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In the earliest versions of the Hethuska dance ceremony, some dancers among the Omaha-Ponca were entitled to wear a feathered bustle called the Kaxe’ or “Crow.” These were worn in place of the otter trailer. A description of the early form of this component can be seen in the work titled Hae-thu-ska Society of the Omaha Tribe, which appeared in Volume 5 of the Journal of American Folk-lore published in 1892, and it states,
“The Leader and other men distinguished for their skill and success in war, wore an ornament called Ka-hae, or ‘Crow’. This was made of two sticks like arrow shafts, painted green, and feathered like the stems of the fellowship pipes, with feathers of the buzzard; tufts of crow plumage and long pendants reaching nearly to the ground, made of crow’s feathers completed this ornament, which was worn at the back fastened to the belt, the two shafts rising to the man’s shoulder blades. The men wearing the Ka-hae; painted the front of their bodies and their arms and legs with daubs of black; their faces and backs were completely covered with black paint, but on their backs, white spots were put on the black color.”
“Comparatively few men attained sufficient eminence as warriors to wear the Ka-hae and paint themselves in this manner. The blackened face and dappled limbs and front were emblematic of the thunder clouds and their destructive power as they advance over the heavens, even as the warrior approaches his victim dealing his death-darts. The blackened back with it’s white spots indicated the dead body of the enemy, which the birds were busy pecking, leaving their droppings as they tore away the fast-decaying flesh. The crow was worn, as it was said to be the first to find a corpse, and later was joined by other birds of prey. The tuft of grass worn by all the members of the Hae-thu-ska bore a twofold signification: it represented the tail of the Me-ka-thu, or wolf, the animal closely allied to the warrior, and it also symbolized the scalp of the vanquished enemy.”
“There are two classes of warlike deeds, which are distinguished in according honors:
“1st. Nu ah-tah’-the-sha. Literally the words mean, in the direction of men, signifying that the warrior has gone forth seeking men to fight; one whose warfare has been aggressive, and away from home.”
“2nd. Wa-oo ah-tah’-the-sha, or Tee ah-tah’-the-sha. Literally the words mean, in the direction of woman, or in the direction of the tent or home; defensive warfare, as when the camp or village has been attacked and valorously defended. Only men of the first class, those whose aggressive warfare has become noted, and confirmed through the ceremonies of the Tent of War, are eligible to the office of Leader, or permitted to wear the Ka-hae and paint in black as already described.”
(Fletcher, 1892, pp. 138-139)
By 1911, Alice Fletcher and Francis LaFlesche described the feather bustle or “the Crow” in the following way,
“A man who had attained more than once to honors of the first three grades became entitled to wear a peculiar and elaborate ornament called ‘the Crow.’ This was worn at the back, fastened by a belt around the waist; it was made with two long pendants of dressed skin painted red or green, which fell over the legs to the heels. On the skin were fastened rows of eagle feathers arranged to hang freely so as to flutter with the movements of the wearer. An entire eagle skin, with head, beak and tail formed the middle ornament; from this rose two arrow shafts tipped with hair dyed red. On the right hip was the tail of a wolf; on the left the entire skin of a crow.”...“The ‘Crow’ decoration is said to symbolize a battlefield after the conflict is over. The fluttering feathers on the pendants represented the dropping of feathers from the birds fighting over the dead bodies. Sometimes the wearer of ‘the Crow’ added to the realism by painting white spots on his back to represent the droppings of the birds as they hovered over the bodies of the slain. The two arrow shafts had a double significance; they represented the stark bodies and also the fatal arrows standing in a lifeless enemy. The eagle was associated with war and with the destructive powers of the Thunder and attendant storms. The wolf and the crow were not only connected with carnage but they had a mythical relation to the office of ‘soldiers,’ (wa-noN’-she) the designation given to certain men on the annual tribal hunt, who acted as marshals and kept the people and the hunters in order during the surround of the herd. These men were chosen from those who had the right to wear ‘the Crow’ and this regalia was generally worn at that time. It was worn also at certain ceremonial dances.”
