Mi´-xa-çka, the white swan from whom personal names were taken, as mentioned in the following wi´-gi-e given by Wa-ṭse´-moⁿ-iⁿ, is a warrior symbol. The black color on its feet and on the tip of its nose typifies the fire that knows no mercy. The standards (crooks), which were carried by an Osage war party (pl. 6, a), typify the neck of the white swan.

MI´-XA-ÇKA, THE WHITE SWAN

—(36th Ann. Rept. Bur. Amer. Ethn., pp. 228-231, lines 238 to 358.)

The earth names given by Wa-xthi´-zhi, of the Iⁿ-gthoⁿ´-ga (Puma) gens, in his wi´-gi-es are as follows:

The earth names given by Wa-ṭse´-moⁿ-iⁿ of the Wa-ça´-be (Black Bear) gens in his wi´-gi-es:

The following earth names, not specifically mentioned by Wa-xthi´-zhi, also appear in the wi´-gi-es recorded by himself and by Wa-ṭse´-moⁿ-iⁿ. These names are also regarded as sacred and are ceremonially bestowed upon the children of the Puma and Black Bear gentes:

WA-XTHI´-ZHI

1. Moⁿ´-hiⁿ-çi-i-ba-btho-ga, Round-handled-knife. (36th Ann. Rept. Bur. Amer. Ethn., p. 206, line 1399.)

2. Monⁿ´-hiⁿ-hoⁿ-ga, Sacred-knife. (36th Ann. Rept. Bur. Amer. Ethn., p. 207, line 1424.)

3. Moⁿ-hiⁿ-zhu-dse, Red-knife. (36th Ann. Rept. Bur. Amer. Ethn., p. 208, line 1439.)

4. The fourth name given by Wa-xthi´-zhi (Noⁿ-be´-wa-koⁿ-da, Mysterious-hand) does not appear in any of the wi´-gi-es given either by himself or by Wa-ṭse´-moⁿ-iⁿ. However, the Mysterious-hand is spoken of by both of these men in their conversations concerning the rites, and is referred to in some of the wi´-gi-es. (See 36th Ann. Rept., p. 230, lines 323 to 340.) The story of the Mysterious-hand, as told colloquially, is that when the people came from the sky to the earth they had no weapons, but they killed animals by moistening the index finger of the right hand with saliva and pointing it at them. This name is also bestowed ceremonially.

WA-ṬSE´-MO^N-I^N

1. Miⁿ´-ṭse-xi, Sacred-robe. (36th Ann. Rept. Bur. Amer. Ethn., p. 235, line 510.)

2. No^ⁿ´-ḳa-dsi-wiⁿ, Spine-woman. (36th Ann. Rept. Bur. Amer. Ethn., p. 235, line 512.)

3. Ṭse´-p̣a´-ga-xe, Buffalo-head-maker. (36th Ann. Rept. Bur. Amer. Ethn., p. 235, line 518.)

4. Moⁿ´-hiⁿ-zhu-dse, Red-knife. (36th Ann. Rept. Bur. Amer. Ethn., p. 237, line 573.)

5. Moⁿ´-hiⁿ-hoⁿ-ga, Sacred-knife. (36th Ann. Rept. Bur. Amer. Ethn., p. 237, line 576.)

Special Instructions to the Mother

At the close of the ceremony of blessing the child by the various gentes officiating, the Sho´-ḳa conducts the mother to a seat prepared for her in front of the Xo´-ḳa, who gives her special instructions in the ceremonies to be observed by her to complete the child-naming rite. Between the two is spread a buffalo robe which had been decorated with certain symbolic designs. (Fig. 2.) This formal talk to the mother is called “Ḳi´-noⁿ U-tha-ge,” Telling of the Symbolic Painting. Extra fees are required for the special instruction, which, with the help of friends and relatives, the mother is enabled to pay.

If the mother is skilled with her awl and thread in ornamental work she would decorate with porcupine quills the symbolic robe to be used in this special ceremony; if not skilled, she would content herself with painting the symbolic designs on the robe.

When the robe has been spread before the Xo´-ḳa he begins to talk, as follows:

Wi-ṭsi-ni-e´, My daughter-in-law, I see you have brought with you a robe which you have dressed and decorated for the comfort of your little one. It is a sacred robe which should be put to use with proper ceremony. This ceremony you will observe for a period of four days, during which you will paint red the parting or your hair. It will be a sign that you appeal for a long and fruitful life for yourself and child, to the god of day whose path lies over the middle of the earth.

