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             SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION—BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY.

                               THE SIA.

                                  BY
                        MATILDA COXE STEVENSON.




                               CONTENTS.


                                                                   Page.
  Introduction                                                         9

  Cosmogony                                                           26

  Cult societies                                                      69

  Theurgistic rites                                                   73
      Rain ceremonial of the Snake society                            76
      Rain ceremonial of the Giant society                            91
      Four-night ceremonial of the Giant society for the healing
        of a sick boy                                                 97
      Rain ceremonial of the Knife society                           101
      Society of the Quer´ränna                                      112
      Rain ceremonial of the Quer´ränna society                      113
      Other societies                                                116
      Society of the cougar                                          118
      Society of Warriors                                            121

  Songs                                                              123
      A rain song of the Shū´wi Chai´än (Snake society)
      A song of the Shū´wi Chai´än (Snake society) for healing the
        sick                                                         125
      A rain song of the Sko´yo Chai´än (Giant society)              126
      A song of the Sko´yo Chai´än (Giant society) for healing the
        sick                                                         127
      A rain song of the His´tiän Chai´än (Knife society)            128
      Portion of a rain song of the His´tiän Chai´än (Knife
        society)                                                     129
      A rain song of the Quer´ränna Chai´än                          130
      Prayer for sick infant                                         130

  Childbirth                                                         132

  Mortuary customs and beliefs                                       143

  Myths                                                              146
      The Coyote encounters disappointment                           147
      The Coyote and the Cougar                                      154
      The Coyote and the Rattlesnake                                 156
      The Skatona                                                    157




                            ILLUSTRATIONS.


                                                                   Page.

  PL.  I. A view of Sia, showing a portion of village in ruins         8

      II. Plaza, Sia                                                  10

     III. Sisters; cleverest artists in ceramics in Sia               12

      IV. Group of Sia vases                                          14

       V. The Oracle                                                  16

      VI. Stone house showing plaster on exterior                     22

     VII. Stampers at work                                            24

    VIII. Pounders completing work                                    26

      IX. I-är-ri-ko, a Sia fetich                                    40

       X. Personal adornment when received into third degree of
            official membership in Cult society (_A_, Ko-shai-ri;
            _B_, Quer´-rän-na; _C_, Snake society                     70

      XI. Hä´-cha-mo-ni before plume offerings are attached (_A_,
            hä´-cha-mo-ni and official staff deposited for Sûs
            sĭs-tin-na-ko; _B_, hä´-cha-mo-ni and official staff
            deposited for the sun; _C_, hä´-cha-mo-ni and official
            staff deposited for the cloud priest of the north; _D_,
            hä´-cha-mo-ni and official staff deposited for the
            cloud priest of the west; _E_, hä´-cha-mo-ni and
            official staff deposited for the cloud priest of the
            zenith)                                                   74

     XII. Hä´-cha-mo-ni with plume offerings attached (_F_,
            hä´-cha-mo-ni deposited for the Sia woman of the north
            and of the west; _G_, hä´-cha-mo-ni offered to the
            cloud woman of the cardinal points; _H_, gaming block
            offered to the cloud people; _I_, hä´-cha-mo-ni and
            official staff deposited for the snake ho´-na-ai-te of
            the north)                                                76

    XIII. Hä´-cha-mo-ni with plumes attached (_A_, deposited for
            cloud priest of the north; _B_, deposited for
            Ho-chan-ni, arch ruler of the cloud priests of the
            world; _C_, deposited for cloud woman of the north;
            _D_, bunch of plumes offered apart from hä´-cha-mo-ni;
            _E_, bunch of plumes offered apart from hä´-cha-mo-ni)    78

     XIV. Altar and sand painting of Snake society                    80

      XV. Altar of Snake society                                      82

     XVI. Ceremonial vase                                             84

    XVII. Vice ho´-na-ai-te of Snake society                          86

   XVIII. Altar and sand painting of Giant society (_A_, altar;
            _B_, sand painting)                                       90

     XIX. Altar of Giant society photographed during ceremonial       92

      XX. Ho´-na-ai-te of Giant society                               94

     XXI. Sick boy in ceremonial chamber of Giant society             96

    XXII. Altar and sand painting of Knife society                    98

   XXIII. Altar of Knife society photographed during ceremonial      100

    XXIV. Ho´-na-ai-te of Knife society                              102

     XXV. Altar of Knife society, with ho´-na-ai-te and vice
            ho´-na-ai-te on either side                              104

    XXVI. Shrine of Knife society                                    108

   XXVII. Shrine of Knife society                                    110

  XXVIII. Altar of Quer´-rän-na society                              112

    XXIX. Altar of Quer´-rän-na society                              114

     XXX. Ho´-na-ai-te of Quer´-rän-na society                       116

    XXXI. Sia masks (A, masks of the Ká-ᵗsû-na; B, mask of female
            Ká-ᵗsû-na; C, masks of the Ká-ᵗsû-na)                    118

   XXXII. Sia masks (A, masks of the Ká-ᵗsû-na; B, masks of female
            Ká-ᵗsû-na)                                               120

  XXXIII. Prayer to the rising sun                                   122

   XXXIV. Personal adornment when received into the third degree of
            official membership of Cult society (A, spider; B,
            cougar; C, fire; D, Knife and Giant; E, costume when
            victor is received into society of Warriors; F, body of
            warrior prepared for burial, only the face, hands, and
            feet being painted)                                      140

    XXXV. Ceremonial water vases; Sia (A, a cross emblematic of the
            rain from the cardinal points; B, faces of the cloud
            men; C, faces of the cloud women; D, clouds and rain;
            E, vegetation; F, dragonfly, symbolic of water)          146


  Fig. 1. Sia women on their way to trader’s to dispose of pottery    12

       2. Sia women returning from trader’s with flour and corn       13

       3. Pauper                                                      18

       4. Breaking the earth under tent                               21

       5. Women and girls bringing clay                               22

       6. Women and girls bringing clay                               23

       7. Depositing the clay                                         24

       8. Mixing the clay with the freshly broken earth               25

       9. Women sprinkling the earth                                  26

      10. The process of leveling                                     27

      11. Stampers starting to work                                   28

      12. Mixing clay for plaster                                     29

      13. Childish curiosity                                          30

      14. Mask of the sun, drawn by a theurgist                       36

      15. Diagram of the White House of the North, drawn by a
            theurgist                                                 58

      16. The game of Wash´kasi                                       60

      17. Sand painting as indicated in Plate XXV                    102

      18. Sand painting used in ceremonial for sick by Ant society   103

      19. Sia doctress                                               133

      20. Mother with her infant four days old                       142

  [Illustration: Bureau of Ethnology.    Eleventh Annual Report PLate I

  A VIEW OF SIA, SHOWING A PORTION OF VILLAGE IN RUINS.]




                               THE SIA.

                     BY MATILDA COXE STEVENSON.[1]


                             INTRODUCTION.

All that remains of the once populous pueblo of Sia is a small group
of houses and a mere handful of people in the midst of one of the
most extensive ruins of the Southwest (Pl. I) the living relic of an
almost extinct people and a pathetic tale of the ravages of warfare and
pestilence. This picture is even more touching than the infant’s cradle
or the tiny sandal found buried in the cliff in the canyon walls. The
Sia of to-day is in much the same condition as that of the ancient cave
and cliff dweller as we restore their villages in imagination.

The cosmogony and myths of the Sia point to the present site as their
home before resorting to the mesa, which was not, however, their first
mesa home; their legends refer to numerous villages on mountain tops in
their journeying from the north to the center of the earth.

The population of this village was originally very large, but from its
situation it became a target during intertribal feuds. A time came,
however, when intertribal strife ceased, and the pueblo tribes united
their strength to oppose a common foe, an adversary who struck terror
to the heart of the Indian, inasmuch as he not only took possession of
their villages and homes, but was bent upon uprooting the ancestral
religion to plant in its stead the Roman Catholic faith. To avoid this
result the Sia fled to the mesa and built a village, but the foe was
not to be thus easily baffled and the mesa village was brought under
subjection. That these people again struggled for their freedom is
evident from the report of Vargas of his visit there in 1692:

  The pueblo had been destroyed a few years before by Cruzate, but it
  had not been rebuilt. The troops entered it the next morning. It
  was situated upon the mesa of Cerro Colorado, and the only approach
  to it was up the side of the plateau by a steep and rocky road. The
  only thing of value found there was the bell of the convent, which
  was ordered to be buried. The Indians had built a new village near
  the ruins of the old one. When they saw the Spaniards approach they
  came forth to meet and bid them welcome, carrying crosses in their
  hands, and the chiefs marching at their heads. In this manner they
  escorted Vargas and his troops to the plaza, where arches and
  crosses were erected, and good quarters provided them. He caused
  the inhabitants to be assembled, when he explained to them the
  object of his visit and the manner in which he intended to punish
  all the rebellious Indians. This concluded, the usual ceremonies of
  taking possession, baptism and absolution, took place.[2]

And the Sia were again under Spanish thraldom; but though they made
this outward show of submitting to the new faith, neither then nor
since have they wavered in their devotion to their aboriginal religion.

The ruins upon the mesa, showing well-defined walls of rectangular
stone structures northwest of the present village, are of considerable
magnitude, covering many acres. (Pl. II.) The Indians, however, declare
this to have been the great farming districts of Pó-shai-yän-ne (quasi
messiah), each field being divided from the others by a stone wall, and
that their village was on the mesa eastward of the present one.

The distance from the water and the field induced the Sia to return
to their old home, but wars, pestilence, and oppression seem to have
been their heritage. When not contending with the marauding nomad
and Mexican, they were suffering the effects of disease, and between
murder and epidemic these people have been reduced to small numbers.
The Sia declare that this condition of affairs continued, to a greater
or less degree, with but short periods of respite, until the murders
were arrested by the intervention of our Government. For this they are
profoundly grateful, and they are willing to attest their gratitude in
every possible way.

The Sia to-day number, according to the census taken in 1890, 106, and
though they no longer suffer at the murderous hand of an enemy, they
have to contend against such diseases as smallpox and diphtheria, and
it will require but a few more scourges to obliterate this remnant of
a people. They are still harassed on all sides by depredators, much as
they were of old; and long continued struggle has not only resulted in
the depletion of their numbers, but also in mental deterioration.

The Sia resemble the other pueblo Indians; indeed, so strikingly alike
are they in physical structure, complexion, and customs that they might
be considered one and the same people, had it not been discovered
through philological investigation that the languages of the pueblo
Indians have been evolved from four distinct stocks.

Sia is situated upon an elevation at the base of which flows the Jemez
river. The Rio Salado empties into the Jemez some 4 miles above Sia
and so impregnates the waters of the Jemez with salt that while it is
at all times most unpalatable, in the summer season when the river is
drained above, the water becomes undrinkable, and yet it is this or
nothing with the Sia.

For neighbors they have the people of the pueblo of Santa Ana, 6
miles to the southeast, who speak the same language, with but slight
variation, and the pueblo of Jemez, 7 miles north, whose language,
according to Powell’s classification, is of another stock, the Tañoan.

  [Illustration: Bureau of Ethnology.    Eleventh Annual Report PLate II

  PLAZA, SIA.]

The Mexican town of San Ysidro is 5½ miles above Sia, and there
are several Mexican settlements north of Jemez. The Mexican town of
Bernalillo is on the east bank of the Rio Grande, 17½ miles eastward.

Though Protestant missionaries have been stationed at the pueblo of
Jemez since 1878, no attempt has been made to bring the Sia within the
pale of Protestantism. The Catholic mission priest who resides at Jemez
makes periodical visits to the Sia, when services are held, marriages
performed, infants baptized, and prayers offered for the dead.

  The missions at Cia and Jemez were founded previous to 1617 and
  after 1605. They existed without interruption until about 1622,
  when the Navajos compelled the abandonment of the two churches
  at San Diego and San Joseph of Jemez. About four years later,
  through the exertions of Fray Martin de Arvide, these missions
  were reoccupied, and remained in uninterrupted operation until
  August 10, 1680. The mission at Cia, as far as I know, suffered no
  great calamity until that date. After the uprising of 1680 the Cia
  mission remained vacant until 1694. Thence on it has been always
  maintained, slight temporary vacancies excepted, up to this day.
  The mission of San Diego de Jemez was occupied in 1694 by Fray
  Francisco de Jesus, whom the Indians murdered on the 4th of June
  of 1696. In consequence of the uprising on that day, the Jemez
  abandoned their country, and returned, settling on the present site
  of their pueblo only in 1700. The first resident priest at Jemez
  became Fray Diego Chabarria, in 1701. Since that date I find no
  further interruption in the list of missionaries.[3]

The Sia are regarded with contempt by the Santa Ana and the Jemez
Indians, who never omit an opportunity to give expression to their
scorn, feeling assured that this handful of people must submit to
insult without hope of redress. Limited intertribal relations exist,
and these principally for the purpose of traffic.

Though the Sia have considerable irrigable lands, they have but a
meager supply of water, this being due to the fact that after the
Mexican towns above them and the pueblo of Jemez have drawn upon the
waters of the Jemez river, little is left for the Sia, and in order
to have any success with their crops they must curtail the area to
be cultivated. Thus they never raise grain enough to supply their
needs, even with the practice of the strictest economy according to
Indian understanding, and therefore depend upon their more successful
neighbors who labor under no such difficulties. The Jemez people have
no lack of water supply, and the Santa Ana have their farming districts
on the banks of the Rio Grande. Is it strange, then, that two pueblos
are found progressing, however slowly, toward a European civilization,
while the Sia, though slightly influenced by the Mexicans, have,
through their environment, been led not only to cling to autochthonic
culture but to lower their plane of social and mental condition?

