From Teton Sioux Music by Frances Densmore:

Among the Teton Sioux, there is a ceremony known as Alówaŋpi, meaning “to sing for someone,” also known as the Huŋká, this being the name applied to the child who fills an important role in the ceremony.

The great result of this ceremony is that the man who performed it was regarded as a father by the child for whom he performed it. He made a solemn vow taking that child under his protection.

In all the great ceremonies of the Sioux, there is not one that binds two men together so strongly as this.

At the opening, the itȟáŋčhaŋ (intercessor) went to find the children for whom the ceremony was to be performed, pretending not to know where the children lived. He then went through the camp singing this song of “Pretended Search.”

The celebration of this ceremony placed a child in a highly respected position in the tribe. Such a child was “recognized by all as ranking above an ordinary child.”

This song was sung at the opening of the Alówaŋpi or Huŋká ceremony.