Ceremonies of the Pawnee, Part I: The Skiri

Abstract

In 1910 James R. Murie, an educated Pawnee who had previously worked with various anthropologists (most notably Alice C. Fletcher and George A. Dorsey), was given a grant by the Bureau of American Ethnology to prepare a full account of surviving Pawnee religious ceremonies. Shortly afterward he began work under the direction of Clark Wissler, with whom he planned a comprehensive description of the ritualism of the Skiri band. This monograph, written by Murie in collaboration with Clark Wissler, is the combined result of the two projects, which extended over a decade. It is a detailed presentation of the essential features of Pawnee ceremonialism. The first part presents the annual cycle of Skiri ceremonial life, minutely describing most of the rituals as well as the role and functions of sacred bundles in the culture. The second part includes accounts of three surviving South Band ceremonies that Murie witnessed: the White Beaver Ceremony (or Doctor Dance) of the Chawi band, and the Bear and Buffalo dances of the Pitahawirata band. In each of the accounts the songs of the ceremony are given in both Pawnee and English. Together they constitute one of the most extensive song collections for any North American tribe. For the three South Band ceremonies, the vision stories underlying the songs are also presented. The manuscript, scheduled for publication on several occasions in the 1920s and 1930s, has been in the archives of the Bureau of American Ethnology since 1921. It is here presented in edited form, together with revised linguistic transcriptions and translations, notes, an expanded bibliography, a biography of Murie, and two indexes.