Spirit Beings associated with caves in Missouri



Spirit Beings associated with caves in Missouri

Michael Fuller, PHD

St. Louis Community College - Meramec

I appreciate the invitation to present my research in this symposium at the Society for American Archaeology. Thank you to Scott Nicolay and Susie Jansen for organizing this symposium.

Many problems face an archaeologist trying to interpret rock art in association with caves and rockshelters. My presentation will focus on two pictograph sites that were created before contact with the Euro-American settlers. The style and amount of fading suggests that the pictographs at Turtle Shelter and at Moniteau Cave were created between AD 1000 and 1400. Both sites are situated in the Lower Missouri River Valley where villages of the Osage and Missouri Indians were located during the time of contact with Euro-American explorers.

Interpretation of the Moniteau Cave site is complicated by the fact that it was damaged in the 1800s during the construction of railroad track.

The Turtle Shelter rock art site is high on the bluff and was not impact by the railroad construction. Approximately a dozen of the Turtle Shelter pictographs are “blurred” by rubbing. There is no evidence that the rubbing was an intentional vandalism and it seems plausible that the blurring occurred as a result of Native American ritual activity after the painting had been completed.

I acknowledge that the original artist could have a different meaning to the pictographs. There are no archaeological sites in Missouri where there is a preserved Native American tradition that links the site with a Sacred Being.

Francis La Flesche (1889) provides a rare example of a petroglyph site where his Omaha informant linked the rock art with Spirit Beings. The site, near Santee (Nebraska) is called “Where the spirits make pictures of themselves” (Omaha, In-gthun-ghae-ke-ka-gha-ee-thun). Actually, I believe that a more literal translation should be “Rocks decorated by the shadows.” Did La Flesche’s informant mean that the artist(s) where shamanistically directed by Spirit Beings to make the art? That is the most obvious, Anthropological interpretation, BUT La Flesche clearly communicates the tantalizing idea, that his Omaha informant perceived the images as created by the Spirit Beings (in this case slain warriors), “themselves,”

Turtle Shelter

Turtle Shelter (23CY554) is situated high on a south facing bluff overlooking the Missouri River. An amateur archaeologist, living in the nearby town of Herman, named the site. The largest and brightest pictograph, visible from the shore of the river, is of a snapping turtle (Osage, Ke Cin-dse Ga-tse) that was a sacred Spirit Being to the warrior clan within the Earth (Osage, Hon’-ga) moiety of Osage tribe (La Flesche 1928: 92). From the rivershore, Turtle Shelter resembles the entrance to a supernatural sized snapping turtle’s den. In reality, the shelter is relatively shallow. There is a small amount of cultural deposit in the shelter, though most has been disturbed by looters.

La Flesche interviewed Osage elders who explained that the seven segments of the tail of a snapping turtle is symbolic of the seven military honors open to a warrior (Osage, O-don). The elders also praised the snapping turtle because its shell is armored – like a smart warrior’s shield. Another praiseworthy aspect of the snapping turtle, according to an Omaha informant, is its “long, well-protected and fruitful life.”

The snapping turtle pictograph is interesting, as well as the fact that nearby is a highly faded ancestral painting of a snapping turtle. Of far greater significance are 28 medium size pictographs to left of the image of the snapping turtle. The medium size pictographs are more than random animal images. They are spread around one large image of a single Green Corn plant (Osage, To’-ho Ha’-ba).

La Flesche (1928: 57 - 58) reported that Osage tradition attributed red, blue, white and speckled corn as the gift of the Spirit Being named Buffalo Bull (Osage, Tho’-xe). To the right of the corn pictograph is a representation of the Buffalo Bull Spirit Being, two buffalo cows and a buffalo calf. The two cows to are smeared, but recognizable. Not defaced, but ritually smeared.

If you are unconvinced by my identification of the Spirit Being Buffalo Bull, then compare it with a sketch published by Fletcher and La Flesche (1911:Figure 109) of Buffalo Bull from the moccasin of an Omaha Indian.

To the left of the Green Corn pictograph are two images of Deer Spirit beings (Osage, Ta'inika-shinga). Deer, like snapping turtle, is a clan emblem belonging the Earth moiety of the Osage (La Flesche 1921:95-97). One deer is unharmed, but actively pursued by a puma and its cub. The second deer was already wounded by the puma – blood streams from its belly and mouth. The shower of blood from the belly of the deer appears as a sheet of drops – probably symbolic of heavy rain during the Spring and Summer. The lighter flow of blood from the Spirit Deer’s mouth probably represents the softer showers that occur during the Fall in Missouri.

