STEVENSON 



■■hle'wekwe 449 



mosona (sword director) must ))e of the 'Ko'ioktakwe clan and the 

 pe'kwin (deputy) of the To'wakwe (Corn) clan. Other offices are 

 filled b}' the Pi'chikwe clan, while the warrior must be of the Ain'she 

 (Bear) clan. This latter clan having- few representatives in the fra- 

 ternity, two children (a boy of 5 years and a g-irl his senior by three 

 or four years) were brought into the fraternity. The boy begg-ed 

 that he might be excused, but his mother was firm, being impressed 

 with the importance of the child's fulfilling his duty to this body. 

 Though this child had been a member of the fraternity but a year 

 when the ceremonial described occurred, there was no more enthu- 

 siastic member. He had not learned to swallow the sword, but he 

 shook his rattle, which was but half as large as those of his elders, 

 with the others and kept perfect time in the dance, never exhibiting 

 the slightest weariness; nor did he flinch fi-om the cold walks in the 

 snow from house to house at midnight in January and February. 



Besides the method of entering this fraternity by reason of the suc- 

 cess of the medicine doctor in the case of sickness, there is another 

 method, which is for a member of the fraternity to go to the house of 

 the person he desires to have join the organization and make the propo- 

 sition. An adult is addressed directly; if a child is solicited, the child's 

 parents and not the child are addressed. If this invitation is accepted, 

 the person invited gives to the solicitor a quantity of meal wrapped in a 

 corn husk, with a single white flufly eagle feather attacluMl by means of 

 white cotton cord, and the solicitor thus becomes his fraternity father. 

 Both the fraternity father and the novice stoop with bended knees. 

 The novice holds the husk containing the meal and plume in both 

 hands, the thumbs over the top and the fingers pointing to the fra- 

 ternity father, who, holding the candidate's hands with his thumbs on 

 top, movies the hands to the six regions with a prayer and receives the 

 package of meal from the novice. 



On the da}' previous to the opening of the ceremonial in the follow- 

 ing year the fraternity father removes the eagle feather from the 

 package of meal, places it in another husk, sprinkles meal upon it, 

 folds the husk, tying it at each end with cotton cord, and leaves it for 

 the time being in his home. He afterward visits the house of each 

 member of his clan and of the clan of his paternal parent, carrying the 

 husk of meal from which the feath(M- was removed, and gives a i)in(li 

 to each female of both clans. The fraternity father and each ri'ciijient 

 stoop in turn with bended knees, facing one another. After a pinch of 

 meal is received in the palm of the left hand, the right hand is placed 

 over it, the man holding the hands with both of his whrle he ofiers a 

 prayer for the good health of the members of his fraternity and good 

 heart of the one receiving the meal, and the same for the child who is to 

 be received into the fraternity. Meal is often given to girls not o\ er 5 

 23 ETH— 04 29 



