[_Snelling's_] _Tales of the North-west_, p 21,
_Mackenzie's Travels._
[16] _Hey-o-ka_ is one of the principal Dakota deities. He is a giant, but
can change himself into a buffalo, a bear, a fish or a bird. He is
called the Anti-natural God or Spirit. In summer he shivers with cold,
in winter he suffers from heat; he cries when he laughs and he laughs
when he cries, etc. He is the reverse of nature in all things. _Heyoka_
is universally feared and reverenced by the Dakotas, but so severe is
the ordeal that the _Heyoka Wacipee_ (the dance to _Heyoka_) is now
rarely celebrated. It is said that the "Medicine-men" use a secret
preparation which enables them to handle fire and dip their hands in
boiling water without injury and thereby gain great _eclat_ from the
uninitiated. The chiefs and the leading warriors usually belong to the
secret order of "Medicine-men" or "Sons of _Unktehee_"--the Spirit of
the Waters.
[17] The Dakota name for the moon is _Han-ye-tu-wee_--literally,
Night-Sun. He is the twin brother of _An-pe-tu-wee_--the Day Sun. See
note 70.
[18] The Dakotas believe that the stars are the spirits of their departed
friends.
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