Puma (Osage, In-gthon’-ga) is a Spirit Being emblematic of another of the Earth clans of the Osage that is also associated with the sun (La Flesche 1921:107 - 109). It is recognized by its round paws, and long tail. The name for puma in Omaha literally translates as “Long Tail.” I see this somewhat smeared pictograph as an female adult hunting with its cub. Fletcher and La Flesche (1911:512) reported that the Omaha admired the puma because it rose at sunrise to hunt. The Spirit Being called Male Puma as a symbol of their courage (La Flesche 1921: 194).

One of the sacred Osage songs recited by Saucy Calf to Francis La Flesche (1930:545) sounds as if it narrates the puma portion of the Turtle Shelter pictographic panel:

"And what shall the little ones make of be their symbol of courage, as they travel the path of life? It has been said, in this house. The male puma that lies outstretched, they said,

He who is their grandfather, a person of great courage,

They shall make to be their symbol of courage.

At break of day

My grandfather (the male puma) rushed forth to attack.

The dark-horned deer that lies outstretched,

Within the very bend of a river.

My grandfather brought the deer to the ground, to lie outstretched in death.

He [male puma] uttered a cry of triumph, then spake, saying:

When the little ones go forth to strike the enemy, In this very manner they shall triumph.

Their hands shall ever be upon the foe, as they travel the path of life."

Another important Spirit Being in the panel around the Sacred Corn is Black Bear (Osage, Wa-ca’-be). Spirit Bear is portrayed rubbing against a “Bear Tree” to mark his territory. The Osage elders told La Flesche that Black Bear symbolizes fire and charcoal (La Flesche 1921: 104 - 105). Black Bear clan members had the authority to initiate war movements.

The representation of the Spirit Black Bear at Turtle Shelter is just about as good as the representation that Fletcher and La Flesche (1911: Figure 109) recorded of a Black Bear drawn on the moccasin of an Omaha youth.

Another Spirit Being associated with the Earth moiety of the Osage is Great Elk (Osage, Opon Tonga). This Spirit Being was revered by the Osage for its act of self-sacrifice to make the earth habitable to all animals and the Osage (La Flesche 1921: Plate 11b).

Just because an animal is associated with a Spirit Being does not mean it can not be hunted. Hunts that would kill an emblematic animal would required rituals of song and offerings to the Spirit Beings. It is interesting that elk, bear and deer where all hunted in early winter by the Osage. One interpretation for the Turtle Shelter site is that the images relate to the 3rd great hunt of each year – that occurs after the corn harvest.

One last pictograph at Turtle Shelter deserves special mention: an open hand with finger pointing to an “outlined” cavity in the bedrock. A recent exhibit of Osage art explained hand symbols as pertaining to war trophies. I find no ethnographic or archaeological evidence to support this interpretation. A more plausible explanation is that upraised hand, as in the photograph of Slow Bull taken by Edward Curtis, is a form of invocation to the Spirit Beings.

So, what was the function of the Turtle Shelter? It was a “rock art” worldview marker for several Spirit Beings sacred to the Hon’ga (Earth) moiety of the Osage. The large shelter was perceived as the home of the Snapping Turtle Spirit Being. Other Honga Spirit Beings associated with this site included puma, deer, black bear, and elk. Not a clan Spirit Being, but of great importance to the Osage, was the symbolic representation of Sacred Corn. There is also the strong possibility that the choice of Spirit Beings also related to rituals of warfare and raiding.

Moniteau Site

The Moniteau Site (23BO476) is situated above the entrance to a medium size cave in a south facing bluff along the Missouri River. It is approximately 40 miles upstream from the Turtle Shelter site. The cave at the Moniteau Site has a surging underground stream and a strong draft at its entrance.

The Native American word Moniteau was associated with the site during the 19th century. It is slightly perplexing to have an archaeological site in Missouri named Moniteau because it certainly looks like a variant of the Alonguin word (Manitous) that means Gods / Spirit Beings. This meaning is shared among the Ojibway, Western Cree, Innu, Assiniboine, and several Algonkian tribes. Why would this term be used for a site in the Lower Missouri River Valley? One of my colleagues speculated that it is an indication that Algonkian speaking hunting parties penetrated deep into Osage territory. This seems implausible considering the effectiveness of Osage warriors at protecting their territory.

Another possibility is that Moniteau is a French spelling of the Chiwere words: Maha chi (cave) tun (give birth). The Chiwere language was spoken by the Missoulia, Otoe, and Ioway; tribes situated immediately north of the Osage territory.

The Moniteau pictographs were recorded in an 1881 sketch by Charles Teubner. Brownlee relocated and published the site in 1956; it was already badly faded and he relied heavily upon the original Teubner sketch. Diaz-Granados and Duncan (2000:10) raise legitimate questions about the Brownlee published sketch. I photographed the Moniteau pictographs using a Nikon D200 camera and adjusted the contrast and color balance to bring out some of the badly faded portions of the panel. My conclusion is that the 1881 sketch by Teubner is accurate and that the Brownlee redrawing captures the essence of the panel.

