364 THE OSAGE TRIBE. Feth. anx. 39 



3. 



I send thee forth with thy body. 



4. 

 I send thee forth with tliy arms. 



5. 

 I send thee forth with thy head. 



6. 

 I send thee forth with thy mouth. 



Songs of Drawing the Arrows. 



The next group of four songs is called Mo"' Gthu-stse-dse Wa-tho°, 

 which, freely translated, is Songs of Drawing the Arrows. 



A literal translation of the title reveals the complex meaning of 

 this group of songs. Mo", arrows; Gthu, a possessive pronoun. As 

 there is no masculine or feminine gender in the language the English 

 use of the comprehensive term "his" will not give the true meaning 

 of "Gthu"; stse-dse, draw. In the preceding song the trilie is per- 

 sonified as a being, a man, who is bidden to go forth upon the earth 

 as upon his own possession. It is he, the Symbolic Man, who rep- 

 resents the tribe as an organized body, who is inspired to draw the 

 mystic arrows by the courage Wa-ko"'-da has given to the hawk. 

 Gthu, therefore, implies the complex symbolism involved in the act 

 of drawing the arrows. 



The songs of the preceding group imply that man was brought into 

 existence, endowed with physical strength, power of reason and of 

 speech, and, thus fitted to cope with the exigencies of life, he was 

 sent forth to travel the earth as though it were his own to occupy. 



But the bringing forth of man to earth did not complete the mystic 

 act. It was necessary that the life put into his being should be given 

 perpetuity by a never-ending line of descendants. This could not 

 be attained except by divine favor, a favor to be sought by sup- 

 plication in a ceremonial form, to consist in the sending forth of 

 two mystic arrows (Fig. 4), one to overtake the Day and the other 

 the Night, in both of which forever moves the power to be appealed 

 to for the favor desired. The arrows to be sent forth are ceremo- 

 nially made and consecrated by the priests of the gens called E-no"' 

 Mi°-dse to", Sole owners of the Bow. The breast of the bow (Fig. 4) 

 is painted red for the Day and the back is painted black for the 

 Night; one arrow is painted red to symbolize the Day and the other 

 arrow is painted black to symbolize the Night, two mystic powers 

 that forever follow each other. 



