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The final source of the name lay in a dream, whence it derived its 
supernatural sanction and power. A parent, or a near relative, might 
have a remarkable dream before or after the baby was born. 
u Just after my baby was born a woman nearly related to me dreamed that it 
embodied the soul of a man named Blue Sky who had died many years before. My 
wife had a similar dream about the same time, so I named the baby Blue Sky, even 
though the original bearer of the name was unrelated to either of us. The name 
quickly showed its power, for the baby, which had been very sickly, gained strength 
immediately and is now quite healthy” (Pegahmagabow) . 
In nearly all cases, however, the parents commissioned an old man, 
whose age indicated that he had enjoyed the favour of the supernatural 
world, to discover a suitable name for their child while they themselves 
accumulated the food necessary to entertain relatives and neighbours at 
the naming feast. The old man generally devised a name from some inci- 
dent in the vision that had come to him during his boyhood fast, but occa- 
sionally he sought a special dream for the occasion, or accepted the name 
suggested by some dream of the baby’s parent or relative. Yet it was not 
absolutely essential, in recent times at least, that he should derive the 
name from a dream; he might simply resuscitate the name of any notable 
tribesman, since the very distinction of its original bearer attested its 
virtue. 
“ One baby whom I was asked to name I called “ Eagle swoops down from the 
sky,” after an incident in my adolescent vision. I cannot tell you the vision, because 
that would destroy its potency and the potency of the name. Names seem to have 
lost their power today, but formerly a good name ensured a child long life. Dreams 
for the sole purpose of securing names had little value; the really good names came 
from visions at adolescence. 
An old man still living on Parry island, North Wind, has been asked to name two 
or three babies. To one child he gave his own name, North Wind. Most of us think 
this was foolish, for he himself has never been remarkable in any way, and his name 
can have little power” (Jonas King). 
When a baby kept its fists tightly closed from the day of birth the 
Indians believed that it had already selected a name for itself and was 
holding it fast in its hands. The parents then called in a seer, kusabindu- 
geyu, who discovered the name and publicly bestowed it on the child. 
The Indians state that the child always straightened out its fingers on 
receiving its proper name. 
Several weeks often elapsed before the parents were ready for the 
naming feast, because the father always tried to secure a deer or a bear 
for the occasion. Relatives and friends gathered at the wigwam, and the 
old man who was to bestow the name danced and sang, holding in his 
hand the animal’s head. Then, laying it aside, he took the child in his 
arms and said: 
“ All you manidos in the east, all you manidos in the south, all you 
manidos in the west, all you manidos in the north, all you manidos in the 
earth, all you manidos in the air, bear witness that I give this child the 
name of ” 
He then kissed the child and handed it round to the encircling crowd, 
when each person in turn embraced it, imparting with the kiss an iota 
of his strength. Sometimes the old man made a speech about the signi- 
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