36 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 45 



At the close of this song the leader lays down his rattle, raises his 

 hands with palms extended, and motions the people to follow him as 

 he dances out of the lodge. 



It is expected that those who have been invited to this feast will 

 build the JVIide'wigan (Mide' lodge), where the initiation ceremony is 

 to be held. This is done soon after the close of the feast, and as so 

 many are at work — some cutting the poles and others cutting brush 

 or bringing dry hay — the building of the lodge requires only a short 

 time. 



Plate 5 shows a Mide' lodge with a ceremony in progress. At this 

 ceremony Wa'wiektim'ig was advanced to a high degree. The struc- 

 ture is made of a framework of poles interlaced overhead to form a 

 roof whose arch suggests the dome of the sky. In unfavorable 

 weather this framework is covered wdth branches. The size of the 

 lodge varies according to requirement. It is usually from 50 to 100 

 feet long, 12 to 15 feet wide, and about 8 feet high. In the old days 

 several hundred people attended the Mide'wiwin and the lodge at 

 that time is said to have been so long that a person at one end 

 could not hear voices at the other end and could judge the progress 

 of the ceremony only by the sound of the drum. 



For an initiation into the first degree the lodge (see fig. 4) extends 

 east and west, with a door at each end. For an initiation into the 

 fourth degree the lodge is built wdth four doors — east, west, north, and 

 south. If necessary for warmth, two fires are made, one in front of 

 each door. A large stone is placed a short distance west of the fire 

 which burns near the eastern door. This stone symbolizes the power 

 of the IMide' as a defense, one man stating that the Mide' is like a 

 stone to throw at an enemy. West of the center of the lodge is the 

 pole belonging to the person to be initiated and known as his medicine 

 pole. If he is to take the first degree this pole is decorated with a 

 narrow blue band at the top, below which there is a broad band of 

 red, the remainder of the pole being unpainted. For an initiation 

 into the second degree the pole is decorated with a broader band of 

 blue, the width of the band of red remaining the same. It is also 

 placed nearer the w^est door. For the third degree an effigy of a 

 bird is placed near the top of the pole, for the fourth degree a cross- 

 bar is placed in the same position, and for each succeeding degree 

 there is a prescribed form of decoration. 



On the day set for the initiation ceremony, just before sunrise, the 

 oc'kabe'wis and the person to be initiated go to the lodge carrying 

 on their backs the gifts which the latter wdll present to the initiators. 

 They go around the lodge four times, enter the east door, and hang 

 the gifts upon poles provided for the purpose. These gifts consist 

 of blankets and cloth as well as tobacco and food. The oc'kabe'wis 

 remains in the lodge to complete the arrangements. 