The Sia women labor industriously at the ceramic art as soon as their
grain supply becomes reduced, and the men carry the wares to their
unfriendly neighbors for trade in exchange for wheat and corn. While
the Santa Ana and Jemez make a little pottery, it is very coarse in
texture and in form; in fact, they can not be classed as pottery-making
Indians. (Pl. III.)

As long as the Sia can induce the traders through the country to take
their pottery they refrain from barter with their Indian neighbors.
(Pl. IV.) The women usually dispose of the articles to the traders
(Figs. 1 and 2), but they never venture on expeditions to the Santa Ana
and the Jemez.

  [Illustration: FIG. 1.—Sia women on their way to the trader’s to
  dispose of pottery.]

Each year a period comes, just before the harvest time, when no more
pottery is required by their Indian neighbors, and the Sia must deal
out their food in such limited portions that the elders go hungry in
order to satisfy the children. When starvation threatens there is no
thought for the children of the clan, but the head of each household
looks to the wants of its own, and there is apparent indifference to
the sufferings of neighbors. When questioned, they reply: “We feel sad
for our brothers and our sisters, but we have not enough for our own.”
Thus when driven to extremes, nature asserts itself in the nearest
ties of consanguinity and the “clan” becomes secondary. At these times
there are no expressions of dissatisfaction and no attempt on the part
of the stronger to take advantage of the weaker. The expression of
the men changes to a stoical resignation, and the women’s faces grow
a shade paler with the thought that in order to nourish their babes
they themselves must be nourished. And yet, such is their code of
hospitality that food is always offered to guests as long as a morsel
remains.

  [Illustration: Bureau of Ethnology.    Eleventh Annual Report PLate III

  SISTERS; CLEVEREST ARTISTS IN CERAMICS IN SIA.]

So like children are these same stoical and patient people that the
tears of sorrow are quickly dispelled by the sunshine of success.
When their crops are gathered they hold their saints’ day feast, when
the Indians from near and far (even a few of the unfriendly Indians
lending their unwelcome presence) surfeit at their board. These public
dances and feasts of thanksgiving in honor of their patron saint,
upon the gathering of their crops, which occur in all the Rio Grande
pueblos, present a queer mixture of pagan and Christian religion. The
priest owes his success in maintaining a certain influence with these
people since the accession of New Mexico to the United States, by
non-interference with the introduction of their forms and dances into
the worship taught by the church. Hence the Rio Grande Indians are
professedly Catholics; but the fact that these Indians and the Mission
Indians of California have preserved their religions, admitting them
to have been more or less influenced by Catholicism, and hold their
ceremonials in secret, practicing their occult powers to the present
time, under the very eye of the church, is evidence not only of the
tenacity with which they cling to their ancient customs, but of their
cunning in maintaining perfect seclusion.

  [Illustration: FIG. 2.—Sia women returning from trader’s with flour
  and corn in exchange for pottery.]

When Maj. Powell visited Tusayan, in 1870, he was received with marked
kindness by the Indians and permitted to attend the secret ceremonials
of their cult. The writer is of the opinion that he was the first and
only white man granted this privilege by any of the pueblo Indians
previous to the expedition to Zuñi, in 1879, by Mr. Stevenson, of the
Bureau of Ethnology.

The writer accompanied Mr. Stevenson on this occasion and during his
succeeding investigations among the Zuñi, Tusayan, and the Rio Grande
Pueblos. And whenever the stay was long enough to become acquainted
with the people the confidence of the priestly rulers and theurgists
was gained, and after this conciliation all efforts to be present at
the most secret and sacred performances observed and practiced by
these Indians were successful. Their sociology and religion are so
intricately woven together that the study of the one can not be pursued
without the other, the ritual beginning at birth and closing with death.

While the religion of the Rio Grande Indians bears evidence of contact
with Catholicism, they are in fact as non-Catholic as before the
Spanish conquest. Their environment by the European civilization of
the southwest is, however, slowly but surely effecting a change in the
observances of their cabalistic practices. For example, the pueblo of
Laguna was so disturbed by the Atlantic and Pacific railroad passing by
its village that first one and then another of its families lingered
at the ranch houses, reluctant to return to their communal home, where
they must come in contact with the hateful innovations of their land;
and so additions were made to render the summer house more comfortable
for the winter, and after a time a more substantial structure
supplanted the temporary abode, and the communal dwelling was rarely
visited except to comply with the religious observances. Some of these
homes were quite remote from the village, and the men having gradually
increased their stock of cattle found constant vigilance necessary to
protect them from destruction by the railroad and the hands of the
cowboy; and so first one and then another of the younger men ventured
to be absent from a ceremonial in order to look up some stray head of
cattle, until the aged men cried out in horror that their children were
forgetting the religion of their forefathers.

The writer knew of but one like delinquent among the Zuñi when she was
there in 1886. A son of one of the most bigoted priests in the village
had become so eager to possess an American wagon, and his attention was
so absorbed in looking after his cattle with a view to the accumulation
of means whereby to purchase a wagon, that he dared to absent himself
from a most important and sacred ceremonial, notwithstanding the
current belief that for such impiety the offender must die within four
days. The father denounced him in the strongest terms, declaring he
was no longer his son. And the man told the writer, on his return to
the village, “that he was afraid because he staid away, and he guessed
he would die within four days, but some of his cattle had strayed
off and he feared the cowboy.” The fourth day passed and the man
still lived, and the scales dropped from his eyes. From that time his
religious duties were neglected in his eagerness for the accumulation
of wealth.

  [Illustration: Bureau of Ethnology.    Eleventh Annual Report PLate IV

  GROUP OF SIA VASES.]

Thus the railroad, the merchant, and the cowboy, without this purpose
in view, are effecting a change which is slowly closing, leaf by
leaf, the record of the religious beliefs and practices of the pueblo
Indian. With the Sia this record book is being more rapidly closed, but
from a different cause. It is not due to the Christianizing of these
Indians, for they have nothing of Protestantism among them, and though
professedly Catholic, they await only the departure of the priest to
return to their secret ceremonials. The Catholic priest baptizes the
infant, but the child has previously received the baptismal rite of its
ancestors. The Catholic priest marries the betrothed, but they have
been previously united according to their ancestral rites. The Romish
priest holds mass that the dead may enter heaven, but prayers have
already been offered that the soul may be received by Sûś-sĭs-tin-na-ko
(their creator) into the lower world whence it came. As an entirety
these people are devotees to their religion and its observances, and
yet with but few exceptions, they go through their rituals, having but
vague understanding of their origin or meaning. Each shadow on the
dial brings nearer to a close the lives of those upon whose minds are
graven the traditions, mythology, and folklore as indelibly as are the
pictographs and monochromes upon the rocky walls.

An aged theurgist whose lore was unquestioned, in fact he was regarded
as their oracle (Pl. V), passed away during the summer of 1890. Great
were the lamentations that the keeper of their traditions slept, and
with him slept much that they would never hear again. There are, now,
but five men from whom any connected account of their cosmogony and
mythology may be gleaned, and they are no longer young. Two of these
men are not natives of Sia, but were adopted into the tribe when
young children. One is a Tusayan; the other a San Felipe Indian. The
former is the present governor, amiable, brave, and determined, and
while deploring that his people have no understanding of American
civilization, he stands second only to the oracle in his knowledge of
lore of the Sia. The San Felipe Indian is a like character, and if Sia
possessed a few more such men there might yet be a future for that
pueblo.

While the mythology and cult practices differ in each pueblo there is
still a striking analogy between them, the Zuñi and Tusayan furnishing
the richer field for the ethnographer, their religion and sociology
being virtually free from Catholic influence.

The Indian official is possessed of a character so penetrating, so
diplomatic, cunning, and reticent that it is only through the most
friendly relations and by a protracted stay that anything can be
learned of the myths, legends, and rites with which the lives of these
people are so thoroughly imbued and which they so zealously guard.

The theurgists of the several cult societies, upon learning that the
object of the writer’s second visit to Sia was similar to that of the
previous one, graciously received her in their ceremonials, revealing
the secrets more precious to them than life itself. When unable to give
such information as she sought they would bring forth their oracle (the
aged theurgist) whose old wrinkled face brightened with intelligent
interest as he related without hesitancy that which was requested.

The form of government of all the pueblos is much the same, they being
civil organizations divided into several departments, with an official
head for each department.

With the Sia (and likewise with the other pueblos) the ti´ämoni,
by virtue of his priestly office, is ex officio chief executive
and legislator; the war priest (he and his vicar being the earthly
representatives of the twin war heroes) having immediate control and
direction of the military and of tribal hunts. Secret cult societies
concerning the Indians’ relations to anthropomorphic and zoomorphic
beings are controlled each by a particular theurgist. The war chief,
the local governor, and the magistrate as well as the ti´ämoni and
theurgists have each a vicar who assists in the official and religious
duties.

While the Zuñi priesthood for rain consists of a plurality of priests
and a priestess, the priest of the north being the arch ruler, the Sia
have but one such priest. With the Zuñi the arch-ruler holds his office
through maternal inheritance; with the Sia it is a life appointment.
The ti´ämoni of Sia is chosen alternately from three clans—corn,
coyote, and a species of cane. Though the first priest was selected by
the mother Ût´sĕt, who directed that the office should always be filled
by a member of the corn clan, he in time caused dissatisfaction by his
action towards infants (see cosmogony), and upon his death the people
concluded to choose a ti´ämoni from the coyote clan, but he proved
not to have a good heart, for the cloud people refused to send rain
and the earth became dry. The third one was appointed from the cane
clan, but he, too, causing criticism, the Sia determined they would be
obedient to the command of their mother Ût´sĕt, and returned to the
corn clan in selecting their fourth ti´ämoni, but his reign brought
disappointment. The next ruler was chosen from the coyote clan, and
proved more satisfactory; but the people, deciding it was best not to
confine the selection of their ti´ämoni to the one clan, appointed the
sixth from the cane clan, and since that time this office has been
filled alternately from the corn, coyote, and cane clans until the
latter became extinct. The present ti´ämoni’s clan is the coyote, and
that of his vicar, the corn. Their future appointments will necessarily
come from these two clans, as practically they are reduced to these.

The ti´ämoni and vicar are appointed by the two war priests, the vicar
succeeding to the office of ti´ämoni.

The present ti´ämoni entered his office without having filled the
subordinate place, his predecessor, a very aged man, and the vicar,
likewise old, having died about the same time. When the selection of
a younger brother or vicar has been made, the vicar to the war priest
calls upon the incoming ruler, who accompanies him to the house of the
appointee to fill the office of vicar to the ti´ämoni. The younger
war priest, followed by the ti´ämoni elect, who precedes the vicar,
goes to the ancestral official chamber of the ti´ämoni, where the
elder war priest, the theurgists of the several cult societies, with
their vicars, have assembled to be present at the installation of
the ti´ämoni. The war priest arises to meet the party, and, with the
ti´ämoni immediately before him he says: “This man is now our priest;
he is now our father and our mother for all time;” and then addressing
the ti´ämoni he continues: “You are no more to work in the fields or
to bring wood, the theurgists of the cult and all your other children
will labor for you, our ti´ämoni, for all years to come; you are not to
work, but to be to us as our father and our mother.” “Good! good!” is
repeated by the theurgists. The war priest then presents the ti´ämoni
with the ensign of his office—a slender staff, crooked at the end and
supposed to be the same which was presented to the first ruler by the
mother Ût´sĕt—the crook being symbolic of longevity. Upon receiving
the crook the ti´ämoni draws the sacred breath from it and the war
priest embraces him and sprinkles the cane with meal with a prayer that
the thoughts and heart of Ût´sĕt may be conveyed from the staff to
the newly-chosen ruler (Ût´sĕt upon presenting this cane to the first
ti´ämoni of this world, gave with it all her thoughts and her heart),
and now he, too, draws from the cane the sacred breath. The theurgists
rise in a body, each one embracing the ti´ämoni and sprinkling meal
upon the staff, at the same time drawing from it the sacred breath. The
civil authorities next, and then the populace, including the women and
children, repeat the embracing, the sprinkling of meal, and the drawing
of the sacred breath.

  [Illustration: Bureau of Ethnology.    Eleventh Annual Report PLate V

  THE ORACLE.]

The following day all the members of the pueblo, including the
children, collect wood for the ti´ämoni, depositing it by the side of
his dwelling.

The Sia are much chagrined that their present ti´ämoni (who is a young
man) participates in the hunts, works in the fields, and is ever ready
to join in a pleasure ride over the hills. This is not the tribal
custom; the ti´ämoni may have a supervision over his herds and fields,
but his mind is supposed to be absorbed with religion and the interests
of his people, and he never leaves his village for a distance,
excepting to make pilgrimages to the shrines or other of their Meccas.
This young ruler is a vain fellow, having but little concern for the
welfare of his people, but he is most punctilious in his claim to the
honors due him.

The theurgists hold office for life, each vicar succeeding to the
function of his theurgist, who in turn appoints, with the approbation
of the ti´ämoni, the member whom he thinks best fitted to fill the
position of vicar.

