156 



BUEEAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY 



[BULL. 53 



The eldest woman among the mourners was White Feather's 

 mother, who mourned the death of his father; for this reason it was 

 deemed not fitting that he should make the speech which preceded the 

 painting of her face, so he asked that one of the old men speak in his 

 stead. 



An old man arose and, leaning on his staff, said that he had fought 

 in the Civil War. He told of his bravery as a soldier and said that he 

 would give to this mourning woman the strength and power which 

 upheld him on the field of battle. He then handed paint to a woman, 

 who, kneeling before the aged mourner, traced scarlet lines on her 

 thin face. 



It is said that a man who has distinguished himself in war may 

 give the full result of his prowess to a friend in this ceremony, and yet 

 by so doing not lose it himself. If he is entitled to wear a feather, he 

 may give his friend the right to wear a similar feather, and even to 

 point to it saying, "I was as brave as that." Sometimes the right 

 thus generously shared was won at the risk of the man's life. 



The following song was sung during the ceremony. 



Voice J — 84 

 Drum J = 84 

 (Drum-rhythm similar to No. 2) 



No. 62. Mourners' Song 



Sung by Mec^kawiga^bau 



(Catalogue No. S. 9) 



i^Bjgsggsg^ 



i^3i 



^*=^ 



m 



3 



Analysis. — The metric unit of this song is unusually slow and was 

 not maintained with absolute regularity. The tliree renditions 

 recorded show no variation. The rhythm is less interesting than in 

 many songs of the present series, but was clearly marked and accu- 

 rately repeated. The song is minor ui tonality and has a range of 

 12 tones. 



