288 THE OSAGE TRIBE. [ETn. ANN. 39 



The aged one is coming to us, 

 Lo, the aged one is coming to us. 



The third song relates to the corn, which, with the buffalo, was 

 given an important place in the ancient tribal rites. How long ago 

 the buffalo and the corn became a necessary part of the life of the 

 Osage people may never be known, but the origin of the two was 

 placed, mytliically, by the ancient No^'-ho^-zhi^-ga, at the beginning 

 of the earthly career of the tribe. (See Ni'-ki Wi'-gi-e of the Tsi'-zhu 

 Wa-shta-ge gens, 3Gth Ann. Rept. B. A. E., p. 279, lines 54 to 110.) 

 The two, the animal and the plant, thus became objects of the con- 

 tinual supplications of the people to that mysterious power whence 

 flows life into all material forms. 



The duty of procuring the buffalo for food, shelter, and clothing 

 devolved upon the man, while that of planting, cultivating, and har- 

 vesting the corn fell to the woman. She religiously performed this 

 duty, always being mindful of its mysterious character and of its 

 mysterious source. The ancient No"'-ho°-zhi"-ga dwelt reverently 

 upon the duty of the woman when they performed the tribal rites, 

 giving emphasis to the mystic powers bestowed upon her as repre- 

 sentative of life in the human form, and the corn as typifying in plant 

 form that same mystic gift of life. Every act of the woman per- 

 formed with reference to her duty of cultivating the corn is given a 

 sacred and mysterious significance, from the time of her going forth 

 from her house to the field to clear the ground for her sacred ' ' foot- 

 print," to the making of the little hills, in which the grains are to be 

 planted, with their flattened faces turned expectantly toward the sun. 

 The men of the ancient days gave thought even to the strivings of the 

 mysterious little seed when it awakens to active life, forces its way 

 upward through the sacred ''footprint" on the soil, into the life- 

 giving simlight, where it sends forth its stalk and the broad leaves that 

 play in the wind. Then follow the blossoms and the ears, each in 

 season, to the time when the woman hastens to the field, pausing at 

 its edge to take a broad view of its beauty wliile her heart is glad- 

 dened at the thought of a rich harvest that will bring joy in her house. 



A translation of one line only of each stanza will suffice to give the 

 meaning. 



