About the middle of the afternoon the speaker rises and addresses the people, telling them the story of the doll’s origin and explaining its function; then he addresses the doll, which has now been fastened on a pole, calling it “grandmother” and notifying it that they are about to hold a dance in its honor, at the same time asking it to insure good health to the family of its owner. When he finishes, the dance leader, who should be a relative of the family owning it, takes the doll on its pole, and then, as the drummers sitting in the center of the dance-ground begin to strike the dry hide stuffed with grass that serves as a drum, and to sing the song of the Doll dance, he commences to dance, circling round the drummers, still carrying the doll, the people falling in behind him, forming two circles, the men inside, next to the drummers, and the women outside. When the leader finishes his “set,” he passes the doll pole to the man behind him, who repeats the process, and so on until the men dancers have carried it six times, when it is transferred to the women, who, in their turn, dance six sets, making twelve in all, the Lenape sacred number. The twelve sets, or “changes,” lengthen the ceremony far into the night, and this necessitates a large fire to give light. This is built near the center of the dance-ground. Sometimes, if the crowd in attendance is large, two such fires are built. Between the changes the doll pole is stuck into the ground near the fire. When the twelfth set is finished, the speaker announces, “The Doll Dance is over,” and the feast of hominy and venison is served to everyone. Then the speaker says: “If you want to dance the rest of the night, you may do so, for many of you have come a long way from home and should have a chance for more enjoyment. We will hold another Doll Dance next year.” Then they put the doll away and amuse themselves with various social dances until morning. MINSI DOLL CEREMONY