Old-Age Wi´-gi-e
FREE TRANSLATION
1. Verily, at that time and place, it has been said, in this house,
2. The Hoⁿ´-ga, a people who possess seven fireplaces,
3. Spake to one another, saying: Lo, we have nothing of which to make our bodies.
4. Then, at that very time,
5. They spake to the bird that has no stains (evil disposition),
6. Saying: O, grandfather,
7. The little ones have nothing of which to make their bodies.
8. Then, at that very time,
9. The bird that has no stains (evil disposition)
10. Spake, saying: When the little ones make of me their bodies,
11. They shall always live to see old age, as they travel the path of life.
12. Again the bird spake:
13. Behold my toes that are gathered together in folds,
14. Which I have made to be the sign of my old age.
15. When the little ones make of me the means of reaching old age,
16. They shall always live to see old age, as they travel the path of life.
17. Behold, also, the wrinkles upon my shins,
18. Which I have made to be the sign of my old age.
19. When the little ones make of me the means of reaching old age,
20. They shall always live to see old age, as they travel the path of life.
21. The bird that has no stain
22. Again spake, saying: Behold the wrinkles upon my knees,
23. Which I have made to be the sign of my old age.
24. When the little ones make of me the means of reaching old age,
25. They shall always live to see old age, as they travel the path of life.
26. Behold the flaccid muscles of my inner thigh,
27. Which I have made to be the sign of my old age.
28. When the little ones make of me the means of reaching old age,
29. They shall always live to see old age, as they travel the path of life.
30. Behold the muscles of my breast, gathered together as in a fold,
31. Which I have made to be the sign of my old age.
32. When the little ones make of me the means of reaching old age,
33. They shall always live to see old age, as they travel the path of life.
34. Behold the flaccid muscles of my arms,
35. Which I have made to be the sign of my old age.
36. When the little ones make of me the means of reaching old age,
37. They shall always live to see old age, as they travel the path of life.
38. Behold the bend of my shoulders,
39. Which I have made to be the sign of my old age.
40. When the little ones make of me the means of reaching old age,
41. They shall always live to see their shoulders bent with age, as they travel the path of life.
42. Behold the flaccid muscles of my throat,
43. Which I have made to be the sign of my old age.
44. When the little ones make of me the means of reaching old age,
45. They shall always live to see old age, as they travel the path of life.
46. Behold the folds in the corners of my eyelids,
47. Which I have made to be the signs of my old age.
48. When the little ones make of me the means of reaching old age,
49. They shall always live to see the corners of their eyelids folded with age, as they travel the path of life.
50. Behold my eyelids that are gathered into folds,
51. Which I have made to be the signs of my old age.
52. When the little ones make of me the means of reaching old age,
53. They shall always live to see their eyelids gathered into folds with age, as they travel the path of life.
54. Behold the hair on the crown of my head, now grown thin,
55. Which I have made to be the sign of my old age.
56. When the little ones make of me the means of reaching old age,
57. They shall always live to see the hair on the crown of their heads grown thin with age, as they travel the path of life.
Wi´-gi-e of the Wa´-ṭse-ṭsi Gens
At the close of the recital of the wi´-gi-es by all the Noⁿ´-hoⁿ-zhiⁿ-ga, the Sho´-ḳa places before the head of the Ṭsi´-zhu Wa-shta-ge gens a bowl of water into which had been put fronds of the red cedar. The red cedar and the water are the life symbols of the Wa´-ṭse-ṭsi, the people who came to earth from the stars. The following is an epitome of their wi´-gi-e:
I am a person who is fit for use as a symbol,
Behold the female red cedar,
Verily, I am a person who has made of that tree his body.
When the little ones make of me their bodies,
They shall always live to see old age.
Behold the male red cedar,
The little ones shall always use this tree as a symbol.
When the little ones use it for a symbol,
They shall always live to see old age.
Behold these waters,
That we shall make to be companions to the tree.
When the little ones make use of these waters
As the means of reaching old age,
They shall always live to see old age.
—(See 36th Ann. Rept. Bur. Amer. Ethn., p. 95.)
Wi´-gi-e of the Bow People
The E-noⁿ´ Miⁿ-dse-ṭoⁿ, a people who belong to the same great tribal division as the Wa´-ṭse-ṭsi, use a similar wi´-gi-e, which is as follows:
I am a person who is fitted for use as a symbol.
Verily, in the midst of the rushing waters
Abides my being.
Verily, I am a person who has made of the waters his body.
Behold the right side of the river,
Of which I have made the right side of my body.
When the little ones make of me their bodies
And use the right side of the river
To make their bodies,
The right side of their bodies shall be free from all causes of death.
Behold the left side of the river,
Of which I have made the left side of my body.
When the little ones also make of it the left side of their bodies,
The left side of their bodies shall always be free from all causes of death.