You have reddened the head and the forelegs of the robe. The head and forelegs of the robe typify that part of the earth whence rises the god of day to take his westward journey. Red is the color of the day when it is young, the time when you will rise and go forth to prepare food for the little one whose tender life is wholly dependent upon your efforts. A narrow line runs from the head of the robe along the middle of the back to the tail. This line typifies the path of the god of day who ever travels from east to west. Midway of the path is a round spot which represents the god of day when it has reached the middle of heaven. Here he marks the time when you will turn your thoughts from other things to the feeding of the little one so that the nourishing of its life may be continuous. The god of day continues his journey and in time reaches the edge of the earth, behind which he finally disappears. The hind legs and the tail of the robe are reddened to typify the glow that warns us of the ending of the day when your thoughts will again turn to the care of the little one. When you put these symbolic marks upon this sacred robe your thoughts reached out in appeal to Wa-ḳoⁿ´-da for yourself and child.

As the shadow of night spreads over the land you will take your little one in your arms, draw this robe over you, then rest in sleep. The robe which you draw over yourself and child typifies the heaven, whence comes all life, and the act is an appeal to heaven for protection.

The procuring of food for the little one should always be done with a feeling of gratitude toward the Mysterious Power that brings forth life in all forms. There is a plant which is dedicated to use as a sacred food in the bringing up of the little ones, known as ṭse´-wa-the (Nelumbo lutea) (pl. 6, b). (36th Ann. Rept. Bur. Amer. Ethn., p. 183, lines 910 to 923.) You will at times go to the lake to gather the roots of this plant for use in feeding your little one. When about to go to the lake you will paint red the parting of your hair, as a sign of your gratitude to the god of day who passes over your head and over the plant you go to seek, shedding his life-giving power upon you as he goes upon his journey.

When you come to the edge of the lake you will look about for a staff to support you as you work in the water. You will choose the willow for your staff, for it is a tree that clings persistently to life. By this act you will make an appeal to the great Life-giving Power for a long and fruitful life for yourself and the little one. With the willow staff in your hands you will step into the water and take up from the soft earth beneath a root of the sacred plant, the ṭse´-wa-the. You will find clinging to the root some of the soft earth from which the plant draws nourishment and strength. Take this bit of soil and touch your forehead and body with it, an act which will be as a sign that you appeal to the earth wherein there is Life-giving Power. When you have performed this act return the root to the earth beneath the water, with the wish that the plant shall forever be plentiful. Then gather enough of the roots to satisfy the little one and yourself.

The maize is another sacred life-giving plant. You raise this plant from year to year. When you prepare the ground for planting the seed you will take one grain and put it in a hill, you will press down upon it the soil with your foot, and say: “My father-in-law bade me do this, as an expression of my faith that the sky and the earth will yield to me not only one ear of maize but one animal as well, or even one herd of animals.” In the next hill you will put two grains, in the next three, the next four, the next five, the next six, and in the seventh seven, always repeating the words at each planting.

The ceremony closes with the end of the special instructions given to the mother of the child blessed and named, and as each member of the gentes who had taken part in the rite rises to go he makes some pleasant remarks to the father and the mother.

When the mother goes to her field to plant the seeds of the maize she remembers the instructions and follows them in every detail. As the maize matures and the ears are still green and tender the mother cuts the stalks from the hills she had ceremonially made, leaving the ears on the stalks. She ties the stalks in bundles, and, with the aid of friends, carries them home to her house. She then prepares a feast to which she invites the man who had acted as Xo´-ḳa at the ceremonial naming of her child. He in turn invites some of his friends who had acted as Xo´-ḳa in child-naming ceremonies to come and share in the feast prepared for him.

If among the invited guests there happens to be a member of the Tho´-xe gens, learned in the rituals, he is requested by the honored guest to recite the maize wi´-gi-e of his gens.

A paraphrase is here given of the wi´-gi-e which the Tho´-xe recite to give pleasure to the host and to the guests. The mythical story points to mid-heaven as the region of the conception of life forms, and as the starting point of the Osage people in their journey to earth, the region of actual birth into bodily existence.

Origin Wi´-gi-e of the Tho´-xe Gens

The feasting of the Noⁿ´-hoⁿ-zhiⁿ-ga upon the fruits of the seeds of the maize planted by the mother with religious care in the seven sacred hills completes the rite of the naming of her child, by which its right to a place in its gens is formally recognized; the child has a place, not only in its gens, but also in the sky and the earth which the two great tribal divisions, the Hoⁿ´-ga and the Ṭsi´-zhu, represent.

