Plate XIII.c. Mnemonic Song.

Hĭa´-ni-de hĕn´-da man´-i-dō, hō´,
ni´-sha-bon´-de man´-i-dō´-en-dât. Where is the spirit lodge? I go through it. [The oblong structure represents the Midē´wigân, the arm upon the left indicating the course of the path leading through it, the latter being shown by a zigzag line.]
Nin-gō´-sa mĭ-dē´-kwe ni-ka´ na´-ska-wa´. I am afraid of the “grand medicine” woman; I go to her. A leg is shown to signify locomotion. The singer fears the opposition of a Midē´ priestess and will conciliate her.
Ka-ni-sa´ hi´-a-tshi´-mĭn-dē´ man´-ski-kī´, dē´, hē´, hē´. Kinsmen who speak of me, they see the striped sky. A person of superior power, as designated by the horns attached to the head. The lines from the mouth signify voice or speech, while the horizontal lines denote the stratus clouds, the height above the earth of which illustrates the direction of the abode of the spirit whose conversation, referring to the singer, is observed crossing them as short vertical zigzag lines; i.e., voice lines.
Ke´-na-nan´-do-mē´ ko-nō´-ne-nak
ka-ne-hē´ nin-ko´-tshi nan´-no-me´. The cloud looks to me for medicine. [The speaker has become so endowed with the power of magic influence that he has preference with the superior Man´idōs. The magic influence is shown descending to the hand which reaches beyond the cloud indicated by the oblong square upon the forearm.]
Rest, after which dancing begins.
Wa-tshu´-a-nē´ ke´-ba-bing´-e-on´, wa-dzhū. Going into the mountains. The singer’s thoughts go to the summit to commune with Ki´tshi Man´idō. He is shown upon the summit.
Hi´-mĕ-de´-wa hen´-dĕ-a he´-na. The grand medicine affects me. In his condition he appeals to Ki´tshi Man´idō for aid. The arms represent the act of supplication.
Hai´-an-go ho´-ya o´-gĕ-ma, ha´. The chief goes out. The arms grasp a bear—the Bear Man´idō—and the singer intimates that he desires the aid of that powerful spirit, who is one of the guardians of the Midē´wigân.
Nish´-o-wē´ ni-mē´-hi-gō´, hē´, ni-gō´-tshi-mi´-go-we, hē´. Have pity on me wherever I have medicine. The speaker is filled with magic influence, upon the strength of which he asks the Bear to pity and to aid him.
Wi´-so-mi´-ko-wē´ hĕ-a-za-we´-ne-ne-gō´, hō´. I am the beaver; have pity on me. This is said to indicate that the original maker of the mnemonic song was of the Beaver totem or gens.
Hēn´-ta-no-wik´-ko-we´ de-wĕn´-da ĕn-da-â´-dân. I wish to know what is the matter with me. The singer feels peculiarly impressed by his surroundings in the Midē´wigân, because the sacred man´idōs have filled his body with magic powers. These are shown by the zigzag or waving lines descending to the earth.

As each of the preceding lines or verses is sung in such a protracted manner as to appear like a distinct song, the dancers, during the intervals of rest, always retire to their places and sit down.

The dancing is not so energetic as many of those commonly indulged in for amusement only. The steps consist of two treading movements made by each foot in succession. Keeping time with the drum-beats, at the same time there is a shuffling movement made by the dancer forward, around and among his companions, but getting back toward his place before the verse is ended. The attitude during these movements consists in bending the body forward, while the knees are bent, giving one the appearance of searching for a lost object. Those who do not sing give utterance to short, deep grunts, in accordance with the alternate heavier strokes upon the drum.

As the dancing ceases, and all are in their proper seats, the preceptor, acting for the candidate, approaches the pile of tobacco and distributes a small quantity to each one present, when smoking is indulged in, preceded by the usual offering to the east, the south, the west, the north, the sky and the earth.

After the completion of this ceremonial an attendant carries the Midē´ drum to the southeast angle of the inclosure, where it is delivered to the drummer; then the officiating priests rise and approach within two or three paces of the candidate as he gets upon his knees. The preceptor and the assistant who is called upon by him take their places immediately behind and to either side of the candidate, and the Midē´ priest lowest in order of precedence begins to utter quick, deep tones, resembling the sound hŏ´, hŏ´, hŏ´, hŏ´, hŏ´, at the same time grasping his midē´ sack with both hands, as if it were a gun, and moving it in a serpentine and interrupted manner toward one of the large joints of the candidate’s arms or legs. At the last utterance of this sound he produces a quick puff with the breath and thrusts the bag forward as if shooting, which he pretends to do, the missile being supposed to be the invisible sacred mī´gis. The other priests follow in order from the lowest to the highest, each selecting a different joint, during which ordeal the candidate trembles more and more violently until at last he is overcome with the magic influence and falls forward upon the ground unconscious. The Midē´ priests then lay their sacks upon his back, when the candidate begins to recover and spit out the mī´gis shell which he had previously hidden within his mouth. Then the chief Midē´ takes it up between the tips of the forefinger and thumb and goes through the ceremony described in connection with the initiation into the first degree, of holding it toward the east, south, west, north, and the sky, and finally to the mouth of the candidate, when the latter, who has partly recovered from his apparently insensible condition, again relapses into that state. The eight priests then place their sacks to the respective joints at which they previously directed them, which fully infuses the body with the magic influence as desired. Upon this the candidate recovers, takes up the mī´gis shell and, placing it upon his left palm, holds it forward and swings it from side to side, saying he!

he! he! he! he! and pretends to swallow it, this time only reeling from its effects. He is now restored to a new life for the second time; and as the priests go to seek seats he is left on the southern side and seats himself. After all those who have been occupied with the initiation have hung up their midē´ sacks on available projections against the wall or branches, the new member goes forward to the pile of tobacco, blankets, and other gifts and divides them among those present, giving the larger portions to the officiating priests. He then passes around once more, stopping before each one to pass his hands over the sides of the priests´ heads, and says:

Mi-gwĕtsh´ga-shi-tō´-winbi-mâ´-dĭ-si-wĭn,
Thanksfor giving to melife,

after which he retreats a step, and clasping his hands and bowing toward the priest, says:

Ni-ka´-nini-ka´nini-ka´-ni ka-nia´,
fellow midē´fellow midē´fellow midē´,