For the selection of the civil and subordinate military officers
the ti´ämoni meets with his vicar, and the war priest and vicar in
the official chamber of the ti´ämoni, in the month of December, to
discuss the several appointments to be made; that of war chief and
his assistant, the governor and lieutenant-governor, the magistrate
and his deputy. After the names have been decided upon the theurgists
of the secret cult societies are notified and they join the ti´ämoni
and his associates, when they are informed of the decision and their
concurrence requested. This is always given, the consultation with the
theurgists being but a matter of courtesy. The populace then assemble,
when announcement is made of the names of the new appointees. These
appointments are annual; the same party, however, may serve any number
of terms.

  [Illustration: FIG. 3—Pauper.]

The war chief performs minor duties which would otherwise fall to the
war priest. It is the duty of the war chief to patrol the town during
the meetings of the cult societies and to surround the village with
mounted guardsmen at the time of a dance of the Ka´-ᵗsu-na. A Mexican,
especially, must not look upon one of these anthropomorphic beings. The
war chief also directs the hunt under the instruction of the war priest
and vicar. It is not obligatory that he participate in the hunt; his
vicar, as his representative or other self, may lead the huntsmen. The
governor sees that the civil laws are executed, he looking after the
more important matters, leaving the minor cases in the hands of the
magistrate. He designates the duties of his people for the coming day
by crying his commands in the plaza at sunset.

Wizards and witches are tried and punished by the war priest; and it
has been but a few years since a man and his wife suffered death for
practicing this diabolical craft. Their child, a boy of some twelve
years, Fig. 3, is a pauper who at times begs from door to door, and at
other times he is taken into some family and made use of until they
grow tired of dispensing their charity. The observations of the writer
led her to believe that the boy earned all that he received. Socially,
held in contempt by his elders, he seems a favorite with the children,
though this unfortunate is seldom allowed the joy of childish sport. He
is, however, a member of one of the most important cult societies (the
knife) belonging to its several divisions.

The clans (há-notc) now existing among these people are the

  Yá-ka               Corn
  Shurts-ŭn-na        Coyote
  Tá-ñe               Squash
  Há-mi               Tobacco
  Ko-hai              Bear
  Ti-ä´-mi            Eagle

There is but one member of the eagle, one of the bear, and one of the
squash clan, and these men are advanced in years. There is a second
member of the squash clan, but he is a Tusayan by birth. The only clans
that are numerically well represented are the corn and coyote. There is
but one family of the tobacco clan.

The following are extinct clans:

  Shi-kĕ              Star
  T́a-wac              Moon
  O´-sharts           Sun
  Tä´ñe               Deer
  Kurtz               Antelope
  Mo´-kaitc           Cougar
  Hĕn´-na-ti          Cloud
  Shu´ta              Crane
  Ha´-pan-ñi          Oak
  Ha´-kan-ñi          Fire
  Sha´-wi-ti          Parrot
  Wa´pon              White shell bead
  ᵗ´Zi-i              Ant
  Ya´un-ñi            Granite
  Wash´-pa            Cactus

The writer could not learn that there had ever been more than
twenty-one clans, and although the table shows six at the present time,
it may be seen from the statement that there are virtually but two.

Marrying into the clan of either parent is in opposition to the old
law; but at present there is nothing for the Sia to do but to break
these laws, if they would preserve the remnant of their people,
and while such marriages are looked upon with disfavor, it is “the
inevitable.” The young men are watched with a jealous eye by their
elders that they do not seek brides among other tribes, and though
the beauty of the Sia maidens is recognized by the other pueblo
people, they are rarely sought in marriage, for, according to the
tribal custom, the husband makes his home with the wife; and there is
little to attract the more progressive Indian of the other pueblos
to Sia, where the eagerness to perpetuate a depleted race causes the
Sia to rejoice over every birth, especially if it be a female child,
regardless whether the child be legitimate or otherwise.

When a girl reaches puberty she informs her mother, who invites the
female members of her clan to her house, where an informal feast is
enjoyed. The guests congratulate the girl upon having arrived at the
state of womanhood, and they say to her, “As yet you are like a child,
but you will soon be united with a companion and you will help to
increase your people.” The only male present is the girl’s father.
The news, however, soon spreads through the village, and it is not
long before offers are made to the mother for the privilege of sexual
relations with the girl. The first offers are generally refused, the
mother holding her virgin daughter for the highest bidder. These are
not necessarily offers of marriage, but are more commonly otherwise,
and are frequently made by married men.

Though the Sia are monogamists, it is common for the married, as well
as the unmarried, to live promiscuously with one another; the husband
being as fond of his wife’s children as if he were sure of the paternal
parentage. That these people, however, have their share of latent
jealousy is evident from the secrecy observed on the part of a married
man or woman to prevent the anger of the spouse. Parents are quite as
fond of their daughters’ illegitimate offspring, and as proud of them
as if they had been born in wedlock; and the man who marries a woman
having one or more illegitimate children apparently feels the same
attachment for these children as for those his wife bears him.

Some of the women recount their relations of this character with as
much pride as a civilized belle would her honest offers of marriage.
One of the most attractive women in Sia, though now a grandmother, once
said to the writer:

  When I was young I was pretty and attractive, and when I reached
  womanhood many offers were made to my mother for me [she did not
  refer to marriage, however], but my mother knowing my attractions
  refused several, and the first man I lived with was the richest
  man in the pueblo. I only lived with three men before I married,
  one being the present governor of the village; my eldest child is
  his daughter, and he thinks a great deal of her. He often makes
  her presents, and she always addresses him as father when his wife
  is not by. His wife, whom he married sometime after I ceased my
  relations with him, does not know that her husband once lived with
  me.

This woman added as an evidence of her great devotion to her husband,
that since her marriage she had not lived with any other man.

These loose marriage customs doubtless arise from the fact that the Sia
are now numerically few and their increase is desired, and that, as
many of the clans are now extinct, it is impossible to intermarry in
obedience to ancient rule.

The Sia are no exception to all the North American aborigines with whom
the writer is acquainted, the man being the active party in matrimonial
aspirations. If a woman has not before been married, and is young, the
man speaks to her parents before breathing a word of his admiration
to the girl. If his desire meets with approbation, the following day
he makes known to the girl his wish for her. The girl usually answers
in the affirmative if it be the will of her parents. Some two months
are consumed in the preparations for the wedding. Moccasins, blankets,
a dress, a belt, and other parts of the wardrobe are prepared by the
groom and the clans of his paternal and maternal parents. The clans
of the father and mother of the girl make great preparations for the
feast, which occurs after the marriage. The groom goes alone to the
house of the girl, his parents having preceded him, and carries his
gifts wrapped in a blanket. The girl’s mother sits to her right, and
to the right of this parent the groom’s mother sits; there is space
for the groom on the left of the girl, and beyond, the groom’s father
sits, and next to him the girl’s father. When the groom enters the room
the girl advances to meet him and receives the bundle; her mother then
comes forward and taking it deposits it in some part of the same room,
when the girl returns to her seat and the groom sits beside her. The
girl’s father is the first to speak, and says to the couple, “You must
now be as one, your hearts must be as one heart, you must speak no bad
words, and one must live for the other; and remember, your two hearts
must now be as one heart.” The groom’s father then repeats about the
same, then the girl’s mother, and the mother of the groom speak in
turn. After the marriage, which is strictly private, all the invited
guests assemble and enjoy a feast, the elaborateness of the feast
depending upon the wealth and prominence of the family.

  [Illustration: FIG. 4.—Breaking the earth under tent.]

Tribal custom requires the groom to make his home with his wife’s
family, the couple sleeping in the general living room with the
remainder of the family; but with the more progressive pueblos, and
with the Sia to a limited extent, the husband, if he be able, after a
time provides a house for his family.

The Sia wear the conventional dress of the Pueblos in general. The
women have their hair banged across the eyebrows, and the side locks
cut even midway the cheek. The back of the hair is left long and done
up in a cue, though some of the younger women, at the present time,
have adopted the Mexican way of dividing their hair down the back and
crossing it in a loop at the neck and wrapping it with yarn. The men
cut their hair the same way across the eyebrows, their side locks being
brought to the center of the chin and cut, and the back hair done up
similar to the manner of the women.

  [Illustration: FIG. 5.—Women and girls bringing clay.]

The children are industrious and patient little creatures, the boys
assisting their elders in farming and pastoral pursuits, and the girls
performing their share of domestic duties. A marked trait is their
loving-kindness and care for younger brothers and sisters. Every
little girl has her own water vase as soon as she is old enough
to accompany her mother to the river in the capacity of assistant
water-carrier, and thus they begin at a very early age to poise the
vase, Egyptian fashion, on their heads.

  [Illustration: Bureau of Ethnology.    Eleventh Annual Report PLate VI

  STONE HOUSE, SHOWING PLASTER ON EXTERIOR.]

There is no employment in pueblo life that the women and children seem
so thoroughly to enjoy as the processes of house building. (Fig. 5.)
It is the woman’s prerogative to do most of this work. (Fig. 6.) Men
make the adobe bricks when these are to be used. In Sia the houses are
adobe and small bowlders which are gathered from the ruins among which
they live. It is only occasionally that a new house is constructed.
The older ones are remodeled, and these are always smoothly plastered
on the exterior and interior, so that there is no evidence of a stone
wall. (Pl. VI.) The men do all carpenter work, and the Sia are
remarkably clever in this branch of mechanism, considering their crude
implements and entire absence of foreign instruction. They also lay the
heavy beams, and they sometimes assist in other work of the building.
When it became known that the writer wished to have the earth hardened
under and in front of her tents the entire female population appeared
at the camp ready for work, and for a couple of days the winds wafted
over the plain the merry chatter and laughter of young and old.

  [Illustration: FIG. 6.—Women and girls bringing clay.]

The process of laying the tent floors was the same as the Sia observe
in making floors in their houses. A hoe is employed to break the earth
to about eight inches in depth and to loosen all rocks that may be
found (Fig. 4). The rocks are then removed and the foreign earth, a
kind of clay, is brought by the girls on their backs in blankets or the
square pieces of calico which hang from their shoulders (Figs. 5 and
6) and deposited over the ground which has been worked (Fig. 7). The
hoe is again employed to combine the clay with the freshly broken earth
(Fig. 8); this done, the space is brushed over with brush brooms and
sprinkled (Fig. 9) until the earth is thoroughly saturated for several
inches deep. Great care is observed in leveling the floor (Fig. 10),
and extra quantities of clay must be added here and there. Then begins
the stamping process (Fig. 11). When the floor is as smooth as it can
be made by stamping (Pl. VII), the pounders go to work, each
one with a stone flat on one side and smooth as a polishing stone. (Pl.
VIII.) Many such specimens have been obtained from the ruins
in the southwest. When this work is completed the floor is allowed to
partially dry, when plaster made of the same clay (Fig. 12), which has
been long and carefully worked, is spread over the floor with the hand,
and when done the whole looks as smooth as a cement floor, but it is
not so durable, such floors requiring frequent renovation. The floor
may be improved, however, by a coating of beef’s or goat’s blood, and
this process is usually adopted in the houses (Fig. 13), little ones
watching their elders at work inside the tent.

  [Illustration: FIG. 7.—Depositing the clay.]

  [Illustration: Bureau of Ethnology.    Eleventh Annual Report PLate VII

  STAMPERS AT WORK.]

Two men only are possessors of herds of sheep, but a few cattle are
owned individually by many of the Sia.

The cattle are not herded collectively, but by each individual owner.
Sometimes the boys of different families go together to herd their
stock, but it receives no attention whatever from the officials of the
village so long as it is unmolested by strangers.

The Sia own about 150 horses, but seldom or never use them as beasts of
burden. They are kept in pasture during the week, and every Saturday
the war chief designates the six houses which are to furnish herders
for the round-up. Should the head of the house have a son sufficiently
large the son may be sent in his place. Only such houses are selected
as own horses. The herdsmen start out Saturday morning; their return
depends upon their success in rounding up the animals, but they usually
get back Sunday morning.

  [Illustration: FIG. 8.—Mixing the clay with the freshly-broken
  earth.]

Upon discovering the approach of the herdsmen and horses many of the
women and children, too impatient to await the gathering of them in the
corral, hasten to the valley to join the cavalcade, and upon reaching
the party they at once scramble for the wood rats (_Neotoma_) which
hang from the necks of the horses and colts. The men of the village are
also much excited, but they may not participate in the frolic. From the
time the herders leave the village until their return they are on the
lookout for the _Neotoma_, which must be very abundant judging from
the number gathered on these trips. The rats are suspended by a yucca
ribbon tied around the necks of the animals. The excitement increases
as the horses ascend the hill; and after entering the corral it reaches
the highest point, and the women and children run about among the
horses, entirely devoid of any fear of the excited animals, in their
efforts to snatch the rats from their necks. Many are the narrow
escapes, but one is seldom hurt. The women throw the lariat, some of
them being quite expert, and drawing the horses near them, pull the
rats from their necks. Numbers fail, but there are always the favored
few who leave the corral in triumph with as many rats as their two
hands can carry. The rats are skinned and cooked in grease and eaten as
a great delicacy.

  [Illustration: FIG. 9.—Women sprinkling the earth.]




                              COSMOGONY.


The Sia have an elaborate cosmogony, highly colored with the heroic
deeds of mythical beings. That which the writer here presents is simply
the nucleus of their belief from which spring stories in infinite
numbers, in which every phenomenon of nature known to these people is
accounted for. Whole chapters could be devoted to the experiences of
each mythical being mentioned in the cosmogony.

