290 THE HAKO, A PAWNEE CEREMONY [eth. ann. 22 



It is difficult to follow the Pawnee's tliouglit in the words and 

 accompanying act of this song unless it is remembered that he regards 

 the spirit of man, animals, and all other things as able to travel about 

 independent of the bod}'. IMoreover, that he conceives it possible for 

 a number of persons so to unite as to think and act as one spirit. 



In the song Mother, Atira, is the term applied to the ear of corn 

 as the representative of Mother Earth. This word is preceded by 

 the aspirate, h', significant of the breath, the giving forth of life. 

 h'Atira not only refers to the sustaining of life by food, but also 

 carries the idea that, as leader, the corn bears life-giving power. 



The word weri, I am, does not mean the man who paints the corn, 

 but the concerted spirits of the Uako party, which are spoken of in 

 the singular, as though they were one spirit. The use of the plural 

 sign re a little later on in the stanza (line 86) implies the personifica- 

 tion of the ear of corn; its spirit i.s standing with tlie spirit of the 

 Hako party. These two spirits move together throughout this drama 

 of the consecration of the ear of corn as leader. 



In the next stanza the two spirits are flying through the air. There 

 is no incongruity in thi.s x'rocedure; the already mentioned belief rela- 

 tive to spirits makes it rational. In like manner, the color of the 

 paint can hold within it the spirit of the abode of the powers. 



The different stages in the progress of the ear of corn on its journey 

 to tlie abode of the powers are depicted in the diiferent stanzas of the 

 song. In the first, she stands; in the second, she flies; in tlie third, 

 she touches the boundaiy of the sky, ' ' where it begins " ; in the fourth, 

 she ascends; in the fifth, she reaches the dome, her destination; in 

 the sixth, she descends, the purpose of the journey having been 

 accomplished. 



The music is divided into six phrases; six stanzas record the stages 

 of the journey; the number suggests the six ceremonial motions typify- 

 ing the four directions, the above, and the below. 



It would seem from the acts accompanying this song that the ear of 

 corn went up to the abode of the powers by the four paths at the four 

 cardinal points, down whicli we are told the powers descend, as the 

 lines representing these paths were drawn on the ear before the blue 

 paint was spread over its tip to represent the dome of the sky. 



SONOii 



I>i(ii/i'iiiii (if Time 



ft Music on pas*^ i'i. 