(Fletcher & LaFlesche, 1911, pp. 441-442)
Two Omaha men wearing feather bustles (aka "crow belt"). - 1907
Today there can be seen the modern evolution of these early feather bustles worn by men of all ages throughout many Plains culture Pow-Wows across the country, in both modern and traditional forms. Northern Traditional, Crow Hop Dance, Sneak Up Dance, Chicken Dance, Southern Fancy Feather, are said to have their origins from the Omaha feather bustle.
However, the ability of a dancer to wear a feather bustle during a Formal Dance Ceremony varies with each organization, or it may vary depending on the wishes of any particular Headman of an organization. For example, I've not seen feather bustles worn during any of the Osage Inlonshka's, but I have seen one or two worn by selected individuals during dances of the Ponca Hethuska at times. While feather bustles are common at Pow-Wows, feather bustles are not usually a part of a Formal Dance ceremony, unless it would be under exceptional conditions.
Anacona, George.
1993. Powwow. Harcourt Brace, San Diego, CA.
Ashworth, Kenneth Albert.
1986. The Contemporary Oklahoma Pow-wow. Ph.D. dissertation. Department of Anthropology, University of Oklahoma.
Axtmann, Ann.
1999. Dance: Celebration and Resistance, Native American Indian Intertribal Powwow Performance. Ph.D. dissertation. New York University, NY.
Bailey, Garrick, and Daniel Swan.
2004. Art of the Osage. St. Louis Art Museum, University of Washington Press, Seattle, WA.
Belle, Nicholas I.
2004. Dancing Toward Pan-Indianism: The Development of the Grass Dance and Northern Traditional Dance in Native American Culture. MA thesis. Dept. of Anthropology, Florida State University, FL.
Black Bear, Ben, Sr., and Ronnie D. Theisz.
1976. Songs and Dances of the Lakota. North Plains Press, Aberdeen, SD.
Browner, Tara.
2002. Heartbeat of the People: Music and Dance of the Northern Pow-Wow. University of Illinois Press, Chicago, IL.
Burton, Bryan.
1993. Moving Within the Circle: Contemporary Native American Music and Dance. World Music Press, Danbury, CT.
Callahan, Alice A.
1990. The Osage Ceremonial Dance, I’n-Lon-Schka. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, OK.
Ellis, Clyde
2003. A Dancing People: Powwow Culture on the Southern Plains. University of Kansas Press, Lawrence, KS.
Feder, Norman.
1957-a. Costume of the Oklahoma Straight Dancer. The American Indian Hobbyist Newsletter, Vol. 4, No. 1.
1957-b. Costume of the Oklahoma Straight Dancer. The American Indian Hobbyist Newsletter, Vol. 4, No. 2.
1980. Some Notes on the Osage War Dance. Moccasin Tracks Magazine, November Issue, LaPalma, CA.
Fletcher, Alice C.
1892. Hae-thu-ska Society of the Omaha Tribe. Journal of American Folk-lore, Vol. 5, No. 17, American Folk-Lore Society, Boston, MA.
Fletcher, Alice C. and Francis LaFlesche.
1911. The Omaha Tribe. Bureau of American Ethnology, 27th Annual Report 1905-06, Smithsonian Institution, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C.
Hail, Barbara N.
1980. Hau, Kola!: The Plains Indian Collection of the Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology. Brown University, Bristol, RI.
Heth, Charlotte, ed.
1992. Native American Dance: Ceremonies and Social Traditions. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D.C.
Howard, Dr. James H.
1951. Notes on the Dakota Grass Dance. Southwestern Journal of Anthropology, Vol.7: pp 82-85.
1955. The Pan-Indian Culture in Oklahoma. The Scientific Monthly, Vol. 81, No. 5.
1960. The Northern Style Grass Dance Costume. American Indian Hobbyist Magazine, Vol.7, No.1: pp 18-27.
1965. The Ponca Tribe. Bureau of American Ethnology, Bulletin 195, Smithsonian Institution, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C.
1972. Fire Cloud's Omaha or Grass Dance Costume, Parts One and Two. American Indian Crafts and Culture Magazine, Vol.6, No.2 and Vol. 6, No.3: pp 2-8.
1976. Ceremonial Dress of the Delaware Man. Special Issue, The Bulletin of the Archeological Society of New Jersey, No. 33, Seton Hall University, South Orange, NJ.
