From Wichita Mythology
There was a time when a boy grew up with another person of the same age as himself. In their boyhood they were always good friends. Wherever one went the other had to go. They were always together, and like other boys, became warriors. When they had grown to be young men they still continued to go around together. When they started on their life as warriors they never parted. When they went to many battles they were together fighting, and would help one another. When any two persons did this in times of war, people used usually to call them fast friends; and especially, when they were in battle together or gave scalps to one another, or horses that they had stolen, they were known as Nawadi. The boys were both single. When at home they would stay first at the home of one, then at the home of the other. In these homes they were considered as brothers, as they had been together so long as friends.
One of them finally got married, and the other man remained unmarried. When the one was married the other went about by himself, thinking that his friend had not fulfilled his promise to him that they were never to part so long as they lived, so that when the young man got married it somewhat dissolved their partnership. The young man would be on the war-path by himself and would still think of his friend. Once upon a time when the single man was to be with a party that went out on the war-path he undertook to die in battle, so that he might cease to think about his friend. When they found the enemy they fought, and he was killed in the battle. When the rest of the warriors returned home they brought the married man the news that his friend had been killed in battle. The married man mourned constantly for his friend, and people asked him why he had not gone along to see his friend die in battle and be with him when he died, and die, too, so he would not have to mourn for him; it being the custom that after two had formed a friendship of this kind, wherever one went the other was expected to go, and if one had to die in battle the other would die also, so that one would not have to mourn the other.
Now the married young man’s wife died and left him with one child. This grieved him still more. He mourned continually for the loss of his wife and for his friend. He would go to his wife’s grave, sometimes remain there all night, and come back to his home the next day. Then he would go back again. While he was there he fell asleep, and in his dream his friend appeared to him, saying to him: “Do you love your wife, and do you love me?” The married man said: “Yes, I love you both.” In his dream he thought to himself: “I wish this would come true and that I might see my friend and wife.” So the dead man said to him: “It is true; wake up.”
So he woke up and there was his friend standing right by him. His friend told him to come on with him. As they were going along he saw that he was in a large village, and it reached farther than his eye could see. Before entering the place his friend told him that there was a dance there, and that his wife was dancing in a fine war dress, having a shield on her head; that when they should reach the place where the dance was he (the unmarried man) would leave him and let him watch his wife dance; that he would be given four hard, round clay balls to throw at his wife, each one of which, when thrown, could not fail to hit her; that when the last ball had been thrown, his wife would leave the dance without paying any attention to him and would go home; that he should follow his wife, and finally he would find her; that he must not say a word, but must sit down anywhere near the door inside the lodge; that for a while, people would not recognize him, and finally would ask him if he wanted to live with his wife; that when this question was asked he must say: “Yes, and I want my wife;” that he would be told to go to a certain place where there were four buffalo in an open place, and even though he were a good marksman he would fail to kill one of the buffalo; that he must get on a horse, and run the horse at full speed in order to get to them while they were getting up. The dead man also told the young man that the reason why the folks in the other world would not pay any attention to him was, that the people in the other world had a very different scent from the people in this world. So when they reached the place, the young man saw a dance called the Turkey-dance, which was being danced by women. There he saw his wife, and when she went around the pole to the side he was on he threw a ball of clay at her and hit her. When she came around again he threw another ball of clay and hit her again. The third time he threw another ball and hit her again. When she came around the fourth time he hit her again. The song ended and she left the dance.
The woman went to her home, and her husband followed her. When she entered he entered the place, too, and sat down by the door of the tipi. The folks now recognized him, and he sat there for a long time before any of the folks said anything to him. The father of this woman finally spoke to the man and asked him if he was looking for his wife. He answered, saying: “Yes, I was looking for her.” His father-in-law asked him many questions; if he would be true to his wife, and if he would not think of any other wife but her. The young man said he would be true to his wife, because he loved her and he mourned her all his life until he had come to where they were, and he was anxious to live with her again, and would not for anything mistreat her if he could live with her again. The young husband was told to go outside; that there he would find a horse tied; that he must ride to a certain open place surrounded by timber, where there were some buffalo; that he must go on a horse and go and kill one of the buffalo; that after killing it he must cut it open along the back, take the fat off from the hump, then kick the buffalo once on the back and tell it to get on its feet and go. The young man went out where the horse was, with the bow and arrows and quiver that were given him.
