boffman] CANDIDATES FOR THE MITA'WIT 137 



mentioned did not- arrive in time for the beginning, lii.s place being filled 

 ad interim by another man. 



The ceremonies were in nowise different from those of the preceding 

 years, with the exception that some of the chants heard during the 

 afternoon of the last day consisted of but a few words, although the 

 music was repeated again and again, until the monotony of the utter- 

 ances and drumming became absolutely painful. This was caused by 

 the desire to prolong the ceremonies so far as possible, in the hope of 

 impressing some of the visiting Indians who were known to be opposed 

 to the Mita'wit, being members of the Dreamers' society, hereafter to be 

 more fully described. One of the attending mita'wok was a girl but -4 

 years of age, almost loaded down with elaborate beadwork, consisting of 

 necklaces, medicine bags, and other ornaments. A singular fact con- 

 nected with this little mitii'kwe, or female mita /T , was that the mother, a 

 mixed blood, was a staunch church member, and yet sat outside the 

 lnitii'wiko'inik, eagerly watching her child as the latter went through 

 her part of the walks and dances. 



It has been stated that, apart from admitting into the society a 

 candidate to fill a vacancy caused by death, some obtain membership 

 by virtue of having been brought into the mita'wiko'mik for treatment, 

 after all other means appear to have failed. A sick person may not be 

 able to undergo any part of the ceremony himself, but for that purpose 

 a mita' v friend is delegated to act for the patient, the latter receiving 

 the benefit of new life by proxy, as it were. The candidate or patient, 

 should he recover, will subsequently be deemed a full-fledged member, 

 and may, if he so desire, be regularly initiated at some future time. 



It has been mentioned in connection with the ball game that when a 

 mitii /v feels that he has neglected his duties to his ma'iiido, or tutelary 

 deity, his "heart feels sick;" and for the purpose of treating his heart 

 as another patient, he brings forward as a candidate for initiation some 

 one whom he may wish to honor by admission into the society, as well 

 as to fulfill his obligations to his ma'nido and to Mii'iiabush. In this 

 wise the candidate enacts, for the giver of the ceremony, the part of a 

 delegated mitii /T , as in the case of a sick person. In this manner the 

 little girl candidate produced by Mo'sihat acted for him, as he himself 

 had a "sick heart," and was unable personally to go through the neces- 

 sary procedure demanded by the ritual. The little girl was presented 

 for initiation, first, to enact the part of a mita /v , as Mo'sihat believed 

 himself to be not in a proper mood or condition to do so, and second, he 

 thus gave a favored relation the advantage of receiving the coveted 

 honor of membership in the Mita'wit. 



Supplementary Note on the Ceremonies 



The Mita'wit of the Menomini appears to receive less attention each 

 year, the reasons being attributable to a variety of causes, chief among 

 which are (1) the fact that many of the Indians are adopting the Chris- 

 tian religion, as they begin to perceive the improved condition of those 



