ceremony of giving gold ornaments to a sacred lake; in the bison area, to have a sun dance or other rituals performed, while between these two outposts it appears in analogous forms. The distinction we have noted between the shaman and the priest has its bearing here, for it is the latter upon whom the patient calls when a vow is made, and upon him devolves the duty of performing the prescribed rites.
Somewhat analogous to this is the confession of sins. In Mexico, this seems to have been a prominent feature, particularly sexual sins. What may be a reverberation of this extends far up into the United States, where many tribes exact periodic public confessions of sexual irregularities at which all adults must declare themselves in turn. In a wider sense, the concept is found among the Eskimo who have developed many curious taboos respecting every phase of life, the violation of which brings illness, etc., unless promptly confessed. In Peru, special confessions were required.
While there are many other concepts of greater or more restricted distribution, we may close this enumeration with reference to one special group of ideas. A kind of abstract notion of a sacred quality is entertained which develops specific terms. The best known of these is the wakan[1] of the Siouan stock, which has its parallels in a number of other languages. In old Peru, the term was huaca. The conception seems to be the attribute of possessing or directly associating with extra-human power. In function the terms resemble our sacred, holy, etc., except that they are applied to anything mysterious.
Another abstract idea is that of the four world quarters, or four directions. This is sometimes expressed by crosses and swastika-like symbols. The number four, whether for this reason or otherwise, is to a large extent the sacred number of the New World. Even in Inca and Nahua organizations, we find it often taken as the numerical unit. In many parts of both continents, smoke is offered to the four directions, and most ceremonial acts are repeated in sets of fours.
There appears a tendency for certain tribes to divide into two halves, usually designated as summer and winter groups,
- ↑ Jones, W., 1905. I.
