ANTHROPOLOGY: A. C. FLETCHER 
571 
Grandfather! far above, on high, 
Dark like a shadow, the hair passes before you, 
Grandfather! dwelHng afar, on high. 
Like a dark shadow, the hair sweeps before you into the midst of your 
realm. 
Grandfather! far above, on high. 
The hair, like a shadow, passes before you. 
The hair laid away in the sacred case was sent symbolically to the 
Thunder dwelling 'far above, on high,' who was addressed as * Grand- 
father,' a term of highest respect. The severing of the lock, implied 
the consecration of the life of the boy to Thunder a symbol of Wakonda 
the power that controlled the life and death of the warrior. Every man 
had to be a warrior and thus become a part of the only bulwark of defence 
to the home and to the tribe. Because of the belief in the continuity of 
life, a part could stand for the whole, therefore in this rite, by the cutting 
of a lock of the boy's hair and giving it to Thunder, the life of the child 
was ceremonially given into the keeping of Wakonda. 
The hair of a person was popularly believed to have a vital connection 
with the life of the body, so that any one becoming possessed of a lock 
of hair might work his will on the individual from whom it came. In 
the light of customs that obtained among the people, the hair, under 
certain circumstances, might be said to typify life. 
It is to be noted in this connection, that later, when the hair was 
allowed to grow on the lad's head, a lock on the crown was parted in 
a circle from the rest of the hair, kept constantly distinct and always 
neatly braided, no matter how frowzy and tangled the remainder of 
his hair might be. It was upon this lock that the war honors of the 
warrior were worn. It was this lock that was cut from the head of a 
slain enemy and formed the central object in the triumph ceremonies, 
for the reason, that it preeminently represented the life of the man who 
had been killed in battle. 
The ritual song that followed the cutting of the lock of hair from the 
head of the boy makes clear the meaning of the act. (The following 
is a free translation.) 
What time I will, then only then, 
A man lies dead, a gruesome thing; 
What time I will, then only then, 
A man lies dead, a gruesome thing; 
What time I will, then only then, 
Like a shadow dark, the man shall lie; 
