Alice C. Fletcher,James R. Murie,Helen Myers,Edwin S. Tracy
One of the more complex and widespread rituals practiced by Native American groups focused on the calumet, a sacred pipe with a feathered shaft. The Calumet Ceremony was a powerful ritual through which members of another tribe were adopted. It also promoted social unity within tribes and facilitated contact and trade between them. Perhaps the most detailed description of a Calumet Ceremony was recorded near the turn of the century by ethnographer Alice C. Fletcher. Fletcher witnessed the Hako, a version of the Calumet Ceremony practiced by the Chaui clan of the Pawnee. With the invaluable assistance of Tahirussawichi, a Pawnee ,Kuâ€™rahus, or ceremonial leader, and renowned Indian scholar James R. Murie, himself a Pawnee, the author describes in marvelous detail the intricate rhythm and structure of the ceremony. Each song of the Hako is transcribed, translated, interpreted by the Pawnee ,Kuâ€™rahus,, and later analyzed by the author. Fletcher concludes that the Hako promised longevity, fertility, and prosperity to individuals and worked to insure â€œfriendship and peaceâ€ between clans and tribes.,The Hako,, was originally published in 1904.
The Hako: Song, Pipe, and Unity in a Pawnee Calumet Ceremony