HOLMES ANNIVERSARY VOLUME 



in winter, when all things are asleep. In this ceremony we are pray- 

 ing for the gift of life, of strength, of plenty, and of peace, so we must 

 pray when life everywhere is stirring." In his words an echo is heard 

 of the vital belief as to Nature. 



Music holds an important place in this ceremony, so much so 

 that in some tribes it is called "To sing with". Each tribe used songs 

 of its own composition when performing the ceremony. The Pawnee 

 version has nearly a hundred. The songs that belong to this ceremony, 

 composed by different tribes, are among the more melodious of the 

 many hundreds of Indian songs, various in their character, that have 

 been gathered by the writer. To the Indian, words do not seem to 

 be essential to the purpose of a song, therefore they may be many, 

 few, or altogether absent. Talking with an old Indian about this 

 peculiarity, he made the following wise remark: "Words talk to us, 

 but harmonious sounds unite the people." 



The use of the songs belonging to this ceremony differs in one 

 respect from the use of those that pertain to tribal rites, to societies 

 of one kind and another, in that they are not held as the exclusive 

 property of a clan or a group and forbidden to be used by others; on 

 the contrary, they are declared to be "free to all". Consequently, 

 among the tribes familiar with the ceremony, its songs are sung by 

 old and young. Many are choral in form, communal in feeling, pleas- 

 ing in rhythm and in melody. The writer has several times heard one 

 or two hundred men, women, and children joining heartily in these 

 chorals that voice an appeal for peace and happiness. 



The teachings in that portion of the ceremony which was open to 

 the public were general in character: they emphasized man's depen- 

 dence on the unseen living power that animates all Nature, a power 

 that was called by different names in the various tribes, but recog- 

 nized by all as the source of the gifts of life; they also set forth man's 

 reliance on the family tie for the gifts of peace and happiness. The 

 teachings in the secret portion of the ceremony were reserved for 

 "the son"; these dealt with the extention of the bond of the family 

 relation beyond that of blood kinship through symbolic acts that rec- 

 ognized the permeating living power within Nature as that which 

 brings all forms into being. 



Space forbids more than these general statements regarding this 

 thoughtful, humane, native rite, which is elaborate, extended, and 

 noteworthy in structure. It stands like a lofty edifice, strong in out- 

 line, compactly built, yet ornamented with details full of color, replete 

 with symbolism ; within are enshrined noble, poetic thoughts embodied 

 in action, rhythmic movement, and song. 



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