Crow religion is the indigenous religion of the Crow people, Native Americans of the Great Plains area of the United States.
The Crow Deity In the Crow language the Creator has many names, such as Akbaatatdia (One Who Has Made Everything/Maker of All Things Above), Iichíkbaalee (First Doer/Maker), and Isáahkawuattee (Old Man Coyote). All names refer to a singular, omnipotent god who the Crow believe to have created the universe. This universe is believed to be made up of three worlds, the first is the physical world, thought to be the smallest of all the worlds, the second is the spirit world, and the third is where God alone lives.
Crow creation stories One of many Crow creation stories for the physical world recalls that Old Man Coyote (OMC) was alone in a large ocean when he saw two male ducks floating upon its surface. In conversation with the ducks the subject turns to what lies beneath the sea. Old Man Coyote encourages one of the ducks to dive, which he does, and after a nervous wait the duck finally surfaces with a root in its beak. Another dangerous dive brings up mud. With this soil Old Man Coyote builds first an island, and then all the lands of the Earth. However the Earth is empty, so Old Man Coyote uses the root to populate the planet with plants and trees. Despite this success the Earth was still not right, it was too flat, so OMC shaped the land to create the rivers, mountains and all geographical features. Again something was missing, Old Man Coyote and the ducks wanted friends, so he moulded Man out of the clay. But Old Man Coyote wanted Man to be happy so he created Women too so that they may be contented together and multiply. He then made female ducks so that ducks may be happy too. The story then develops where Old Man Coyote encounters another Coyote, and they decide to travel together, getting themselves into various situations that eventually creates all animals of the Earth.
In the beginning it is believed that Crows were close to God, praying constantly to show their devotion, however as time progressed Crows forgot to pray and brought misfortune upon themselves. Crows believe that they must rekindle that bond through prayer if they are to be prosperous, many seeking a personal relationship with God to be individually successful.
Crow religious belief Crows will often use 'Grandmother Earth' as a way of expressing the physical things that God created, as God, although part of the physical world, transcends the first world. Because of this God is often referred to hierarchically as being 'Above,' as in superior, rather than physically in the heavens. As God created everything Crows believe that the power of the Creator is in all things, and therefore, all things in nature are sacred. As God created everything and is therefore omnipresent, Crows are in contact with God during every aspect of their daily lives. It is because of this omnipresence and omnipotence that Crows are religiously tolerant. One example of this tolerance is the overview of the world's religions provided by Thomas Yellowtail, a Crow medicine man and Sun Dance chief. Yellowtail used the metaphor of a wagon wheel to describe religious belief, noting that, each spoke represented a unique people and religion. If one spoke was removed, the wheel would not work, meaning all spokes must be present to form the circle of life. All spokes however are connected to the central beam, the Creator. Therefore, all religions and peoples are connected to God, and all equally valid as ways of establishing a spiritual relationship. As a result, Crows can participate in multiple religions, it is up to individuals to decide which methods they believe to be most effective. What is now considered traditional Crow religious practices were most likely developed sometime between 1725–1770, at a time of great cultural change after the Crow acquired their first horses from the Comanche tribe during the 1730s.
Baaxpée, Xapáaliia and spirits The sacred power of God is called Baaxpée, meaning "power transcending the ordinary." The physical manifestation of Baaxpée is called Xapáaliia, often referred to as 'medicine,' which represents and acts as a conduit of Baaxpée given to a Crow by God.
For a Crow to acquire Baaxpée they must be given it by a spirit, a Iilápxe, a super-natural patron from the spirit world. As the spirit world is between the physical and the third world where God dwells, spirits are believed to be intermediaries between man and God and are therefore able to bestow Baaxpée. Crows believe that the world is full of spirits which often take the form of animals, with buffalos, birds and bears being especially revered. The stars, as created by God, are also considered highly sacred and their spirits can interact with humans in the same way as an animal patron. The manifestation of the spirit often defines the type of Baaxpée they gift, with an Elk spirit, as a strong and independent animal being associated with bestowing increased strength. A squirrel spirit, as it stores nuts for the winter to feed its family, is believed to do the same for humans, helping the tribe find food. The individual features of each spirit will also influence the type of Baaxpée given, for example a grey haired patron will indicate a gift of longevity. However, there is no set animal patron and Baaxpée for a Crow, each spirit is individual the person that received its vision.
Vision quests According to the Crows, in the pre-reservation world, there were two primary ways that a Crow may go about acquiring Baaxpée, the first is by going on a vision quest. There are many reasons why a Crow would want to attain Baaxpée through a vision quest, some may be sick and wish to be cured, others may want to gain strength with which to defeat their enemies in battle, and many want to be blessed by God to guide them throughout their life. Generally the Baaxpée a Crow wishes to attain through a vision quest is personal and specific to the individual.
