LAFLESCHB] Nl'-KI NON-K'ON RITE 185 



973. Then plucking it, root and vine, he hastened back to his brothers, 



to whom he spake, 



974. Saying: How will this plant serve, O, elder brothers, as food for 



the little ones? 



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



976. The elder brothers tested the taste of the bulbous root with 



eager haste, 



977. Then spake to Wa'-tse-ga-wa, saying: This plant will serve as 



food for the little ones, O, younger brother, 



978. Though this may be, 



979. When the little ones prepare the plant for use, 



980. They shall always immerse it in boiluig water, 0, younger 



brother, 



981. Though this may be, 



982. We shall put it to use when we set forth against our enemies 



toward the setting sun, 



983. To overcome them and make them to fall, O, younger brothers. 



DEER SONGS 



Following the wi'-gi-e relating to the quest of food are the Ta 

 Wa'-tho°, Deer Songs, six in all, arranged in sequence of action. The 

 first song pictures the hunter as he stands in wait for the deer, while 

 his sister who remains at home follows him with expectant wish that 

 a stag or a doe might approach the spot where her brother stands 

 and be shot by him. These kinship terms, brother and sister, are 

 here used in the generic sense. The second song depicts the anxiety 

 of the sister as time passes and the strengthening of her hope that 

 her brother will succeed. The third song refers to the mind relief 

 of the sister as she divines the actual shooting of a deer by her brother. 

 The fourth song refers to the wounding of a deer hj the hunter and 

 the pursuit of it. The fifth song recounts the cutting of the skui of 

 the caught deer in such a manner as to make it convenient for shaping 

 into clothing. The sixth song deals with the attributing by the hunter 

 of his success to the sacred wi'-gi-e that describes the haunts of the 

 deer. (See p. 97, lines 49 to 103, wi'-gi-e of the Deer gens.) 



The order in which the wi'-gi-e relating to the food plants and the 

 deer songs appear may have some historical value. At any rate the 

 sequence implies that the natural products of the earth were depended 

 upon by the Wa-zha'-zhe for sustenance, and that the first to be pro- 

 tected by force as against intrusion by unfriendly tribes were the food 

 plants. Later, when the people became possessed of an effective 

 weapon, as the bow and arrow, the deer was given a place among 

 the natural food products and figured prommently in both the religious 

 and practical life of the tribe. There are two titles to the Deer 

 Songs— Ta Wa'-tho°, Deer Songs; and Tn Gi'-bo° Wa'-tho°, Songs of 

 Calling the Deer. 



