EADIN] THE MEDICINE DANCE 369 



time saying, " Wa-M-hi." He then makes the circuit of the lodge 

 four times. After the third circuit he goes directly to the heating 

 stone, "in defiance of the rule," as he hunself says, but with the 

 hope that through this defiance he will gam additional strength. 

 After he has made the fourth circuit he seizes the two entrance lodge 

 poles and, shaking them gently, shouts "e-ho-ho-ho." All now sit 

 do\vn. The ancestor host now takes four sticks and smears them 

 with a special kmd of greenish clay and hands them to the leader of 

 the east band. The latter seizes them and holds them tightly with 

 both hands. By this action he is supposed to obtain strength. The 

 sticks are then passed in rotation to the leaders of the north, west, 

 and south bands, all of whom repeat the same ceremony. 



(9) Basic ritual (Part IV, a and h) : This ritual is that upon which- 

 the ritual for the ceremony proper (Part IV, a and b) is built. In a' 

 certain sense it may be justifiable to consider all the above ritualistic 

 complexes with the exception of the entrance and exit rituals as 

 parts of this basic ritual. The unportant religious fimction of the 

 naedicine dance is the "passing " of the blessmg, consistmg of speeches, 

 songs, and the blessmgs, going from one band to the other, for 

 the greater benefit of both the host and his guests. These blessings 

 are symbolized by the drum, the gourds, the songs, the speeches, 

 and the specific actions m which each band participates. The cere- 

 mony begins when the ancestor host delivers his first speech and 

 ends when drum and gourds are returned to him. All that takes 

 place between the ancestor host's first speech up to the time that 

 the druni and gom-ds are placed before the members of the east 

 band constitutes the miit that I have called the basic ritual. Into 

 it are thrust as uitrusive elements other rituals, so tliat it is at times 

 extremely difficult to discern the basic ritual itself. But it is there 

 and remains intact, for as soon as an mtrusive ritual is finished it is 

 taken up and continued to the end. Such a ritual as the general 

 shooting or the initiation, or such myths as the origin myth, require 

 hours; and yet as soon as they are over the basic ceremony contirmes 

 from the point where it has been mterrupted. 



The east leader rises, speaks, then sits down, and, together with 

 the other members of his band, sings a song (initial song). When this 

 is finished he rises and speaks again, sits down, and commences a 

 song called the minor dancing song. While he and a few others are 

 singing, drumming, and using the gourd rattles, other members of his 

 band, as well as members of the other bands who so desire, and who 

 have bought the privilege, come to his seat and join in the dancing. 

 When this is over he and a few others, either from his own or from 

 some other band, go to the fireplace, where the leader delivers a 

 speech, and begin the major dancing songs, in which the privileged 

 members participate. After this the drum is tied to one of the 



