206 THE OSAGE TRIBE. [eth. ans. 39 



party organized by one gens that belonged to only one of either of 

 the two great divisions. These three classes of war parties could be 

 organized, under the new arrangement, independently of the four 

 divisions and regardless of ceremonies. These classes of war party 

 were called Tsi'-ga-xa Do-do", which probably means war party 

 organized outside of the House of Mystery. In formulating tliis 

 supplementary rite the No°'-ho"-zhi°-ga, in order to give their action 

 a mystic effect, resorted to a mythical story in which the Ni'-ka 

 Wa-ko"-da-gi, Men of Mystery, and the Tho'-xe, Buffalo Bull, gentes 

 figured prominently as the givers of a hawk as a war-emblem to each 

 of the Seven Fireplaces of the Ho^'-ga subdivision; to each of the 

 Seven Fireplaces of the Wa-zha'-zhe subdivision; and to each of the 

 Seven Fireplaces of the Tsi'-zhu great tribal division. These hawks 

 were called Wa-xo'-be zhi"-ga, Little Wa-xo'-be, and s3'mliolize(l the 

 courage of the warrior. There seems to be no tradition as to whether 

 the four eagles above mentioned were enslirined or not, Init if they 

 were they appear to have been supplanted by the sacred hawks that 

 were enshrined (figuratively) in the space between the arch of the 

 sky and the earth beneath which are symbolically represented by the 

 woven rush case within which lies the hawk. The hawk symbols 

 were used in two ways: (1) when a war party is about to attack the 

 enemy the commander of a group is ceremonially given the hawk 

 belonging to his gens to carry so that his men may charge u])on the 

 enemy as sw^iftly and as courageously as the hawk that falls upon 

 its prey; (2) at an initiation by a gens of one of its members into 

 the mysteries of the tribal war rites the hawk occupies a sacred place 

 and becomes the central figure in the initiatory ceremonies. To the 

 Ni'-ka Wa-ko°-da-gi gens was given the office of reconsecrating the 

 symbolic hawk at an initiation, an office that ranks high in honor. 

 To the Tho'-xe, the companion gens of the Ni'-ka Wa-iio"-da-gi, 

 was given the office of awarding to the warriors the prescribed 

 military honors won by them, honors wMch are termed o-do"', acts 

 for which one is honored. To tliis supplementary rite the No"'-ho"- 

 zhi°-ga gave the title Wa-tho" Sha-pe Tse, The Six Songs, and 

 dedicated it to the gentes of the Xsi'-zhu great tribal division. When 

 a No"'-ho"-zhi"-ga speaks of this dual war rite as a whole he says: 

 Wa-tho" Pe-tho°-ba Sha'-pe Zhu-gthe Tse, The Seven and Six Songs. 



Songs of the Rising of the Buffalo Bull Men. 



The "Six Songs" begins with a group of four songs that bear the 

 title 'Tse-do'-a Ni-ka I-no^-zhi" Wa-tho°, Songs of the Rising of the 

 Buffalo Bull Men. 



When the man acting as A'-ki-ho" Xo'-ka at this initiation by the 

 Puma gens reaches this point of the ritual he makes the following 



