ody and the swaying wands
should give an undulating line suggestive of waving branches. The available
space on the grounds should be calculated so as to permit the four
approaches accompanied by the dance-song to reach a point near the tree,
yet far enough to permit the forming of two circles of dancers around its
base. At this point the company should divide into two parts, one part to
form an inner circle and the other to form an outer circle. These two
circles are now to dance around the tree, one to go from right to left, the
other from left to right. At this time the leaders tie their wands to the
trunk of the tree, but all the others retain their wands while they dance
in these concentric circles. All should sing the dance-song, keeping time
with the feet and waving the wands to the rhythm of the music. As the dance
goes on, the time can be accelerated and the circles become wider and
narrower, but in all these movements the rhythm of song and dance must
never be broken--for the rhythm stands for the binding force of a common,
social and loving life.

Song No. 4

DANCE AROUND THE TREE

1

Dance the leaves in sunlight,
Dance the leaves in dark night,
Leaves ever, ever dance on the tree,
The Tree!

[Music]

2

High we lift the green branch,
Dance and wave our green branch,
Each one is a green branch of the tree,
The Tree!

3

Now we all return them,
Bind them to the tree stem,
While we sing the glad word, Unity!
O Tree!

4

Strong our hearts in daylight,
Strong our hearts in still night,
Thus the He-de Wa-chi bids us be,
O Tree!

This dance-song can be repeated as often as desired. When at last the
leaders wish it to stop they must give the call, "Hi-o!" as they did for
the pause in the Dance of Approach to the Tree.

When this signal is given, the members should toss their wands at the foot
of the tree from the place where they had stopped dancing.

In the ancient Omaha ceremony the people had the vast expanse of the
prairie at their disposal, yet each tribal group kept its appointed place,
not only during the dance, wherein they made four approaches toward the
sacred tree, but when all the groups formed into two great circles the
tribal order of their relative positions was still preserved. The two
circles were made up according to sex. The women and girls danced in one
direction next to the pole; the men and boys formed the outer circle an