midst has come a new life;
Consent ye, I implore!
Make its path smooth, that it may reach the brow of the fourth hill!

Ho! All ye of the heavens, all ye of the air, all ye of the earth,
I bid you 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!

In this manner the child, the "new life," was introduced to the Cosmos of
which it was now a part. All the powers of the heavens and of the earth
were invoked to render aid to the "new life" in its onward struggle over
the rugged path that traverses the four hills of life, typifying Infancy,
Youth, Maturity and Old Age.

An infant was merely a "new life," it was wholly dependent upon others; no
name was given it (only endearing terms were used), for the reason that a
name implies either a sacred responsibility or a personal achievement,
neither of which was possible to an infant. When, however, the child could
go about alone, generally at three or four years of age, the time had
arrived when it must be given a tribal name, one belonging to the rites in
charge of its birth group. By means of this ceremonial act the child was
inducted by sacred rites into the tribe and became a recognized member.

GIVING THE CHILD A NAME

This ceremony, formerly practiced among the Omaha and cognate tribes, took
place in the spring, "when the grass was up and the birds were singing." A
tent was set apart and made sacred by the priest who had the hereditary
right to perform the ceremony. As the occasion was one of tribal interest,
many people flocked to the scene of the rite.

A large stone was brought and placed on the east side of the fire that was
burning in the center of the space inside the tent. When everything was
ready the old priest stood at the door awaiting the arrival of the child.
Then all the mothers who had children of the proper age wended their way to
this tent, each one leading her little child, who carried in its hands a
new pair of moccasins. As the two reached the tent the mother addressed the
priest, saying: "Venerable man, I desire my child to wear moccasins." (This
was a symbolic form of expression.) "I desire my child to walk long upon
the earth, to be content with the light of many days. We seek your
protection!" The priest made a formal reply and the little one, carrying
its moccasins, entered the ten