They dance to the tune of their wild "Ha-ha!"
A warrior's shout and a raven's caw--
Circling the pot and the blaming fire
To the tom-tom's bray and the rude bassoon;
Round and round to their heart's desire,
And ever the same wild chant and tune--
A warrior's shout and a raven's caw--
"Ha-ha,--ha-ha,--ha-ha,--ha!"
They crouch, they leap, and their burning eyes
Flash fierce in the light of the flaming fire,
As fiercer and fiercer and higher and higher
The rude, wild notes of their chant arise.
They cease, they sit, and the curling smoke
Ascends again from their polished pipes,
And upward curls from their swarthy lips
To the God whose favor their hearts invoke.

Then tall Wakawa arose and said:
"Brave warriors, listen, and give due heed.
Great is Heyoka, the magical god;
He can walk on the air; he can float on the flood.
He's a worker of magic and wonderful wise;
He cries when he laughs and he laughs when he cries;
He sweats when he's cold, and he shivers when hot,
And the water is cold in his boiling pot.
He hides in the earth and he walks in disguise,
But he loves the brave and their sacrifice.
We are sons of Heyoka. The Giant commands
In the boiling water to thrust our hands;