EiDiN] BURIAL AND FUNERAL CUSTOMS 147 



of the deceased. Then they go and call the leader of their band 

 and he comes and addresses the body as follows : 



You are about to leave all your relatives. They will remain on earth, objects of pity 

 to all. You will proceed on your road, turning to your left after you start until you 

 come to him who is in charge of the spirits. Whenever you see him, the following 

 request do we wish you to make of him, namely, that he bestow upon us all that 

 you fellshort of in your life on this earth. The means of offering, the tobacco, which 

 Earthmaker gave us, we have given you some to take along. As you go along the 

 road you will come to a place where the road branches off. Do not turn to the right, 

 for that road leads to the bad spirits. Turn to the left and soon you will come to a 

 guard. Point your pipe at him and he will be thankful. This man will have a com- 

 plete suit of clothes and he will look terror-inspiring. He will smoke with you and 

 then you may speak to him as follows: "Grandfather, before I left the earth, the 

 people told me to ask you to point out to me which road I should travel in." Then 

 he will tell you and you will pass ahead and after a while you will come to a fire- 

 girdle. The man who is in charge of it will have a complete suit of clothes just like 

 the first man. Point the stem of your pipe toward him and he will be very thankful 

 and smoke with you. Then make your request, namely, to be permitted to pass, 

 and he will grant it. As you go along after that you will come to a round lodge in 

 which you will find an old woman. Point your pipe at her and she will be thankful 

 and smoke it, and then ask her to let you pass and she will permit you to go ahead. 

 Your hair will now be white but you will not be unconscious. On the contrary, 

 you will have complete possession of all your senses. Then you will come to where 

 he who is in control of spirits sits. Go to him and point your pipe toward him. Then 

 when he is smoking it, ask him to show you the road to Earthmaker, our father, 

 and he will point it out to you. Then you must proceed until you come to Earth- 

 maker. When you get to him, point the stem of your pipe toward him and, if he takes 

 it and smokes it, then you must say, "Earthmaker, my father, you know very well 

 what kind of a life I have led." And he will answer, "You have done well, my son." 



The informant then skips to the opening night of the four nights' 

 wake. The address to the spirit that follows is probably delivered 

 by the chief mourner before the formal opening of the wake. 



Address to the spirit.'' — Ha ho-o-o-o, I want you to listen, you who have become 

 like a spirit. You have made those of your relatives who remained behind on earth 

 miserable and lonely. They have given you much food to take along with you and 

 they have given you a pipe and some tobacco so that you may offer them to the spirits 

 you meet on your road and make some requests of them. The first request that they 

 wish you to make is to ask the spirits to distribute to your clan all the successful 

 warpaths which would have fallen to your share had you lived your normal quota 

 of years; and that all the food, etc., that you have not used be bestowed upon those 

 whom you left behind on earth. The last request you should make of those on the 

 road is to pray that a long time may elapse before any of your relatives traverse this 

 road. 



Now follows a description of the obstacles to be met on the road. 



When you reach Earthmaker, offer him your pipe, and if he accepts it speak to 

 him as follows; "Grandfather, as I was leaving the earth my relatives asked me to 

 request of you humbly that you bestow upon the clansmen that I left behind me 

 all that I would have accomplished had I lived longer. Now this is what I wished 

 to ask of you, grandfather. " Thus you should speak: "Ha ho-o-o-o. " 



' Spirit here is wazop'ini, spirit, deity, not naTfyidak', ghost, noncorporeal embodiment. What is 

 meant is that the deceased has hecome like one of the spirits, in that he lives, enjoys consciousness, etc., 

 without at the same time haWng any corporeal existence. 



