2. Symbolic robe prepared for children 54 3. Chart of constellation Wa´-ba-ha (Ursa Major) 74 4. Chart of Ṭa Tha´-bthiⁿ, Three Deer (in Orion) 74 5. Totemic cut of the Omaha boys’ hair 87 6. Symbolic hair cut of the Hoⁿ´-ga gens 89 7. Symbolic hair cut of the Ṭsi´-zhu Wa-shta-ge gens 89 8. Hair cut of the Ṭsi´-zhu Wa-noⁿ and the Wa-ça´-be (Black Bear) gentes 92 THE OSAGE TRIBE: TWO VERSIONS OF THE CHILD-NAMING RITE By FRANCIS LA FLESCHE INTRODUCTION The two versions of the Osage Child-naming Rite recorded in this volume were obtained with considerable difficulty, owing to the reluctance of the people to speak of the sacred rites that were formulated by the Ni´-ḳa Xu-be, Holy Men, of long ago. This unwillingness to speak of the tribal rites, excepting in the prescribed ceremonial way, arose from a sense of reverence for things sacred and from the belief that within the rites, and in the articles dedicated to religious use, there resides a mystic power which could punish, by supernatural means, the persons who speak irreverently of the rites and put to profane use the symbolic articles. In the early part of the life of the Osage, according to tradition, the people kept together for protection and moved about without tribal or gentile organizations, a condition which they termed “gani´-tha,” which may be freely translated as, without law or order. It was in those days that a group of men fell into the habit of gathering together, from time to time, to exchange ideas concerning the actions of the sun, moon, and stars which they observed move within the sky with marvelous precision, each in its own given path. They also noticed, in the course of their observations, that the travelers in the upper world move from one side of the sky to the other without making any disturbances in their relative positions, and that with these great movements four changes take place in the vegetal life of the earth which they agreed was effected by the actions of some of the heavenly travelers. These seasonal changes they named Be, Do-ge´, Ṭoⁿ, and Ba´-the (Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter). The delving into the mysteries of the universe by this group of men, which was carried on for a long period of time, was primarily for the purpose of finding, if possible, the place from which comes all life.