The images above the cave at Moniteau are not animals, but Spirit Women (Hunter 1978: 46) and represent the women’s mysteries associated with the cave. Pictographs 1 and 3 are crescents and dots associate with menstruation and fertility. Woman image number 2 is possibly the Spirit Being of darkness which symbolized reproduction (Osage, Wa kon da Hon non). The largest female pictographic may be the Female Spirit Being of Earth (Osage, Wa kon da Hin dse ta).

Cliff Cave/Indian Cave

Cliff Cave, also known as Indian Cave (23SL895), situated near the mouth of the Missouri and Meramec Rivers. Cliff cave served as during the French colonial period as a trading post and tavern. Later, it was converted into a winery, then a beer storage depot in the 1900s. During Prohibition it was an illegal speakeasy. The walls of the cave are heavily vandalized, so any prehistoric rock art is forever lost.

Cliff cave has a surging underground stream and strong draft. The strength of the surging cave stream is so strong that it drowned 6 amateur cavers in the 1993.

An underground pool is situated in Cliff Cave at a point approximately 65 meters from the entrance. Today, the pool is devoid of life because of groundwater pollution. Similar cave pools in unpolluted portions of the Ozarks contain a variety of albino fish, isopods, salamanders and crayfish.

The Osage elders from the Puma clan reported to La Flesche that their ancestors had received 4 colors of clay and instructions for its ritual use by a Spirit Being called “Little Earth” or “Earth child” (Osage, Monenka zhiga). La Flesche recorded “Earth Child” as a crayfish. Puma elders said it lived in a “house” with a “flaring rim entrance.” A cave?

Yes, there are hundreds of large caves in Missouri that once had albino cave crayfish. But the home of the “Earth child” must have been along the path wandered by the Osage ancestors under the leadership of Radiant Star. I reconstruct that path as starting at the mouth of the Missouri River and going southward towards Elephant Rocks park. Along that path, Cliff Cave is a “EXCELLENT” candidate for the house of Earth Child (Osage, Monenka zhiga). A large cave, with surging water and a pool of albino crayfish - had to be seen as the home of at least one Spirit Being.

Summary

The ethnographic studies of the Osage do not pinpoint any specific locations in Missouri associated with Spirit Beings. I suggest that Turtle Shelter was sacred to the Snapping Turtle Spirit Being. Also at Turtle Shelter, are pictographs of several Spirit Beings sacred to the clans of the Earth Moiety, as well as a representation of the sacred corn.

The Moniteau rock art images were painted above the entrance to a large cavern with surging underground stream and powerful draft. The site name and imagery link it with the Osage Spirit Beings associated with conception and birth.

Not supported by rock art, but by Puma clan traditions of Radiant Star, is the hypothesis that Cliff Cave was the sacred home of the Spirit Being called “Earth Child.”

Acknowledgements

Special thanks to my wife and colleague, Neathery Fuller, for helping record and interpret the Moniteau cave site. Amira Fuller deserves special thanks for helping explore and record Cliff Cave even after I explained its dangerous nature. David Ludig guided me to Turtle Shelter and patiently waited while I photographed and sketched the numerous pictographs. I must acknowledge my debt to the wonderful ethnographic documentation prepared over a century ago by Francis La Flesche and Alice C. Fletcher. Finally, many thanks to Frank Magre for his pioneering work with Missouri Rock Art and his willingness to talk with me about rock art interpretation on several occasions.

Bibliography

Brownlee, Richard S.

1956 The Big Moniteau Bluff Pictographs in Boone County, MO. Missouri Archaeologist 18(4): 49 - 54.

Curtis, Edward S.

1907 The North American Indians: 3, The Teton Sioux, Yanktonia and Assiniboin.

Diaz-Granados, Carol and James C. Duncan

2000 Petroglyphs and Pictographs of Missouri. Alabama University Press.

Fletcher, Alice C. and Francis La Flesche

1911 The Omaha Tribe. Smithsonian. [Reprinted by the University of Nebraska Press.]

Hunter, Carol Ann

1978 A study of Osage Mythology: A Literary Perspective. University of Denver dissertation.

La Flesche, Francis

1889 Death and funeral customs among the Omaha. Journal of American Folklore 2(4):3-11.

1921 The Osage Tribe: Rite of the Chiefs; Sayings of the Ancient men. Smithsonian.

1928 The Osage Tribe: Two Versions of the Child-Naming Rite. Smithsonian. [Reprinted by Kessinger Publishing]

1930 The Osage Tribe: Rite of the Wa-Xo'-Be. Smithsonian. [Reprinted by Kessinger Publishing]

Teubner, Charles

1881 Indian pictographs in Missouri. Kansas City Review of Science and Industry 6(4):208-210.







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