The first act remembered by the informants preparatory to holding a meeting was to send to each man in the tribe who had been blessed by a “vision of power,” a little stick which represented an invitation to the ceremony, the time of which the messenger gave out, before which date the people leaving their scattered homes gathered and camped about the Big House. Meanwhile hunters were sent out, appointed before, not during the meeting as among the Unami, to bring in for the Winter Ceremony, if possible, exactly twelve deer, which were cooked by four young men who served as attendants in a small separate house, built for the purpose.
Fire.—The fire was made with a fire-drill by a group of old men for use in the Big House, but, as among the Unami, none of it could be taken outside during the ceremony.
Purification.—When the two fires had been built, but before the crowd had gathered, the house was purified by the smoke of hemlock boughs thrown on the flames, and by sweeping the floor with turkey-wing fans, which cleared away both dirt and evil influences.
OPENING OF THE CEREMONY
Chief’s Speech.—The next step was for the attendants to call in all the people from their camps except the women in their menses who were not allowed to enter. When all were seated, the speaker rose and addressed those assembled in terms like the following:
“We are now gathered here, our house is purified and clean, and Pa‛ʹtŭmawas is with us, ready to hear our worship. We must thank Him for all the things that we enjoy, for He made them every one.” Then he proceeded to tell the people not to drink liquor, nor to do anything wrong in the Big House or in the camp about it, and advised them to be always honest and kind and hospitable. He held virtue as something to be followed, at the same time condemning evil, every vice that he could think of being mentioned.
The chief then gave thanks for everything he could remember, from the heavenly bodies to the animals, trees, and herbs of the earth, not forgetting corn, beans, and squashes; and prayer for successful hunting and good health for all the people. At the summer meeting he prayed for good crops also. When he had finished, bear’s fat was thrown on the two fires, and the smoke rose and filled the place with its odor.
CEREMONIAL DRINK
At this point it was customary to pass around a vessel of drink made of crushed wild strawberries, from which each person present swallowed about a spoonful, a drink made at the Summer Ceremony of fresh fruit, but in winter necessarily of berries dried for the purpose.