" Some of the new fire was then set down outside the
holy square; the women carried it home joyfully, and laid it on
their unpolluted hearths. When several towns had united to celebrate
the festival, the new fire might thus be carried for several miles.
The new fruits were then dressed on the new fires and eaten with
bear's oil, which was deemed indispensable. At one point of the
festival the men rubbed the new corn between their hands, then on
their faces and breasts. During the festival which followed, the
warriors, dressed in their wild martial array, their heads covered
with white down and carrying white feathers in their hands, danced
round the sacred arbour, under which burned the new fire. The
ceremonies lasted eight days, during which the strictest continence
was practised. Towards the conclusion of the festival the warriors
fought a mock battle; then the men and women together, in three
circles, danced round the sacred fire. Lastly, all the people
smeared themselves with white clay and bathed in running water. They
came out of the water believing that no evil could now befall them
for what they had done amiss in the past.
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