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Hanbleceya....The Vision Quest
The vision quest is called hanbleceya, 'crying for a vision' (from hanble,
'vision, dream', and ceya, 'to cry'). It is a ritual, primarily enacted by one person, but it must
be done under the supervision of a sacred person. A person undertakes a vision quest to gain power or to
seek a vision which will help explain unsolicited visions or to help prophesy the outcome of a hunting or war
expedition. It may be performed as often as an idividual feels that it is required, and it is usually
performed the first time during adolescence.
A person wishing to hanbleceya obtains a pipe and seeks out a wise sacred man.
He tells the sacred man of his intention to obtain a vision. If the sacred man accepts the responsibility of
guiding him, the pipe is smoked between the two and a sacred relationship formed. The supplicant then
decides on how many days he will undertake the ordeal, anywhere from two to four. Preparations are made,
and relatives of the youth and the sacred person participate in a sweat lodge.
The sacred person then takes the youth on horseback to a sacred hill, away from the camp,
where he instructs the youth how to behave during the ordeal. The youth wears only moccasins and a breech
cloth, and carries a buffalo robe and a pipe filled with tobacco and sealed with tallow.
The sacred person prepares the appointed place on the hill in the following manner:
A pit is dug large enough to accommododate the youth. It is covered over with brush, leaving an opening by
means of which he will crawl in and spend part of the ordeal. Saplings are imbedded in the earth at the
four directions, and they are connected at the ground by means of a string of tobacco offerings prepared
in advance by the youth's relatives. The four directional poles are decorated with colored cloth, each
color symbolizing one of the four directions.
The youth is instructed to remove his moccasins as a sign of humility. He is told to stay in the pit,
but that he may arise at dawn and go to each of the directions and pray. He is also instructed to hold
onto the pipe, and that as long as he does so, nothing will harm him, although many things may come to
visit him to test his strength and bravery. He may drink no water or eat any food during the
hanbleceya.
During his stay on the hill, animals and birds will talk with him. He may be visited
by the Thunder-beings from the west, or by seductive women. He must pray to the Morning Star
(anpo wicaĥpi, 'dawn star') when the sun comes up and always listen carefully to the birds and
animals, for they will have a message for him. An older man seeking power from Wakantanka may be
taken spiritually by the spirits to a far-off place where he will be instructed in curing.
After giving instructions, the sacred man leaves the youth and returns to the camp,
where he and the youth's relatives pray for the safe return of the youth. At the appointed time, the
sacred man returns for the youth and takes him back to the camp, where after another sweat lodge the
youth's visions are interpreted by the sacred person.
If a person dreams of thunder or lightning, he must act out his dream in a ceremony
called Heyoka kaga, 'Clown Making'. He must forever live his life in an antinatural manner.
Others who have had similar dreams will upon occasion hold feasts, dancing around a kettle filled with
dog meat, plunging their hands into the boiling water to retrieve choice morsals for the elders. If the
youth seeks war medicine, he must kill the animal or bird that appeared in his dream and wear or carry a
part of it when he goes on a war journey. If he seeks curing power, he must obtain a part of the animal
which instructed him and use it in his curing ceremonies. If he does not accept the instructions given to
him in his vision, misfortune may occur to someone in his family or to himself. Particularly, if he does
not heed the instructions of the Thunder-beings, he will be struck by lightning.
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