1983. Pan-Indianism in Native American Music and Dance. Ethnomusicology, Vol. 28, No. 1.
Howard, Dr. James H. and Gertrude P. Kurath.
1959. Ponca Dances, Ceremonies and Music. Ethnomusicology, Vol. 7.
Kavanagh, Thomas W.
1992. Southern Plains Dance Tradition and Dynamics: Native American Dance Ceremonies and Social Traditions. National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution with Starwood, Washington D.C.
LaFave, Edward J.
1998. Straight Dance Clothing: How to Dress a Straight Dancer. Whispering Wind: American Indian Past & Present Magazine, Vol. 29, No. 4, Folsom, LA.
Meadows, William.
1999. Kiowa, Apache and Comanche Military Societies. University of Texas Press, Austin, TX.
Murie, James R.
1914. Pawnee Indian Societies. Anthropological Papers, American Museum of Natural History, Vol. 11, No. 7, New York, NY.
Powers, William K.
1962. The Sioux Omaha Dance. American Indian Tradition Newsletter, Vol. 8, No. 3.
1965. Grass Dance Costume, by William K. Powers, Pow-Wow Trails Newsletter, Somerset, NJ. (reprinted by Lakota Books in 1994)
1970. Contemporary Oglala Music and Dance: Pan-Indianism versus Pan-Tetonism. The Modern Sioux: Social Systems and Reservation Culture, edited by Ethel Nurge, University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, NE.
1990. War Dance: Plains Indian Musical Performance. University of Arizona Press, Tucson, AZ.
1994. Pow-wow, Native America in the Twentieth Century: An Encyclopedia. edited by Mary B. Davis, Garland Publishing, New York.
Sebbelov, Gerda.
1911. The Osage War Dance. The Museum Journal, Vol. 2, No. 3.
Smith, Jerry.
1982. Straight Dance Clothes: Getting Them On. Moccasin Tracks Magazine, April Issue, LaPalma, CA.
Skinner, Alanson B.
1915-a. Societies of the Iowa, Kansa and Ponca Indians. Anthropological Papers, American Museum of Natural History, Vol. 11, Part 9, New York, NY.
1915-b. Ponca Societies and Dances. Anthropological Papers, American Museum of Natural History, Vol. 11, New York, NY.
Stewart, Tyronne H.
1968. Dressing a Straight Dancer. The Singing Wire Newsletter, February Issue.
“The Leader and other men distinguished for their skill and success in war, wore an ornament called Ka-hae, or ‘Crow’. This was made of two sticks like arrow shafts, painted green, and feathered like the stems of the fellowship pipes, with feathers of the buzzard; tufts of crow plumage and long pendants reaching nearly to the ground, made of crow’s feathers completed this ornament, which was worn at the back fastened to the belt, the two shafts rising to the man’s shoulder blades. The men wearing the Ka-hae; painted the front of their bodies and their arms and legs with daubs of black; their faces and backs were completely covered with black paint, but on their backs, white spots were put on the black color.”
“Comparatively few men attained sufficient eminence as warriors to wear the Ka-hae and paint themselves in this manner. The blackened face and dappled limbs and front were emblematic of the thunder clouds and their destructive power as they advance over the heavens, even as the warrior approaches his victim dealing his death-darts. The blackened back with it’s white spots indicated the dead body of the enemy, which the birds were busy pecking, leaving their droppings as they tore away the fast-decaying flesh. The crow was worn, as it was said to be the first to find a corpse, and later was joined by other birds of prey. The tuft of grass worn by all the members of the Hae-thu-ska bore a twofold signification: it represented the tail of the Me-ka-thu, or wolf, the animal closely allied to the warrior, and it also symbolized the scalp of the vanquished enemy.”
“There are two classes of warlike deeds, which are distinguished in according honors:
“1st. Nu ah-tah’-the-sha. Literally the words mean, in the direction of men, signifying that the warrior has gone forth seeking men to fight; one whose warfare has been aggressive, and away from home.”
“2nd. Wa-oo ah-tah’-the-sha, or Tee ah-tah’-the-sha. Literally the words mean, in the direction of woman, or in the direction of the tent or home; defensive warfare, as when the camp or village has been attacked and valorously defended. Only men of the first class, those whose aggressive warfare has become noted, and confirmed through the ceremonies of the Tent of War, are eligible to the office of Leader, or permitted to wear the Ka-hae and paint in black as already described.”
