126 



BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY 



fBtlLL. 61 



The Leader of the Dancers was with the Intercessor in the council 

 tent. His costume was not necessarily different from that of the 

 dancers. Chased-by-Bears stated that when acting as Leader of 

 the Dancers he was painted white with black streaks across his 

 forehead and down his cheeks. The deerskin nite'iyapehe which he 

 wore was elaborately wrought with porcupine quills by the women 

 among his relatives, who wished to do the work although such deco- 

 ration was not required. 



The costume worn by an Intercessor was somewhat similar to that 

 of the dancers, but on his wrists and ankles he frequently wore bands 

 of buffalo skin on which the hair was loosening, and his robe 



was the skin of a 

 buff alo killed at the 

 time when it was 

 shedding its hair. 

 Bits of hair shed by 

 the buffalo were tied 

 to his own hair (see 

 pp. 64, 458), and he 

 wore buffalo horns on 

 his head, or he might 

 wear a strip of buffalo 

 skin fastened to his 

 hair and hanging 

 down his back. (See 

 pi. 19.) In contrast 

 to the dancers his 

 hair was braided, but 

 like them he wore 

 one white downy 

 eagle feather. His 

 face and hands were 

 painted red. The 

 costume of an Intercessor varied slightly with the individual. Red 

 Weasel stating that he wore otter skin around his wrists and ankles, 

 that the braids of his hair were wound with otter skin, and that 

 he wore a shirt of buffalo hide trimmed with human hair, which 

 was supposed to represent the hair of an enemy. 



On the morning of the day appointed for the Sun dance the Crier 

 went around the camp circle, announcing the opening of the cere- 

 mony in the following words: "Wana' u po. Wana' yu^tanpe. 

 InaK'ni po!" ("Now all come. Now it is finished. Hasten!") 

 In the procession which approached the Sun-dance circle the 

 Intercessor was the most prominent figure, the others acting as his 

 escort. The Intercessor held before him with uplifted stem his 



Fig. 22. Decorated stick worn in Sun dance. 



