LA FLESCHE] 



TRIBAL RITES — FREE TRANSLATION 



85 



o. 

 6. 



7. 

 8. 



9. 

 10. 

 11. 

 12. 



1.3. 



14. 



15. 



16. 



17. 



18. 



19. 



20. 



21. 



23. 

 24. 



25. 

 26. 

 27. 

 28. 

 29. 

 30. 



Verily, at the end of the lodge he sat, 



Where he fell prostrate and lay with head bowed low. 



Verily, at that time and place, it has been said in this house, 



He took that which was made sacred by the people (the soil of 



the earth) 

 And put it upon his face (the forehead). 

 Then, in the early dawn, 

 He cried without ceasing as he moved 

 And walked away forthwith (toward the unfrequented parts of 



the land). 

 Verily, he arrived at 



the borders of the 



village, where he 



sat to rest, 

 VATiile the god of day 



(the sun) reached 



mid-heaven. 

 As the ilarkness of 



the evening came 



upon him, 

 ^'erily, in the midst 



of an open prairie, 



where trees grow 



not, 

 He inclined his head 



toward his right 



side, 

 Sat to rest upon the 



earth, with his 



body bent low, 

 And Wa-kC'-da 



made him close his 



eyes in sleep. 

 Night passed while 



he yet sat. 

 He woke and saw the 



Fig. 4.— Do'-dse-to"-ga (Pelican). Lite symbol of the Chief of 

 the Hc'-ga great tribal division. In the ritual the pelican is 

 called "He-who-becomes-aged-while-yet-traveling," a title 

 which refers to its symbol of great age. The office of chief is 

 hereditary, and must be kept within the Wa'-tse-tsi (Star) 

 gens of the Wa-zha'-zhe subdivision of the great Hon'-ga tribal 

 division. 



signs of the approach of the God of Day. 

 Then he took that which was made sacred by the people 

 And put it upon liis face. 

 At break of day 



He cried without ceasing as he wandered away. 

 Then, as he paused and stood to rest, 

 The God of Day reached mid-heaven. 

 The darkness of evening came upon the man, 

 Yet he ceased not his cry as he wandered. 

 In the midst of the open prairie, where trees grow not, 



