1U12 THE GHOST-DANCE KELIGION [eth.ann.14 



Yathft'n iit:i -hm bii — , 



Nithi'na hest'ina u in. 

 Nithi'na uesi'ma iiin. 



Translation 



Thus says our father, the Crow, 

 Thus says our lather, the. Crow. 

 Go around live times raon — 

 Go around rive times more — 

 Says the father, 

 Says the father. 



This is the closing song of the dauce since the return of the great 

 delegation of southern Arapahoand Cheyenne who visited the messiah 

 in August, 1S91. Before that time the closing song had been number 

 52, beginning Ni'nini'tubi'na hu'hu'. The literal rendering of the second 

 part is " stop five times," the meaning and practice being that they must 

 make five circuits singing this song and then stop. As already stated, 

 in accordance with the instructions of the messiah, the Ghost dance is 

 now held (theoretically) at intervals of six weeks and continues for four 

 consecutive nights, closing about midnight, excepting on the last night, 

 when the believers dance until daylight. As daylight begins to appear 

 in the east, they sing the song to the morning star, as just given (num- 

 ber 72), and then, after a short rest, the leaders start this, the closing 

 song, which is sung while the dancers make five circuits, resting a 

 few moments between circuits. Then they unclasp hands, wave their 

 blankets in the air to fan away all evil influences, ami go down to the 

 river to bathe, the men in one place and the women in another. After 

 bathing, they resume their clothing and disperse to their various camps, 

 and the Ghost dance is over. 



ARAPAHO GLOSSARY 



In this and the other glossaries here given it is intended only to give 

 a concise definition of the meaning of each Word without going into 

 details of grammar or etymology. The Ghost dauce was studied for its 

 mythology, psychology, ritual, and history, and language in this con- 

 nection was only the means to an end. as it was impossible in a few 

 months of time to devote close attention to the numerous languages 

 spoken by the tribes represented in the dance. 



The Arapaho language, as will be seen from the specimens given, is 

 eminently vocalic, almost every syllable ending in a vowel, and there 

 being almost no double consonant sounds. Like the Cheyenne lan- 

 guage, it lacks / and r. The most prominent vowel sounds are a, ii. and 

 /.and in some instances there are combinations of several vowel sounds 

 without any intervening consonant. The soft tli sound is also promi- 

 nent. The <j and <l frequently approximate to /.• and /, respect ively, and h 

 in the standard dialect becomes r among the northern Arapaho. The 

 only sound of the language (excepting the medial A- and t) not found in 

 English is the gutteral 7, and the language is entirely devoid of the 

 hissing effect of Cheyenne or the choking sounds of Kiowa. 