In the beginning there was but one being in the lower world,
Sûs´sîstinnako, a spider. At that time there were no other animals,
birds, reptiles, or any living creature but the spider. He drew a
line of meal from north to south and crossed it midway from east to
west; and he placed two little parcels north of the cross line, one on
either side of the line running north and south. These parcels were
very valuable and precious, but the people do not know to this day of
what they consisted; no one ever knew but the creator, Sûs´sĭstinnako.
After placing the parcels in position, Sûs´sĭstinnako sat down on
the west side of the line running north and south, and south of the
cross line, and began to sing, and in a little while the two parcels
accompanied him in the song by shaking, like rattles. The music was low
and sweet, and after awhile two women appeared, one evolved from each
parcel; and in a short time people began walking about; then animals,
birds, and all animate objects appeared, and Sûs´sĭstinnako continued
to sing until his creation was complete, when he was very happy and
contented. There were many people and they kept close together, and did
not pass about much, for fear of stepping upon one another; there was
no light and they could not see. The two women first created were the
mothers of all; the one created on the east side of the line of meal,
Sûs´sĭstinnako named Ût[´]sĕt, and she was the mother of all Indians;
he called the other Now[´]ûtsĕt, she being the mother of other nations.
Sûs´sĭstínnako divided the people into, clans, saying to certain of
the people: “You are of the corn clan, and you are the first of all;”
and to others he said: “You belong to the coyote, the bear, the eagle
people,” and so on.

  [Illustration: Bureau of Ethnology.    Eleventh Annual Report PLate VIII

  POUNDERS COMPLETING WORK.]

  [Illustration: FIG. 10.—The process of leveling.]

After Sûs´sĭstinnako had nearly perfected his creation for Ha´arts
(the earth), he thought it would be well to have rain to water the
earth, and so he created the cloud, lightning, thunder, and rainbow
peoples to work for the people of Ha´arts. This second creation was
separated into six divisions, one of which was sent to each of the
cardinal points and to the zenith and nadir, each division making its
home in a spring in the heart of a great mountain, upon whose summit
was a giant tree. The Sha´-ka-ka (spruce) was on the mountain of the
north; the Shwi´-ti-ra-wa-na (pine) on the mountain of the west; the
Mai´-chi-na (oak)—_Quercus undulata_, variety Gambelii—on the mountain
of the south; the Shwi´-si-ni-ha´-na-we (aspen) on the mountain of the
east; the Marsh´-ti-tä-mo (cedar) on the mountain of the zenith, and
the Mor´-ri-tä-mo (oak), variety pungens, on the mountain of the nadir.
While each division had its home in a spring, Sûs´sĭstinnako gave to
these people Ti´-ni-a, the middle plain of the world (the world was
divided into three parts: Ha´arts, the earth; Ti´nia, the middle plain,
and Hu´-wa-ka, the upper plain), not only for a working field for the
benefit of the people of Ha´arts, but also for their pleasure ground.

  [Illustration: FIG. 11.—Stampers starting to work.]

Not wishing this second creation to be seen by the people of Ha´arts
as they passed about over Ti´nia, he commanded the Sia to smoke, that
clouds might ascend and serve as masks to protect the people of Ti´nia
from view of the inhabitants of Ha´arts.

The people of Ha´arts made houses for themselves by digging holes
in rocks and the earth. They could not build houses as they now do,
because they could not see. In a short time the two mothers, Ût´sĕt
and Now´ûtsĕt (the latter being the elder and larger, but the former
having the best mind and heart), who resided in the north, went into
the chita (estufa) and talked much to one another, and they decided
that they would make light, and said: “Now we will make light, that
our people may see; we can not now tell the people, but to-morrow will
be a good day and day after to-morrow will also be a good day”—meaning
that their thoughts were good, and they spoke with one tongue, and that
their future would be bright, and they added: “Now all is covered with
darkness, but after awhile we will have light.” These two women, being
inspired by Sûs´sĭstinnako, created the sun from white shell, turkis,
red stone, and abalone shell. After making the sun they carried him
to the east and there made a camp, as there were no houses. The next
morning they ascended a high mountain and dropped the sun down behind
it, and after a time he began to ascend, and when the people saw the
light their hearts rejoiced. When far off his face was blue; as he
came nearer the face grew brighter. They, however, did not see the sun
himself, but a mask so large that it covered his entire body. The
people saw that the world was large and the country beautiful, and when
the women returned to the village they said to the people: “We are the
mothers of all.”

  [Illustration: FIG. 12—Mixing clay for plaster.]

Though the sun lighted the world in the day, he gave no light at night,
as he returned to his home in the west; and so the two mothers created
the moon from a slightly black stone, many varieties of a yellow stone,
turkis, and a red stone, that the world might be lighted at night, and
that the moon might be a companion and a brother to the sun; but the
moon traveled slowly, and did not always furnish light, and so they
created the star people and made their eyes of beautiful sparkling
white crystal, that they might twinkle and brighten the world at night.
When the star people lived in the lower world they were gathered into
groups, which were very beautiful; they were not scattered about as
they are in the upper world. Again the two women entered the chita and
decided to make four houses—one in the north, one in the west, one in
the south, and one in the east—house in this instance meaning pueblo
or village. When these houses were completed they said, now we have
some beautiful houses; we will go first to that of the north and talk
much for all things good. Now´ûtsĕt said to her sister: “Let us make
other good things,” and the sister asked: “What things do you wish to
make?” She answered: “We are the mothers of all peoples, and we must do
good work.” “Well,” replied the younger sister, “to-morrow I will pass
around and see my other houses, and you will remain here.”

  [Illustration: FIG. 18.—Childish curiosity.]

After Ût´sĕt had traveled over the world, visiting the houses of the
west, south, and east, she returned to her home in the north and was
graciously received by Now´ûtsĕt, who seemed happy to see her younger
sister, and after a warm greeting she invited her to be seated.
Now´ûtsĕt had a picture which she did not wish the sister to see, and
she covered it with a blanket, and said, “Guess what I have here?”
(pointing to the covered picture) “and when you guess correctly I
will show you.” “I do not know,” said Ût´sĕt and again the elder one
asked, “What do you think I have here?” and the other replied, “I do
not know.” A third time Ût´sĕt was asked, and replied that she did not
know, adding, “I wish to speak straight, and I must therefore tell
you I do not know what you have there.” Then Now´ûtsĕt said, “That
is right.” After a while the younger sister said, “I think you have
under that blanket a picture, to which you will talk when you are
alone.” “You are right,” said the elder sister, “you have a good head
to know things.” Now´ûtsĕt, however, was much displeased at the wisdom
displayed by Ût´sĕt. She showed the picture to Ût´sĕt and in a little
while Ût´sĕt left, saying, “I will now return to my house and no longer
travel; to-morrow you will come to see me.”

After the return of Ût´sĕt to her home she beckoned to the Chas´ka
(chaparral cock) to come to her, and said, “You may go early to-morrow
morning to the house of the sun in the east, and then follow the road
from there to his home in the west, and when you reach the house in
the west remain there until my sister comes to my house to talk to me,
when I will call you.” In the early morning the elder sister called
at the house of the younger. “Sit down, my sister,” said the younger
one, and after a little time she said, “Let us go out and walk about;
I saw a beautiful bird pass by, but I do not know where he lives,”
and she pointed to the footprints of the bird upon the ground, which
was soft, and the tracks were very plain, and it could be seen that
the footprints were in a straight line from the house of the sun in
the east to his house in the west. “I can not tell,” said the younger
sister, “perhaps the bird came from the house in the east and has gone
to the house in the west; perhaps he came from the house in the west
and has gone to the house in the east; as the feet of the bird point
both ways, it is hard to tell. What do you think, sister?” “I can not
say,” replied the other. Four times Ût´sĕt asked the question and
received the same reply. The fourth time the elder sister added, “How
can I tell? I do not know which is the front of the foot and which is
the heel, but I think the bird has gone to the house in the east.”
“Your thoughts are wrong,” replied the younger sister; “I know where
the bird is, and he will soon be here;” and she gave a call and in a
little while the Chas´ka came running to her from, the west.

The elder sister was mortified at her lack of knowledge, and said,
“Come to my house to-morrow; to-day you are greater than I. I thought
the bird had gone to the house in the east, but you knew where he was,
and he came at your call; to-morrow you come to me.”

On the morrow the younger sister called at the house of the elder and
was asked to be seated. Then Now´ûtsĕt said, “Sister, a word with
you; what do you think that is?” pointing to a figure enveloped in a
blanket, with only the feet showing, which were crossed. Four times
the question was asked, and each time the younger sister said she
could not tell, but finally she added, “I think the feet are crossed;
the one on the right should be left and the left should be right.”
“To whom do the feet belong?” inquired the elder sister. The younger
sister was prompted by her grandmother, Sûs´sĭstinnako[4], the spider
woman, to say, “I do not think it is either man or woman,” referring to
beings created by Sûs´sĭstinnako, “but something you have made.” The
elder sister replied,“You are right, my sister.” She threw the blanket
off, exposing a human figure; the younger sister then left, asking the
elder to call at her house on the morrow, and all night Ût´sĕt was busy
preparing an altar under the direction, however, of Sûs´sĭstinnako. She
covered the altar with a blanket, and in the morning when the elder
sister called they sat together for a while and talked; then Ût´sĕt
said, pointing to the covered altar, “What do you think I have there?”
Now´ûtsĕt replied, “I can not tell; I may have my thoughts about it,
but I do not know.” Four times Now´ûtsĕt was asked, and each time she
gave the same reply. Then the younger sister threw off the blanket, and
they both looked at the altar, but neither spoke a word.

When the elder sister left, she said to Ût´sĕt, “To-morrow you come
to my house,” and all night she was busy arranging things for the
morning, and in the morning Ût´sĕt hastened to her sister’s house. (She
was accompanied by Sûs´sĭstinnako, who followed invisible close to
her ear.) Now´ûtsĕt asked, “What have I there?” pointing to a covered
object, and Ût´sĕt replied, “I can not tell, but I have thought that
you have under that blanket all things that are necessary for all time
to come; perhaps I speak wrong.” “No,” replied Now´ûtsĕt, “you speak
correctly,” and she threw off the blanket, saying, “My sister, I may be
the larger and the first, but your head and heart are wise; you know
much; I think my head must be weak.” The younger sister then said:
“To-morrow you come to my house;” and in the morning when the elder
sister called at the house of the younger she was received in the front
room and asked to be seated, and they talked awhile; then the younger
one said: “What do you think I have in the room there?” pointing to the
door of an inner room. Four times the question was asked and each time
Now´ûtsĕt replied, “I can not tell.” “Come with me,” said Ût´sĕt, and
she cried as she threw open the door, “All this is mine, when you have
looked well we will go away.” The room was filled with the Ka´ᵗsuna
beings with monster heads which Ût´sĕt had created, under the direction
of Sûs´sĭstinnako.

Sûs´sĭstinnako’s creation may be classed in three divisions:

  1. Pai´-ä-tä-mo: All men of Ha´arts (the earth), the sun, moon, stars,
                   Ko´-shai-ri and Quer´-rän-na.

  2. Ko´-pĭsh-tai-a: The cloud, lightning, thunder, rainbow peoples, and
                     all animal life not included under the first and
                     third heads.

  3. Ka´ᵗsuna: Beings having human bodies and monster heads, who
                are personated in Sia by men and women wearing
                masks.

After a time the younger sister closed the door and they returned to
the front room. Not a word had been spoken except by the younger. As
the elder sister left she said, “To-morrow you come to my house.”
Sûs´sĭstinnako whispered in the ear of the younger, “To-morrow you will
see fine things in your sister’s house, but they will not be good; they
will be bad.” Now´ûtsĕt then said: “Before the Sun has left his home
we will go together to see him; we will each have a wand on our heads
made of the long white fluffy feathers of the under tail of the eagle,
and we will place them vertically on our heads that they may see the
sun when he first comes out;” and the younger sister replied: “You are
the elder and must go before, and your plumes will see the sun first;
mine can not see him until he has traveled far, because I am so small;
you are the greater and must go before.” Though she said this she knew
better; she knew that though she was smaller in stature she was the
greater and more important woman. That night Sûs´sĭstinnako talked much
to Ût´sĕt. She said: “Now that you have created the Ka´ᵗsuna you must
create a man as messenger between the sun and the Ka´ᵗsuna and another
as messenger between the moon and the Ka´ᵗsuna.”

The first man created was called Ko´shairi; he not only acts as courier
between the sun and the Ka´ᵗsuna, but he is the companion, the jester
and musician (the flute being his instrument) of the sun; he is also
mediator between the people of the earth and the sun; when acting
as courier between the sun and the Ka´ᵗsuna and vice versa and as
mediator between the people of the earth and the sun he is chief for
the sun; when accompanying the sun in his daily travels he furnishes
him with music and amusement; he is then the servant of the sun. The
second man created was Quer´ränna, his duties being identical with
those of the Ko´shairi, excepting that the moon is his particular chief
instead of the sun, both, however, being subordinate to the sun.

After the creation of Ko´shairi and Quer´ränna, Ût´sĕt called
Shu-ah-kai (a small black bird with white wings) to her and said:

“To-morrow my sister and I go to see the sun when he first leaves his
house. We will have wands on our heads, we will be side by side; she
is much taller than I; the sun will see her face before he sees mine,
and that will not be good; you must go to-morrow morning very early
near the house of the sun and take a plume from your left wing, but
none from your right; spread your wings and rest in front of the sun
as he comes from his house.” The two women started very early in the
morning to greet the rising sun. They were accompanied by all the men
and youths, carrying their bows and arrows. The elder woman, after they
halted to await the coming of the sun, said: “We are here to watch for
the sun.” (The people had divided, some being on the side of Now´ûtsĕt,
the others with Ût´sĕt). “If the sun looks first upon me, all the
people on my side will be my people and will slay the others, and if
the sun looks first upon the face of my sister all the people on her
side will be her people and they will destroy my people.”

