182 



THE OSAGE TRIBE. 



[ETH. ANN. I 



The Sho'-ka places before her a portion of the choicest parts of the 

 meat and a liberal allowance of the other supplies. The wife of the 

 Wa'-do°-be and her assistants carry away these provisions, taking 

 with them also the horse, robes, and other fees earned by the Wa'- 

 do°-be for his services. It was a marked honor for the Wa'-do"-be to 

 be thus served first, as it was not only a recognition of the services he 

 had just given at the ceremony but also for the part he had taken in 

 the past to insure the protection of the people and their homes. 



While the wife of the Wa'-do^-be and her assistants are carrying 

 away their portion of the supplies the A'-ki-ho° Xo'-ka takes up his 

 rattle and sings the final song of the Wa-thu'-?e Wa-tho°, wliich has 

 only one stanza, but that is repeated four times. A free translation 

 of the first line will suffice to give the meaning of the song. 



^ 



.M.J = 



ne 



Song 6. 



(Osage version, p. 443; literal translation, p. 573.) 



Transcribed by Alice C. Fletcher 



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J . J^J' 



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1 



Time beats r T I \ 111 I 



E he ha he - be ni" na - thi" a-gtha-gthabe. He 



i 



^ 



fe 



^^ 



d d 



r r r r r r r r ^ 



be ni" ha-thi" a-gtha-gtha be, E he ha he - be ni" 



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\^h^ ^ P^r ^ 



r r r r 



ha - thi° a-gtha-gtha be, 



r r r r" 



E he ha he -be ni" 



^ ^^ 



I 



P P 



^m 



r r r z 



r r r r r r r r 



ha - thi" a-gtha-gtha be, He - be ni" ha-thi"a-gtha-gtha be. 



FREE TRANSLATION. 

 1. 



Lo, they carry homeward a great portion! 



Crow Songs. 



The crow is a bird that figures prominently in rites not only of the 

 Osage but also in those of the Omaha and other Siouan tribes. The 

 men of ancient days who formulated the tribal rites observed that 

 nature had endowed this bird with faculties that served him well. 

 His strong sense of sight enabled him to follow the movements of a 

 war party and when foe met foe and the hills were strewn with the 



