SIGNIFICANCE OF NATIVE RITES
As heretofore stated, there had been no morning meal, and the dancing must have been a trying task, under those conditions.
"It would have been much better if we had something to eat before this part of the ceremony. I am so hungry I could eat anything," remarked George, as they neared the village.
"The natives do not think so. That is part of the ceremony. It must be carried out before a meal is taken," answered John, "or it will not have the proper effect."
Uraso overheard the remark, and he added: "The Chief said they had never known such a scene as took place to-day, and that it was not a part of the regular ceremony to have the dancing at that time, but that the wonderful music seemed to win every one."
"I heard him say it was the first time in years that he had danced. How he enjoyed it," remarked Muro. "I admit that it was the best dance I had since the boys got back. That was a big time at Unity when you returned."
"I think," said Harry, "that was the queerest performance I ever heard of. What a foolish thing to cut a flower from the top of a tree, and go through[p. 89] all that ceremony, using Old Fantastic with his flourishing spear to conduct the ridiculous rites."
"Do you think it is any more foolish than many things which civilized people do?" asked John.
Harry mused a while, and then continued: "Probably not, when I think of it, but with us the ceremonies really mean something; at least, it seems to me that they are intended to."
"Yes, and that is generally so with the native rites. Sometimes the origin is rather obscure, but everything of this character comes from something in the past, of which it is symbolic. Spencer, in his work on 'Evolutions of Ceremonial Forms of Government,' recites a curious instance of this, where he shows that the habit of stroking the mustache is a survival of scalping."