As the sun left his house, the bird Shu´ahkai placed himself so as to
obscure the light, excepting where it penetrated through the space left
by the plucking of the feather from his wing, and the light shone, not
only on the wand on the head of the younger sister, but it covered
her face, while it barely touched the top of the plumes of the elder;
and so the people of the younger sister destroyed those of the elder.
The two women stood still while the men fought. The women remained on
the mountain top, but the men descended into a grassy park to fight.
After a time the younger sister ran to the park and cried, “This is
enough; fight no more.” She then returned to the mountain and said to
her sister, “Let us descend to the park and fight.” And they fought
like women—not with arrows—but wrestled. The men formed a circle around
them and the women fought hard and long. Some of the men said, “Let us
go and part the women;” others said, “No; let them alone.” The younger
woman grew very tired in her arms, and cried to her people, “I am very
tired,” and they threw the elder sister upon the ground and tied her
hands; the younger woman then commanded her people to leave her, and
she struck her sister with her fists about the head and face as she
lay upon the ground, and in a little while killed her. She then cut
the breast with a stone knife and took out the heart, her people being
still in a circle, but the circle was so large that they were some
distance off. She held the heart in her hand and cried: “Listen, men
and youths! This woman was my sister, but she compelled us to fight; it
was she who taught you to fight. The few of her people who escaped are
in the mountains and they are the people of the rats;” and she cut the
heart into pieces and threw it upon the ground, saying, “Her heart will
become rats, for it was very bad,” and immediately rats could be seen
running in all directions. She found the center of the heart full of
cactus, and she said, “The rats for evermore will live with the cacti;”
and to this day the rats thus live (referring to the _Neotoma_). She
then told her people to return to their homes.

It was about this time that Sûs´sĭstinnako organized the cult
societies, instructing all of the societies in the songs for rain, but
imparting only to certain ones the secrets whereby disease is extracted
through the sucking and brushing processes.

For eight years after the fight (years referring to periods of time)
the people were very happy and all things flourished, but the ninth
year was very bad, the whole earth being filled with water. The water
did not fall in rain, but came in as rivers between the mesas, and
continued flowing from all sides until the people and all animals fled
to the mesa. The waters continued to rise until nearly level with the
mesa top, and Sûs´sĭstinnako cried, “Where shall my people go? Where is
the road to the north, he looking to the north, the road to the west,
he facing the west, the road to the south, he turning south, the road
to the east, he facing east? Alas, I see the waters are everywhere.”
And all of his theurgists sang four days and nights before their altars
and made many offerings, but still the waters continued to rise as
before. Sûs´sĭstinnako said to the sun: “My son, you will ascend and
pass over the world above; your course will be from the north to the
south, and you will return and tell me what you think of it.” On his
return the sun said, “Mother, I did as you bade me, and I did not like
the road.” Again he told him to ascend and pass over the world from
the west to the east, and on his return Sûs´sĭstinnako inquired how
he liked that road. “It may be good for some, mother, but I did not
like it.” “You will again ascend and pass over the straight road from
east to west,” and upon the sun’s return the father inquired what he
thought of that road. His reply was, “I am much contented; I like the
road much.” Then Sûs´sĭstinnako said, “My son, you will ascend each day
and pass over the world from east to west.” Upon each day’s journey the
sun stops midway from the east to the center of the world to eat his
breakfast, in the center to eat his dinner, and midway the center to
the west to eat his supper, he never failing to take his three meals
daily, stopping at these particular points to obtain them.

The sun wears a shirt of dressed deerskin, and leggings of the same,
reaching to his thighs; the shirt and leggings are fringed; his
moccasins are also of deerskin and embroidered in yellow, red, and
turkis beads; he wears a kilt of deerskin, the kilt having a snake
painted upon it; he carries a bow and arrows, the quiver being of
cougar skin, hanging over his shoulder, and he holds his bow in his
left hand and an arrow in his right; he still wears the mask which
protects him from view of the people of the earth. An eagle plume with
a parrot plume on either side, ornaments the top of the mask, and an
eagle plume is on either side of the mask and one is at the bottom; the
hair around the head and face is red like fire, and when it moves and
shakes the people can not look closely at the mask; it is not intended
that they should observe closely and thereby know that instead of
seeing the sun they see only his mask; the heavy line encircling the
mask is yellow, and indicates rain. (Fig. 14.)

The moon came to the upper world with the sun and he also wears a mask.

Each night the sun passes by the house of Sûs´sĭstinnako, who asks him:
“How are my children above, how many have died to-day, and how many
have been born to-day?” He lingers with him only long enough to answer
his questions. He then passes on to his house in the east.

  [Illustration: FIG. 14.—Mask of the Sun, drawn by a theurgist.]

Sûs´sĭstinnako placed a huge reed upon the mesa top and said: “My
people will pass up through this to the world above.” Ût´sĕt led the
way, carrying a sack containing many of the star people; she was
followed by all the theurgists, who carried their precious articles
in sacred blankets, on their backs; then followed the laity and all
animals, snakes and birds; the turkey was far behind, and the foam of
the waters rose and reached the tip ends of his feathers, and to this
day they bear the mark of the waters. Upon reaching the top of the
reed, the solid earth barred their exit, and Ût´sĕt called ᵗSi´ka
(the locust), saying, “Man, come here.” The locust hastened to her,
and she told him that the earth prevented their exodus. “You know
best how to pass through the earth; go and make a door for us.” “Very
well, mother,” he replied, “I will, and I think I can make a way.”
He began working with his feet, and after a time he passed through
the earth, entering another world. As soon as he saw the world, he
returned to Ût´sĕt saying, “It is good above.” Ût´sĕt then called the
Tuo´ pi (badger), and said to him, “Make a door for us; the ᵗSi´ka has
made one, but it is very small.” “Very well, mother; I will,” replied
the badger; and after much work he passed into the world above, and
returning said, “Mother, I have opened the way.” Ût´sĕt is appealed
to, to the present time, as father and mother, for she acts directly
for Sûs´sĭstinnako, the creator. The badger said, “Mother, father, the
world above is good.” Ût´sĕt then called the deer, saying to him, “You
go first, and if you pass through all right, if you can get your head
through, others may pass.” The deer after ascending returned saying,
“Father, it is all right; I passed without trouble.” She then called
the elk, and told him if he could get his head through the door, all
could pass. He returned, saying, “Father, it is good; I passed without
trouble.” She then had the buffalo try and he returned, saying,
“Father, mother, the door is good; I passed without trouble.”

Ût´sĕt then called the I-shits (_Scarabæus_) and gave him the sack
of stars, telling him to pass out first with the sack. The little
animal did not know what the sack contained, but he grew very tired
carrying it, and he wondered what could be in the sack. After entering
the new world he was very tired, and laying the sack down he thought
he would peep into it and see its contents. He cut only a tiny hole,
but immediately the stars began flying out and filling the heavens
everywhere. The little animal was too tired to return to Ût´sĕt, who,
however, soon joined him, followed by all her people, who came in the
order above mentioned. After the turkey passed out the door was firmly
closed with a great rock so that the waters below could not follow
them. When Ût´sĕt looked for her sack she was astonished to find it
nearly empty and she could not tell where the contents had gone; the
little animal sat by, very scared, and sad, and Ût´sĕt was angry with
him and said, “You are very bad and disobedient and from this time
forth you shall be blind,” (and this is the reason the scarabæus has
no eyes, so the old ones say). The little fellow, however, had saved a
few of the stars by grabbing the sack and holding it fast; these Ût´sĕt
distributed in the heavens. In one group she placed seven stars (the
great bear), in another three (part of Orion,) into another group she
placed the Pleiades, and throwing the others far off into the heavens,
exclaimed, “All is well!”

The cloud, lightning, thunder, and rainbow peoples followed the Sia
into the upper world, making their homes in springs similar to those
they had occupied in the lower world; these springs are also at the
cardinal points, zenith and nadir, and are in the hearts of mountains
with trees upon their summits. All of the people of Tínia, however, did
not leave the lower world; only a portion were sent by Sûs´sĭstinnako
to labor for the people of the upper world. The cloud people are so
numerous that, though the demands of the people of the earth are
great, there are always many passing about over Tínia for pleasure;
these people ride on wheels, small wheels being used by the children
and larger ones by the elders. In speaking of these wheels the Sia
add: “The Americans have stolen the secret of the wheels (referring to
bicycles) from the cloud people.”

The cloud people are careful to keep behind their masks, which assume
different forms according to the number of people and the work being
done; for instance, Hĕn´nati are white floating clouds behind which the
people pass about for pleasure. He´äsh are clouds like the plains, and
behind these, the cloud people are laboring to water the earth. The
water is brought from the springs at the base of the mountains in gourd
jugs and vases, by the men, women, and children, who ascend from these
springs to the base of the tree and thence through the heart or trunk
to the top of the tree which reaches to Ti´nia; they then pass on to
the designated point to be sprinkled. Though the lightning, thunder and
rainbow peoples of the six cardinal points[5] have each their priestly
rulers and theurgists of their cult societies, these are subordinate to
the priest of the cloud people, the cloud people of each cardinal point
having their separate religious and civil organizations. Again these
rulers are subordinate to Ho´chänni, arch ruler of the cloud people of
the world, the cloud people hold ceremonials similar to the Sia; and
the figures of the slat altars of the Sia are supposed to be arranged
just as the cloud people sit in their ceremonies, the figures of the
altars representing members of the cult societies of the cloud and
lightning peoples. The Sia in performing their rites assume relatively
similar positions back of the altars.

When a priest of the cloud people wishes assistance from the thunder
and lightning peoples he commands their ti´ämonis to notify the
theurgists to see that the labor is performed, he placing his cloud
people under the direction of certain of his theurgists, keeping
a general supervision himself over all. The people of Ti´nia are
compensated by those of Ha´arts for their services. These offerings are
placed at shrines, of which there are many, no longer left in view but
buried from sight. Cigarettes are made of delicate reeds and filled
with down from humming birds and others, minute quantities of precious
beads and corn pollen, and are offered to the priestly rulers and
theurgists of Ti´nia.

The lightning people shoot their arrows to make it rain the harder,
the smaller flashes coming from the bows of the children. The thunder
people have human forms, with wings of knives, and by flapping these
wings they make a great noise, thus frightening the cloud and lightning
peoples into working the harder. The rainbow people were created to
work in Ti´nia to make it more beautiful for the people of Ha´arts to
look upon; not only the elders making the beautiful bows, but the
children assisting in this work. The Sia have no idea how or of what
the bows are made. They do, however, know that the war heroes traveled
upon these bows.

The Sia entered this world in the far north, and the opening through
which they emerged is known as Shí-pa-po. They gathered into camps, for
they had no houses, but they soon moved on a short distance and built
a village. Their only food was seeds of certain grasses, and Ût´sĕt
desiring that her children should have other food made fields north,
west, south, and east of the village and planted bits of her heart, and
corn was evolved (though Ût´sĕt had always known the name of corn, corn
itself was not known until it originated in these fields), and Ût´sĕt
declared: “This corn is my heart and it shall be to my people as milk
from my breasts.”

After the Sia had remained at this village a year (referring to a time
period) they desired to pass on to the center of the earth, but the
earth was very moist and Ût´sĕt was puzzled to know how to harden it.

She commanded the presence of the cougar, and asked him if he had any
medicine to harden the road that they might pass over it. The cougar
replied, “I will try, mother;” but after going a short distance over
the road, he sank to his shoulders in the wet earth, and he returned
much afraid, and told Ût´sĕt that he could go no farther. She then sent
for the bear and asked him what he could do; and he, like the cougar,
made an attempt to harden the earth; he had passed but a short distance
when he too sank to his shoulders, and being afraid to go farther
returned, saying, “I can do nothing.” The badger then made the attempt,
with the same result; then the shrew (_Sorex_) and afterward the wolf,
but they also failed. Then Ût´sĕt returned to the lower world and asked
Sûs´sĭstinnako what she could do to harden the earth so that her people
might travel over it. Sûs´sĭstinnako inquired, “Have you no medicine to
make the earth firm? Have you asked the cougar and the bear, the wolf,
the badger and the shrew to use their medicines to harden the earth?”
And she replied, “I have tried all these.” Then, said Sûs´sĭstinnako,
“Others will understand;” and he told Ût´sĕt to have a woman of the
Ka´pĭna (spider) society to use her medicine for this purpose. Upon
the return of Ût´sĕt to the upper world, she commanded the presence
of a female member of this society. Upon the arrival of this woman
Ût´sĕt said, “My mother, Sûs´sĭstinnako, tells me the Ka´pĭna society
understands the secret of how to make the earth strong.” The woman
replied, “I do not know how to make the earth firm.” Three times Ût´sĕt
questioned the woman regarding the hardening of the earth, and each
time the woman replied, “I do not know.” The fourth time the question
was put the woman said, “Well, I guess I know; I will try;” and she
called together the members of the society of the Ka´pĭna and said
to them, “Our mother, Sûs´sĭstinnako bids us work for her and harden
the earth so that the people may pass over it.” The woman first made
a road of fine cotton which she produced from her body (it will be
remembered that the Ka´pĭna society was composed of the spider people),
suspending it a few feet above the earth, and told the people they
could now move on; but when they saw the road it looked so fragile that
they were afraid to trust themselves upon it. Then Ût´sĕt said: “I wish
a man and not a woman of the Ka´pĭna to work for me.” A male member
of the society then appeared and threw out the serpent (a fetich of
latticed wood so put together that it can be expanded and contracted);
and when it was extended it reached to the middle of the earth. He
first threw it to the south, then to the east, then to the west. The
Na´pakatsa (a fetich composed of slender sticks radiating from a center
held together by a fine web of cotton; eagle down is attached to the
cotton; when opened it is in the form of an umbrella, and when closed
it has also the same form minus the handle) was then thrown upon the
ground and stamped upon (the original Na´pakatsa was composed of cotton
from the spider’s body); it was placed first to the south, then east,
west and north. The people being in the far north, the Na´pakatsa was
deposited close to their backs.

