64 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1914. 



of the Omaha, Ponca, Oto, and Pawnee tribes, differing only in 

 minor details. To the intelligent thinking class the aims and pur- 

 poses of the ceremony are clear, but there are among the Osage, as 

 among other tribes, those who can not comprehend fully the deeper, 

 broader teachings of such a rite, and because of this restricted view 

 superstitious beliefs regarding it now prevail among the lower 

 classes. 



The record of the Wadoka Weko, one of the seven war ceremonies, 

 consists of 89 pages of manuscript, with 32 songs. This rite, which 

 is the sixth degree of the war ceremony, is divided into eight parts, 

 exclusive of the introductory rites, and consists of rituals and songs 

 pertaining to the ceremonial cutting of the scalps for distribution 

 among the various gentes for their sacred packs. One of these parts 

 has to do with the ofZo", or " honors," won by the warriors in battle. 

 While this ceremony is recorded completely, it is not yet ready for 

 publication, since it is one of seven interdependent degrees the study 

 of which is not yet finished. 



Wazhi"gao, the bird ceremony for boys, is another of the seven 

 degrees, and is regarded as important. It has been transcribed in 

 full, but the notes thereon have .not yet been elaborated for publica- 

 tion. 



Zhi"gazhi°ga Zhazhe Thadse (naming of a child), a ceremony that 

 bears no direct relation to any other, is regarded as essential to the 

 proper rearing of a child, and is still practiced. This ceremony has 

 been recorded in its entirety, but still lacks the descriptive annotation 

 necessary before publication. 



The Wexthexthe, or tattooing ceremony, the last of the five re- 

 corded by Mr. La Flesche, was taken down from its recitation by one 

 of the men who had participated therein. This transcription is still, 

 in a measure, fragmentary, but enough has been obtained to render 

 a fair idea of the significance of the tattoo designs employed. The 

 notes on the Wexthexthe are not yet prepared for publication, as 

 there is still a possibility of recording the ceremony in its entirety. 

 A set of the implements used by the Osage in tattooing have been 

 obtained for illustration and have been deposited in the National 

 Museum. There has also been placed in the museum a wax6bet6"ga, 

 or great sacred pack, which once belonged to WaQeto"zhi"ga, a promi- 

 nent man of the tribe, who died in 1910. After much persuasion 

 his widow reluctantly consented to part with this sacred article, to- 

 gether with its buffalo-hair and rush-mat cases. This pack consists 

 of the skin and plumage of a white pelican, the bird which in Osage 

 mythology revealed through a dream the mysteries of tattooing and 

 provided the implements therefor. 



All the above-described ceremonies studied by Mr. La Flesche have 

 still a strong hold on the Osage people ; this, together with the fact 



