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ANTHROPOLOGY: A. C FLETCHER 
are set forth. In the stories, symbols and metaphors are freely used, 
often in a highly imaginative manner and not infrequently touched 
with poetic feeling. By these means, the Indian's mind sought to 
bridge the gulf he recognized as stretching between him and the forms 
and forces of Nature that had so direct and yet so subtle a relation to 
his existence. These myths, allegories and metaphors form a nimbus 
about these rites that both illumines and yet makes elusive their meaning. 
The Omaha, on his entrance into life is met by one of the tribal rites. 
He is introduced to the cosmos by the priest, standing outside the tent 
there, raising his right hand to the heavens, palm outward, he intones 
in a loud voice the following ritual hymn : 
Ho! Ye Sun, Moon, Stars, all ye that move in the heavens; 
I bid ye hear me ! 
Into your midst has come a new life ! 
Consent ye, I implore! 
Make its path smooth, that it may reach the brow of the first hill. 
The Winds, Clouds, Rain, Mist, that move in the air; 
The Hills, Valleys, Rivers, Lakes, Trees, Grasses of the earth; 
The Birds of the air, the Animals of the forest, the Insects that creep 
among the grasses and burrow in the ground are addressed in the 
same manner. Finally he cries: 
Ho ! All ye of the heavens, all ye of the earth, 
I bid ye hear me ! 
Into your midst has come a new life! 
Consent ye, consent ye all, I implore! 
Make its path smooth, then shall it travel beyond the four hills. 
Infancy, Youth, Maturity, Old Age, are the four hills across which 
lies the rugged pathway of life. 
In the social Hfe of the Indians many little dramatic acts occur signifi- 
cant of beliefs, that are difficult for a stranger to understand correctly. 
For example : A relative comes to the home of an infant and presents it 
with a tiny pair of moccasins with a hole cut in each sole. The Indian 
mother imderstands the tender wish conveyed by the act. The baby 
is thus recognized as an Omaha child, for the moccasins anticipate the 
ceremony in which the ^new life' is proclaimed a member of the tribe. 
The holes are a sign of usage, they express the giver's prayer for long 
life to the child. A person might enter the tent, see the tiny moccasins 
with the holes and exclaim: ''What a long way the little one has trav- 
eled!" This too would be a prayer for long life to the child. If 
