GHOST WOMAN
Pawnee

A long time ago there was a young man who loved a young woman who lived in his village.

“I must leave you for a short while,” he said, “because I am going with the elk hunting party. We will be married when I return.”

While he was away, the woman grew ill and died. The village people dressed her in her most beautiful garments, and buried her that way. The young man had not been told she was dead. When he returned, he saw her sitting alone in the deserted village, as the village people had changed camp.

He insisted on being married immediately but she would not until after the dance. “The ghost dancers are here,” she said.

“Ghost dancers?” he asked, but as he spoke, he heard them. They were moving from house to house, dancing and singing, shopping and yelling, having a good time. The next day the young man persuaded his soon-to-be-wife that she must go with him to catch up with their people. They journeyed until they were very close to where their tribe camped.

“I will wait here,” she said, “and you must go prepare a private place where I can be alone - - no one must see me. I will stay there, undisturbed, four days and four nights. While I am there, you must not tell anyone of this. It is our secret.  Promise.”

He was curious, but he loved her, so he promised. While in the village, and as he prepared the special hiding place, several people from his family grew curious. He explained, but did not use her name. Still, they guessed.

“But your young bride-to-be is dead,” they said.

When he went to find her she’d turned into a ghost. He had broken his promise by letting his relatives know where she was, thus ruining her chances for a second life.

The man’s heart was broken. That night he died in his sleep. But ever since that time, the People have understood it is possible to have another life after this one.

From Traditional Stories and Foods: An American Indian Remembers, by Joan Leslie Woodruff