Lakota - (Seven bands)
Oglala
Sicangu
Hunkpapa
Miniconjous
Sihasapa
Itazipacola
Dakota or Santee - (Four Bands)
Mdeakantonwon
Wahpeton
Wahpekute
Sisseton
Nakota or Yankton - (Three Bands)
Yankton
Upper Yankton
Lower Yankton
I've long had a fascination for the Sioux, specially the Lakota, and I've enjoyed learning how ritualistic the tribes are/were. In today's post, I'm going to share some facts concerning their children.:
BIRTH:
A time of celebration and showing thankfulness to the family. Based upon the legend of the White Buffalo Woman, once a Sioux woman gave birth, she fulfilled her role to be fruitful and multiply. At sometime during a woman's pregnancy, usually a grandmother or the mother, created twin turtle or lizard pouches, one to hold the baby's umbilical cord and the other to serve as a decoy. Since both animals were considered "hardy, it stood to reason that using their image would serve to protect the child. The true pouch was hidden in the child's cradleboard until the little one grew old enough to walk, and then worn around the neck. At a certain point possession of the pouch reverted to the mother.
Winkte |
Modern-day babies benefit from the colostrum from their mother's breasts, but in the case of the Sioux, and old woman called, sucking woman, or a ten-year-old girl was summoned to remove the first milk for three or four days in order to prevent the infant from having diarrhea. Instead, babies were fed berry juices and soups through a nipple fashioned from an animal bladder.
Sioux mother and child |
Although children remained securely confined for the majority of their infant-time, from the ages of four to seven, they were naked most of the time. By the age of seven, more modesty was required, but the children were asked, not told what to do and physical violence was never used.
Setting up Camp |
Women were required to show kindness to all men and animals, be loving, achieving, and eat apart from the men. The left side of the lodge was designated as the female's side, and she was required to speak only in the female language which consisted of words not much unlike Spanish where ending letters signify gender. (Example: hermano/hermana = brother/sister). Most importantly, female children were geared to behave modestly and care for themselves and their family.
Next month: More on tribal behavior.
Facts presented here were garned from reading "the Sioux" by Royal B. Hassrick and America's Fascinating Indian Heritage by Reader's Digest. All images were secured from bing.com
Destiny's Bride, my latest release from Books We Love, in which I show the heroine's experience at witnessing the birth of a child as directed by Rainwoman, the old medicine woman:
Here's an excerpt from
The area
inside was large and spacious. Cecile stood riveted against the wall and
watched with eyes wide. To see a group of women assisting in the birth made the
experience impersonal…and a tad intimidating. Maybe she hadn’t become as immodest as she thought. Her thoughts were drawn to the
expectant mother by a low moan.
Raven
Wing squatted over a small trough lined with a square of deerskin and grasped a
stick driven into the ground to help maintain her balance while she gave in to
the bearing down pains. With each contraction, one of the women pushed on Raven
Wing’s abdomen to hasten the baby’s arrival.
Cecile
wondered how long the woman had been in labor. Raven Wing’s face contorted with
pain yet she never yelled or cried out despite her apparent anguish. Having never witnessed a child’s birth
before, Cecile became frightened and inched toward the door.
Rain
Woman noticed and waggled a winger at her. “You must stay and watch so when
your time comes you know what to expect.”
“Okay, Old
Mother,” Cecile relented. “I will stay.” But she thought of a thousand things
she’d rather be doing.
Finally,
after lots of pushing and straining, Raven Wing’s blood-covered baby slipped
out into the trough. The new mother fell back onto a bed of buffalo robes,
totally spent and panting for breath. Rain Woman stepped in and cut and tied
the umbilical cord then cleared the baby’s nose and mouth. The newborn boy
immediately cried, flailing tiny arms in the air.
All my books are available at http://www.amazon.com/author/gingersimpson
All my books are available at http://www.amazon.com/author/gingersimpson
7 comments:
Really enjoyed the blog, Ginger. I need to save it for future reference. Book looks great too.
It always made more sense to me to let gravity help out--but if a woman had a long labor, just imagine how tired her legs would be!
Thanks for the comments, gals. I find the Sioux so interesting, and I can't wait to share more about them next month.
Jacquie, First off, I wouldn't be able to squat, let alone get up, so that birthing style would never work for me. Give me pain meds and a hospital and I'd be good to go....or I was good to go. At my age, giving birth would be a follow up to Mary and Joseph, plus, I'd have to carry the babe in my pocket since there isn't any room in the "innards." *lol*
It's interesting, but as a lifestyle for a woman it doesn't sound more than step up from what Muslim women endure.
Ginger, interesting information about the Sioux. they had some of the same philosophies as the Nez Perce. The Nez Perce also did not physically punish the children but they were taught respect for their elders and I think the knowledge that they must follow the rules to keep the whole band safe is what helped to keep them from being brats. And they were given chores that helped the good of all which gave them a vested interest in their jobs and being respectful. I could go on with my theories all day. ;)
Great post!
Ellen and Paty,
I barely touched on all the responsibilities the children were taught, boys by the fathers or other male relatives, and the girls by their female kin. They were definitely taught respect, and crying earned them nothing, so they learned early on it was a waste of time.
As for the women....I agree with you Ellen, they were the backbone of the tribe and responsible for everything except hunting and warring. Even after the buffalo hunts, they were the ones called upon to skin, preserve, and utilize every part of the animal...or make some parts useable for the men such as creating boy strings, etc. Yep...I wouldn't want to have been a "sioux wife", although this unnatural preoccupation with the tribe tells me I might have been.
Fascinating post as always. We're so pampered today that it's hard to imagine what these women endured. Yet, they were probably very happy.
Post a Comment