CHILD-NAMING RITUAL OF THE ṬSI´-ZHU WA-SHTA-GE GENS
(Sho^N´-ge-mo^N-i^N)

The Child-naming ritual of the Ṭsi´-zhu Wa-shta-ge gens of the Osage tribe, here recorded, was given by Shoⁿ´-ge-moⁿ-iⁿ, a member of the Ba´-po subgens of the Ṭsi´-zhu Wa-shta-ge gens. The name Ba´-po (Popper in English), Shoⁿ´-ge-moⁿ-iⁿ explained, is the name of the elder tree, the trunk of which boys, from time reaching beyond memory, used for making poppers. The name refers to a mythical story and to a ceremonial office. The mythical story is as follows: When the people of the Ṭsi´-zhu great division descended from the sky to make the earth their home they came down as eagles, and they alighted on a great red oak tree. The shock of their alighting caused the acorns to drop from the tree in great profusion, which was taken as a prophecy that the Ṭsi´-zhu would become a numerous people. One eagle was crowded off the tree, but as he dropped down he alighted upon a blossoming elder tree. This eagle was a peace bird and his alighting on the ba´-po tree made it to become a peace symbol. The Ba´-po subgens was given the office of furnishing a pipestem for the peace pipe in the keeping of the Ṭsi´-zhu Wa-shta-ge gens, and the Ba´-po made the stem of an elder sapling a symbol of peace.

When Shoⁿ´-ge-moⁿ-iⁿ is called by a member of the Ṭsi´-zhu Wa-shta-ge gens to act as Xo´-ḳa (instructor) in the ceremonial naming of his child he goes to the house of the father without any formality. Usually the call is made when the sun is traveling downward (afternoon); when he receives the message he promptly responds to the call. On his arrival at the house the father, in a formal speech, informs him that his summons was for the purpose of asking him to conduct the ceremonies to be performed at the naming of his child. When Shoⁿ´-ge-moⁿ-iⁿ gives his consent to officiate at the ceremony the fees for the men who are to take part are placed before him. These he examines to make sure that there are enough articles to go around, and to see if the man had also provided a pipe for the Sho´-ḳa or Official Messenger.

Certain Gentes Called to Take Part in the Ceremony

Being satisfied that the man had supplied all the necessary articles, he places in the hands of the father the ceremonial pipe and bids him go after the Sho´-ḳa of the gens. The father returns with the messenger who was already invested with the little pipe, the badge of his authority. When the two men had taken their seats Shoⁿ´-ge-moⁿ-iⁿ directs the Sho´-ḳa to go and call the heads of the following gentes, with their Noⁿ´-hoⁿ-zhiⁿ-ga members, to come to the house of the father, at sunrise the next morning, to take part in the ceremonies of naming his child:

1. Wa´-ṭse-ṭsi, of the Wa-zha´-zhe subdivision, to recite their wi´-gi-e relating to their life symbol, the red cedar. (36th Ann. Rept. Bur. Amer. Ethn., p. 95, lines 1 to 34.)

2. Noⁿ´-poⁿ-da, Deer gens, of the Wa-zha´-zhe subdivision, to recite their wi´-gi-e relating to one of their life symbols, the water. (36th Ann. Rept. Bur. Amer. Ethn., p. 98, lines 1 to 25.)

3. I´-ba-ṭse Ṭa-dse, Wind People, of the Hoⁿ´-ga subdivision, to recite their wi´-gi-e relating to one of their life symbols, the maize.

4. Tho´-xe, Buffalo-bull gens of the Ṭsi-zhu great division, to recite their wi´-gi-e relating to the maize. Tho´-xe is the gens that gave to the people the maize and the squashes. (36th Ann. Rept. Bur. Amer. Ethn., p. 279, lines 54 to 110.) The Tho´-xe authorized the I´-ba-ṭse and certain other gentes to use the Maize ritual in their child-naming ceremonies.

5. Çiⁿ´-dse-a-gthe, Wolf gens of the Ṭsi´-zhu great division, to recite their wi´-gi-e relating to their life symbol, the sun. The Dog-star is also one of their life symbols. (36th Ann. Rept. Bur. Amer. Ethn., p. 118, lines 1 to 36.)

Wa-zho´-i-ga-the (Life Symbol) Wi´-gi-e

The Sho´-ḳa returns to the house of the father and reports that he has given notice to all the gentes named to attend the ceremony. Then Shoⁿ´-ge-moⁿ-iⁿ proceeds to recite the Wa-zho´-i-ga-the Wi´-gi-e of his gens, a name which means, The Taking of Bodies; that is, The Taking of Life Symbols. The reciting of this wi´-gi-e is for the benefit of the father and the child.

THE TAKING OF LIFE SYMBOLS.
FREE TRANSLATION
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