The Sun Dance.

The Sun Dance

It all began six weeks ago after I was captured by a group of Indians whilst I was counting the bulls on my ranch, I was shot down with an arrow and the next thing I could remember was waking up in a tepee. I was nicknamed horse (a name meaning that I was as much use as a horse!) by the other Indians for the reasons of simply being a white man and sentenced to a life of humiliation and slavery in the tribe. Eventually my wound healed and very slowly I began to adapt to the way of the Indians.

It began like any other day in the tribe, with me looking after the children and doing all of the other jobs meant for women when one of the children in my care shouted to me ‘black feet, black feet’ I had heard it often enough, it was the cry of Indians from a rivalry tribe and I knew that if I was ever hoping to become anything but ‘horse’ to these Indians now was my chance to prove myself! Sure enough as the child had said, there were two black feet that riding towards our gathering, I leapt into action. I drew back my bow and shot an arrow directly into the first mans heart, all that practisng had finally paid off. The other man now began to panic as he realised he was under attack, he tried to run, but I was too quick for him and I pulled him down then thrust a stick through his flesh in one swift movement. I knew now that there was only one thing left to do, scalp him! I had seen other members of the tribe do this with ease but being a white man made it a gruesome act of violence! But I knew that if I wanted to be accepted I would have to do it, I grabbed my knife and carefully peeled away the enemy’s scalp. From behind me I heard loud cheers. It was the tribesmen back from the hunt! I knew now that my days of being called a horse were over!

I was thrown on top of a horse and galloped back to the gathering, being cheered on and supported all the way. When we arrived, another loud welcome awaited me but there was only one person that interested me Naomi. Ever since I was captured jrhgur had always been there for me, healing me back to health and cheering me up. Maybe now I would finally of won here fathers (great bear) trust!

After all of the cheering had finally died down I walked over to great bear to ask him if I could have permission to marry his daughter. ...

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After all of the cheering had finally died down I walked over to great bear to ask him if I could have permission to marry his daughter. Many of the tribes’ people gathered round and began a roused conversation; I longed to hear what they were saying but only with the aid of an interpreter could that be possible. After what seemed to be forever great bear called over the interpreter and I finally knew what his answer was. Great bear would only let me marry Naomi on the condition that I took part in the ancient ritual, The Sun Dance.

I had heard the tribesmen talking of the sundance before but I knew very little about it, all I knew was that it was a very rarely done ritual and Indians would perform this ritual to win the heart of the one who he was to marry and that it was very, very, painful!

The day of reckoning drew nearer and nearer and I knew now that now I had accepted the challenge, it was too late to change my mind. I knew no way of preparing myself and all I could do was grin and bear it!

It finally came, the morning I had been anticipating for weeks, and I felt ready for the sun dance, whatever I had to do .I felt very nervous and, a little excited as this was my chance to prove myself worthy and win the heart of Naomi. A WHOLE DAY I HAD TO SPEND OUT IN THE SUN. That’s twenty-four hours of the south American sun beating down on you with no food or drink but the thought of my wife to be Naomi sweating it out in a hot tepee made me feel just that little bit better! I spent most of my time looking forward to the rest of the sun dance; it had to be easier than this, didn’t it?!

The following day the women gathered around to watch me being taken down into the underground lodge, they were not allowed to watch as only the male members of the tribe were allowed to whiteness the sun dance. None of them thought that I would survive it. I was taken into the lode then stood before the chief, I knew now I had to tell the chief of reasons why I wanted to perform the sundance. I blurted it all out, everything from the hatred I had felt towards them when I first arrived, to my views on how ugly they all were! My interpreter was very uneasy about repeating it but I made him. From all the abuse being shouted at me from the Tribesmen I guessed that my chances of ever being accepted into the tribe were disintegrating, fast, but to my astonishment I looked at the chief and he was smiling, he must have appreciated my truthful ways! He ordered the medicine men to give me the thorns and then gave me a medicine bag! It was a great honour to be given a medicine bag by your chief and it meant that he wished the best of luck upon me. He was undoubtedly the only man in the room that believed I would, no could go through with it. The steady beat of the drum began and I knew now that it was too late to reconsider. The chief shouted ‘Wakan Tanka’ at the top of his voice and the others all repeated his words and before long the whole of the lodge was chanting to the beat of the drum. The chief of the medicine men came up to me carrying the sharpened talons of eagles! I gritted my teeth as he thrust the talons into my nipples and the bone into my flesh. The pain was immense but I knew that I had to bear it. Two ropes were lowered down from the hole in the lodge and looped round the bone that was sticking out from my nipples as the loop tightened I tried in vein to prepare myself for what was to come. I was lifted from the safety of the ground, supported only by the skin on my chest. At first, I didn’t feel the pain but then it hit me, hard, it was like being fired at by a thousand arrows, but much more painful. I was spun around by the rope on my nipples. The pain was getting unbearably intense now and the last thing I can remember was a flash of light, blindingly bright, then an eagle flying across the sky effortlessly gliding on thin air, suddenly the eagle seemed to change to a herd of white buffalo stampeding across a scorched savannah with someone chasing them, it was me, just before I was caught by the Indians. I heard faint chanting in the distance and then I felt myself fall abruptly to the ground. From here on it will be my interpreter telling the story.

‘Well, after you were cut from the rope you were carried off to your tepee and left there to either recover or die, many of us thought you would never wake up after such an ordeal but eventually you came round, Naomi was told and there was a huge celebration ritual and here you are today with seventeen children and six wives!