Indians 101: A Brief Overview of Traditional Pawnee Spirituality

The Pawnee, a Caddo-speaking agricultural people, were living in the Arkansas River region of northern Oklahoma and southern Kansas at the time of first European contact. Briefly described below are some of the key elements of traditional Pawnee spirituality.

Dreams and Visions

One of the most important elements of traditional Pawnee spirituality is the dream and/or vision. Dreams are seen as a source of knowledge and power.  It is through dreams that spirits communicate with humans and gift them spiritual powers. With regard to dreams in Plains Indian cultures, Lee Irwin, in an article in American Indian Quarterly, writes:

“In Native American contexts, dreaming is a form of knowledge. It reveals the activities of the mysterious powers—their engagement with or relationship to the dreamer. The dream is a medium of knowing, a way of experiencing the reality of the lived-world, a faculty of perception; the religious vision might be regarded as an intensification and heightening of this knowing.”

Among the Pawnee, a person would have a dream or vision and then talk about this dream with a religious or spiritual specialist (medicine man, shaman, priest). Following this, the dreamer would then put together the necessary food and goods to have a special ceremony performed.

Sacred Bundles

Sacred bundles are an important part of the spirituality of several Central Plains tribes. Among the Pawnee there are two types of bundles: (1) the societal bundle which is owned by a chief and cared for by his wife, and (2) individual bundles which are owned by medicine men.

With regard to the societal bundle, the chief who owns it does not necessarily know the rituals and lore associated with it. Another spiritual leader controls the ritual and advises the owner of his bundle obligations. The ownership of the society bundle is usually inherited through the male line. Ritual knowledge of the bundle, however, was usually transmitted over a period of years to a close relative of the spiritual leader.

With regard to the individual bundles, the medicine man owns the physical bundle and the rituals which are associated with it. During the course of his life, the medicine man usually teaches a close relative – a son or nephew – about the bundle. This apprentice takes part in the rituals and as he masters part of the rituals, these are turned over to him. Anthropologist Alexander Lesser, in his book The Pawnee Ghost Dance Hand Game: Ghost Dance Revival and Ethnic Identity, points out:

“as a man taught what he knew he gave up part of his life, and that when he had given over all his teachings, he would die.”

He goes on to say

“when an old man knew he was on his deathbed he called his apprentice in and in dying whispers told him the essentials of what he had not yet communicated.”

The parts of the bundle which were not fully understood by his heir were buried with him.

Reflecting the great importance of corn to the Pawnee, each medicine bundle contains two ears of an ancient variety of corn which is cultivated exclusively as a sacred object.  The Pawnee traditionally had at least four varieties of sacred corn:

White Corn or Mother Corn: this is the most sacred form of corn and is represented by the Evening Star.

Black Corn: this is represented by a star in the Northeast and symbolizes Winter.

Yellow Corn: this is represented by a star in the Northwest and symbolizes the Sun.

Red Corn: this is represented by a star in the Southeast and symbolizes the Moon.

The Pawnee societal bundles are opened with the first thunder in the Spring and with these openings comes the chanting of the creation ritual.

Astronomy 

Like the tribes in other areas, watching the movements of the moon, the sun, and the stars during the course of the year was an important way of marking time and determining when some ceremonies should be held.

With regard to Pawnee astronomy, anthropologist Gene Weltfish, in her book The Lost Universe: Pawnee Life and Culture, reports:

 “The earth lodge served as an astronomical observatory and as the priests sat inside at the west, they could observe the stars in certain positions through the smokehole and through the long east-oriented entranceway. They also kept careful watch of the horizon, right after sunset and just before dawn to note the order and position of the stars.”

In his book Where the Lightning Strikes: The Lives of American Indian Sacred Places, Peter Nabokov writes:

“So intimate was Pawnee identification with the stars that they tried to lay out their villages to approximate their positions in the sky.”

Each Pawnee village had its own origin story which detailed how a patron star or constellation had bestowed a medicine bundle upon their founding father. English geographer G. Malcolm Lewis, in his chapter in North American Exploration. Volume 1: A New World Disclosed, reports:

“Each village was named after its star, and the relative locations of the villages on the prairie reflected the positions of the stars in the sky. The status and role of each village, especially its ceremonial role, was determined by its star.”

Stars are important spiritual entities among the Pawnee and other tribes. In their 1917 book Corn Among the Indians of the Upper Missouri George Will and George Hyde write:

“The religion of the Pawnees was a star cult overlaid with a very highly developed system of ritualistic practices.”

The Pawnee traditionally saw the four cardinal directions and the four semi-cardinal directions as associated with stars:

West: marked by Evening Star with the moon as her helper

East: marked by Morning Star with the sun as his helper

North: marked by North Star

South: marked by South Star

Northeast: marked by Black Star. The Northeast is also associated with thunder and is represented by the bear and the color black.

Northwest: marked by Yellow Star. The Northwest is associated with lightning and is represented by the mountain lion and the color yellow.

Southwest: marked by White Star. The Southwest is associated with the winds and is represented by the bobcat and the color white.

Southeast: marked by Red Star. The Southeast is associated with the clouds and is represented by the world and the color red.

Spiritual Powers

Traditionally the Pawnees believed that Tirawa (also spelled Tirawahat), the mighty power, can not come near people nor can it be seen or felt by them. Therefore, lesser powers mediate between the people and Tirawa. These lesser powers, in the order of their creation, include:

Wind: the wind (hoturu) is the breath from Tirawa which gives life to the people.

Sun: the sun (shakuru) gives the people health, vitality and strength. Because it has the power to make things grow, the sun is sometimes called father (atius).

Earth: the earth (h’uraru) is very near to the people and is often called mother (atira).

Vegetation: the Pawnee word toharu refers to all the things that Mother Earth brings forth.

Water: the water (chaharu) is needed by all living things, including the people.

Religious Specialists  

While each Pawnee could make contact with the spiritual world without having to use an intermediary such as a priest, there were some Pawnees who had special spiritual powers and abilities. The hu’rahus were on speaking terms with the heavens. According to Peter Nabokov:

“To bestow blessings and health on their villages, they transacted with the Pleiades (associated with winter), Lyra, Ursa Major, Cassiopeia (known as the turkey’s foot), Ursa Minor, Como Berenices, the Big Dipper, Andromeda, the Milky Way (the cloudy trail followed by the spirits of the dead) and the Corona Borealis (known as the Council Circle of the Chiefs).”

Indians 101

Twice each week, Indians 101 explores topics about American Indians. More on Native American spirituality from this series:

Indians 101: A very short overview of Northern Plains Indian spirituality

Indians 101: Plateau Indian Spirituality (Photo Diary)

Indians 101: A Brief Description of Caddo Religion

Indians 101: Apache Spirituality

Indians 101: Ute Spirituality

Indians 201: The Pawnee Morning Star Ceremony

Indians 101: Shawnee Spirituality

Indians 101: Cheyenne Medicine Bundles