Indians 101: A very short overview of the Ho-Chunk (Winnebago) religion

In American Indian cultures, religion is not seen as a separate category but as an integral part of everyday life. In Indian languages, there is no word which can be translated as religion. American Indian religions do not emphasize beliefs or faith, but rather are a way of looking at and interpreting the world, both physical and spiritual. Briefly described below are some of the features of Ho-Chunk (Winnebago) religion.

While the Winnebagos (Ho-Chunk) are a Siouan-speaking people, the name Winnebago is actually an Algonquian word meaning “people of the filthy water.” They call themselves Ho-Chunk meaning “people of the first voice.”

The aboriginal home of the Ho-Chunks was along the Door Peninsula on Lake Michigan in what is now Wisconsin.

Among the Ho-Chunks, spirituality or religion was enmeshed with other aspects of their culture and was not seen as a distinct part of life. From the traditional Ho-Chunk viewpoint, there is no clear boundary between the natural and the supernatural. In his 1923 book The Winnebago Tribe, ethnographer Paul Radin, reports that Ho-Chunk religion:

“…is not a phenomenon distinct from mundane life, but one of the most important means of maintaining social ideals.”

He goes on to say:

“The Indian does not interpret life in terms of religion, but religion in terms of life.”

Paul Radin writes:

“To the average Winnebago the world is peopled by an indefinite number of spirits who manifest their existence in many ways, being either visible, audible, felt emotionally, or manifesting themselves by some sign or result. From certain point of view, all the spirits demonstrate their existence by the result, by the fact that the blessings they bestow upon man enable him to be successful, and this holds just as much for the spirit who manifests himself in the most intangible, emotional manner as that one who is visible to man.”

Paul Radin also writes:

“Among the Winnebago there are as many spirits as there are lakes, hills, rivers, etc., and all these are looked upon from two points of view, first as the bestowers of certain blessings and, secondly, as the protectors of their own precincts. In the first case they are generally identical with the guardian spirits. In the second case they are simply vague, indistinct spirits to whom offerings are made for temporary protection.”

Vision Quest

At about the age of five, Ho-Chunk elders would begin to talk to the children about the customs of their ancestors. According to Radin, a father would tell his son:

“My son, when you grow up you should see to it that you are of some benefit to your fellowmen. There is only one way in which you can begin to be of any aid to them, and that is to fast.”

He would later tell his son:

“Now, my son, if you do not obtain a spirit to strengthen you, you will not amount to anything in the estimation of your fellowmen. They will show you little respect. Perhaps they will make fun of you.

While not mentioned by Radin, it is assumed that mothers would talk to their daughters about what to expect about their vision quests.

Then at the age of puberty, both boys and girls would be sent out to fast for a vision. Their faces would be darkened with charcoal, and they would be sent to a nearby hill with instructions to wait there until dawn. Then the vision quests would be gradually lengthened to two and then three nights. If they had not received a vision after a reasonable number of tries, then they would be sent out with instructions to stay out on a vision quest until the vision came to them. During their vision quests they would sing a song which roughly translates into English as:

“Spirits am I likely to be blessed? That is why I am praying.”

In Ho-Chunk spirituality, there are an infinite number of spirits who show their existence in many ways: by showing themselves visually or audibly, by allowing themselves to be felt emotionally, or by presenting some sign or result. The spirits may bestow blessings upon individuals and thus enable them to become successful. These blessings may include very important economic things such as bringing rain or success in war, to less important things such as love power. According to anthropologist Nancy Lurie, in her chapter in the Handbook of North American Indians, Volume 15: Northeast:

“The vision quest provided the successful supplicant with blessings to excel in warfare, the hunt, or curing, the last being particularly desirable if blessings were bestowed by the grizzly bear who gave miraculous power to heal wounds and broken bones sustained in battle.”

An individual’s guardian spirit is not with the person at all times, but rather comes only when called on for help, such as at a time of crisis.

Not all Ho-Chunk men received war and/or hunting powers from their vision quest. Anthropologist Nancy Lurie reports:

“Great respect was accorded those individuals who were blessed by the Moon with the gift of prophecy and the requirement that they become berdaches.”

The berdache, today called a Two Spirit, is neither male nor female.

Bundles

The most sacred Ho-Chunk objects were the war bundles. New bundles could be created as the result of a vision and new items could be added to the bundle. The bundle ceremonies involved a series of ritual offerings to spiritual entities associated with war.

There were also clan ceremonies in which only members of the clan participated. One of these ceremonies was the clan feast in which offerings were made to the clan animal. In addition, there were clan war bundle feasts.

War Bundle Ceremony

This was a ceremony which was held by the clan, and which was connected with success in war. Toward the end of the nineteenth century, this ceremony became a general thanksgiving ceremony to the spirits. Traditionally, the ceremony included the sacrifice of a dog.

The spirits associated with the war bundle ceremony include: Earthmaker, Thunderbirds (who can bless people with success in war and with a long and honorable life), Night Spirits (who are in control of war powers), Disease-Giver, Great Black Hawk, the Sun, the Morning Star, the Moon, the South Wind, the Earth, and the Water.

As with other Ho-Chunk ceremonies, the participants danced counter-clockwise as a representation of the journey of the night spirits around the earth.

War Ceremony

This was a dance given after every successful war party in which four individuals who counted coup would participate. According to ethnographer Paul Radin:

“Its main purpose seems to be the desire to transfer to the victor, from the skulls or the scalps of the slain enemies obtained on that particular warpath, the valor and prowess for which the slain person was noted.”

Winnebago Medicine Lodge

Anthropologist Nancy Lurie writes:

“It is highly esoteric, centering in the metaphor of the road of life and death, and even the shooting rite symbolizes reincarnation rather than magical resuscitation of the dead.”

Night Spirit Ceremony

This ceremony was associated with warding off illness. It was originally performed to ensure success in war.

Herok’a Ceremony

This was an annual feast for all who had been blessed by the Herok’a spirits. During this ceremony, the members would sing all of the songs which they had been given by the spirits. Instead of using gourd rattles as in other Winnebago ceremonies, the participants would use deer-hoof rattles.

Grizzly Bear Ceremony

This was a special ceremony for those who had been blessed by the spirit of the grizzly bear during their vision quest. The purpose of the ceremony was to give thanks to the grizzly bear for the blessings given to the people.

Death

Paul Radin writes:

“The Winnebago look at death in two ways—as being, first, a different kind of consciousness from that possessed in life, and, secondly, as being a cessation of certain kinds of intercourse between individuals.”

Among the Ho-Chunk , there were two forms of burial: simple inhumation and platform burial. At one point in time, the type of burial seems to have depended on the moiety (the two divisions of the tribe) of the deceased.

Each of the Ho-Chunk clans had four songs which were sung by the ancestors of each clan when they came to earth. When a person died, these clan songs were sung as a mark of identification in the journey of the soul to the land of the spirits.

When a Ho-Chunk warrior died in battle, the soul did not become unconscious. The warrior retained control over the soul and therefore could choose to be born again as a human being or as another animal.