t alone. After a few ritualistic phrases the
priest accompanied the child to the fire place, where he and the child
stood facing the East while the priest sang an invocation to the Four
Winds. He bade them to come hither and stand in this place in four groups.

At the close of this Ritual Song the priest lifted the child by the arms so
that its little bare feet rested upon the stone, as it faced the South;
then he lifted the child again by the arms and its feet rested on the
stone, as it faced the West; again the child was lifted and its feet were
upon the stone, as it faced the North; once more the priest lifted the
child and its feet touched the stone, as it faced the East. Then the priest
sang the following Ritual Song:

Turned by the Winds goes the one I send yonder,
Yonder he goes who is whirled by the Winds,
Goes where the four hills of life and the Four Winds are standing,
There into the midst of the Winds do I send him,
Into the midst of the Winds standing there!

This song and the entire ceremony, which is spoken of as "Turning the
child," are highly symbolic and cannot be fully explained at this time. The
Winds are the messengers of the great invisible Wakon'da and bring the
breath of life and strength to man. At the close of this song the priest
put the new moccasins on the feet of the child and sang another Ritual Song
which says:

Here unto you has been spoken the truth;
Because of this truth you shall stand.
Here declared is the truth;
Here in this place has been shown you the truth.
Therefore, arise! Go forth in its strength!

As the priest sang the last line he set the child on its feet and made it
take four steps toward the East; these steps are typical of its now
entering into life. Then the priest led the child to the entrance of the
tent, where he called aloud the tribal name of the child, then for the
first time proclaimed, adding:

"Ho! Ye Hills, ye Grass, ye Trees, ye creeping things, both great and
small, I bid you hear! This child has thrown away its baby name! Ho!"

All the children of the tribe passed through this ceremony and in this way
received their sacred personal names, which were never dropped throughout
their after-life, not even when a man took a new name.

BESTOWING A NEW NAME

The bestowal of a new name upon an adult generally took place at some
tribal ceremony when all the people were gathered together. In this way as
much publicity as possible was