When he reached the smooth, open circular place surrounded by timber he saw in the middle of it four great, big buffalo sitting down. He made haste to reach them before they should rise. Now, it is natural for the buffalo, when he gets up, always to stretch before making any movement. When the young man reached the buffalo they started to run. The man cut one off from the group and shot it. The buffalo died. Then he did as he had been told to do, cutting the buffalo’s back open and taking a piece of fat off from the hump, then kicking the dead buffalo once on the back and asking it to get up, for it was fast asleep. Then the buffalo rose and ran into the timber. When the man reached home he turned the horse loose and delivered the fat to his father-in-law. Still his wife made no sign of speaking to him. When the right time came the man was told to take a sweat bath; then bathe his body in incense; then use the fat, rubbing it all over him. This he did every day for four days, and when the four days had passed the man’s father-in-law told him that he could take his wife back to his home, for their child was lonesome; that the child was crying every day for want of his father; that when he returned to his home he must get up a war-party and go out with it, and on his return bring back a scalp and put it away where the people could not find it before the proper time; that he must continue this until he had done it four times; that then he might live with his wife; that he was forbidden to have any other woman than he wife during this time. The young man was to secure four scalps for his wife’s people before he could live with his wife. The young man and his wife started for home. The woman ordered her husband to go ahead and have the grass-lodge swept out clean, and to have it smoked with white sage; then, after this was done, to come back after her, when they would both go on home. So the young man went on to his home and had these things done and at once turned back to go after his wife, having told his people that he had his wife back and that he had been for several days amongst the dead people. So they went on home, and reached the young man’s lodge. The very next day he got up a war-party, to be sent out by himself. Before starting out they took a piece of rawhide, in the place of a drum, and sang the war-party songs that we to-day still use.
It was not very long before the young man met some of his enemies, whom he killed and scalped. On his return he brought a scalp. The rest of the war-party also had scalps. On their return they entered the village victorious. It being the custom to dance when a war-party returned they had all kinds of dances that night, and some dances in the daytime. So the young man had an easy time sending out war-parties, because he had aid from the dead people. It was customary in those times with a good many to dance with the husbands or wives of others instead of their own husbands or wives, and then to remain parted. Another war-party would be sent out, and on its return others would become husbands and wives. When the young man returned from his journey he, of course, in order that he might remain with his wife, avoided other women for a while. When the dances ceased, the young man again called forth his men, and when the men came together he announced to them that he wanted to go out on the war-path again. A good many wanted to accompany him on the war-path again; for they knew that he had some power by which they could easily win their battle, as long as he was with them. That night he ordered a man to get a rawhide, and sticks with which to beat it. They at once began to get a rawhide, and sticks with which to beat it. They at once began to sing the war songs, and all those men who were present at the singing were to go on the war-party, this being the general rule among the men.
On the next morning the young man started off with his men. They were gone for about a month, when they found some of their enemies. The young man had foretold that they would find some of their enemies in a few days. According to custom, when they stopped for a night’s rest they smoked. First, the chief man, called the Head-Warrior (Tahadez), then his two other men, called Second-leading-warrior (Neeskaa), would pass the pipe around for his men to smoke. The young man had a war bundle, given him by his wife’s dead relatives. That is how he came to know so much about what he was to meet, and if he were safe or in danger. So when they met their enemies the battle was easily won, and they scalped their enemies. They then returned to their homes, and on their arrival the people praised them for their victory. At night they again commenced their victory dances, continuing to dance all night.
The next day, the young man did as he had been told to do, taking the scalp off to some place where there was no one and putting it away for his wife’s dead relatives. When he returned home the dancing was already going on, and it lasted all that day. When night came the young man thought to himself: “Well, my wife would never know anything about it if I should dance with some other woman; suppose I try it.” He said to himself: “My wife is on earth; she will not leave me again.” The dance continued and he danced with another woman and that night was with her. When he left her he went back home, and his wife was gone. The young man supposed his wife to have gone off somewhere with some other woman to dance. The next morning she did not return; for she knew what he had been doing just the same as if she had been with him. He began to mourn again and went to his wife’s grave, but there was no sign of anyone appearing to him as his friend had done. So this was the man who told that there was such a thing as death and life again after death. He also told that a man who dies in battle will enter into the Above-happy-when-he-gets-there and be happy. This man lived for a while and finally died.
Source:
The Mythology of the Wichita, George A. Dorsey, 1904
Kotharian Lightning 