The ceremonies begin by calling the candidate forward to stand before the mide of the first group. His family and friends stand around him in a semicircle, dancing in time to the chanting and drumming. One of the mide begins a chant, at the end of which a pause occurs, and the candidate and friends resume their seats. The drum is passed in rotation to the second, third, and fourth mide. As they chant, the candidate, etc., stands before them. The last of the four then chants the origin myth of the Midewiwin. The drum is now passed to the mide who had chanted first. He continues the narration of the ritualistic myths. Drum and gourds are then passed from one mide to the other, and from the first set of mide to the third, until the circuit has been made. These ceremonies are continued through the night, although only the three sets of mide remain in the lodge all that time. Shortly after sunrise, almost all leave the lodge. When they return, preparations are made for the initiation. The shooting of the candidate is performed by the second set of mide. The candidate, after recovering, makes the circuit of the lodge, shooting whomsoever he desires. The characteristics of this shooting ceremony are practically identical with those of the Winnebago. D. THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE RITUAL I. THE COMMON ELEMENTS.—The common elements in the foregoing ritualistic complexes are both general and specific in nature. We have, as general, an initiation ritual; and as specific, a shooting ritual. There are in addition, in the Central Algonkin and Winnebago group, other resemblances, such as similarities in the ethical teaching, in the details of the shooting ritual itself, and in the presence of the secret brush ritual. To the above must be added the fact that the songs of the Winnebago ceremonies are to a large extent in some Central Algonkin dialect. The meaning of these general similarities will be touched upon later. What I wish to insist upon here is, that if the ritualistic complexes are at all to be regarded as identical, this is so by reason of the presence in each of a shooting ritual. This identity is strengthened in each case by the association of this specific shooting ritual with the more general feature of initiation. The most dramatic phase in the main ceremony is this initiation and shooting complex; and it seems, therefore, quite intelligible why the number of similar details thus associated together should have been interpreted as the historically primary and basic elements.