The Third Day

THE THIRD DAY.

Early on the third day the herald of the camp should proclaim that the Superior is about to announce the names of those appointed as the hunter (scout), the digger, the escort, and the musicians. The people should assemble about the council lodge, where the Superior should make these announcements. As each announcement is made, the red-striped herald should loudly proclaim it and the one so appointed should present himself so that the Superior may apply the insignum of his office. For the hunter, this should be a circle of red paint around his right eye; for the digger, a stripe of red paint horizontally applied to his right cheek and red paint applied to the palms of his hands; for the musicians, a circle of red paint applied around the mouth; for the escort, a horizontal stripe of red paint applied across the forehead. The functions of the hunter are to find and mark the Sacred Tree; of the digger, to dig the hole for the erection of the Sacred Tree and the space for the altar in the Dance Lodge. There should be four drummers, four rattlers, and a choir of as many men and women as the Superior sees fit to appoint. The escort should be as many reputable brave men as the Superior chooses to appoint; preferably, they should be members of the various societies represented in the camp. Their functions are to escort the Superior and Mentors when they go in procession to perform rites pertaining to the ceremony and to lead in the battles against the Malevolent Gods and beings to be fought on the site of the ceremonial camp.

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When these appointments have been made the Superior, in the presence of the people, decorates the buffalo head, and invokes the potency of the Buffalo God to prevail in the ceremonial camp. He should do this in the following manner:--

The buffalo head which was previously provided should be placed near the council lodge so that it faces the Sun. A fire of buffalo chips should be made beside it. The Superior should sit before it while the Mentors sit in a circle around it. The women who color the parting of their hair red to signify that they have had the Buffalo Ceremony performed for their benefit should sit in a circle about the Mentors and the people should form the outer circle. The Superior should fill and light a pipe from the fire of chips and blow smoke into the nostrils of the buffalo head and then, with the fire of chips, he should make an incense of sweetgrass and while it smokes the women seated in the circle should contribute ornaments. The Superior should attach these ornaments to the horns of the buffalo head and then address the potency of the Buffalo God that abides in the head, telling it that the ornaments are tokens of the esteem of the people for the Buffalo God and praying it to pervade the ceremonial camp. When he has made this address he should give the buffalo head into the keeping of the red-striped marshals and instruct them to produce it when the Sacred Lodge is erected.

Then the herald of the camp should proclaim that the feast of buffalo tongues is ready to be served and invite all to partake of it. This feast should be provided by the bands of the Candidates, each band vying to produce the most abundant supply of fresh or dried buffalo tongues. The feast should be prepared and served by the women of the bands that make the provision. It should be served so that each one present may have at least a bit of buffalo tongue, for the feast is in honor of and a propitiation to the Buffalo God who is the patron of generosity and hospitality. This is the last feast that the Candidates should be permitted to attend until after they have danced the Sun Dance and therefore they should be served with an abundance of food, not less than an entire buffalo tongue for each. This feast completes the formalities of the third day of the ceremonial camp and may be prolonged far in the night.