I
She was born in a bark house. Her mother, Rising-sun, was surprised as
she looked at the little face, for she felt that once before, long ago,
she had seen that face, and presently the assurance came to her that
the child was the image of her great-grandmother, Rising-sun’s mother’s
mother, whom she had often seen when she herself was a little girl.
Hanging-flower had been a great medicine woman in her day, and the fame
of her art had spread far and wide; on one occasion, it was claimed,
she had even cured a woman of insanity. Rising-sun could not hesitate
long: she wished to name the baby Hanging-flower.
Soon after this, when Rising-sun had regained her health and vigor,
she called on Clear-as-a-brook, the Keeper of names of the Bear
clan, to which Rising-sun belonged. From her the mother learned that
Hanging-flower, a remote relative of Rising-sun, of whom she remembered
having heard, had recently died and that her name had been “put away
in a box.” The mother knew now that nothing stood in the way of the
realization of her desire: Hanging-flower was to be the name of her
little girl.
When the fall came, Rising-sun began to get ready for the great Green
Corn Festival, and on the second day of the festivities she carried
little Hanging-flower to the Long House where her name was ceremonially
bestowed upon her, in the presence of all the people.