54 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1914. 
of the Omaha, Ponca, Oto, and Pawnee tribes, differing only in 
minor details. To the intelligent thinking class the aims and pur- 
poses of the ceremony are clear, but there are among the Osage, as 
among other tribes, those who can not comprehend fully the deeper, 
broader teachings of such a rite, and because of this restricted view 
superstitious beliefs regarding it now prevail among the lower 
classes. 
The record of the Wadéka Weko, one of the seven war ceremonies, 
consists of 89 pages of manuscript, with 32 songs. This rite, which 
is the sixth degree of the war ceremony, is divided into eight parts, 
exclusive of the introductory rites, and consists of rituals and songs 
pertaining to the ceremonial cutting of the scalps for distribution 
among the various gentes for their sacred packs. One of these parts 
has to do with the odo”, or “honors,” won by the warriors in battle. 
While this ceremony is recorded completely, it is not yet ready for 
publication, since it 1s one of seven interdependent degrees the study 
of which is not yet finished. 
Wazhitgao, the bird ceremony for boys, is another of the seven 
degrees, and is regarded as important. It has been transcribed in 
full, but the notes thereon have not yet been elaborated for publica- 
tion. 
Zhitgizhitga Zhazhe Thadse (naming of a child), a ceremony that 
bears no direct relation to any other, is regarded as essential to the 
proper rearing of a child, and is still practiced. This ceremony has 
been recorded in its entirety, but still lacks the descriptive annotation 
necessary before publication. 
The Wéxthexthe, or tattooing ceremony, the last of the five re- 
corded by Mr. La Flesche, was taken down from its recitation by one 
of the men who had participated therein. This transcription is still, 
in a measure, fragmentary, but enough has been obtained to render 
a fair idea of the significance of the tattoo designs employed. The 
notes on the Wéxthexthe are not yet prepared for publication, as 
there is still a possibility of recording the ceremony in its entirety. 
A set of the implements used by the Osage in tattooing have been 
obtained for illustration and have been deposited in the National 
Museum. There has also been placed in the museum a waxdbeté"ga, 
er great sacred pack, which once belonged to Wacéto"zhi"ga, a promi- 
nent man of the tribe, who died in 1910. After much persuasion 
his widow reluctantly consented to part with this sacred article, to- 
gether with its buffalo-hair and rush-mat cases. This pack consists 
of the skin and plumage of a white pelican, the bird which in Osage 
mythology revealed through a dream the mysteries of tattoomg and 
provided the implements therefor. 
All the above-described ceremonies studied by Mr. La Flesche have 
still a strong hold on the Osage people; this, together with the fact 
