34 TRADITIONS OF THE ARIKARA. 
the people went through a ceremony. Corn was lacking for Mother- 
Corn, and Mother-Corn herself said: “Let us wait till to-night. You 
shall have a Mother-Corn, and you shall wrap her in a bundle. She 
will hear your prayer, and she will keep you from diseases and give 
you plenty in your fields.” That night Mother-Corn disappeared; but 
under the bundle was an ear of corn wrapped in a robe that Mother- 
Corn had had. She had taken and washed it with sweet flowers. 
As they went on they found where the other bands had camped. 
They picked up and ate what meat had been offered as a sacrifice to 
the gods. 
“Awaho” means “left,” “deserted,” for this band was left, and was 
the last people to come out from the ground. So they were called 
“Awaho.” 
The other bands had gone ahead a long distance. When the 
Awaho band reached the place where the other bands had camped, 
they found bits of meat that had been offered to the gods. This is the 
way the people secured their food. 
When. the Awaho people made a sacrifice of meat they took a 
piece off and buriedit, eating what remained. The ceremony of bury- 
ing the piece of meat was to teach the others that this band was at 
first covered up and was under the earth. These last people, the Awaho, 
who came out from the earth, knew all the ceremonies and taught 
them to the others. As they went on, these people were attacked by 
enemies and they were nearly all killed; but the keeper of the bundle 
hid it under a bank. The bundle was wrapped up with calfskin. After 
the people had gone into camp, the women begged that they might get 
the bundle. So a man went with them, and they got the bundle. A 
ceremony was performed to purify the contents of the bundle. A 
wooden bowl of water and a bundle of yellow flowers were used to 
cleanse the sacred objects. The flowers were dipped into the water; 
then they shook the flowers over the fire and dropped a few drops; 
then the flowers were made to touch the contents of the bundle. The 
people then ran down to the river and bathed. ‘The next day sacrifices 
of meat were made, for now the people and the bundle were cleansed. 
These were the first ceremonies given by these people. 
We are told by old people that Nesaru made the people; that the 
people were bad, and that they were destroyed. But Nesaru made some 
animals to take kernels of corn under the ground. These kernels had 
been people, and were turned to corn by Nesaru. In this way the 
people lived under the earth for many years. This is why the animals 
brought them out from the ground and why they were led, with the 
