The Fashioning of the Children: American First Nation Songs and Chants

Today, we will focus on the Osage First Nation chant “The Fashioning of the Children,” which details how human beings, initially only in spirit form, came to have a physical form on Earth. The Osage First Nation people, originally from present-day Missouri, Arkansas, Kansas, and Oklahoma, believe that their ancestors came from the sky, and the Sun and Moon are their grandparents.

THE FASHIONING OF THE CHILDREN CHANT OF THE RED EAGLE CLAN

“[…] The female Red Bird, who had been moving, was sitting on her nest. To her he came, saying, ‘Ho, grandmother! The children have no bodies.’ She replied, ‘I can cause your children to have (human) bodies from my own. My left wing shall be a left arm for the children. My right wing shall be a right arm for them. My head shall be a head for them. My mouth shall be a mouth for them. My forehead shall be a forehead for them. My neck shall be a neck for them. My throat shall be a throat for them. My chest shall be a chest for them. My thighs shall be thighs for them. My knees shall be knees for them. My heels shall be their heels. My toes shall be their toes. My claws shall be their toenails. You shall live forever without destruction. Your children shall live as human beings. The speech of children I will bestow on your children.’”

THE CHILD IS INTRODUCED TO THE COSMOS AT BIRTH

“[…] Ho! Ye Sun, Moon, Stars, all ye that move in the heavens, I bid you hear me! Into your midst has come a new life. Consent ye, I implore! Make its path smooth, that it may reach the brow of the first hill! Ho! Ye Winds, Clouds, Rain, Mist, all ye that move in the air, I bid you hear me! Into your midst has come a new life. Consent ye, I implore! Make its path smooth, that it may reach the brow of the second hill! Ho! Ye Hills, Valleys, Rivers, Lakes, Trees, Grasses, all ye of the Earth, I bid you hear me! Into your midst has come a new life. Consent ye, I implore! Make its path smooth, that it may reach the brow of the third hill! Ho! Ye Birds, great and small, that fly in the air, Ho! Ye Animals, great and small, that dwell in the forest, Ho! Ye insects that creep among the grasses and burrow in the ground – I bid you hear me! Into your midst has come a new life. Consent ye, I implore! Make its path smooth, that it may reach the brow of the fourth hill! Ho! All ye of the Heavens, all ye of the air, all ye of the Earth: I bid you all to hear me! Into your midst has come a new life. Consent ye, consent ye all, I implore! Make its path smooth – then shall it travel beyond the four hills!”