(Fletcher, 1892, pp. 138-139)
By 1911, Alice Fletcher and Francis LaFlesche described the feather bustle or “the Crow” in the following way,
“A man who had attained more than once to honors of the first three grades became entitled to wear a peculiar and elaborate ornament called ‘the Crow.’ This was worn at the back, fastened by a belt around the waist; it was made with two long pendants of dressed skin painted red or green, which fell over the legs to the heels. On the skin were fastened rows of eagle feathers arranged to hang freely so as to flutter with the movements of the wearer. An entire eagle skin, with head, beak and tail formed the middle ornament; from this rose two arrow shafts tipped with hair dyed red. On the right hip was the tail of a wolf; on the left the entire skin of a crow.”...“The ‘Crow’ decoration is said to symbolize a battlefield after the conflict is over. The fluttering feathers on the pendants represented the dropping of feathers from the birds fighting over the dead bodies. Sometimes the wearer of ‘the Crow’ added to the realism by painting white spots on his back to represent the droppings of the birds as they hovered over the bodies of the slain. The two arrow shafts had a double significance; they represented the stark bodies and also the fatal arrows standing in a lifeless enemy. The eagle was associated with war and with the destructive powers of the Thunder and attendant storms. The wolf and the crow were not only connected with carnage but they had a mythical relation to the office of ‘soldiers,’ (wa-noN’-she) the designation given to certain men on the annual tribal hunt, who acted as marshals and kept the people and the hunters in order during the surround of the herd. These men were chosen from those who had the right to wear ‘the Crow’ and this regalia was generally worn at that time. It was worn also at certain ceremonial dances.”
(Fletcher & LaFlesche, 1911, pp. 441-442)
Two Omaha men wearing feather bustles (aka "crow belt"). - 1907
Today there can be seen the modern evolution of these early feather bustles worn by men of all ages throughout many Plains culture Pow-Wows across the country, in both modern and traditional forms. Northern Traditional, Crow Hop Dance, Sneak Up Dance, Chicken Dance, Southern Fancy Feather, are said to have their origins from the Omaha feather bustle.
However, the ability of a dancer to wear a feather bustle during a Formal Dance Ceremony varies with each organization, or it may vary depending on the wishes of any particular Headman of an organization. For example, I've not seen feather bustles worn during any of the Osage Inlonshka's, but I have seen one or two worn by selected individuals during dances of the Ponca Hethuska at times. While feather bustles are common at Pow-Wows, feather bustles are not usually a part of a Formal Dance ceremony, unless it would be under exceptional conditions.
Anacona, George.
1993. Powwow. Harcourt Brace, San Diego, CA.
Ashworth, Kenneth Albert.
1986. The Contemporary Oklahoma Pow-wow. Ph.D. dissertation. Department of Anthropology, University of Oklahoma.
Axtmann, Ann.
1999. Dance: Celebration and Resistance, Native American Indian Intertribal Powwow Performance. Ph.D. dissertation. New York University, NY.
Bailey, Garrick, and Daniel Swan.
2004. Art of the Osage. St. Louis Art Museum, University of Washington Press, Seattle, WA.
Belle, Nicholas I.
2004. Dancing Toward Pan-Indianism: The Development of the Grass Dance and Northern Traditional Dance in Native American Culture. MA thesis. Dept. of Anthropology, Florida State University, FL.
Black Bear, Ben, Sr., and Ronnie D. Theisz.
1976. Songs and Dances of the Lakota. North Plains Press, Aberdeen, SD.
Browner, Tara.
2002. Heartbeat of the People: Music and Dance of the Northern Pow-Wow. University of Illinois Press, Chicago, IL.
Burton, Bryan.
1993. Moving Within the Circle: Contemporary Native American Music and Dance. World Music Press, Danbury, CT.
Callahan, Alice A.
1990. The Osage Ceremonial Dance, I’n-Lon-Schka. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, OK.
Ellis, Clyde
2003. A Dancing People: Powwow Culture on the Southern Plains. University of Kansas Press, Lawrence, KS.
Feder, Norman.
1957-a. Costume of the Oklahoma Straight Dancer. The American Indian Hobbyist Newsletter, Vol. 4, No. 1.
