PART IV
Tribal Amusements,
Manners, and Customs
To celebrate each
noted event a feast and dance would be given. Perhaps only our
own people, perhaps neighboring tribes, would be invited. These
festivities usually lasted for about four days. By day we
feasted, by night under the direction of some chief we danced.
The music for our dance was singing led by the warriors, and
accompanied by beating the esadadedne (buck-skin-on-a-hoop). No
words were sung--only the tones. When the feasting and dancing
were over we would have horse races, foot races, wrestling,
jumping, and all sorts of games (gambling).
Among these games
the most noted was the tribal game of Kah (foot). It is played
as follows: Four moccasins are placed about four feet apart in
holes in the ground, dug in a row on one side of the camp, and
on the opposite side a similar parallel row. At night a camp
fire is started between these two rows of moccasins, and the
players are arranged on sides, one or any number on each side.
The score is kept by a bundle of sticks, from which each side
takes a stick for every point won. First one side takes the
bone, puts up blankets between the four moccasins and the fire
so that the opposing team cannot observe their movements, and
then begin to sing the legends of creation. The side having the
bone represents the feathered tribe, the opposite side
represents the beasts. The players representing the birds do all
the singing, and while singing hide the bone in one of the
moccasins, then the blankets are thrown down. They continue to
sing, but as soon as the blankets are thrown down the chosen
player from the opposing team, armed with a war club, comes to
their side of the camp fire and with his club strikes the
moccasin in which he thinks the bone is hidden. If he strikes
the right moccasin, his side gets the bone, and in turn
represents the birds, while the opposing team must keep quiet
and guess in turn. There are only four plays; three that lose
and one that wins. When all the sticks are gone from the bundle
the side having the largest number of sticks is counted winner.
This game is seldom played except as a gambling game, but for
the purpose it is the most popular game known to the tribe.
Usually the game lasts four or five hours. It is never played in
daytime.
After the games
are all finished the visitors say, We are satisfied, and
the camp is broken up. I was always glad when the dances and
feasts were announced. So were all the other young people.
Our life also had
a religious side. We had no churches, no religious
organizations, no sabbath day, no holidays, and yet we
worshiped. Sometimes the whole tribe would assemble to sing and
pray; sometimes a smaller number, perhaps only two or three. The
songs had a few words, but were not formal. The singer would
occasionally put in such words as he wished instead of the usual
tone sound. Sometimes we prayed in silence; sometimes each one
prayed aloud; sometimes an aged person prayed for all of us. At
other times one would rise and speak to us of our duties to each
other and to Usen. Our services were short.
When disease or
pestilence abounded we were assembled and questioned by our
leaders to ascertain what evil we had done, and how Usen could
be satisfied. Sometimes sacrifice was deemed necessary.
Sometimes the offending one was punished.
If an Apache had
allowed his aged parents to suffer for food or shelter, if he
had neglected or abused the sick, if he had profaned our
religion, or had been unfaithful, he might be banished from the
tribe.
The Apaches had
no prisons as white men have. Instead of sending their criminals
into prison they sent them out of their tribe. These faithless,
cruel, lazy, or cowardly members of the tribe were excluded in
such a manner that they could not join any other tribe. Neither
could they have any protection from our unwritten tribal laws.
Frequently these outlaw Indians banded together and committed
depredations which were charged against the regular tribe.
However, the life of an outlaw Indian was a hard lot, and their
bands never became very large; besides, these bands frequently
provoked the wrath of the tribe and secured their own
destruction.
When I was about
eight or ten years old I began to follow the chase, and to me
this was never work.
Out on the
prairies, which ran up to our mountain homes, wandered herds of
deer, antelope, elk, and buffalo, to be slaughtered when we
needed them.
Usually we hunted
buffalo on horseback, killing them with arrows and spears. Their
skins were used to make tepees and bedding; their flesh, to eat.
It required more
skill to hunt the deer than any other animal. We never tried to
approach a deer except against the wind. Frequently we would
spend hours in stealing upon grazing deer. If they were in the
open we would crawl long distances on the ground, keeping a weed
or brush before us, so that our approach would not be noticed.
Often we could kill several out of one herd before the others
would run away. Their flesh was dried and packed in vessels, and
would keep in this condition for many months. The hide of the
deer soaked in water and ashes and the hair removed, and then
the process of tanning continued until the buckskin was soft and
pliable. Perhaps no other animal was more valuable to us than
the deer.
In the forests and along the streams were many wild turkeys.
These we would drive to the plains, then slowly ride up toward
them until they were almost tired out. When they began to drop
and hide we would ride in upon them and, by swinging from the
side of our horses, catch them. If one started to fly we would
ride swiftly under him and kill him with a short stick, or
hunting club. In this way we could usually get as many wild
turkeys as we could carry home on a horse.
There were many
rabbits in our range, and we also hunted them on horseback. Our
horses were trained to follow the rabbit at full speed, and as
they approached them we would swing from one side of the horse
and strike the rabbit with our hunting club. If he was too far
away we would throw the stick and kill him. This was great sport
when we were boys, but as warriors we seldom hunted small game.
There were many
fish in the streams, but as we did not eat them, we did not try
to catch or kill them. Small boys sometimes threw stones at them
or shot at them for practice with their bows and arrows. Usen
did not intend snakes, frogs, or fishes to be eaten. I have
never eaten of them.
There were many
eagles in the mountains. These we hunted for their feathers. It
required great skill to steal upon an eagle, for besides having
sharp eyes, he is wise and never stops at any place where he
does not have a good view of the surrounding country.
I have killed
many bears with a spear, but was never injured in a fight with
one. I have killed several mountain lions with arrows, and one
with a spear. Both bears and mountain lions are good for food
and valuable for their skin. When we killed them we carried them
home on our horses. We often made quivers for our arrows from
the skin of the mountain lion. These were very pretty and very
durable.
During my
minority we had never seen a missionary or a priest. We had
never seen a white man. Thus quietly lived the Be-don-ko-he
Apaches.
Text prepared by Jeroen Daanen, Peter Meindertsma,
Else-Kirsten de Schiffart, Elfie Theijs and Carlo Tinschert
© 1994- 2005. All rights reserved
