ckward, and then bringing it forward in a circular under sweep around to
the mouth with a hoot. They then turn and face the east, and bending their
bodies toward the south perform the same motion as before, when they turn
to the west and repeat it in that direction. At the same time the leader
and follower repeat their peculiar performance with the fawn skin and
wands to the east and west. Dancing promiscuously for a few moments to
song and rattle, the men representing women singing in feminine tones,
they form again in two lines, the women as before on the north side. The
man at the west end of the male line and the woman at the same end of the
female line, meeting each other midway between the lines she passes her
right arm through the arm of her partner, his arm being bent to receive
it; they pass between the line and are met a short distance from the other
end of the line by Hasjelti and Hostjoghon, who dance up to meet them, the
movement resembling closely the old-fashioned Virginia reel. The couple
then dance backward between the lines to their starting point, then down
again, when they separate, the man taking his place in the rear of the
male line and the woman hers in the rear of the female line. This couple
starting down the second time, the man and woman immediately next in line
lock arms and pass down in the same manner, Hasjelti and Hostjoghon
scarcely waiting for the first couple to separate before dancing up to
meet the second couple; the remaining couples following in like order
until the first couple find themselves in their former position at the
head of the line. Now a group dance is indulged in for a minute or two
when lines are again formed, and a second figure exactly like the first is
danced. This figure was again repeated without variation, after which the
men and women fell into single file, and, led by Hasjelti and followed by
Hostjoghon, left the dancing ground. They did not go to the green,
however, but moved off a short distance to rest for a moment and returned.
Upon each return the invalid passed down the line on the north side
sprinkling each dancer with meal, Hasjelti and Hostjoghon performing with
the fawn skin and wands. This dance of four figures was repeated twelve
times, each time the dancers resting but a moment. After the twelve dances
the dancers passed to the green room, where they were relieved by a second
set of men. The second series of dances were exactly like the first. There