hese songs, it should be known that
two distinct groups or parties were indispensable to the performance
of the ceremony; namely, they who brought the "calumets" and they who
received them. As it was imperative that there should be no blood
relationship between these two parties, they always belonged to
different tribes or to two distinct kinship groups within the tribe.
The party bringing the "calumets" was called "the father," while those
receiving them were "the children." These terms refer to the tie about
to be formed between the two unrelated parties by means of this sacred
ceremony. This tie was esteemed more honourable and binding than the
natural bond of father and son.

The ceremony generally took place in a circular dwelling known as an
"earth lodge." The occasion drew together a large concourse of
people,--men, women, and children; and the gay costumes, the glinting
of ornaments, the picturesque groups, and the happy, smiling faces of
old and young made a scene full of colour and motion. Many times I
have witnessed this ceremony and joined in its beautiful chorals, led
by the bearers, who swayed the "calumets" to the rhythm of the song,
wafting over the heads of the people the blessing of peace.

The following choral was sung immediately after the "calumets" had
been ceremonially taken from their resting-place, with movements that
simulated the eagle rising from its nest. The bearers then faced the
people, seated on the ground against the wall of the lodge, and with
slow rhythmic steps moved around the circle, waving the "calumets"
over the heads of the multitude. As the "calumets" passed slowly by,
the people took up the choral, until at last the great lodge resounded
with its majestic cadences. The leaping flames from the central fire
lit up the faces of the hundreds of men and women; while the swaying
feathers of the "calumets" cast great wing-like shadows on the
glistening roof, and seemed to make real the symbolic presence of the
mighty eagle himself, circling over the people as he sped on his
mission, bearing the benediction of good will among men.

Once, at the close of this song, an old Indian turned to me and said,
"The 'calumets' are of God."

The words of this choral refer to the blessing of peace given to "the
fathers" in ancient days, and now brought by the symbolic "calumets"
to "the children."

Down through the ages vast,
On wings strong and true,
From great Wa-ko_n_'-da