﻿PLBTCHEB-LA 
  PLESCHE] 
  DISEASE 
  AND 
  ITS 
  TREATMENT 
  587 
  

  

  Yet 
  verily 
  it 
  is 
  said 
  you 
  alone 
  have 
  power 
  to 
  receive 
  supplications. 
  

  

  Aged 
  ( 
  )ne, 
  ecka. 
  

   I 
  have 
  desired 
  to 
  go 
  yet 
  farther 
  in 
  the 
  path 
  of 
  life 
  with 
  my 
  little 
  ones. 
  

   Without, 
  pain, 
  without 
  sickness, 
  

   Beyond 
  the 
  second, 
  third, 
  and 
  fourth 
  period 
  of 
  life's 
  pathway. 
  

  

  Aged 
  One, 
  ecka. 
  

   hear! 
  This 
  is 
  my 
  prayer. 
  

   Although 
  uttered 
  in 
  words 
  poorly 
  put 
  together, 
  

  

  Aged 
  One, 
  ecka. 
  

  

  This 
  ritual 
  shows 
  with 
  unusual 
  clearness 
  the 
  symbolic 
  character 
  

   of 
  the 
  stone 
  as 
  well 
  as 
  the 
  native 
  anthropomorphic 
  habit 
  of 
  mind. 
  

   In 
  the 
  ritual 
  the 
  stones 
  are 
  addressed, 
  generically 
  and 
  anthropo- 
  

   morphically, 
  as 
  "Aged 
  One," 
  a 
  title 
  of 
  highest 
  respect. 
  The 
  "Aged 
  

   One" 
  is 
  spoken 
  of 
  as 
  having 
  persisted 
  through 
  all 
  time 
  since 
  the 
  

   gathering 
  of 
  the 
  primal 
  seven, 
  to 
  have 
  sat 
  at 
  the 
  center 
  where 
  the 
  

   paths 
  converge, 
  and 
  endured 
  the 
  shock 
  of 
  the 
  four 
  winds, 
  those 
  

   mighty 
  forces 
  which 
  bring 
  life 
  and 
  can 
  destroy 
  it. 
  Because 
  of 
  this 
  

   enduring 
  quality, 
  abiding 
  throughout 
  all 
  stress 
  and 
  change, 
  the 
  stone 
  

   symbolized 
  the 
  steadfast 
  power 
  of 
  Wako 
  n 
  'da, 
  the 
  permeating 
  life 
  of 
  

   all 
  nature, 
  and 
  so 
  was 
  possessed 
  with 
  "power 
  to 
  receive 
  supplica- 
  

   tions" 
  — 
  this 
  despite 
  the 
  fact 
  that 
  reference 
  is 
  made 
  in 
  the 
  ritual 
  to 
  

   the 
  lack 
  of 
  means 
  on 
  the 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  stone 
  of 
  man's 
  ability 
  to 
  express 
  

   his 
  volitions 
  (as 
  organs 
  of 
  speech, 
  feeling, 
  and 
  motion) 
  . 
  Therefore 
  

   to 
  it 
  man 
  turned 
  for 
  protection 
  and 
  help 
  when 
  beset 
  by 
  distress 
  of 
  

   body 
  or 
  mind. 
  It 
  will 
  be 
  recalled 
  that 
  the 
  Omaha 
  used 
  the 
  sweat 
  

   lodge 
  not 
  only 
  for 
  curative 
  purposes 
  but 
  to 
  avert 
  disaster, 
  as 
  impend- 
  

   ing 
  death, 
  and 
  also 
  as 
  a 
  preparatory 
  rite. 
  Here 
  is 
  set 
  forth 
  the 
  

   recognition 
  of 
  the 
  contradiction 
  between 
  the 
  inertia 
  of 
  the 
  actual 
  

   stone 
  and 
  the 
  vitality 
  of 
  the 
  stone 
  as 
  a 
  symbol. 
  The 
  mental 
  atti- 
  

   tude 
  of 
  the 
  Omaha 
  when 
  he 
  addresses 
  the 
  stone 
  can 
  be 
  discerned 
  — 
  

   his 
  thought 
  is 
  not 
  centered 
  on 
  the 
  apparent 
  stone, 
  but 
  passes 
  on 
  to 
  

   the 
  quality 
  or 
  power 
  which 
  the 
  stone 
  typifies. 
  What 
  is 
  true 
  of 
  the 
  

   stone 
  applies 
  to 
  the 
  animals, 
  the 
  thunder 
  and 
  lightning, 
  and 
  the 
  

   cosmic 
  forces 
  to 
  which 
  the 
  Omaha 
  addressed 
  himself. 
  All 
  were 
  

   symbols 
  of 
  qualities 
  he. 
  recognized 
  in 
  man 
  and 
  projected 
  upon 
  natural 
  

   objects 
  and 
  phenomena. 
  

  

  