The master of ceremonies, called xabē´ dima (E), xabē´gaūk (E), and he´līma (C), started and stopped all songs and dances by certain signals. The participants in the dance usually maintained certain positions, but the master of ceremonies ran about from place to place supervising the activities and giving directions as required. His presence was absolutely necessary at all ceremonies, and without him a dance could not proceed. He acted under the general direction of the head captain, but that official himself never served as master of ceremonies. Very rarely did the same individual serve as master of ceremonies and head singer. While as a rule the drummers and the singers wore no special dress for ceremonial occasions, the masters of ceremonies were almost always painted and dressed according to different requirements for each ceremony (see below). They were usually among the dancers who impersonated supernatural beings.
A ceremony always centered about the dance-house,[5] and lasted four nights, or some multiple of four, beginning usually soon after sunset. In the case of the "ghost ceremony," which began at sunrise, the preceding night was spent in performing other dances. Such ceremonies were made up of a varying number of dances.
There was usually no prescribed sequence, but the ceremony took the name of the dance which was its special feature, though this need not necessarily open the ceremony. In a few instances it was recognized that certain dances should be performed together.
A ceremony consisted of (1) an introductory procedure, accompanied by more or less ritual, such as the initiation of the children through the gū´ksū ceremony (see below, p. 425); (2) a series of dances; (3) a series of speeches by officials and men of importance concerning the religious life or other matters of public interest; (4) a final purification rite; and (5) various feasts, particularly one held in the morning after the final night of the ceremony.
There were certain special ceremonies, such as the gū´ksū ceremony, in which a definite opening procedure was required, but after this almost any desired dance might be held at any time, day or night, throughout the duration of the ceremonial period. The procedure of the final night of the ceremony was also usually fixed.