Song No. 2
INVOCATION
All that springeth from the sod,
Tendeth upward unto God;
All that cometh from the skies,
Urging it anon to rise.
This chant takes the place of the prayer sung at this point of the ceremony by the Omaha Keepers of the Tribal Sacred Pipes. The prayer in the original has no words, vocables only are used, for the music is what carries the appeal to Wakon'da (God).
At the close of the chant two strokes of the drum should be given. Then the leaders should sing the first line of the following song; all the camp respond at the beginning of the second measure, and the song follows. This music is the dance song of the ceremony when all the Omaha tribe made four rhythmic advances toward the sacred tree, stopping at the close of each advance. The song was sung four times, once for each forward movement.
Song No. 3
APPROACH TO THE TREE
Leaders: Ev'ry one lift up the branch!
Response by all: Up it goes!
Song by all: Dancing, singing, we like leaves sway to and fro.
Happy leaves! Dancing leaves!
Swinging as the breezes blow,
So will we ever be
Blithe and joyous as we go.
Hi-o!
"Hi-o!" is the call given by the leaders for the dancers to pause. When this call is heard, all the branches must be at once lowered and every person stand still. After a brief pause the leaders will again sing the command, "Ev'ry one lift up the branch!" then comes the response, "Up it goes!" The song immediately follows, all the wands held high and waving in rhythm to the melody while the second advance is made. Each one of these advances should be but a few steps, on account of the limitations of space. The dancing steps, the rhythmic movements of the body 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!
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 Hé-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 and danced in the opposite direction. This dance was the occasion of much hilarity and fun. Old and young danced with vigor, and great was the delight of the tribe as it spun around the emblematic tree, carrying branches. At the close of the dance all tossed the branches at the foot of the pole, leaving a mound of green on the widespreading plain.
If boys and girls take part, as they should, in this ceremony, let the girls form the inner circle and the boys the outer circle as they dance about the tree in true Omaha fashion.
In real Indian life every vocation has its accompaniment of song, no matter how homely may be the employment. So, keeping faith with that ancient American custom, let the camp be put in order after the ceremony while all sing the following song, which may be called the Clearing Up:
Song No. 5
THE CLEARING UP
This scene, in which all should take part, can be made merry as well as useful.