Red is the symbolic color of life.

In this ceremony is preserved a trace of the far-away time when all the precious seed corn was in the care of priestly keepers.

The ceremony of giving out the four red kernels served to turn the thoughts of the people from a dependence solely on their own labor in cultivating corn to the life-giving power of Wakon'da dwelling within the maize.
In the Omaha Ritual Song of twenty-six stanzas which preceded the distribution of the four red kernels, the Corn speaks.

It tells of its roots reaching in the four directions (where dwell the messengers that bring life), of the growth of its jointed stalk, of the unfolding of its leaves, of the changing color of the silk and of the tassel, of the ripening of the fruit, of the bidding of the people to come, to pluck and to eat.
The music of this Ritual Song is simple.

It is here given with a very brief paraphrase of the words of the Ritual Song.
DANCE I INTRODUCTORY NOTE .-- This ceremonial dance touches upon the mystery of the giving of life that life may be maintained; an exchange that links together the different forms of life and enhances the joy of living.
_Properties_ .-- Thin green mantles; yellow plumes like the corn tassel; bone clips; as many of these articles as there are dancers.
_Directions_ .-- This dance belongs to both sexes and a number of each should take part, if that is possible.