"There were many singers. They had a drum, but no rattles of any sort. They danced as they moved around the fire-place, from left to right. This was always after a feast. They had no regular number of times for dancing around the circle.
"The man who first held a foe ranked as number one; the slayer came next; the second who held the foe ranked third; the third to hold the foe ranked fourth, and the fifth was he who cut off the head and threw it away.
"Sometimes the fourth man did this. Only the first, second, and third of these men were regarded as having gained great honors, and these three laded out the food at the feast.
"Only those who held or touched the foe made the impression of hands on their bodies.
"Those who struck living foes wore feathers erect in their hair, while those who hit dead enemies had to wear their feathers lying down." (Frank La Flèche.)
Mr. J. La Flèche gave the following as a very ancient song of this dance:
"Wakan´da aká an¢iñ´ge te, ai égan, An¢iñ´ge támiñke."
"Wakanda having said that I shall not be, I shall not be."
In this song, "An¢iñ´ge ta´miñke" is equivalent to "At'é támiñke," I shall die. The idea is that the singer thought he would not die until Wakanda spoke the word, and then he must die. Till then he would be safe, no matter what dangers he encountered.
For the song in honor of the Ponka chief, Ubískă, see pp. 380, 381, Part I, Vol. VI., Contributions to N. A. Ethnology.