LAFLESCHB] BITE OF VIGIL FREE TBANSLATION. 87 



3. 



To the frequented parts of the village I have come. 



4. 

 To the back side of the House of Mystery I have come. 



5. 

 To the door of the House of Mystery I have come. 



6. 

 To the whitened skins of the sacred animals I have come. 



• 7. 

 To the sacred animal skins, swaying in the winds, I have come. 



8. 

 To the inner side of the House of Mystery I have come. 



9. 

 To the middle of the east end of the House I have come. 



10. 

 To the sacred fireplace of the House I have come. 



11. 

 Beneath the smoke vent of the House I have come. 



12. 



Into the light of the days I have come. 



The expression used in the final stanza of this song, " Into the light 

 of the days I have come," and expressions of like import used in other 

 songs of these symbolic rites, appear to be employed to mark the 

 completion of important ceremonial acts. For instance, the acts of 

 the Xo'-ka, in this ritual, from the time of his symbolic painting and 

 dressing to this stage of the ceremony, is a dramatization of the com- 

 ing of the God of Day (the Sun) . As the God of Day emerges from 

 the darkness of night to take his journey he first heralds his coming by 

 the pale dawn that stretches along the eastern horizon. Then, as he 

 comes near, the pale light fades away and he casts upon the eastern 

 edge of the earth a crimson cglor that takes the place of the white 

 dawn. It is this crimson color, the color of day, that is put upon the 

 face and body of the Xo'-ka. As the Xo'-ka and his attendants take 

 their places at the eastern end of the House of Mystery the act of the 

 coming of the God of Day is completed, as the sun is about to pursue 

 his westward journey over the earth and across the sky. The final 

 stanzas of the maize planting and harvesting songs may also be 



