BELLS
Algonquian
Blackfoot.ritual, social category, use.
Women wore their hair long and loose. Their principal garment was a sleeveless, skin dress in the form of a slip. Its length fell to the wearer's ankles. This slip was supported by straps over the shoulders. Probably women wore separate skin sleeves in cold weather, held up by skin cords tied at the back of the neck. Cut fringes and porcupine quillwork decorated these dresses. Women's ornaments included bracelets of deer or elk teeth, necklaces of sweet-smelling roots, and finger rings and pendants of metalbells or thimbles obtained from the traders (Ewers 1958:38).
Women wore their hair long and loose. Their principal garment was a sleeveless, skin dress in the form of a slip. Its length fell to the wearer's ankles. This slip was supported by straps over the shoulders. Probably women wore separate skin sleeves in cold weather, held up by skin cords tied at the back of the neck. Cut fringes and porcupine quillwork decorated these dresses. Women's ornaments included bracelets of deer or elk teeth, necklaces of sweet-smelling roots, and finger rings and pendants of metalbells or thimbles obtained from the traders (Ewers 1958:69).
There were nearly a score of medicine pipe bundles among the three Blackfoot tribes. The most sacred object in each bundle was a long wooden pipestem elaborately ornamented with plumes and such other decorations as eagle feathers, hair or weasel-skin pendants, trade beads, bells, or ribbons (Ewers 1958:172).
From the Assiniboins in the mid-nineties the Piegans also acquired the grass dance, a lively, young men's social dance with its associated paraphernalia of deer hair roaches and hawkbells which jingled merrily as the dancers cavorted (Ewers 1958:311).
Bradley (1870's) stated that the Blackfoot woman's ornamental crupper had a fringe of horsehair to the lower ends of which little bells were attached. In my informants' youth cut buckskin fringes were also used. The ornamental crupper had a soft skin or trade flannel base. It was decorated with beadwork or (if of skin) in angular painted designs "something like a parfleche design." In more recent times (since ca. 1875) floral designs, combined with the double-curve have been employed commonly. Martingales were similarly ornamented (Wissler, 1915, fig. 15; Ewers, 1945 b, figs. 61-63). (Ewers 1955:96).
An impressive preliminary to the departure of a scalp-raiding party was the riding big dance, referred to by Wissler (1913, pp. 456-458) as the "horseback dance or big dance." The warriors who volunteered to join the party first rode out of camp for some distance. There they changed to their war clothes, painted themselves in their war paint, painted pictographic representations of their coups on their war horses and decorated them with masks, bells, martingales, and feathers in their tails. Then they mounted and converged upon the camp from the four cardinal directions, carrying their weapons. As a number of old men and women stood in the center of the camp beating drums and singing a song with a lively rhythm, the warriors circled the camp on horseback. Then they shouted, dismounted, and danced on foot, imitating the prancing of their horses, which stepped along beside them to the beating of their drums (Ewers 1955:196).
Her oldest son, Dave, was beautiful and the Big Waters decided to make him a "favorite." His mother still treasures a little metal bell charm that was given him as a child by an old lady. She still lovingly exhibits his little fur cap, the beaded case that held his umbilical cord, and the mink skin that he received from his father's older brother. Fine presents were given in return for these, but the parents never could afford to honor their son with a big and ostentatious give-away (Goldfrank 1966:66).
On receiving this word, the boy's father probably calls together his close relations, discusses the matter with them, and, if the match is satisfactory to him, sends back word to that effect. When this message is received, the relations of the girl proceed to fit her out with the very best that they can provide. If she is the daughter of well-to-do or wealthy people, she already has many of the things that are needed, but what she may lack is soon supplied. Her mother makes her a new cowskin lodge, complete, with new lodge poles, lining, and back rests. A chief's daughter would already have plenty of good clothing, but if the girl lacks anything, it is furnished. Her dress is made of antelope skin, white as snow, and perhaps, ornamented with two or three hundred elk tushes. Her leggings are of deer skin, heavily beaded and nicely fringed, and often adorned with bells and brass buttons. Her summer blanket or sheet is an elk skin, well tanned, without the hair and with the dew-claws left on. Her moccasins are of deer skin, with parfleche soles and worked with porcupine quills. The marriage takes place as soon as these things can be provided (Grinnell 1962:212).
When they see fresh tracks of people, or signs that enemies are in the country, they stop travelling in the daytime and move altogether by night, until they come to some good place for hiding, and here they stop and sleep. When day comes, the leader sends out young men to the different buttes, to look over the country and see if they can discover the enemy. If some one of the scouts reports that he has seen a camp, and that the enemy have been found, the leader directs his men to paint themselves and put on their war bonnets. This last is a figure of speech, since the war bonnets, having of late years been usually ornamented with brass bells, could not be worn in a secret attack, on account of the noise they would make (Grinnell 1962:252).