1957-b. Costume of the Oklahoma Straight Dancer. The American Indian Hobbyist Newsletter, Vol. 4, No. 2.
1980. Some Notes on the Osage War Dance. Moccasin Tracks Magazine, November Issue, LaPalma, CA.
Fletcher, Alice C.
1892. Hae-thu-ska Society of the Omaha Tribe. Journal of American Folk-lore, Vol. 5, No. 17, American Folk-Lore Society, Boston, MA.
Fletcher, Alice C. and Francis LaFlesche.
1911. The Omaha Tribe. Bureau of American Ethnology, 27th Annual Report 1905-06, Smithsonian Institution, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C.
Hail, Barbara N.
1980. Hau, Kola!: The Plains Indian Collection of the Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology. Brown University, Bristol, RI.
Heth, Charlotte, ed.
1992. Native American Dance: Ceremonies and Social Traditions. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D.C.
Howard, Dr. James H.
1951. Notes on the Dakota Grass Dance. Southwestern Journal of Anthropology, Vol.7: pp 82-85.
1955. The Pan-Indian Culture in Oklahoma. The Scientific Monthly, Vol. 81, No. 5.
1960. The Northern Style Grass Dance Costume. American Indian Hobbyist Magazine, Vol.7, No.1: pp 18-27.
1965. The Ponca Tribe. Bureau of American Ethnology, Bulletin 195, Smithsonian Institution, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C.
1972. Fire Cloud's Omaha or Grass Dance Costume, Parts One and Two. American Indian Crafts and Culture Magazine, Vol.6, No.2 and Vol. 6, No.3: pp 2-8.
1976. Ceremonial Dress of the Delaware Man. Special Issue, The Bulletin of the Archeological Society of New Jersey, No. 33, Seton Hall University, South Orange, NJ.
1983. Pan-Indianism in Native American Music and Dance. Ethnomusicology, Vol. 28, No. 1.
Howard, Dr. James H. and Gertrude P. Kurath.
1959. Ponca Dances, Ceremonies and Music. Ethnomusicology, Vol. 7.
Kavanagh, Thomas W.
1992. Southern Plains Dance Tradition and Dynamics: Native American Dance Ceremonies and Social Traditions. National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution with Starwood, Washington D.C.
LaFave, Edward J.
1998. Straight Dance Clothing: How to Dress a Straight Dancer. Whispering Wind: American Indian Past & Present Magazine, Vol. 29, No. 4, Folsom, LA.
Meadows, William.
1999. Kiowa, Apache and Comanche Military Societies. University of Texas Press, Austin, TX.
Murie, James R.
1914. Pawnee Indian Societies. Anthropological Papers, American Museum of Natural History, Vol. 11, No. 7, New York, NY.
Powers, William K.
1962. The Sioux Omaha Dance. American Indian Tradition Newsletter, Vol. 8, No. 3.
1965. Grass Dance Costume, by William K. Powers, Pow-Wow Trails Newsletter, Somerset, NJ. (reprinted by Lakota Books in 1994)
1970. Contemporary Oglala Music and Dance: Pan-Indianism versus Pan-Tetonism. The Modern Sioux: Social Systems and Reservation Culture, edited by Ethel Nurge, University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, NE.
1990. War Dance: Plains Indian Musical Performance. University of Arizona Press, Tucson, AZ.
1994. Pow-wow, Native America in the Twentieth Century: An Encyclopedia. edited by Mary B. Davis, Garland Publishing, New York.
Sebbelov, Gerda.
1911. The Osage War Dance. The Museum Journal, Vol. 2, No. 3.
Smith, Jerry.
1982. Straight Dance Clothes: Getting Them On. Moccasin Tracks Magazine, April Issue, LaPalma, CA.
Skinner, Alanson B.
1915-a. Societies of the Iowa, Kansa and Ponca Indians. Anthropological Papers, American Museum of Natural History, Vol. 11, Part 9, New York, NY.
1915-b. Ponca Societies and Dances. Anthropological Papers, American Museum of Natural History, Vol. 11, New York, NY.
Stewart, Tyronne H.
1968. Dressing a Straight Dancer. The Singing Wire Newsletter, February Issue.
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