LA FLESCHE— OSAGE CEREMONIES 



lie down to rest during the seven days' period of fasting. He is, 

 however, permitted to sit down, and when he does so, he must sit 

 facing the south, which is the right side of the division, if he be a 

 H6 n ga; if he is a Tsizhu he will sit facing the north, which is the 

 left side. 



In the ritual of two of the degrees of the Osage tribal rites there 

 is a spoken part that is mythical in character and relates to the limita- 

 tion in the number of certain prescribed warlike deeds to be per- 

 formed by a man in order to win rank as a warrior. This story is in 

 two parts and has two animals for its heroes. It should be remembered 

 in this connection that the division on the right side, symbolizing the 

 earth, is divided so as to represent the dry land and the water. One 

 of the animal heroes is the black bear, a land animal ; the other is the 

 beaver, a water animal. The subdivision toward the east on the earth 

 side, representing the dry land, retained the name of the whole division, 

 H6 n ga, and that toward the west, representing water, was given the 

 name Wazhdzhe (see diagram, page 279). 



The story of the black bear, in brief, is as follows: After rushing 

 madly about, when in due season, during the month of September, 

 the hibernating spell seized him, he came to a cave and made his way 

 into the opening, being careful to enter at the right side. He found a 

 comfortable place within and lay down to sleep for seven lunar 

 months. When he awoke, he felt of his body and found that he had 

 lost all his fat, and that his skin hung in wrinkles upon his bones. He 

 dragged himself to the entrance of his cave, taking care to keep to 

 the right side. As he stood in the open air he heard all around him 

 the singing of birds and the humming of insects, he also heard the 

 sighing of the mild winds among the branches of the budding trees 

 and saw the mists of spring floating in the air. When he felt revived 

 by the life-giving air of springtime, he moved forward and took 

 seven steps, making seven footprints in the soft earth. Turning back, 

 he looked thoughtfully at his footprints and then said, "When my 

 children, the Wazhdzhe and the Tsizhu, go forth against their enemies 

 who dwell toward the setting of the sun, they shall strive to win 

 honors, equal in number to these seven footprints." Then he moved 

 back to the opening of the cave and across to the space on the left 

 side, and strode forward, making six footprints in the soft earth. As 

 before, he turned back and looked at the marks of his feet upon the 

 ground, and said, "When my children, the Wazhdzhe and the Tsizhu, 

 go forth against their enemies, who dwell toward the setting of the 

 sun, they shall strive to win war-honors, equal in number to these 

 six footprints." (Note the correspondence of these numbers to the 



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