Near extinction, though not completely dead, is the institution of the favoured child (mιni.puka) which centres about the family. Horses and blankets were given out lavishly in the name of the child. A wealthy father rewarded many times over the giver of a gift to his favourite child. A trifling object such as a bell might in the past be rewarded with a horse or a suit of buckskin clothing. Thus the favoured child institution was a special aspect of distribution where generosity was reciprocated by generosity without possibility of comparable return (Hanks 1910:88).
The way I remember those boiled hooves, there was hardly anything worth eating on them. But my grandparents liked them. Maybe it was their memories of the old days, when hunger forced them to use such articles now and then. They saved the boiled hooves to use for rattles on tipi doors, and so forth Those were the old-time version of bells, which they later got from traders. They could be cut and shaped while they were still soft from boiling. Later they dried up hard again (B. Hungry Wolf 1980:188).
Iron Pipe had arrived in time to claim the Thunder Lodge, but Many Guns, a friend of mine from Gleichen, came to my teepee and told me that the Thunder Medicine Man had saved for me a medicine drum, some medicine bells, and some other things. In order to receive the medicine articles I had first to go through a ceremony, so at the appointed time I called at the lodge of Iron Pipe. Iron Pipe's wife would not at first allow me to enter the lodge, but Many Guns explained that I was an invited guest and so the woman allowed me to take my place in the lodge.
He said, "Tomatoes are all right, but you must never again,under any circumstances, use red paint on your blanket." The medicine articles which I purchased from the Thunder Medicine Man included a drum, some medicine bells, and a small piece of metal (Lancaster 1966:145-146).
The Medicine Pipe itself, when finally exposed to view, was a beautiful thing. Over three feet long, it was marvelously decorated with such things as ermine tails, colored feathers, fur, beads, tiny brass bells, human hair, etc. (Lancaster 1966:154).
This was a treat to hear, as most young people today don't know the old serenade songs from the past. Long ago, several groups of serenade singers would go around the camp circle every night, in the days when camp circles had a circumference of a mile or more. Young people would tie strings of sleigh bells to their horses to add background music to their singing. Groups of young men usually sang together, sometimes doubling up on one horse. Married couples often rode the same way. Single men would ride alone, singing love songs with code words so that their sweethearts, bound by tradition to stay inside at night, would know the songs were for them (A. Hungry Wolf 1977:56).
The sacred Bundle for an Otter-Flag Tipi contains an otter skin and one or more other animal skins. Bells are suspended from the nose, feet, and tail of the flag itself, although in the past dried deer hooves were used instead of bells. Bands of quillwork or beadwork decorate the neck, paws, and tail, and brass shoe-buttons are sewn on for eyes. The Otter Flag itself is kept in a rawhide case for most of the year(A. Hungry Wolf 1977:70).
During ceremonies such as the Sun Dance, the Bundle is opened and the flag tied to an extra-long tipi pole so that it hangs high above the doorway. As it waves in the air, the bells jingle, reminding everyone of its presence(A. Hungry Wolf 1977:72).
Wolverine Tipi Flag on display at the ProvincialMuseum. The model shows the ancient tipi design and the manner of hanging the flag over it. The tipi and flag were bought from the Bloods. The other objects are also painted tipi decorations, mostly bells, hunting or horse raiding, a buffalo or horse tail used to be fastened to the center of the cross and left to flutter in the air. Sometimes a crescent moon appears instead of a Maltese cross (A. Hungry Wolf 1977:73).
"Many of the Indians prayed at me although not to me of course; they wished their diety to give me a better heart, to make me more liberal; some prayed that they and I should always be as good friends as in the past. R Wolf held up the front of the hide covering the bundle to hide his actions from view and soon the sound of a bull keeping time with the rattles was heard. At 3:30 R Wolf, after 10 minutes of antics such as poking up the nose or head of the animal, exposed the article he had been hiding, which was a large otter skin decorated with a scalp tied to the nose, and bells upon the legs. The head was only stuffed. This object he lifted up and rising to his feet danced around the room to the women and handed it to them. She prayed as usual and set it in place. Running Wolf returned and went through the same performance with a large dried Beaver skin with tail and claws on"(A. Hungry Wolf 1977:95).
The Bundle was kept in a cylindrical rawhide case for protection. The case had "fringe on side—triangular painted design—green and red—much worn and warped." The contents included the following (A. Hungry Wolf 1977:112):
-one unused clam shell and one clam shell used to mix green paint in, along with a mixing stick, all wrapped in a bladder and kept inside a small bag of cheesecloth.
