As soon as one was named he rose and took the head of some
animal that had been butchered for the feast. He raised it aloft so that
all the company could see it, and cried: 'Behold the head of the enemy!'
Applause and cries of joy rose from all parts of the assembly. The
chief, with the head in his hand, passed down between the lines, singing
his war-song, bragging of his exploits, taunting and defying the enemy,
and glorifying himself beyond all measure. To hear his self-laudation in
these moments of martial transport one would think him a conquering hero
ready to sweep everything before him. As he passed in front of the other
savages, they would respond by dull broken cries jerked up from the
depths of their stomachs, and accompanied by movements of their bodies
so odd that one must be well used to them to keep countenance. In the
course of his song the chief would utter from time to time some
grotesque witticism; then he would stop, as if pleased with himself, or
rather to listen to the thousand confused cries of applause that greeted
his ears. He kept up his martial promenade as long as he liked the
sport; and when he had had enough, ended by flinging down the head of
the animal with an air of contempt, to show that his warlike appetite
craved meat of another sort."[496] Others followed with similar songs
and pantomime, and the festival was closed at last by ladling out the
meat from the kettles, and devouring it.
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