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Show 44 INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF INDIAN LANGUAGES. Often the virtue of medicine lies in the ceremonies with which it is made, and, still further, the ceremonies with which it is administered. Some of the great medicines are compounded of many ingredients. The composition and preparation of medicines are often held as profound secrets. Medicines are prepared not only to drive away diseases, but to bring success in enterprise, as in war, hunting, & c. With many tribes the phratries are secret medical societies, each one of which is charged with the preparation and custody of some important medicine, the preparation of which is concluded with a great festival, to which the entire tribe is invited. § 23.- AMUSEMENTS. Indian children play with stilts, bows and arrows, and slings; they make dolls, play- houses, and in clay, baked or unbaked, make imitations of various domestic utensils, and forms of prepared food They have many sports in mimicry of the habits of animals. Among the adults gambling is largely practiced. The simple game of " kill- the- bone " is the most widely spread. It consists essentially in guessing in which hand one of two little bones is held, the one being marked, but it is attended with much ceremony, singing, mimicry, and gesticulation. But many other gambling games are practiced. There are a variety of games of skill and athletic sports that are practiced, especially at their festivals, and often gens contend with gens, or phratry with phratry. Many periodically recurring festivals are observed. These consist of feasts, with dancing accompanied by music, vocal and instrumental. All of these festivals are of a religious character, and the ceremonies performed are very elaborate and curious. The ceremony at a festival is often a crude theatrical performance, where individuals act as characters, especially as the mythic animals of their religion. The personification is assisted by the use of masks and various devices of costume. The names of games, the implements used, and the plan of the play should all be recorded. One of the most important points to be observed is the relation of these games to medicine and religious festivals. |