-one buffalo skin bag of sacred red paint, wrapped in a piece of canvas and tied with a thong.
-a bundle of sweetgrass braids wrapped in calico cloth.
-a large bundle with calico cloth around it, containing the headdress parts, which were only assembled when it was used; the parts included the snake, made of stuffed, yellow-painted buckskin with a zigzag line beaded along its body, beads and bells to be attached at several points, and three plumes, consisting of many small feathers attached to three main shafts, to be attached to the snake to complete the headdress.
-a batch of small feathers, some red and some natural white, in a paper wrapping.
-a bone whistle, also kept inside this part of the Bundle, each member wearing such a whistle during the ceremony.
-The main Bundle also contained a "loose bead trimmed pendant"; a tiny cloth bag, inside of which was a bladder filled with some kind of roots; and a small "accessory" bundle of paint bags, more roots and painting shells, and some ancient cloth and scarf wrappings.
Robert Wilson was probably the first person to photograph members of the Motokiks wearing their headdresses and putting up their lodge. In those days, the lodge was still constructed with a framework of travois. To accompany Wilson's photographs of 1892 scenes, let us read some excerpts from the 1905 notes of David Duvall, a South Piegan man who collected traditional information for the anthropologist Clark Wissler. These notes are now in the AmericanMuseum of Natural History. Duvall got most of his information from an old member who was the wife of Heavy Runner.
The main object in every Medicine Pipe Bundle is the sacred Stem. Like exceptionally long regular pipestems, they have a straight hole beginning at the carved mouthpiece and ending at the carved bowl-fitting. Sacred Pipes are very handsomely decorated, with many black-and-white ermine tails, black-and-white eagle feathers, eagle plumes, other feathers, and beads, bells, and porcupine quills. They are kept in long, tubular cases of red, blue, or black wool stroud cloth, the kind with the white selvedges brought to our People by traders of the long-ago. These cloth covers replaced the original buckskin covers as they wore out.
Spiritually, the sacred Stems represent all the Holy Powers of the Universe. They were first given by Thunder, who embodies the rain-water that helps to make everything grow. The wood stems represent all the plants that grow upon Earth; the eagle tailfeathers represent all the Above Powers, including all the birds, the eagle being the most Powerful among them; the ermine skins stand for all the Below Powers, including the animals that walk on Earth; and the beads and bells symbolize all the goodness and beauty of the Universe. The sacred Stems are attached to stone bowls that represent the strength of our Earth Mother. Her Spirit travels in the form of smoke along the long and straight path of the sacred Stem, into the body of the smoker, and as he exhales it, up into the air that flows throughout the Universe. The physical appearance of a sacred Pipe represents all the holy beauty that can be found if one lives by its holy Ways (A. Hungry Wolf 1977:124-125).
"All is now ready for dancing which is started by Priest, who takes some article from the Sacred Outfit, generally the fancy stem of pipe, and dances around the lodge and out through the entrance. He often has in one hand this whistle which he points up to the sun and earth, blowing as he dances, and shaking the pipestem which has a great many bells on it. After turning around outside he dances back through lodge and having danced four times, hands articles to host, who prays to them [or with them, as I have said] and puts them in their place"(A. Hungry Wolf 1977:128).
Mokakin sang an honoring song for his grandson. Two other grandparents, Ponah and Emonissi, also sang their own rendition. The tiny bells on the sacred Pipestems jingled with the leader's movements.
After the sacred objects were replaced in the Bundle, the singers began the inspection dance song. Jim Twig took the sacred Pipe and danced outside to see the payments. To make their grandson's transfer successful, both grandparents had amassed four nice horses, a new Winchester rifle, a couple of blankets covered with bills, and a huge pile of blankets and dry goods. When Jim Twig came back inside, he danced up to young Weaselhead, handed him the sacred Pipe, and said, "Oki, here is your holy Pipe."
The transfer is completed after the new Owners have had their faces painted. Two men held up a large blanket to shield the painting from the view of others. The drummers sang while Henry Standing Alone stood outside the blanket and held the main Pipe over the blanket, jingling its tiny bells above the head of the new Owner. The topknot and headbands were fastened on by the leader and his wife. Then the leader and his wife exchanged new clothes with the new Owners, to symbolize the rebirth of the Owner and his wife. In the Old Days, these new clothes would have been made of finely decorated buckskin. Today, except for handmade moccasins, the new clothes are store-bought and are seldom worn at the exchange. Often, only blankets are actually exchanged and worn (A. Hungry Wolf 1977:141).