dorset.1 HEDE-WATCI TWO HUNTING PARTIES, ETC. 299 



were sacred, and so they are never sung except during this ceremony. 

 Of the members of the tribe, those on foot danced around the pole, while 

 those who wished to make presents were mounted and rode round and 

 round the circle of the dancers. The men and boys danced in a pecu- 

 liar course, going from west to south, thence east and north, but the 

 women and girls followed the course of the sun, dancing from the east 

 to the south, thence by the west to the north. The male dancers were 

 nearer the pole, while the females danced in an outer circle. When a 

 horseman wished to make a present he went to one of the bearers of the 

 sacred pipes, and, having taken the pipe by the stem, he held it toward 

 the man to whom he desired to give his horse. The man thus favored, 

 took the end of the stem into his mouth without touching it with his 

 hand and pretended to be smoking, while the other man held the pipe 

 for him ("ui£a n "). The recipient of the gift then expressed his thanks 

 by extending his hands, with the palms towards the donor, saying, 

 " Hau, kageha ! " Thanhs, my friend ! Each male dancer carried a stick of 

 hard willow trimmed at the bottom, but having the branches left at the 

 top (in imitation of the cottonwood pole). Each stick was about five feet 

 high, and was used as a staff or support by the dancers. After all had 

 danced four times around the circle, all the males threw their sticks to- 

 ward the pole; the young men threw theirs forcibly in sport, and cov- 

 ered the heads of the singers and musicians, who tried to avoid the mis- 

 siles ; This ended the ceremony, when all the people went to their re- 

 spective tents. Those who received the horses went through the camp, 

 yelling the praises of the donors. 



§ 154. Division of the tribe into two hunting parties during the summer 

 hunt. — Sometimes the tribe divided, each party taking in a different 

 route in search of the buffalo. In such cases each party made its camp- 

 ing circle, but without pitching the tents according to the gentes ; all 

 consanguinities and affinities tried to get together. Those who belonged 

 to the party that did not have the two sacred Hanga tents could not 

 perform any of the ceremonies which have been described in §§ 143 and 

 151. All that they could do was to prepare the hides and meat for 

 future use. They had nothing to do with the anointing of the sacred 

 pole, sham fight, and Hede-watci, which ceremonies could not be per- 

 formed twice during the year. 



§ 155. When the two parties came together again, if any person in 

 either party had been killed, some one would throw himself on the ground 

 as soon as they got in sight, as a token to the others of what had oc- 

 curred. 



§ 156. Tico tribes hunting together. — Occasionally two tribes hunted 

 together, as was often the case with the Omahas and Ponkas. Frank 

 La Fleche says that when this was done some of the Ponkas joined the 

 Omahas in the sham fight; but he does not know whether the Ponkas 

 have similar ceremonies. They have no sacred pole, ^e-sa n -ha, nor sacred 



