Dorset. J THE DANCE PRIVILEGES OF THE CHILD. 281 



or hi n qpe is placed in its hair. The child receives clothing from the 

 principal visitor, if he has it ; but if has none, another member of the 

 party gives the clothing. Then the adopting father says to the child, 

 •• We give you a sacred thing. Do not have a bad heart. We make you 

 sacred, we set you apart. We have received this custom from Wa- 

 kanda. We give you a sign, and henceforth no one can say that you 

 are poor.'' 



The child so adopted is called " Hau'ga fiiike" during the dance. 

 Compare the " hilu'ka (huijka)" of the Dakotas. 



There is no regular order of sitting. The drummer and singers sit 

 iu the middle, and the child is with them. Near them are the two 

 dancers, who wear no clothing but breech-cloths. Both have the hanga 

 jp'a n ze painted iu red on their faces. Each one holds a gourd rattle iu 

 his right hand. It contains hard seed, beads, or fine gravel. In their 

 left hands are the calumet pipes. They dance for about an hour, imitat- 

 ing the actions of the war eagle, preserving at the same time a con- 

 stant waving motion with the calumet, and agitating the gourds more 

 or less vehemently, agreeably to the music. 



The villagers look on, some standing, others sitting. At the close of 

 the dance, the crier says to the people, " Come quickly with the pres- 

 ents which you have promised. They will go soon." Then the people 

 bring the horses and other presents, which they bestow upou the visit- 

 ors, who lose no time in departing for home. Then the child's face is 

 cleansed of the paint, and the two calumets are given to the family to 

 which the child belongs. The visitors generally depart before noon, 

 say, about 10 o'clock. Sometimes they finish the ceremony iu three 

 days, in which case one day is spent in feasting, one in making presents, 

 and part of the third day in the dance. Sometimes they spend three 

 days in feasting, the fourth in making presents, and part of the fifth in 

 dancing. But the usual order is two days in feasting, one in making 

 presents, and part of the fourth iu dancing. 



§ 126. Adoption and privileges of the child. — This child is ever after 

 treated as the first-born, taking the place of the real first-born, who 

 calls him "ji'^eha," elder brother. The wawa n aka shares his prop- 

 erty with this adopted son, giving him presents, and never refusing 

 him anything that he may ask of him. In like manner, the real father 

 of the child makes presents to the real son of the wawa" aka, just as if 

 he were the child's father. This ceremony is never trifled with, though 

 it is now obsolescent. No marriage can take place between members 

 of these families for four years. At least, La Fleche and Two Crows 

 never heard of any persons marrying who were related by this sort of 

 kinship. After the first generation has passed away, the next may say, 

 "That man's father, A, made me (C) his son. I will dance for D, the 

 child of B, my adopted brother and son of A." Or B may say to C, 

 " My father, A, danced for you. Do you dance for me in the person of 

 my son, D." So the kinship used to be kept up, generation after gen- 



