Song No. 2
Invocation
All that springeth from the sod,
Tendeth upward unto God;
All that cometh from the skies,
Urging it anon to rise.
This chant takes the place of the prayer sung at this point of the ceremony by the Omaha Keepers of the Tribal Sacred Pipes. The prayer in the original has no words, vocables only are used, for the music is what carries the appeal to Wakon’da (God).
At the close of the chant two strokes of the drum should be given. Then the leaders should sing the first line of the following song; all the camp respond at the beginning of the second measure, and the song follows. This music is the dance song of the ceremony when all the Omaha tribe made four rhythmic advances toward the sacred tree, stopping at the close of each advance. The song was sung four times, once for each forward movement.