44 THE HAKO, A PAWNEE CEREMONY [eth. ann. as 



Trniislalion < if First, Sfditza 



Si Ila-a-a-a-a! liitrodiu-tioii. An rxrlaiuation. 

 .S3 lI'Atira, wori lira riki. 



h', ail aspiration, a breathiiii^ I'orlli, as tlio giving of life, 

 afira, jiiother. 



weri, I am. The siiigular pronoun refers to the party which 

 is taking the initiative in this ceremony and not merely to 

 the Ku'rahns. 

 lira, an abbreviated form of the word rararit, to hold, 

 riki, standing. This word not only refers to the position of 

 the person who holds the ear of corn and to the position of 

 the corn itself, but it indicates the ijresent time, now. 

 S-t, 85 See line 8.3. 

 8() H'Atira, lira riki re. 



h'Atira, lira riki. See line S.!. 



re, a sign of the plural. This plural sign imlieates the imper- 

 sonation of the ear of corn; h'Atira and Ku'rahns are 

 standing as two persons. 



57 Weri lira riki. See line S:!. 



58 See line s;5. 



ExplaimliDU hij ilw Kii'riilins 



The ear of corn represents the supernal iii-al j)()wer tliat dwells in 

 HTTraru, the earth which brings fortli tlie food that sustains life; 

 so we speak of the ear of corn as h'Atira, mother breathing f(n'th life. 



The power in the earth which enables 11 lo bring forth comes from 

 above; for that reason we jjaint the ear of ccn-n with lilue. lilne is 

 the cohir of the skj', the dwelling place of Tira'wahut. 



The running water with which the l)lue clay is mixed is put into a 

 round, M'ooden bowl, not in a shell, as when we iiainted the stems. 

 The bowl is of wood, taken from tlie trees, a part of the living cover- 

 ing of Mother Earth, representing 1hc ])ower of Toharu (see explana- 

 tion of line 24). 



The bowl is round, like the dome sluqie of the sky, and holds the 

 blue paint, which also represents the sky. The bowl is a vessel from 

 which we eat when we ha^■e the sacred feast of the corn. Tira'wa 

 taught us how to get the corn. 



As we sing the first stanza the Ku'rahns stMiuls in front of the bowl 

 containing the blue paint and holds in his hand,b}' the butt, h'Atira, 



the ear of corn. 



Tntnslatton of Second HUiiiza 



S!) lla-a-a-a-al An introductory exclanuilion. 

 00 H'Atira, weri ruata. 



h'Atira, weri. See line S;3. 



rujita, flying. Ruata indicates that the ear of corn is moving 

 through the air, not touching the ground; the fact that the 

 ear is in the hand of the Ku'rahns is ignored. Throughout 

 this ceremony the ear of corn is a^ person. 



