A HERMENEUTIC EXPOSITION OF A PLAINS HEALERS CONCEPT OF THE GRANDFATHERS

The concept of ''the Grandfathers'' is a key element in the religious thought of Plains Indian groups. Because there is little scholarly lit erature on ''the Grandfathers,'' this paper explores the meaning of th e concept from the point of view of a Dakota healer. In addition, the paper illustrates what we refer to as ''hermeneutic exposition'' - a m ethod which uses metaformulations to ''reframe'' emic ideas (such as t he concept of the Grandfathers) in order to reveal their inherent soph istication to outsiders. This method also allows emic ideas to be comp ared with similar ideas in other cultures without compromising their i ndigenous integrity.