DENSMORE] MANDAN AND HIDATSA MUSIC 37 
wipe off impurities.” This term was applied to the Corn Priest 
in only one of his ceremonial activities. 
The duties of Corn Priest were twofold in character and comprised 
the distribution of seed which he had in his possession, and the 
fructifying, or “ purifying” of seed which was brought to him for 
that purpose. The first was performed every year in the spring, 
but the second did not always occur. Concerning the distribution 
of seed, it was said that the Corn Priest kept a supply of every 
variety of corn and knew what variety each family usually planted, 
for he noticed the scaffolds in the fall with their braids of drying 
corn. If by any chance he forgot the variety, he asked the woman 
who made the request and was informed whether her family raised 
white, yellow, red, “ pink,” or other corn. No one knew where the 
Corn Priest obtained his seed corn, but he always had an abundance. 
The request for seed was always accompanied by a gift, and he 
gave each woman a few kernels which she mixed with her own 
corn, thus rendering it productive. 
The ceremony of purifying the corn was performed in accord- 
ance with the instructions of Good Fur Robe. A “map of the 
earth,” drawn on buckskin, and a ceremonial pipe, to be described 
in a subsequent paragraph, were used at this time. The corn or 
other seed was spread on the ground, and the buckskin map was hung 
between the seed and the Corn Priest in such a position that its 
lower edge rested on the ground. The Corn Priest sprinkled the 
seed with water and sang certain songs, but these died with Moves 
Slowly, the last man who had the right to sing them. It is said 
that neither drum nor rattle was used with these songs. According 
to Will and Hyde the Corn Priest “then takes brushes of mint and 
performs the actual cleansing by brushing over all of the seed, and 
all of the people as well.”*? After performing this ceremony the 
Corn’ Purifier was “holy” until the harvest. He painted himself 
and stayed in his lodge, eating only dried vegetables and corn of the 
previous year. It was believed that if he ate so much as one kernel 
of fresh corn a frost would come that night and destroy the entire 
crop. A Corn Priest who for some reason had not performed the 
ceremony of purifying the seed was under no restrictions and could 
eat whatever he liked. Among the regulations pertaining to the 
season was a rule that no one should use a knife on a cornstalk at 
the time of the purifying of the corn. If an extended drought en- 
dangered the crop, it was customary for a group of men, or one of 
the men’s societies, to gather a large quantity of gifts and take them 
to the Corn Priest with-a request that he secure rain. If he were 
unable to do this, the gifts were taken to the medicine men, each of 
52 Corn among the Indians of the Upper Missouri, p. 263. Subsequent duties of the 
Corn Purifier are enumerated on pages 264—268 of this work, 
