Page:American Anthropologist NS vol. 1.djvu/101

 A PAWNEE RITUAL USED WHEN CHANGING A

MAN f S NAME

By ALICE C. FLETCHER

Why an Indian changes his name after any important achieve- ment, and why he never uses the personal name when addressing another, has not yet been fully explained ; therefore any first-hand information relating to this subject will undoubtedly be welcome to students of anthropology. In this connection I take pleasure in presenting a ritual used by three divisions of the Pawnee, the Chau-i', Kit'-ka-hah-ki, and Pita-hau-i'-rat, when the ceremony of changing a man's name takes place.

A few words are fitting on two points, namely, as to how this ritual was obtained, and as to the source from which it was procured.

The difficulty of obtaining rituals used in Indian ceremonies is well known. The priests will not talk of these sacred utter- ances to strangers, much less recite them for record, so that in order to secure such material one must be in peculiar and confi- dential relations with its keepers, and be known and trusted by their people. As to the ritual to be presented, the following are the facts :

The father of Mr Francis La Flesche, my collaborator, was the former head-chief of the Omaha tribe, and during his whole lifetime was in official and intimate private relations with the chiefs, the priests, and other prominent men of the Pawnee tribe, where his memory is still green in the hearts of those who knew him. It occurred to his son to make use of his father's hold on the confidence and affection of these people in the attempt to

induce some of the priests to impart a knowledge of the ancient

82

�� �