296 THE OSAGE TRIBE (eth. ann. 36 



FREE TRANSLATION 

 1 



I have made a footprint, a sacred one. 



2 



I have made a footprint, through it the blades push upward. 



1 have made a footprint, through it tlie blade.f radiate. 



4 

 I have made a footprint, over it the blades float in the wind. 



5 

 I have made a footprint, over it the ears lean toward one another. 



- 6 

 I have made a footprint, over it I pluck the ears. 



7 

 I have made a footprint, over it I bend the stalk to pluck the ears. 



8 

 I have made a footprint, over it the blossoms lie gray. 



9 

 I have made a footprint, smoke arises from my house. 



10 

 I have made a footprint, there is cheer in my house. 



11 

 I ha\e made a footprint. I live in the light of day. 



At the close of this song the women put away their bags anil poles 

 and sit down, facing the Xo'-ka, who instructs them in the details of 

 certain supplicatory rites to be observed by them in tlressing a sym- 

 bolic robe for their little ones, in planting the corn, and in gathering 

 the roots of the water lily {Nelumho lutea) to be used for food. 

 Wa'-thu-xa-ge made only this general statement concerning these 

 rites, being too ill to go into all their details. (Examples of these 

 instructions will be found in other initiatory rituals.) Wa-no"'-she- 

 zhi°-ga, who was present, made the remark tliat this ceremony con- 

 ferred upon the wife of the candidate the right to paint her face when 

 attending an initiation in this fashion: Two narrow parallel lines, one 

 red, the other blue, ruiming across the width of the forehead; two 

 short narrow lines, one red, the other blue, upon each cheek running 

 upward. After the instructions the women go out of the lodge, 

 leavmg in their seats the fees for the Xo'-ka. 



The title of the next group of songs is Wa-tsi'-a-dsi Wa-tho", which 

 may be freely interpreted as Songs of Triumph. This title and the 

 words of the songs are in cryptic form, and the uninitiated or even 

 an initiated person who gives no special attention to the meaning of 

 these complex rites is not able to explain their true significance. 



Song 1 voices the triumph of the initiating gens and is antici]>atory 

 of the success to be achieved through the initiation of a new member 

 into the mysteries of life. The success particularly desired is an 

 unbroken line of descendants to be granted to the initiate. 



