LA FLESCHE) CHILD-NAMING RITE 55 



the tail of the robe are reddened to tj'pify the glow that warns us 

 of the endmg of the day when your thoughts will again turn to the 

 care of the little one. When you put these symbolic marks upon 

 tliis sacred robe yom- thoughts reached out in appeal to Wa-ko°'-da 

 for yourself and child. 



As the shadow of night spreads over the land you will take your 

 little one in j^our arms, draw this robe over you, then rest in sleep. 

 The robe which you draw over yourself and child typifies the 

 heaven, whence conies all life, and the act is an appeal to heaven for 

 protection. 



The procuring of food for the little one should always be done 

 with a feeling of gratitude toward the Mysterious Power that brings 

 forth life in all forms. There is a plant which is dedicated to use 

 as a sacred food in the bringing up of the little ones, known as tse'- 

 wa-the (Nelumbo lutea) (pi. 6, h). (36th Ann. Rept. Bur. Amer. 

 Ethn., p. 183, Imes 910 to 923.) You will at times go to the lake 

 to gather the roots of this plant for use in feeding your little one. 

 When about to go to the lake you will paint red the parting of 

 your hair, as a sign of your gratitude to the god of day who passes 

 over your head and over the plant you go to seek, shedding his life- 

 giving power upon you as he goes upon his journey. 



^\Tien you come to the edge of the lake you will look about for a 

 staff to support you as you work in the water. You will choose the 

 willow for your stafl', for it is a tree that clings persistently to life. 

 By this act you wiU make an appeal to the great Life-giving Power 

 for a long and fruitful life for yourself and the little one. With the 

 wallow staff in yom- hands 3'ou will step into the water and take up 

 from the soft earth beneath a root of the sacred plant, the tse'-wa-the. 

 You win find clinging to the root some of the soft earth from which 

 the plant draws nourishment and strength. Take this bit of soil and 

 touch your forehead and body with it, an act which will be as a sign 

 that you appeal to the earth wherein there is Life-giving Power. 

 Wlien you have performed this act return the root to the earth 

 beneath the water, with the wish that the plant shall forever be 

 plentiful. Then gather enough of the roots to satisfy the little one 

 and yourself. 



The maize is another sacred life-giving plant. You raise this 

 plant from year to year. When you prepare the groimd for plant- 

 ing the seed you will take one grain and put it in a hill, you will 

 press dowTi upon it the soil with your foot, and say: "My father-in- 

 law bade me do this, as an expression of my faith that the sky and 

 the earth wiU yield to me not only one ear of maize but one animal 

 as well, or even one herd of animals." In the next hUl you will put 

 two grains, in the next three, the next four, the next five, the next 

 six, and in the seventh seven, always repeating the words at each 

 planting. 



