Despite the Native American's ingenious adaptation to their environment and their iron-willed stoicism, their lives were in many ways uncertain.� They were largely at the mercy of the weather, of the waxing and waning of game herds and plants.� Death, in the form of hunger, pestilence or marauding enemies, was never far away.

To survive properly in such a world, the Native Americans felt a need for some powerful assistance.� They got it from a host of spirits that inhabited the natural world.� The spirits were thought to be literally everywhere and were almost always identified with some visible object, animal or phenomenon.� They were said to dwell in the sun and earth, in rivers and hills, in thunderstorms and rainbows, and within creatures ranging from the dragonfly to the buffalo.� These sacred beings had power to bring success in the hunt and war, protect the young, heal the sick, guarantee fertility, and generally assure the welfare of the tribe and its individuals in whatever they undertook.��

But, this power would be shared or bestowed only if the human beings performed a steady round of ceremonies aimed at enlisting the help of the supernatural forces that shaped and controlled their universe.

These religious rituals took many forms.� Some were simply small gestures of respect.� When, for example, an Apache hunter skinned a deer, he turned the head of the animal toward the east - the sacred direction where the life-giving sun arose and whence would come new life for other game.� When a Comanche sat down to a formal meal, he often cut off a tiny morsel of his food, held it up toward the sky as a symbolic offering to a heavenly deity, and then buried the morsel in the earth.

Far more complex and demanding were the major ceremonies, such as the Pawnee's human sacrifice, that were supposed to rebound to the good of the whole village.� It was crucial that each step be flawless executed, otherwise the spirits would be displeased and the ceremony would fail to have its intended effect.� A typically intricate rite was the massaum, or animal dance, of the Cheyenne's, performed every few years to propitiate the earth and ensure a continued plenitude of food.

The Cheyenne's had another major ceremony, the arrow renewal; a four-day rite to renew the power of their weapons when their way of life and unity as a people were threatened - during a time of food shortage, or following a defeat in war.� The renewal focused on four sacred arrows supposedly given to the Cheyenne long ago by a tribal hero named Sweet Medicine.

In appealing for help to the spirit world, some tribes put special emphasis on one power that was considered to be greater than all the rest.� To the Cheyenne, the principal spirit is "Heammawihio" (the Wise One Above).�� He is represented by the sun, but more powerful than the sun.� His counterpart is Aktunowihio (the Wise One Below).� The two spirits do not represent good and evil, but merely powers thought to reside in different directions.��

Life in the afterworld was much like that on earth.� There, people lived in camps, hunted, went to war and carried on other familiar occupations.� The land beyond the grave held no such terrors as judgment or damnation, and, except for persons who committed suicide, everyone could expect to reach it after death.� Thus free from any terrors in the afterlife, the religions of the Indians concentrated on attaining good fortune in the face of the tough practicalities of plains living.��

Among all the plains tribes, the most useful and frequently called upon of those spirits dwelt within animals.� The bull elk, for example, was considered an effective helper in love (Native Americans were much impressed by the elk's ability to call females).� The bear was hard to kill and was thought to heal its own wounds; therefore it was felt that it might help heal human injuries as well.� Eagles and hawks with their powerful claws were good helpers in wartime.� The skunk was thought to have much supernatural power; its tail was used to hold medicine or was tied to the tail of horses during war, and its image was often painted on lodges and even on the seeds employed by women in gambling.� Rattlesnakes were considered to have the power of sending rain.� The badger could help foretell the future.� A cricket could also be used for divination.� It was believed that if a raven circled a camp four times and cawed, it would then fly toward the buffalo in order to help its Indian friends.��

Practically every young man attempted to acquire some personal power that would serve his own interests.� As with medicine men, such personal power could be achieved through a vision quest.� The young man would go off by himself for several days to a high hill, fasting, searching, seeking some relationship between himself and nature.� If he was fortunate, he would have a dream in which a spirit would reveal certain sacred objects or designs that would bring supernatural aid in times of need.��

All powers from the spirits were hedged with taboos which, if violated, would render the supernatural aid ineffective.� Often the possessor of the power would have to refrain from eating certain foods, such as the entrails or the brain of a buffalo.� The breaking of a taboo could have dire consequences.� A man whose power guaranteed him good health might become sick and even die if he ate prohibited foods.� And a warrior whose spiritual helper protected him in battle would be in mortal danger if he did not fulfill all the conditions attached to his power.� This is what happened to Roman Nose, one of the most renowned Cheyenne warriors.

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