription.
Interestingly, greater emphasis on ascription appears to be accom-
panied by increased restrictions and standarizations in the vision.
On the Northwest Coast, it is quite apparent from Boas' account (1895)
that the Khakiutl placed restrictions on who had the right to receive
visions,and they associated the symbols manifested in visions with
social groups. Moreover, a large portion of the publically recogni-
sed visions were highly standarised in their content.

Essen (1966) has suggested with respect to the Central Head-
lands area that as one moves towards areas more productive for agri-
culture, one finds greater complexity and rigidity in the social or-
ganisations of the societies in this region. It is quite likely 2 at

193

that a continuum also exists with respect to the meaning and
functional integration of vision experiences in the area, if we use
the Rainy River Ojibwa and the Hinnebago discussed in this thesis
as two extreme points on the continuum.

Finally, it is quite apparent that a similar continuum exists
in the Greater 80th region, and this can be verified by reference
to the data in Underhill's interesting monograph (19196) on cere-
monialism in this area. Certain of her observations in this work
should be briefly considered with respect not only to the evolutionary
approach suggested in this thesis but also with respect to the ma—
pirical evidence on societies in the general Plains region. Very
briefly, she argues that the vision experience slowly developed into
and was finally surpassed in importance by collectively standarised
ritual. More specifically, she notes that the individual visionary,
the simple vision ritual and the vision, itself, became, in turn,
ritualists, complex ceremonies and myths. Ber argument for this rests
on the fact that the basic patterning of vision experiences is found
in the complex cersscnies of the Pueblos even though the latter are
much more elaborate. Moreover, although Underhill argues that this
developent is probably the result of changes in type of subsistence-
that is from hunting and gathering to plant cultivation, she does not
deal with the intervening social structural variables in her analysis
of this transition.

If one looks at Under-bill's evidence, it becomes inediately
apparent that purely personal religious observances, like certain
vision experiences, predominate in the simply and infcrnlly organi-
sed hunting and gathering societies of this region. These obser-
vances, however, become less important as one moves to more complex

“‘ .1. :_"... .l.-e

19+
and formalised societies practicing horticulture; until, finally,

they disappear almost entirely to be replaced and/or superceded by
elaborate rituals and myths geared towards collective rather than
purely personal ends. As in the general Plains region, it appears
that greater reliance on cultivation is accompanied by increased
complexity and differentiation of social groups, greater formalise-
tion in leadership patterns as well as greater emphasis on ascription
over achievement as basis for status conferral. In both the South-
west and in the peripheral horticultural regions of the Plains, ritual
is defined more in terms of. the perpetuation of cooperation and
solidarity amongst members of the whole society or specific sectors,
therein. Conversely, less attention, if at all, is directed towards
the highly individualistic, ritual observances. If vision experiences
exist at all, they are usually redefined in accordance with the facts
of ascription as well as with the importance of collective activities
and differentiated social groups. Increasingly, visions become

less appropriate mechanisms for the validation of collective ritual
and secular activities. Instead, myths or legendary accounts of visions
appear to serve as more appropriate mechanisms to validate social
structural features and the social relationships, therein.

In many ways the differences between visions and certain kinds
of myth are not one of kind but degree. While visions seem to
adequately justify the personal attributes of individuals or the
characteristics they hold as members of a social group, mths have
a much broader point of reference; namely, they justify the charac-
teristics and functions of clans, non-kin sodalities and/or the
society as a whole. It is interesting to note that in the peripheral
horticultural societies many standarised visions embody similar

195
symbols, as those contained in the myth which justified the group to
which the standarized vision is associated.

An important question to be raised at this point is why do some
positions of privilege and leadership in the peripheral farming
societies have to be validated by standarised visions and others not.
In both the True Plains societies and the peripheral horticultural
ones, it appears that ritual and secular leaders who control bundles
and supervise rituals of ”tribal" interest often do not need to
recieve a standarised vision to validate their hereditary or other
manner of succession to the position. Since they are governing
activities of "tribal" significance, the rationale which Justifies
their position should also be collective is its scope - that is
mythical. It is also important to note that these ritual leaders do
not own the bundles or rituals they are directing. In contrast, it
appears that whenever bundles and rituals used for collective ; p
purposes are conceived as being the property of a family rather than
a larger social group, standarised visions are usually more necessary
to 'validate hereditary prerogatives.

Although this author does.not deny’thé importance of'certaih °
psychologiéal-ddjustive'functions of the vision experience, atten-
tion has been focased here on the function of the vision experience
or for that matter religious phenomena, in general, as serving to
give meaning and to provide explanations for the social relations and
behavior of individuals. The evidence provided in this thesis would
seem to support the Marxian position that religion and/or ideology
provides a rationale for the existence of the social structure.
Further, it would.support Durkheim's position that religion is a.meta-

phoric statement on a society's social relations.

'51-:

6
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196
To put it in another way, the position of this thesis is that

religious belief and ritual can be viewed in terms of how they are
adaptive consequences of social structure, in general, and social
relationships, in particular. If changes take place in either of
these areas, as a response to broader technological and.ecological
shifts, then the belief system and ritual actions would be expected
to also readapt themselves to different structural circumstances.

As I have tried to demonstrate in this thesis, the vision ex-
perience was redefined in societies of the general Plains region to
meet changes in social organisation and ultimately, ecology. In some
areas of Nbrth America (e.g. Southwest), "the vision experience,"
as Ruth.Benedict puts it, "was redefined out of existence" (1935: 81).
What appears to bare happened in this region is that in certain
societies there no longer existed social relationships that could
Justifiably use a.mechanism like the vision experience to explain
the attributes of their participants. Since social relationships
based on religious as well as secular premises were almost exclusively
directed towards social groups, myths were more adequate "charters,"
to use an Halinowskian expression, than were visions.

If one constantly keeps in mind the structural-functional rela-
tionships of religious phenomena to social organization, it is quite
feasible, as I hope this thesis has demonstrated, to explain varia-
tions as well as uniformities within an evolutionary framework.
Importantly, this thesis did not attempt to explain the origins of
and/or reasons for the vision experience in Nbrth America. Rather,

I have attempted to show that when the vision experience did exist,
its meaning and.manner of functional integration changed with alter-

ations in the social structure and ecology.

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