aADiN] BURIAL AND FUNERAL CUSTOMS 143 



and I shall try to overcome my grief and sorrow. I will not forget all the good you 

 have done for me. You have been a comfort to me and you have helped me in many 

 things. Now this is the last night, and I am glad that it is a good night for the war- 

 riors to relate their experiences. If they should say anything funny, I hope that you 

 will not hold back your laughter. I, too, will laugh with you. You are free to make 

 all the noise you care to, for I will feel all the better if you do it. This is what I 

 want )'0U to remember. I greet you all who are present here. 



Then the one who is to address the spu-it speaks: 



I greet you all. We have come to this (wake) for a purpose, much as we would wish 

 that the occasion for it had ne\er happened. Now I will tell the spirit of the departed 

 the route he is to take, nor will I, by my words, cause him to go astray. On an occa- 

 sion like this not everyone can talk to spirits (spirits of departed people); not e\ery- 

 one can do it. My grandfather obtained the right to speak to them and handed it 

 down to my father, and he in turn gave it to me. Now I will tell the spirit of the 

 departed the right road to take and I will not cause him to stumble. I shall breathe 

 upon the spirit of the departed, and I wish all those present to do the same. It 

 is said that for those who do not make this sound it is a sign that they will die soon. 

 Now all of you say it. 



Then he says "ha-a" and "ha-a," and all join with him in repeat- 

 ing it. 



Then he speaks again (addressing the spirit of the departed) : 



I suppose you are not far away, that indeed you are right behind me. Here is the 

 tobacco and here is the pipe which you must keep in front of you as you go along. 

 Here also is the fire and the food which your relatives have prepared for your joiuney. 

 In the morning when the sun rises you are to start. You will not have gone very 

 far before you come to a wide road. That is the road you must take. As you go 

 along you will notice something on your road. Take your war club and strike it and 

 throw it behind you. Then go on without looking back. As you go farther you 

 will again come across (some obstacle). Strike it and throw it behind you and do 

 not look back. Farther on you will come across some animals, and these also you 

 must strike and throw behind you. Then go on and do not look back. The objects 

 you throw behind you will come to those relatives whom you have left behind you 

 on earth. They will represent victory in war, riches, and animals for food. \Mien 

 you have gone but a short distance from the last place where you threw objects behind, 

 you will come to a round lodge and there you will find an old woman. She is 

 the one who is to give you further information. She will ask you, "Grandson, what 

 is your name?" This you must tell her. Then (you must say), 'Grandmother, when 

 I was about to start from the earth I was given the following objects with which I was 

 to act as mediator between you and the human beings (i. e., the pipe, tobacco, and 

 food)." Then you must put the stem of the pipe in the old woman's mouth and say, 

 "Grandmother, I have made all my relatives lonesome, my parents, my brothers, and 

 all the others. I would therefore like to have them obtain victory in war and honors. 

 That was my desire as I left them downhearted upon the earth. I would that they 

 could have all that life which I left behind me on earth." This is what they asked. 

 This likewise they asked me, that they should not have to tra\ el on this road for some 

 time to come. They also asked to be blessed with those things that people are accus- 

 tomed to have on earth. All this they wanted me to ask of you when I started from 

 the earth. 



' The deceased had apparently died young, and what he desires is that the difference between his years 

 and the normal length of life be distributed among his relatives. He means not only the actual years but 

 also whatever he would have accomplished in those years. 



