48 THE OSAGE TRIBE [eth. ann. 43 



Behold the left side of the river, 



Of which I have made the left side of my body. 



When the little ones also make of it the left side of their bodies, 



The left side of their bodies shall always be free from all causes of death. 



Behold the channel of the river. 



Of which I have made the hollow of my body. 



When the little ones make of me their bodies, 



The hollow of their bodies shall always be free from all causes of death. 



A bowl of shelled corn, the life symbol of the Tho'-xe gens, was 

 also placed before the head of the Tsi'-zhu Wa-shta-ge gens. (For 

 the Maize Wi'-gi-e of the Tho'-xe gens, see 36th Ann. Rept. Bur. 

 Amer. Ethn., p. 135, lines 57 to 113; also p. 277, lines 83 to 110.) 



Wlien the bowls of water and cedar fronds and shelled corn are 

 placed before the Tsi'-zhu Wa-shta-ge, the Sho'-ka puts in his arms 

 the child to be blessed and named. The head of the Tsi'-zhu Wa- 

 shta-ge gens then passes the tips of the fingers of his right hand over 

 the bowl of water and cedar fronds, and the bowl of the life-giving 

 corn, then touches with the tips of his fingers the lips, head, arms 

 and body of the child. The two bowls and the child are then passed 

 on to the head of the Wa'-tse-tsi Wa-shta-ge gens, who goes through 

 the same motions with the child. The child and the two bowls are 

 then passed on to the heads of each of the other gentes who 

 make the same motions over the child as were made by the heads 

 of the first two gentes. 



These ceremonial acts performed by the heads of the gentes 

 officiating, by which the child is brought into touch with the ever- 

 flowing waters, the red cedar, an everlasting tree, and the life-giving 

 corn, are supplicatory acts by which the aid of Wa-ko^'-da is sought 

 for the child who is to go forth to take part in the great life activities. 

 Not only is the attainment of old age desired for the child but also 

 the continuity of its life by a never-ending line of descendants. 



At the close of these ceremonial acts a sacred gentUe name is con- 

 ferred upon the child without further ceremony. If, however, there 

 are two or more names to choose from, as is the case in some of the 

 gentes, the mother of the child has the privilege of making a choice 

 from two or three names. This privilege is given by the Xo'-ka, 

 who offers to the mother two small sticks prepared for this purpose, 

 each of which represents a name mentioned in the origin ritual of 

 the gens naming the child. The mother usually chooses the stick 

 representing the name which to her has the greater religious sig- 

 nificance and is the most euphonious. 



Earth Names and Wi'-gi-es 



It was stated (see p. 33) that earth names as well as sky names 

 were used by both the I°-gtho°'-ga and the Wa-ga'-be gentes as dis- 

 tinctive birth names for their children. 



