FROM DE SOTO TO LA SALLE
continued

They also believed in a kind of heaven and hell. Grave offerings were left on poles in the cemetery to help the deceased on his journey to eternity. Consequently, a Quapaw cemetery would resemble a grove of posts and poles. If the offerings were not used after a reasonable period of time, it was assumed the deceased had reached the happy hunting ground. Each sunrise and sunset, relatives, both men and women would mourn the dead for a time. Small fires were also lit to warm the dead on the final journey. If the grave was in or near a housing unit, the whole structure would be burned.

The “Force” would be interpreted to the tribe by Wapinan or Holy Men. They could be from any clan. They presided at ceremonies, supervised religious rituals and advised the chief and the elders. To show their authority, they performed magic tricks. More importantly, they personally named the children, thereby influencing their later lives. These Holy Men were also able to perpetuate the traditions of the Quapaws in a time of transition.

An important ritual or ceremony to invoke divine blessings involved the dance of the calumet or peace pipe. The pipe was made of red stone with a hole at one end to receive tobacco and a reed, a foot or more in length, from the other end. Colored feathers were attached to the bowl. The pipe was deemed the god of peace and war, of life and death. It also could be used to influence the weather. But it was used to cement friendly relations with other tribes or distinguished guests. After a dance, the pipe would be lit and passed around, eventually returning to the guest. He was expected to give gifts of his own. This struck the Europeans as a devise to extract gifts. They did not grasp the ritualistic or religious ceremony.

All rituals and ceremonies - planting, harvesting, serving of meals, use of body paint - were petitions to the spirit world. All were accompanied by dances. Dances for religion, war and/or peace, marriage, death, medicine, hunting and joy were all present, usually highly stylized and ritualistic. They were all to achieve oneness with the “Force”. One dance particularly struck even the French as lewd and obscene - it expressed their sexual desires.

As the Quapaw had just settled at the mouth of the Arkansas, they had not yet had time to solidify their culture. Their social institutions were somewhat skewed. They were emigrants, ripe to exploitation by other emigrants. Father Marquette and Joliet had arrived.

As mentioned earlier, Father Marquette and Joliet reached Kappa in early July, 1673. The Quapaw were not friendly. Remember, they had recently expelled the Tunica and were not going to be expelled in turn by newcomers. Luckily, Father Marquette had brought an Illinois calumet with him. As the Quapaw were preparing to attack, they at first ignored the calumet held high by Father Marquette. They finally recognized the peace pipe and invited the Frenchmen to shore and they were ushered to the chief’s hut. The French could not speak Quapaw, and the Quapaw could not speak French. But both sides could speak Algonquin, and one Algonquin captive told the Frenchmen they were guests of the “Akansea”.