The earth now being firm so that the people could travel, Ût´sĕt
selected for the ti´ämoni who was to take her place with the people
and lead them to the center of the earth, a man of the corn clan,
saying to him, “I, Ût´sĕt, will soon leave you; I will return to the
home whence I came. You will be to my people as myself; you will pass
with them over the straight road. I will remain in my house below and
will hear all that you say to me. I give to you all my wisdom, my
thoughts, my heart, and all. I fill your head with my mind.” She then
gave to her newly appointed representative a crooked staff as insignia
of his office, saying, “It is as myself; keep it always.” “Thank you,
mother,” he replied, and all the people clasped the staff and drew a
breath from it. “I give to you all the precious things which I brought
to this world [Ût´sĕt having brought these things in a sacred blanket
on her back]. Be sure to follow the one straight road for all years
and for all time to come. You will be known as Ti´ämoni [meaning the
arch-ruler]. I bid you listen to all things good, and work for all
things good, and turn from all things bad.” He replied: “It is well,
mother; I will do as you say.” She then instructed this ruler to make
the Ï´ärriko[6] (Pl. IX) which was to represent herself that they
might have herself always with them and know her always. Again Ût´sĕt
said: “When you wish for anything make hä´chamoni and plant them, and
they will bear your messages to your mother in the world below.”

  [Illustration: Bureau of Ethnology.   Eleventh Annual Report. Plate IX

  Drawn by J. L. Ridgway.    GAST LITH. CO. N.Y.

  Ī-ÄR-RI-KO.

  A SIA FETISH]

Before Ût´sĕt left this world she selected six Sia women, sending one
to the north, one to the west, one to the south, one to the east, one
to the zenith, and one to the nadir, to make their homes at these
points for all time to come, that they might be near the cloud rulers
of the cardinal points and intercede for the people of Ha´arts; and
Ût´sĕt enjoined her people to remember to ask these women, in times of
need, to appeal to the cloud people for them.

The Sia alone followed the command of Ût´sĕt and took the straight
road, while all other pueblos advanced by various routes to the center
of the earth. After Ût´sĕt’s departure the Sia traveled some distance
and built a village of beautiful white stone, where they lived four
years (years referring to time periods). The Sia declare that their
stay at the white house was of long duration. Here parents suffered
great distress at the hand of the tíämoni, who, objecting to the
increase of his people, for a time caused all children to be put to
death. The Sia had scarcely recovered from this calamity when a serious
difficulty arose between the men and women. Many women sat grinding
meal and singing; they had worked hard all day, and at sundown, when
the men returned to the houses, the women began abusing them, saying:
“You are no good; you do not care to work; you wish to be with women
all the time. If you would allow four days to pass between, the women
would care more for you.” The men replied: “You women care to be with
us all day and all night; if you women could have the men only every
four days you would be very unhappy.” The women retorted: “It is you
men who would be unhappy if you could be with the women only every four
days.”

And the men and women grew very angry with one another. The men cried:
“Were it ten days, twenty days, thirty days, we could remain apart from
you and not be unhappy.” The women replied: “We think not, but we women
would be very contented to remain away from you men for sixty days.”
And the men said: “We men would be happy to remain apart from you women
for five moons.” The women, growing more excited, cried: “You do not
speak the truth; we women would be contented to be separated from you
ten moons.” The men retorted: “We men could remain away from you women
twenty moons and be very happy.” “You do not speak the truth,” said the
women, “for you wish to be with us all the time, day and night.”

Three days they quarreled and on the fourth day the women separated
from the men, going on one side of the pueblo, the men and boys
gathering on the other side. All the women went into one chí-ta,
the men into another. The women had a great talk and the men held a
council. The men and women were very angry with one another.

The tíämoni, who presided over the council, said: “I think if you
and the women live apart you will each be contented.” And on the
following morning he had all the men and male children who were not
being nourished by their mothers cross the great river which ran by
the village, the women remaining in the village. The men departed at
sunrise, and the women were delighted. They said: “We can do all the
work; we understand the men’s work and we can work like them.” The men
said to each, other: “We can do the things the women did for us.” As
they left the village the men called to the women: “We leave you to
yourselves, perhaps for one year, perhaps for two, and perhaps longer.
For one year you may be happy to be apart from us. Perhaps we will be
happy to be separated from you; perhaps not; we can not tell. We men
are more amorous than you.”

Some time was required for the men to cross the river, as it was very
wide. The tíämoni led the men and remained with them. The women were
compelled by the tíämoni to send their male infants over the river as
soon as they ceased nourishing them. For ten moons the men and women
were very happy. The men hunted a great deal and had much game for
food, but the women had no animal food. At the expiration of the ten
moons some of the women were sad away from the men. The men grew stout
and the women very thin. As the second year passed more of the women
wanted the men, but the men were perfectly satisfied away from the
women. After three years the women more and more wished for the men,
but the men were but slightly desirous of the women. When the fourth
year was half gone the women called to the tíämoni, saying: “We want
the men to come to us.” The female children had grown up like reeds;
they had no flesh on them. The morning after the women begged the
tíämoni for the return of the men they recrossed the river to live
again with the women, and in four days after their return the women had
recovered their flesh.

Children were born to the women while they were separated from the men,
and when born they were entirely unlike the Sia, and were a different
people. The mothers, seeing their children were not like themselves,
did not care for them and drove them from their homes. These unnatural
children matured in a short time, becoming the skóyo (giant cannibals).
As soon as they were grown they began eating the Sia. They caught the
children just as the coyote catches his prey. They made large fires
between great rocks, and throwing the children in, roasted them alive,
and afterward ate them. When parents went to the woods to look for
their lost children, they too were caught by the giants and roasted.
No one ever returned to the village to tell the tale. The Sia were not
only devoured by the skóyo, but by those animals who quarreled with
their people at the time of the rupture between the Sia men and women,
the angry animals joining the skóyo in their attacks upon the Sia.

Although the children were destroyed whenever they ventured from their
homes the vigilance of some of the parents saved the race, and in
spite of the numerous deaths the people increased, and they built many
houses. Four years (referring to periods of time) the Skóyo and animals
captured and ate the Sia whenever they left their villages, but the Sia
were not always to suffer this great evil.

The sun father determined to relieve the people of their trouble and so
he became the father of twin boys.

Ko´chinako, a virgin (the yellow woman of the north), when journeying
to visit the center of the earth, lay down to rest. She was embraced by
the Sun, and from this embrace she became pregnant. In four days she
gave evident signs of her condition, and in eight days it was still
more perceptible, and in twelve days she gave birth to male twins.
During her condition of gestation her mother, the spider woman, was
very angry, and insisted upon knowing the father of the child, but the
daughter could not tell her; and when the mother asked when she became
pregnant, she could not reply to the question, and the mother said: “I
do not care to see the child when it is born; I wish to be far away.”
And as soon as the daughter complained of approaching labor the mother
left, but her heart softened toward her child and she soon returned. In
four days from the birth of the boys they were able to walk. When twins
are born, the first-born is called Kat´saya and the second Kat´che.

Ko´chinako named her first-born Ma´-a-se-we and the second U´-yuuyewĕ.
These children grew rapidly in intelligence, but they always remained
small in stature. One day they inquired of their mother, “Where is our
father?” The mother replied, “He is far away; ask no more questions.”
But again they asked, “Where is our father?” And they received the
same reply from the mother. The third time they asked, and a fourth
time, when the mother said, “Poor children, your father lives far away
to the east.” They declared they would go to him, but she insisted
they could not; that to reach him they would have to go to the center
of a great river. The boys were so earnest in their entreaties to be
allowed to visit their father, that the mother finally consented. Their
grandmother (the spider woman) made them each a bow and arrows, and the
boys started off on their journey, traveling along way. Upon reaching
the river they were puzzled to know how to enter their father’s house.
While they stood thinking, their grandmother (the spider woman)
appeared and said, “I will make a bridge for you.” She spun a web back
and forth, but when the bridge was completed the boys feared to cross
it; it appeared so frail. Then the grandmother tested the bridge to
show them it was safe. They, being now satisfied, crossed the bridge
and descended to the center of the river, and there found their
father’s house. The wife of their father inquired of the boys, “Who are
you, and where did you come from?” “We come to find our father.” The
woman then asked, “Who is your father?” and they answered, “The Sun is
our father;” and the wife was angry and said, “You tell an untruth.”
She gave them a bowl of food, which was, however, only the scraps left
by her children.

In a little while the Sun returned home. His wife was very indignant;
“I thought you traveled only for the world, but these children say you
are their father.” The Sun replied, “They are my children, because all
people are my children under my arm.” This satisfied the wife, even
though the children appealed directly to the Sun as father. When he saw
the boys were eating scraps, he took the bowl, threw out the contents,
and had his wife give them proper food. He then called one of his men
who labored for him, and said, “Build me a large fire in the house,”
designating a sweat-house, “lined with turkis, and heat it with hot
rocks,” the rocks being also turkis. He sent the children into this
house and had the door closed upon them. The Sun then ordered water
poured upon the hot rocks through an opening in the roof, but the
children cooled the sweat-house by spitting out tiny shells from their
mouths.

When the Sun ordered the door of the sweat-house opened he was
surprised to find the children still alive. He then had them cast
into another house, which was very large and filled with elk, deer,
antelope, and buffalo; he peeped through an opening in the wall and saw
the boys riding on the backs of the elk and deer apparently very happy
and contented. He then had them placed in a house filled with bear,
cougar, and rattlesnakes, and he peeped in and saw the children riding
on the backs of the bear and cougar and they were happy and not afraid,
and he said, “Surely they are my children,” and he opened the doors
and let them out, and asked, “My children, what do you wish of me?”
“Nothing, father,” they replied, “We came only to find our father.” He
gave to each of them a bow and arrows, and to each three sticks (the
rabbit stick), which he told them not to use until they reached home
for if they threw one, intending it only to go a little way it would go
very far. When they had proceeded on their journey but a short distance
Ma´asewe said to U´yuuyewĕ, “Let us try our sticks and see how far they
will go;” but U´yuuyewĕ refused, saying, “No; our father told us not to
use them until our return home.” Ma´asewe continued to plead with his
younger brother, but he was wise and would not yield. Finally Ma´asewe
threw one of his, and it was going a great distance off, but he stopped
it by throwing shells from his mouth.

The mother and grandmother were delighted to see the boys again,
and happy for all to be under one roof, but the boys, particularly
Ma´asewe, were soon anxious to travel. They wished to try the bows
their father had given them, and after they had been home four days
they started on a hunt. The mother said to the boys: “Children, I do
not wish you to go far; listen attentively to what I have to say. Away
to the east is a lake where many skoyo and their animal companions live
and when the sun is over the middle of the world these people go to the
lake to get water. They are very bad people and you must not go near
the lake.” Ma´asewe replied, “Very well, mother; I do not care to go
that way and I will look about near home.” But when the boys had gone
a little distance Ma´asewe said to his younger brother, “Let us go to
the lake that mother talked of.” U´yuuyewĕ replied: “I do not care to
go there, because our mother told us not to go that way;” but Ma´asewe
importuned his younger brother to go, and U´yuuyewĕ replied, “Very
well.” They then followed the road indicated by their mother until the
lake was discovered.

It was now about the middle of the day, and Ma´asewe said “There are
no people here, none at all; I guess mother told us a story;” but in
a little while he saw a great wolf approach the lake; then they saw
him enter the lake; he was thirsty, and drank; both boys saw him at
the bottom of the lake and they exclaimed: “See! he looks pretty in
the bottom of the lake.” Ma´asewe said: “I guess he will drink all the
water; see, the water grows less and less.” And when all the water was
gone there was no wolf in the bottom of the lake and then the boys
discovered the wolf on a low mesa, it having been only his reflection
they had seen in the lake. The boys aimed their arrows at him, but they
did not hit him and the wolf threw a large stick at them, but they
bowed their heads and it passed over them. Ma´asewe said to U´yuuyewĕ:
“I guess these people are those of whom mother spoke; see,” said he,
“this stick is the same as those given us by our father.” The boys
carried their rabbit sticks of great size and Ma´asewe aimed one of his
at the wolf, who wore a shirt of stone which could be penetrated only
at certain points. The wolf again threw a stick, but the boys jumped
high from the ground and the stick passed under them. Ma´asewe said to
U´yuuyewĕ, “Now, younger brother, you try.” U´yuuyewĕ had not used his
arrows or sticks up to this time. He replied, “All right,” and throwing
one of his sticks he struck the wolf in the side, and the protective
shirt was destroyed for the moment. Then Ma´asewe threw a stick, but
the shirt of stone again appeared protecting the wolf. U´yuuyewĕ,
throwing a second stick killed the wolf. Then Ma´asewe said, “Younger
brother, the wolf is destroyed; let us return; but we will first secure
his heart;” and with a stone knife he cut the wolf down the breast in a
straight line, and took out the heart, which he preserved, saying: “Now
we will return to our home.”

