laflbschb] kite of vigil free translation. 243 



Opening Ceremony — Smoke Offering to the Sacred Animal 



Skins. 



The ceremony of sending the Sho'-ka to summon the No°'-ho°- 

 zhi°-ga whose tluty it is to take part in the No°-ni' A-tha-shu-dse 

 ceremony, the blowing of smoke on the skins of animals that symbo- 

 lize courage and strength, occurs in the evening. The Tsi'-zhu cere- 

 mony is about the same as that described by Wa-xthi'-zhi when giving 

 the No^'-zhi^-zho" ritual of his own gens (see pp. 53-58). To the 

 ceremony are summoned only the No°'-ho°-zhi"-ga belonging to the 

 gentes having the title of Wa-no°, Elders, all of which are war gentes, 

 and are: the Wa-zha'-zhe Wa-no" belonging to the Ho°'-ga tribal 

 division, the Tsi'-zhu Wa-no° and the Mi-k'i°' Wa-no° of the Tsi'-zhu 

 division. 



About sunrise the next morning the members summoned prepare 

 themselves to go to the house of the candidate, the place of meeting, 

 by putting upon themselves the signs of the earth and of the sky. 

 For the sign of the earth they blacken the upper portion of the face 

 with moistened black soil, and for the sign of the sky they spread the 

 white down of the eagle upon the crown of the head. At the outer 

 corner of one eye a figure is drawn resembling an ovate leaf, from the 

 pointed end of which a short line is drawn running slantwise toward 

 the ear. No satisfactory explanation could be obtained as to the 

 signification of this figm-e, but it is said to belong to the Men of Mys- 

 tery. From the inner corner of the eye a line is drawn toward the 

 corner of the mouth. The meaning of this line is explained as repre- 

 senting the tears shed during the rite of vigil. These figures are made 

 by removing from the skin, with the nail of the index finger, the mois- 

 tened black soil. The men belonging to the Ho°'-ga tribal division 

 put these figures on the right side of the face and those belonging to 

 the fsi'-zhu division on the left side. The men of both divisions paint 

 upon the middle of the forehead a round red spot to represent the sun 

 which travels over the earth and across the sky (PI. 12). Each mem- 

 ber wears his buffalo robe with the hair outside and that, with the 

 symbolic painting and decoration, completes his sacerdotal attire. 

 In recent times, owing to the extinction of the buffalo herds, the 

 woolen blanket wliich had no symbolic significance supplanted the 

 ancient buffalo robe. 



When the No°'-ho°-zhi°-ga have finished painting and dressing 

 they form a procession and solemnly march to the house of the candi- 

 date and enter. Those coming from the Ho°'-ga division take their 

 places at the south side of the house and those fi-om the Tsi'-zhu 

 division at the north side. The candidate, his Xo'-ka, and the 

 A'-ki-ho" Xo'-ka, with the members of their own gens, occupy the 

 east end of the house. 



