translation adequate to convey the meaning of the ritual. A single word sometimes represents a complex action, to the understanding of which a knowledge of the customs and the beliefs of the tribe is essential. The terseness of expression was also intended to close the meaning to the uninitiated, keeping it as sacred from the common people. Take, for example, the fourth stanza, which in Pawnee contains thirty-five syllables representing thirteen words. Literally translated these would read: "Harken by reason of the man stood said and did loud call to reach traveling Harken special places Harken sitting circle above." These words were explained and amplified by the priest exactly as is given in the close translation of the same stanza. By the light of this amplification the words of the ritual, otherwise unintelligible, become full of meaning to anyone familiar with the customs and thought of the tribe. The same is true of every other stanza given in the following close translation. I have deemed it proper to throw this translation into rhythmic form that something like its native cadence may be preserved. My aim has been to present the ritual, inadequately it is true, as it appealed to the thoughtful and reverent Pawnee.
CLOSE TRANSLATION
2Harken! 'Twas thus it came to pass:
In ancient days, a Leader and his men
Walked this wide earth, man's vast abode
Roofed by the heavens, where dwell the gods.
They reached a place, the spot no man can tell,
Faced dangers dread, and vanquished them;
Then, standing as if born anew to life,
Each warrior threw away the name
That had been his ere yet these deeds were done.
2Harken! The Leader and his men
Made there the Vict'ry song, and set the mark
Ye must o'ertake, if ye would be like them!
disappeared from the languages of literature." A "special excellence"—in certain compositions—"with the Pawnee seems often to consist in its intense brevity.—Grinnell, Pawnee Hero Stories and Folk-Tales, app., pp. 409, 435.
