LA FLESCHE] 



EITE OF VIGIL FREE TRANSLATION. 



275 



All of these articles, together with a valuable horse, were fees for the 

 chosen Wa'-do^-be. 



The Wa'-do^-be having been ceremonially dressed and taken his 

 seat, the A'-ki-ho" Xo'-ka proceeds to sing the songs next in order 

 called : 



Songs of the Rite of Vigil. 



The No'-'-zhi-'-zho" Wa-tho% or the Songs of the Rite of Vigil, 

 relate to the acts of the man who is chosen by the people to take 

 the rite of vigil and to carry their supplications to Wa-ko°'-da in 

 which they appeal to that power, in this vicarious manner, to give 

 success to the warriors who -are to go against the troublesome enemies 

 of the tribe. 



The fii'st song expresses the wailing cry of the supplicant who by 

 tears and bodily suffering seeks to arouse the compassion and help 

 of Wa-ko^'-da. There are no words to the song ; vocables only are used. 

 During the singing of this song the candidate performs the ceremony 

 called Wa'-i° Xa-ge. This he does by touching the head of each 

 No"'-ho°-zhi''-ga with the sacred pipe and the sacred hawk, wailing 

 as he passes from one to the other. 



The ritual here described being that of a gens on the Tsi'-zhu side, 

 the candidate begins this ceremony at the east on the Ho^'-ga side 

 of the line of No°'-ho"-zhi°-ga. The women members of the order 

 join in the wailing of the candidate while male members recite the 

 Wa-thu'-pe and the A'-ho°-btha-bi wi'-gi-es (see pp. 139, 148). The 

 song is sung four times. 



•Song 1. 



(Osage version, p. 4S7; literal translation, p. 610.) 

 MM J - 84 Transcribed by Alice C. FletcluT 



^ 



iS: 



m 



■>-^Mi-^ 



Time beats 



r r 



E tha ha ha 



r 



he he tha, 



r T 



r r 



tha ha ha 



F1 r^ 



-| i 



m 



j=y:g^r?j^ 



S3 



m 



r f 



he he tha ha 



r r r 



E tha ha, 



r r 



tha ha ha 



r 



r 



he he tha. 



The second song relates to the manner in wlaich the supplicant puts 

 upon himself the sign of No^'-zhi^-zho". The first stanza depicts him 

 as gathering into his hands loose soil of the earth; the second stanza 

 as rubbing the soil in the palms of his hands to make it finer; the 

 third as moistening it in the palm of his hand; the fom-th as putting 

 the moistened symbol of the earth upon liis face; the fifth as brushing 



