1 

 144 THE OSAGE TRIBE [eih. ann. 36 



theme of the songs. The Indian is thinking that upcni these animals 

 his own bodily sustenant-o depends, and the song is a call to that 

 mysterious power of animal life so needed by man to come to his 

 iielp and to come in an endless and constant succession. The stanzas 

 of the song are arranged so as to suggest the growth of the animal 

 from birth to old age, beginning in the first stanza with the yellowisli 

 color of the hair of the newborn, through the changes in the (-oloring 

 of the hair, the growth of the horns, to the full maturity of the 

 animal, when the mating with the female occurs and the perpetua- 

 tion of the species is assured, until finally the animal reaches old age, 

 when all its functional powers are at an end. 



The second song relates to the activities of the animal when it has 

 attained all its capabilities. The call in these songs is not only to 

 the mysterious life embodied in the animal but to that of the humaTi 

 race as well and represented by the Initiate anil his wife. 



In this connection it is of historic interest that the Omaha in their 

 call to the life of the buffalo begin with the bodily formation of the 

 animal while in its embryonic state, bringing it to its actual birth, 

 when it rises and places the imprints of its feet upon the bosom of 

 the earth. (See Twenty-seventh Ann. Kept. Bur. Amer. Ethn., 

 p. 289.) 



At the close of the songs the A'-ki-ho° Xo-ka gives the instructions 

 to the woman as to certain supplicatory ceremonies to be performed 

 by her on behalf of her children as each one is boi-n. These instruc- 

 tions are the same as those in the Tse Wa'-tho° given by Wa-xthi'-zhi 

 in his description of the No^'-zhi^-zho" degree of the war rites, and 

 those given by Xu-tha'-wa-to°-i° in his description of the Ni'-ki-e 

 degree of his gens. (See p. 270.) 



When the A'-ki-lio° Xo-ka has finished his instructions the woman 

 returns the counting sticks to him and then goes out of the lodge. 

 The leader of the Crawfish gens then speaks, saying: "O, No°'-ho°- 

 zhi°-ga, you may now remove from your faces the symbolic paint- 

 ings." The women bring water and all the men, excepting those of 

 the Tsi'-zhu Wa-no°, the Ho^'-ga U-ta-no"-dsi, and the gens of the 

 Initiate, wash their faces, while the men appointed to distribute the 

 provisions furnished by the Initiate perform their duties. Then, as 

 the women carry away the portions given to the families, all the 

 No^'-ho^-zhi^-ga, excepting those of the Ho^'-ga U-ta-no^-dsi, the 

 Tsi'-zhu Wa-no", and the initiating gens, go out of the lodge, those 

 of the Tsi'-zhu Division passing out by the south door and those of 

 the Ho°'-ga by the north. Eaidi No^'-ho^-zhi^-ga as he passes the 

 Initiate addresses him by the name of his gens and greets him with 

 the words, "O, Ho°'-ga, living creatures shall come to you," meaning 

 that children wiU be born to him and to his wife and that they shall 

 have plenty of animal food on which to live. 



