With grateful hearts and reverent steps we enter this place, giving our solemn pledge to remember always your generosity, and to treat this place as your home in which we are honored guests and you are honored hosts. Come, friends and comrades, gather here in the mystery of the hour. Gather here in the one strong body. Gather here in the struggle and the power. For the spirits draw near and bid us welcome.
Drumbeats continue throughout the banner parade.
They may vary in style and character, but a constant beat or pulse is important. The assembly then joins, under the direction of the song leader. Drumbeat continues after song is over, somewhat softer. However varied from place to place and time to time, drums are the audible pulse in cultures. So strong are they, that in the struggle between cultures on this continent, they were often silenced.