FLETCHER] FIFTEENTH RITUAL, RAET II 341 



he watches her and her male as they guard and cherish theii' youag 

 in the nest. Then he learns that Jiis lodge is the nest; that the 

 powers above, through the eagle, are sending him the pi-omise of life 

 that shall fill his nest and make strong tlie people. 



The two songs of the third gnnip refer to the Hako with its prom- 

 ises. The second song records the prayer of an old Ku'rahus and its 

 fulfilment, and gives the assurance tliat Tira'wa answers the prayer 

 of man made through the Hako ceremony. 



The four songs of the fourth group had all been previously sung. 

 The fir.st two were given at the opening of the public ceremony, and 

 again at the close of the sacred feast of Corn. They were now 

 repeated, that the thoughts of tlie people might be turned toward 

 Tira'wa alius, the father of all things, the giver of life, and to his 

 messengers to man, the lesser powers. The third and fourth songs 

 had been sung in the first ritual, when the feathered stems M^ere 

 painted to symbolize the powers above and the powers below, the 

 male and female forces, which make for the perpetuation of all living 

 forms. 



The secret ceremonies contain the heart of the rite, its vital center. 

 In the sequence of songs through which this center was approached 

 we note a reflex of the order of the ceremony itself, a turning back 

 from the external leadership of the corn and of Kawas to the silent 

 prayer of the Ku'rahus, the appeal to Tira'wa atius as symbolically 

 present. 



At the close of the last circuit of the lodge the Ilako were laid at 

 rest with ceremonial song and movement for the last time. Midnight 

 had passed, and the Children went to their homes, leaving the Fathers 

 alone in the lodge to watch for tlie dawn. 



FIRST SONG.i 



Dingrnm of Time 



Hi/flimic Rendition 

 I 



Look on her! She who .sought far and near for a Soul 

 Look on herl She who ]e<l from afar unto you! 

 Look on her, Mother Corn, breathing life on us alll 



II 



Thanks we give unto }ier who came liere for a Son! 

 Thanks we give unto her who has led us to you! 

 Thanks we give. Mother Corn, breathing life on us all! 



>' Music on page 188. 



