essay
All old spirits have come back to greet him: realizing the Sacred Pole of the Omaha tribe
Present is past : some uses of tradition in native societies • Lanham, Md. • Published In 1997 • Pages: 159-174, 215-232
By: Ridington, Robin.
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This article discusses how the Omaha community of Macy, Nebraska, reacted when their much venerated and culturally personified sacred pole 'finally returned' from its long sojourn at Harvard University's Peabody Museum. It shows that individual Omaha families experienced this contact with their long lost sacred object differently depending on their view of the past. Some felt a sense of renewal in their identity and 'tribal unity' as Omaha as they took the return of this sacred object as a symbol of 'all the old spirits' coming back from long dislocation. Others became uncomfortable with the presence of these spirits as they may be harmful to the living generation.
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Cultural identity and pride
- Sacred objects and places
- Sociocultural trends
- Mythology
- Community structure
- External relations
- Organized ceremonial
- Prayers and sacrifices
- Political movements
- Acculturation and culture contact
- Ingroup antagonisms
- cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- Omaha
- HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
- 2010
- RegionThe area the document pertains to
- North America
- Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
- Plains and Plateau
- Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
- essay
- Evaluation
- Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
- Anthropologist
- Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
- 5: Excellent Primary Data
- AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
- Teferi A. Adem; 2010
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- 1990-1994
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 1870-1997
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- Nebraska, USA
- NotesAdditional notes
- Robin Ridington
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 215-232)
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- 96051052
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Omaha Indians