Upon their reaching home, their mother inquired: “Where have you been,
where have you been?” “We have been to the lake,” said the boys. “My
boys, you are fooling me.” “No, we are speaking the truth.” “Why did
you go there?” Ma´asewe replied, “We wished very much to see the lake.”
The mother asked: “Did you not see any Sko´yo?” “Yes,” said Ma´asewe,
“we saw one; at least we saw a great wolf;” and the mother cried, “Oh,
my boys, you are not good boys to go there.” Then Ma´asewe told his
mother that they had killed the wolf. At first, she refused to believe
him; but when Ma´asewe declared he spoke the truth, the mother took
the boys to her breast and said: “It is well, my children.” In a short
time the boys started out on another tour. Before leaving home, they
inquired of their mother where good wood for arrow shafts could be
procured. “Far off to the north in a canyon is good wood for shafts,
but a bad man sits in the road near by; this path is very narrow, and
when one passes by he is kicked into the canyon by this bad man, and
killed.” Ma´asewe declared to his mother he did not care to go there,
but he was not far from her eyes before he prevailed upon U´yuuyewĕ to
accompany him to this canyon, saying: “Let us go where we can find the
best wood.”

It required some persuasion from Ma´asewe, as U´yuuyewĕ at first
declared he would not disobey his mother. They traveled a long way
ere reaching the bad old man, the cougar, but when they saw him they
approached very cautiously, and Ma´asewe asked him if he could tell him
“where to find good wood for arrow shafts.” “Yes, I know,” replied the
cougar; “down there is much,” pointing to the canyon below. Ma´asewe
inquired, “How can I reach the canyon?” The cougar said, “Pass by me;
this is the best way.” Ma´asewe declared he must not walk before his
elders, but the cougar insisted that the boys should pass in front of
him. They were, however, determined to pass behind. Finally the cougar
said, “All right.” Ma´asewe asked him to rise while they passed, but
he only bent a little forward; then Ma´asewe said, “Lean a little
farther forward, the path is narrow;” and the cougar bent his body a
little more, when Ma´asewe placed his hands on the cougar’s shoulders,
pressing him forward, saying, “Oh! the way is so narrow; lean just
a little more; see, I can not pass.” U´yuuyewĕ, who was close to
Ma´asewe, put both his hands on the cougar’s right shoulder, while his
brother placed his on the left, they saying to him, “Just a little
farther forward,” and, with their combined effort, they threw him to
the canyon below, Ma´asewe crying out, “This is the way you have served
others.” The cougar was killed by the fall.

The boys then descended into the canyon and gathered a quantity of wood
for their arrow shafts. When their mother saw the wood she cried, “You
naughty boys! where have you been?” They replied, “We have killed the
cougar.” The mother refused to believe them, but Ma´asewe declared they
spoke the truth. She then embraced her children with pride and joy.

Two days the boys were busy making shafts, to which they attached their
arrows. Then Ma´asewe desired plumes for the shafts. “Mother,” said he,
“do you know where we can find eagle plumes?” “Yes, I know where they
are to be found. Away on the brink of a canyon in the west there are
many plumes, but there is a very bad man there.” Ma´asewe said, “Well,
I do not care to go there. We will look elsewhere for plumes.” But he
had scarcely left the house when he urged U´yuuyewĕ to accompany him
to the brink of the canyon. “No,” said U´yuuyewĕ, “I do not care to
go there. Besides the bad man mother spoke of, there are many other
bears;” but Ma´asewe finally persuaded U´yuuyewĕ to accompany him.

After a time Ma´asewe cried: “See, there is the house; younger brother,
you remain a little way back of me, and when the bear passes by you aim
your arrow at him.” Ma´asewe approached the house, and when the bear
discovered the boy he started after him. Just as the bear was passing
U´yuuyewĕ he shot him through the heart. Ma´asewe drew his knife down
the breast of the bear, and took out his heart, cutting it into pieces,
preserving the bits. “Now,” said Ma´asewe, “let us hasten and secure
the plumes.”

They found many beautiful feathers. Then, returning to the bear, they
flayed him, preserving the lower skin of the legs with the claws,
separate from the remainder of the skin. They filled the body with
grass and tied a rope around the neck and body, and Ma´asewe led the
way, holding one end of the rope, he drawing the bear and U´yuuyewĕ
holding the other end of the rope to steady the animal. As they
approached their home they cried, “Mother, mother, see!” Their mother,
hearing the cry, called, “What is it my children?” as she advanced to
meet them, but when she discovered the bear she returned quickly to
the house, exclaiming: “Let the bear go; do not bring him here; why do
you bring the bad bear here?” The boys, following their mother, said,
“Mother, the bear is dead.”

The boys remained at home two days completing their arrows. Then
Ma´asewe said to his mother, “Mother, we wish to hunt for deer. Our
arrows are good and we must have meat.” “That is good, my children,
but listen. Away to the south lives an eagle in a high rock. She has
two children. The father also lives there, and these parents are very
large, and they eat all the little ones they find.” Ma´asewe replied,
“We will not go there.” But he was no sooner out of his mother’s sight
than he declared they must go to the home of the eagle. After they had
proceeded a little way they saw a deer, and Ma´asewe drew his bow and
shot him through the heart. They cut the deer down the breast, drew
the intestines, and, after cleansing them from blood, the boys wrapped
them around their necks, arms, and breast, over their right shoulders,
and around their waists. “Now,” said Ma´asewe, “we can approach the
house of the eagle.” When the boys drew near the eagles flew to the
earth. One eagle, catching Ma´asewe and flying far above the house,
dropped him on a sharp stone ledge in front of his house. The stone
was sharp, like the blade of a knife, and it broke the intestines
of the deer, which protected him from the rock, and the blood fell
like rain. Ma´asewe lay still and the eagle thought he was dead. The
mate then descended and caught Û´yuuyewĕ and, flying above her house,
dropped him also upon the rock. He, too, lay perfectly still, and the
eagles thought he was dead. “Now,” said the eagles, “our children will
be happy and contented, for they have abundance of meat.” In a little
while these birds started off on a long journey.

The young ones, having been informed by their parents that they were
well provided with food, which would be found in front of their door
when hungry, went out for the meat. Ma´asewe and Û´yuuyewĕ astonished
them by speaking to them. They asked, “When will your mother return?”
The children replied, “Our mother will return in the forenoon.” “When
your mother returns will she come to this house?” “No,” replied the
young eagles, “she will go to the one above and come here later.” “When
will your father arrive?” “He will come a little later.” “Will he
come here?” they asked. “No; he will go to the house above.” Ma´asewe
then destroyed the young eagles. After killing them he dropped them
to the earth below. Upon the return of the mother she stood upon the
rock above, and Ma´asewe aimed his arrow at her and shot her through
the heart, and she fell to the earth dead; and later, when the father
returned, he met with the same fate.

Now, the boys had destroyed the bad eagles of the world. Then Ma´asewe
said, “Younger brother, how will we get down from here? The road to the
earth is very long,” and, looking up, he said, “The road to the rock
above is also very long.” Presently Ma´asewe saw a little Ké-ow-uch, or
ground squirrel (_Tamias striatus_), and he called to him, saying, “My
little brother, we can not get down from here. If you will help us we
will pay you; we will give you beautiful eagle plumes.”

The squirrel planted a piñon nut directly below the boys, and in a
short time—almost immediately—for the squirrel knew much of medicine,
a tall tree was the result. “Now,” said the squirrel, “you have a good
road. This is all right; see?” And the little animal ran up the tree
and then down again, when the boys followed him.

Upon their return home their mother inquired, “Where have you been?”
and when they told her they had visited the house of the eagle she
said, “You have been very foolish.” At first she disbelieved their
statement that they had destroyed the eagles; but they finally
convinced her and she embraced her boys with pride. The grandmother was
also highly pleased.

The boys remained at home only two days, Ma´asewe being impatient to be
gone, and he said to his brother, “Let us go travel again.” The home of
the boys was near the center of the earth, Ko´chinako remaining here
for a time after their birth. When the mother found they were going to
travel and hunt again, she begged of them not to go far, for there were
still bad people about, and Ma´asewe promised that they would keep near
their home. They had gone but a short distance when they saw a woman
(a sko´yo) approaching, carrying a large pack which was secured to her
back by strings passing around her arms near the shoulder. Ma´asewe
whispered to his brother: “See! there comes a sko´yo.” The boys stood
side by side, when she approached and said, “What are you children
doing here?” Ma´asewe replied, “We are just looking about; nothing
more.” The sko´yo passing her hands over the boys said, “What pretty
boys! What pretty children! Come with me to my house.” “All right,
we will go,” Ma´asewe being the spokesman. “Get into the pack on my
back and I will carry you.” When the boys were tucked away the sko´yo
started for her home.

After a time she came to a broad, level, grassy country and Ma´asewe
called: “Woman! do not go far in this country where there are no
trees, for the sun is hot and when there is no shade I get very sick
in my head. See, woman,” he continued, “there in the mountains are
trees and the best road is there.” The sko´yo called out, “All right,”
and started toward the mountains. She came to a point where she must
stoop to pass under drooping limbs upon which rested branches, which
had fallen from other trees. Ma´asewe whispered to Ûyuuyewĕ, “When
she stoops to pass under we will catch hold of the tree and hang
there until she is gone.” The boys caught on to the fallen timber
which rested across the branches of the tree, and the sko´yo traveled
on unconscious of their escape. When she had gone some distance she
wondered that she heard not a sound and she called, “Children!” and no
answer; and again she called, “Children,” and receiving no answer she
cried, “Do not go to sleep,” and she continued to call, “Do not go to
sleep.” Hearing not a word from the boys she shook the pack in order to
awaken them, as she thought they were sleeping soundly. This bringing
no reply she placed the pack upon the ground and to her surprise the
boys were not there. “The bad boys! the bad boys!” she cried, as she
retraced her steps to look for them. “Where can they be? where can they
be?”

When she discovered them hanging from a tree she called, “You bad boys!
why are you there?” Ma´asewe said, “No! woman; we are not bad. We only
wished to stop here and see this timber; it is very beautiful.” She
compelled them to get into the pack and again started off, saying to
the children, “You must not go to sleep.” The journey was long ere
the house of the sko´yo was reached. She said, “I am glad to be home
again,” and she placed the pack on the floor, telling the boys to get
out. “My children, I am very tired and hungry. Run out and get me some
wood for fire.” Ma´asewe whispered to his younger brother, “Let us go
for the wood.”

In a little while the boys returned with loads of wood on their backs.
Pointing to a small conical house near by, she said, “Children, carry
the wood there,” and the sko´yo built a fire in the house and called
the boys to look at it saying, “Children, come here and see the fire;
it is good and warm.” Ma´asewe whispered to his younger brother, “What
does the woman want?” Upon their approach the sko´yo said, “See! I
have made a great fire and it is good and warm; look in;” and as the
children passed in front of her she pushed them into the house and
closed the door. She wished to cook the boys for her supper, and she
smacked her lips with satisfaction in anticipation of the feast in
store for her. But she was to be disappointed, as the boys threw shells
from their mouths which instantly protected them from the heat.

After closing the door on the boys the woman went into her house and
bathed all over in a very large bowl of yucca suds, washing her head
first, and taking a seat she said to herself, “All is well. I am most
contented and happy.” The boys were also contented. The woman, thinking
it was about time her supper was cooked, removed the stone which she
had placed in the doorway and secured with plaster. The boys had
secreted themselves in one side of the house, where they kept quiet.
What she supposed to be their flesh was i´isa (excrement) which the
boys had deposited there. The woman removed this with great care and
began eating it. (This woman had no husband and lived alone.) She said
to herself, “This is delicious food and cooked so well,” and again and
again she remarked to herself the delicious flavor of the flesh of the
boys. Finally Ma´asewe cried, “You are not eating our flesh but our
i´isa,” and she looked around but could see no one. Then U´yuuyewĕ
called, “You are eating our i´isa,” and again she listened and looked
about, but could see no one. The boys continued to call to her, but it
was sometime before she discovered them sitting in the far end of the
room. “What bad boys you are,” she cried, “I thought I was eating your
flesh.” The woman hastened out of the house and tickling her throat
with her finger vomited up the offal.

She again sent the boys for wood, telling them to bring much, and they
returned with large loads on their backs, and she sent them a second
time and they returned with another quantity. Then she again built a
fire in the small house and left it, and the two boys exclaimed, “What
a great fire!” and Ma´asewe called to the woman, “Come here and see
this fire; see what a hothouse; I guess this time my brother and I will
die;” and the woman stooped to look at the fire, and Ma´asewe said to
her, “Look away in there. See, we will surely die this time. Look!
there is the hottest point!” he standing behind the woman and pointing
over her shoulder, the woman bending her head still lower to see the
better, said, “Yes; the fire is best off there.” “Yes,” said Ma´asewe,
“it is very hot there;” and the Sko´yo was filled with interest, and
looked intently into the house. The boys, finally, inducing her to
stoop very low so that her face was near the doorway, pushed her into
the hot bed of coals, and she was burned to death.

