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CHILD-NAMING RITE 71 



65. The folds of the skin on my knee, 



66. I have made to be the sign of old age. 



67. When the little ones make of me their bodies, 



68. They shall live to see the skin of their knee gathered in folds. 



69. The stripes on the feathers of my thigh, 



70. I have made to be the sign of old age. 



71. When the little ones make of me their bodies, 



72. They shall live to see the sign of old age upon their thigh. 



73. The stripes upon my breast, 



74. I have made to be the sign of old age. 



75. When the little ones make of me their bodies, 



76. They shall live to see the sign of old age on their breast. 



77. The stripes upon the corners of my mouth, 



78. I have made to be the sign of old age. 



79. When the little ones make of me their bodies, 



80. They shall live to see the sign of old age in the corners of their 



mouth. 



81. The stripes upon my forehead, 



82. I have made to be the sign of old age. 



83. When the little ones make of me their bodies, 



84. They shall live to see the sign of old age on their forehead. 



85. The folds of my eyelids, 



86. I have made to be the sign of old age. 



87. When the little ones make of me their bodies, 



88. They shall live to see the sign of old age on their eyelids. 



89. I have been able to bring myself to old age. 



90. When the little ones make of me their bodies, 



91. They also shall be able to bring themselves to old age. 



92. I have been able to bring myself to the calm and peaceful days. 



93. When the little ones make of me their bodies, 



94. They also shall be able to bring themselves to the calm and 



peaceful days, as they travel the path of life. 



The Child is Passed from Gens to Gens to be Blessed 



At the close of the simultaneous recital of the wi'-gi-es by the 

 No°'-ho°-zhi"-ga of the six gentes, namely, the Wa'-tse-tsi, Tho'-xe, 

 No°'-po''-da, C''i'"-dse-a-gthe, I'-ba-tse, and the Tsi'-zhu Wa-shta-ge, 

 the Sho'-ka carries the infant to the head of the Wa'-tse-tsi gens, who 

 takes it in his arms, then, dipping the tips of the fingers into a wooden 

 vessel, in which had been put sacred water and red cedar fronds, he 

 gently touches with his moistened fingertips the lips, head, arms, and 

 body of the little one. This ceremonial act is an appeal to Wa-ko"'- 

 da to grant to the little one health and strength so that it may grow 

 to maturity and old age without interruption by disease. 



