Title: The American Museum journal
Identifier: americanmuseumjo16amer (find matches)
Year: c1900-(1918) (c190s)
Authors: American Museum of Natural History
Subjects: Natural history
Publisher: New York : American Museum of Natural History
Contributing Library: American Museum of Natural History Library
Digitizing Sponsor: Biodiversity Heritage Library

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The Pawnee Human Sacrifice to the Morningstar By CLARK WlSSLERund HERBERT J. SPINDEN SOMETBIES it happens that the most insignificant looking object has the most interesting history. In the Museum's Pawnee Indian collec- tion is a simple pair of thongs, but slightly decorated, which of themselves would escape notice, yet which stand, so far, as our only objective representation of the Pawnee human sacriiice ceremon- ies. The historic home of the Pawnee was Nebraska, where they resided until moved to Oklahoma in 1876. They were to some extent an agricultural people but were also great buffalo hunters. They had a highly developed ceremonial and religious system in which certain stars in the heavens were the leading gods. One very bright star, probably Mars, was the Pawnee god of war, although often spoken of as the Morningstar, and there was in the keep- ing of certain priests a ritual for the sacrifice of a captive to this star. While the sacrifice was made only when the star was in a certain position at dawn, it was not an annual occurrence but was given only when the Morningstar himself called for it. This he did by appearing to an individual in a dream or vision. Then war parties were sent out until a captive maiden was secured. She was kept under guard but otherwise treated like a goddess until the time of the sacrifice. The accessories for the sacrifice cere- mony were pro\ided by various indi- viduals. The thongs mentioned above were intended for tying the hair of the captive. It seems that the Pawnee had for many years performed this gruesome ceremony somewhat unwillingly, im- pelled by a sense of religious duty. It is said that the officiating priests always found it a sore trial. One time about 1818, as arrangements for a sacrifice were under way, a bold young man de- cided to rescue the captive. At the psychological moment he interrupted the proceedings and announced it as his intention to free the captive at any cost. He then cut the poor girl loose from the scaft'old, carried her swiftly through the awestruck crowd, mounted his horse and dashed away. When beyond pursuit he gave her a horse and sent her on her way. \ S^^
Text Appearing After Image:
The scaffold sacrifice iuiioag the Aztecs of Mexico (jity, as shown in a drawing from the Codex Telleriano- Remensis recording its first appearance. The symbol of the year One Rabbit appears above, below it being recorded the important events of that year, beginning with the sacrifice. The date was written in later by a Spanish priest who interpreted the native manuscript with valuable marginal notes 49

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