Before embarking upon the quest a Crow might visit a medicine man to help determine what type of Baaxpée would most aid them, and to go over the rites and prayers to ensure their endeavour follows the rituals. For the quest itself, a Crow will go alone to an isolated and prominent place, often the peak of a hill (Crows especially favour the Wolf Mountains), to gain complete solitude for their ritual prayer.
In Crow the ritual is called bilisshíissanne, which translates as 'to fast from water,' as the participant vows not eat or drink for two to three days to show their devotion to God through their sacrifice. Self-mortification is also sometimes practiced, the most common being the removal of a finger, as an offering to God and as sign of their dedication. The purpose of these tortures is to show their willingness to give themselves completely to God and gain the pity of a spirit, a representative of God. When a spirit pities the participant they will induce a vision in which the patron adopts the Crow, bestowing Baaxpée. The relationship between the spirit and a Crow is conceived as being paternal, where the spirit as a father guides the Crow child through life, hence spirits will often be referred to as 'Medicine Fathers.' However the Baaxpée the quester gains is loaned by the spirit, not given entirely, requiring the Crow to pray to their patron to confirm the bonds between them and keep the Baaxpée strong.
Once the quest is complete and Baaxpée gained, the Crow quester would return home, often visiting a medicine man to talk through their vision to fully understand its meaning. To commemorate their experience the quester will create a Xapáaliia to represent their patron, the power they have gained, and to help a Crow in channelling and maintaining their Baaxpée. For the individual the Xapáaliia can be anything they deem sufficient to represent the bond between them and their patron, for example if an eagle was their spirit a Crow may decide to take an eagle's feather as their Xapáaliia. For each Crow their Baaxpée and their vision is unique and cannot be transferred. However the Xapáaliia is a physical, powerful, and sacred object which can be passed between Crows, often bestowed upon death to family members, or given to Crows who cannot receive a vision of their own. If a Crow's Xapáaliia is known to be especially powerful, proven by its ability to influence life, they may find themselves inundated with requests to use it, the decision however it is ultimately up the owner as to who they give it to. The powers that Xapáaliia bestows to its owner usually reflect the pragmatic concerns of a Crow's daily life, whether this be to gain food, good health, wealth or to bring victory over one's enemies. To keep their Xapáaliia pure and their patron happy, it is vital that it does not come into contact with menstruates, if it does, this would offend their Medicine Father and bring disease upon the owner.
The Sun Dance The second way in which nineteenth century Crows may attempted to gain Baaxpée was through a Sun Dance (aškišširissu-a). Unlike the vision quest the Sun Dance is performed by individuals in a public ceremony for the benefit of the whole tribe, performed to ensure the Crow's links to God remain strong, therefore bringing prosperity and happiness. Leslie Spear believed that the Sun Dance ceremony most likely came from the Cheyenne, Blackfeet and Atsina tribes as these groups had the most complex Sun Dance ceremonies. The Sun Dance was banned on the Crow reservation in 1887 as part of the 'civilising' effort that the Indian Office embarked upon during this era. The practise was revived in 1941 when William Big Day, after having attended a Shoshone Sun Dance where he felt an intense connection, performed the first Crow Sun Dance in fifty-four years, believing that its resurrection would bring happiness to the tribe. The practice grew so that by the 1990s an average of five Sun Dances were conducted each summer. In the late 1980s a Teton-Sioux version of Sun Dance was introduced to the reservation, resulting in some dances displaying a hybrid of Shoshone and Teton characteristics.
The Sweat Lodge Ceremony A smaller, but no less significant ritual, celebrated both in the pre-reservation world and in contemporary Crow society, is the sweat lodge. While this ritual is practiced alone, it is also an important prerequisite to the Sun Dance that tribal members believe purifies the body and prepares the soul for the Sun Dance. This connection is seen in that the Sweat Lodge is often referred to as the 'Little Lodge,' the smaller brother of the 'Big Lodge' in which the Sun Dance is performed. The Sweat Lodge itself in many ways mimics the Big Lodge, being made of twelve poles with the door facing east to welcome the Sun. In the centre of the lodge a 2 ft by 2 ft pit is dug into which hot rocks are placed, heated by a fire to the east of the lodge. An individual is given the duty of placing the rocks in the pit whilst the others sit and pray in silence. The first four rocks must be placed in cross, each to represent the four directions of the wind and the circle of life. Once all rocks are placed the ceremony begins, first an uncounted number of dips of water are placed on the rocks called 'April Showers' to build up the sweat in the lodge. Then the formal four quarters of the ceremony are conducted, with a break in-between each quarter. During the first quarter four dips are placed upon the rocks, the second seven, the third ten, and then the fourth an uncounted 'quarter of a million.' The ceremony is believed to purify the participants, preparing them for the Sun Dance ceremony, which, seen as a form of spiritual endurance and warfare, requires a Crow to be pure to give them spiritual armour.