Umonhonti, 'the Real Omaha' or 'the Venerable Man,' is the cottonwood Sacred Pole that stood at the center of the tribal circle and was addressed and cared for as a living person. According to the Sacred Legend a young man following a luminous, self-renewing tree brought it to the people, and it became the visible embodiment of tribal unity and of the authority of the chiefs. Anointed with buffalo fat at the annual Waxthexe ceremony, the Pole received prayers for the life and cohesion of the nation; it is now held by the Omaha in trust as a continuing emblem of the people.