Dance of the Dog Feast

At the conclusion of the dog feast and dance the leader of the party began the "song of departure" and his warriors took up the melody. Dancing, not marching, they left the scene of the feast, and followed their leader toward the land of the enemy. Only one woman, usually the wife of the leader, was allowed to go with the war party. Four women escorted the warriors as they left the village, walking back and forth in front of them and joining in their song. These women had their faces whitened with clay. At last they divided, two standing on each side of the path, and the warriors passed between them. There were no farewells and the song did not cease. With eyes turned toward the enemy's country the warriors went forth to meet their uncertain fate.

Chippewa Music II by Frances Densmore, Smithsonian Institution Bureau of American Ethnology, Bulletin 53, (1913), p. 93

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NOTE: Depicted is the artist George Catlin's version of a Sioux dog feast at Fort Pierre (near what is now Fort Pierre, South Dakota), circa 1832.