A rug was laid in front of the theurgist. Four medicine tubes were placed
on the rug, the one to the north end being white; the second one black and
red, a white line dividing the two colors; the third one, blue; the
fourth, black. The white tube was an offering to Hasjelti; the red, to
Zaadoltjaii; the blue, to Hostjoboard; the black, to Naaskiddi, the
hunchback. The tubes were filled as before described. These tubes were
begun and finished by the same person. (See Pl. CXVI.) When the tubes were
finished they were put into corn husks and bits of cotton cloth; tiny
pieces of turquois, white shell, abalone, and archaic black beads having
first been placed on the husks and cloths. The four turkey plumes with
barred tips that lay upon the rug were subsequently placed upon the tubes.
These parcels were sprinkled by the song priest with corn pollen, and
after closing them he placed them in the hands of the invalid, who sat at
the northeast corner of the rug facing east. The song-priest sat before
him and said a long prayer, which the invalid repeated. At the close of
the prayer an aged attendant received the parcels from the theurgist and
placed them to the soles of the feet, palms, etc., of the invalid. They
were afterward placed to his mouth and he drew from them a long breath.
The old man carried the parcels south over the brow of a hill and
deposited them in secluded spots about 4 feet apart, repeating a brief
prayer over each one; he then motioned toward the east, south, west, and
north, and returned to the lodge. During his absence the choir sang; in
the meantime the fire in the lodge was reduced to embers.