The boys rejoiced, and Ma´asewe said, “Now that the woman is dead, let
us go to her house.” They found the house very large, with many rooms
and doors. In the middle of the floor there was a small circular door
which Ma´asewe raised, and looking in, discovered that below it was
very dark. Pointing downward, he said, “Though I can not see, I guess
this is the most beautiful room. I think I will go below; perhaps
we will find many good things.” As soon as he entered the door he
disappeared from sight and vanished from hearing. U´yuuyewĕ, receiving
no reply to his calls, said to himself, “Ma´asewe has found many
beautiful things below, and he will not answer me; I will go and see
for myself.” After entering the door, he knew nothing until he found
himself by the side of his elder brother, and, passing through the
doorway, the boys tumbled over and over into a lower world.

When Ma´asewe reached this new world he was unconscious from the fall,
but after a time he revived sufficiently to sit up, when he beheld
U´yuuyewĕ tumbling down, and he fell by the side of Ma´asewe, who was
almost dead, and Ma´asewe said, “Younger brother, why did you follow
me?” After a while U´yuuyewĕ was able to sit up and Ma´asewe remarked:
“Younger brother, I think we are in another world. I do not know where
we are, and I do not know what hour it is. I guess it is about the
middle of the day. What do you think?” U´yuuyewĕ replied, “You know
best, elder brother; whatever you think is right,” and Ma´asewe said,
“All right. Let us go now over the road to the house where the sun
enters in the evening, for I think this is the world where our father,
the sun, returns at night.”

A little after the middle of the day Ma´asewe was walking ahead of
U´yuuyewĕ, who was following close behind, and he said to his younger
brother as he listened to some noise, “I believe we are coming to
a village.” When they drew a little nearer they heard a drum, and
supposed a feast was going on in the plaza, and in a little while they
came in sight of the village and saw that there was a great feast
there. All the people were gathered in the plaza. The chi´ta was a
little way from the village and there was no one in it, as the boys
discovered when they approached it, and they ascended the ladder.
Ma´asewe said, “This is the chi´ta. Let us enter.” The mode of entering
shows this chi´ta to have been built above ground. Upon invading the
chi´ta they found it very large and very pretty, and there were many
fine bows and arrows hanging on the walls. They took the bows and
examining them said to one another, “What fine bows and arrows! They
are all fine. Look,” and they were eager to possess them. Ma´asewe
proposed that they should each take a bow and arrows and hurry away,
saying: “All the people are in the plaza looking at the dance, and
no one will see us;” and they hastened from the chi´ta with their
treasures. Ma´asewe said, “Younger brother, let us return over the road
whence we came.”

But a short time elapsed when a man had occasion to visit the chi´ta,
and he at once discovered footprints, and entering, found that bows and
arrows had been stolen; hurrying to the plaza he informed the people
of the theft, saying, “Two men have entered the chi´ta. I saw their
footprints,” and the people cried out, “Let us follow them,” and ran
over the road which the boys had taken. The boys had nearly reached the
point where they had lighted when they entered this lower world when
the people were close upon them.

The little fellows had to run hard, but they held fast to their bows
and arrows, and just as they stepped upon the spot where they had
fallen when they descended, their pursuers being close upon them, a
whirlwind carried them up and through the door and back into the house
of the sko´yo. Ma´asewe said, “Younger brother, let us hurry to our
mother. She must be sad. What do you think she imagines has become
of us?” U´yuuyewĕ replied, “I guess she thinks we have been killed.”
The boys started for their home. When they were still far from their
house Ma´asewe asked, “Younger brother, where do you think these bows
and arrows were made?” Holding them up before his eyes as he spoke, he
said, “I think they are very fine.” U´yuuyewĕ remarked, “Yes, they are
fine.”

Ma´asewe then shot one of the arrows a great distance and it made much
noise, and it was very beautiful and red. U´yuuyewĕ also shot one of
his. “Younger brother,” said Ma´asewe, “these are fine arrows, but they
have gone a great way.” When they were near their mother’s house, they
again used their bows and were so delighted with the light made by the
arrows that each shot another and another. The mother and grandmother,
hearing the noise, ran out of their house, and became much alarmed when
they looked to Ti´nia and saw the flashes of light and then they both
fell as dead. Previous to this time the lightning arrows were not known
on this earth, as the lightning people had not, to the present time,
let any of their arrows fall to the earth. When the mother was restored
she was very angry, and inquired of the boys where they had found such
arrows, and why they had brought them home. “Oh, mother,” cried the
boys, “they are so beautiful, and we like them very much.”

The boys remained at home three days, and on the fourth day they saw
many he’[ä]sh (clouds, like the plains) coming and bringing the arrows
the boys had shot toward Ti´nia, and when the cloud people were over
the house of the boys they began watering the earth; it rained very
hard, and presently the arrows began falling. Ma´asewe cried with
delight, “See, younger brother, the lightning people have brought our
arrows back to us, let us go and gather them.” The cloud people worked
two days sending rain and then returned to their home.

Ma´asewe said to his mother, “We will go now and pass about the
country.” She begged of them not to go any great distance. “In the
west,” said she, “there is a very bad antelope. He will eat you.”
Ma´asewe promised the mother that they would not go far, but when
at a short distance from home he said to his younger brother, “Why
does not mother wish us to go there?” pointing to the west. “Let us
go.” U´yuuyewĕ replied, “No, mother does not wish it.” He was finally
persuaded by Ma´asewe, and when near the house of the antelope the boys
discovered him. There was neither grass nor vegetation, but only a
sandy plain without trees or stones. “I guess he is one of the people
who, mother said, would eat us.” U´yuuyewĕ replied, “I guess so.” Then
Ma´asewe said, “Let us go a little nearer, younger brother.” “You know
what is best,” replied U´yuuyewĕ, “I will do whatever you say, but I
think that if you go nearer he will run off.” They counciled for a
time and while they were talking the little Chi´na (mole) came up out
of his house and said, “Boys, come down into my house.” “No,” said
they, “we wish to kill the antelope,” and Ma´asewe added, “I think you
know all about him.” “Yes,” said the mole, “I have been near him and
passed around him.” Then Ma´asewe requested him to go into his house
and prepare a road for them that the antelope might not discover their
approach. And the mole made an underground road to the point where the
antelope stood (the antelope facing west) and bored a wee hole in the
earth over this tunnel, and peeping through he looked directly upon the
heart of the antelope; he could see its pulsations. “Ah, that is good,
I think,” he exclaimed, and returning, he hastened to inform the boys.
“Now, all is well,” said the mole; “you can enter my house and approach
the antelope.” When they reached the tiny opening in the earth Ma´asewe
looked up and said, “See, younger brother, there is the heart of the
antelope directly above us; I will shoot first;” and pointing his arrow
to the heart of the antelope and drawing his bow strongly he pierced
the heart, the shaft being buried almost to its end in the body. “We
have killed the antelope,” cried Ma´asewe, “now let us return quickly
over the underground road.” While the boys were still in this tunnel,
the antelope, who was not killed immediately by the shot, was mad with
rage and he ran first to the west to look for his enemy, but he could
see no one; then he ran to the south and found no one; then he turned
to the east with the same result, and then to the north and saw no one,
and he returned to the spot where he had been shot, and looking to the
earth discovered the diminutive opening. “Ah,” said he, “I think there
is some one below who tried to kill me.” By this time the boys were
quite a distance from the hole through which the arrow had passed. The
antelope thrust his left horn into the opening and tore up the earth as
he ran along above the tunnel. It was like inserting a knife under a
piece of hide; but he had advanced only a short distance when he fell
dead. The youths then came up from the house of the mole and cried out,
“See! the antelope is dead.”

Ma´asewe said, “Younger brother! let us go and get the flesh of the
antelope.” U´yuuyewĕ remarked, “perhaps he is not yet dead.” The mole
said, “you boys wait here; I will go and see if he still lives,” and
after examining and passing around him, he found that the body was
quite cold, and returning to the boys said, “Yes, boys, the antelope
is dead.” “Perhaps you do not speak the truth,” said Ma´asewe, but
the mole repeated “The antelope is dead.” Ma´asewe insisted, however,
that the mole should again examine him and the little animal made a
second visit. This time he dipped his hands into the heart’s blood
of the animal and rubbed it all over his face, head, body, arms, and
legs, for Ma´asewe had accused him of lying and he wished this time to
carry proof of the death of the antelope; and returning to the boys he
cried, “See, boys, I am covered with the blood, and I did not lie.”
Then Ma´asewe proposed that the three should go together; and when
they reached the antelope, Ma´asewe cut the breast with his stone
knife, passing the knife from the throat downwards. The boys then
flayed the antelope; Ma´asewe cut the heart and the flesh into bits,
throwing the pieces to the north, west, south, and east, declaring that
hereafter the antelope should not be an enemy to his people, saying,
“His flesh shall furnish food for my people.” Addressing the antelope
he commanded, “From this time forth you will eat only vegetation and
not flesh, for my people are to have your flesh for food.” He then said
to the mole, “The intestines of the antelope will be food for you,” and
the mole was much pleased, and promptly replied, “Thank you; thank you,
boys.”

The boys now returned to their home and their mother, who, on meeting
them, inquired, “Where have you been? You have been gone a long time;
I thought you were dead; where have you been?” Ma´asewe answered, “We
have been to the house of the antelope who eats people.” The mother
said, “You are very disobedient boys.” Ma´asewe continued, “We have
killed the antelope, and now all the giants who devoured our people are
destroyed, and all the people of the villages will be happy, and the
times will be good.”

After Ma´asewe and U´yuuyewĕ had destroyed the giant enemies of the
world the people were happy and were not afraid to travel about; even
the little children could go anywhere over the earth, and there was
continual feasting and rejoicing among all the villages.

The Oraibi held a great feast (at that time the Oraibi did not live in
their present pueblo); Ma´asewe and U´yuuyewĕ desired to attend the
feast, and telling their mother of their wish, she consented to their
going. When they were near the village of the Oraibi they discovered
the home of the bee, and Ma´asewe said, “See, brother, the house of
the bee; let us go in; I guess there is much honey.” They found a
large comb full of honey, and Ma´asewe proposed to his brother that
they cover their whole bodies with the honey, so that the Oraibi would
not know them and would take them for poor, dirty boys; “for, as we
now are, all the world knows us, and to-day let us be unknown.” “All
right!” said U´yuuyewĕ, and they smeared themselves with honey. “Now,”
said the boys, “we are ready for the feast. It will be good, for the
Oraibi are very good people.” Upon visiting the plaza they found a
large gathering, and the housetops were crowded with those looking at
the dance. The boys, who approached the plaza from a narrow street in
the village, stood for a time at the entrance. Ma´asewe remarked, “I
guess all the people are looking at us and thinking we are very poor
boys; see how they pass back and forth and do not speak to us;” but
after awhile he said, “We are a little hungry; let us walk around and
see where we can find something to eat.” They looked in all the houses
facing upon the plaza and saw feasting within, but no one invited
them to enter and eat, and though they inspected every house in the
village, they were invited into but one. At this house the woman said,
“Boys, come in and eat; I guess you are hungry.” After the repast they
thanked her, saying, “It was very good.” Then Ma´asewe said, “You,
woman, and you, man,” addressing her husband, “you and all your family
are good. We have eaten at your house; we give you many thanks; and now
listen to what I have to say. I wish you and all of your children to
go off a distance to another house; to a house which stands alone; the
round house off from the village. All of you stay there for awhile.”
The boys then left. After they had gone the woman drank from the bowl
which they had used, and, smacking her lips, said to her husband,
“There is something very sweet in this bowl.” Then all the children
drank from it, and they found the water sweet, and the woman said, “Let
us do the will of these boys; let us go to the house;” and, the husband
consenting, they, with their children, went to the round house and
remained for a time.

Ma´asewe and U´yuuyewĕ lingered near the village, and the people were
dancing in the plaza and feasting in their houses, when suddenly they
were all transformed into stone. Those who were dancing, and those who
sat feasting, and mothers nourishing infants, all were alike petrified;
and the beings, leaving these bodies, immediately ascended, and at once
became the piñonero (Canada jay). The boys, returning to their home,
said, “Mother, we wish food; we are hungry.” Their mother inquired,
“Why are you hungry; did you not get enough at the feast?” “No; we are
very hungry and wish something to eat.” The mother again asked if it
was not a good feast. “Yes,” said Ma´asewe, “but we are hungry.” The
mother, suspecting something wrong, remarked, “I am afraid you have
been bad boys; I fear you destroyed that village before you left.”
Ma´asewe answered “No.” Four times the mother expressed her fears of
their having destroyed the village. Ma´asewe then confessed, “Yes; we
did destroy the village. When we went to the feast at Oraibi we were
all day with hungry stomachs, and we were not asked to eat anywhere
except in one house.” And when the mother heard this she was angry,
and Ma´asewe continued, “And this is the reason that I destroyed the
villlage[P1: Printer’s error],” and the mother cried, “It is good! I am
glad you destroyed the people, for they were mean and bad.”

When the boys had been home but two days their hearts told them that
there was to be a great dance of the Ka´ᵗsuna at a village located at
a ruin some 18 miles north of the present pueblo of Sia. The Ti´ämoni
of this village had, through his officials, invited all the people of
all the villages near and far to come to the great dance. Ma´asewe
said to his mother and grandmother (the spider woman), “We are going
to the village to see the dance of the Ka´ᵗsuna.” They replied, “We
do not care much to have you go, because you, Ma´asewe and U´yuuyewĕ,
are both disobedient boys. When you go off to the villages you do bad
things. At Oraibi you converted the people into stone, and perhaps you
will behave at this village as you did at Oraibi.” Ma´asewe replied,
“No, mother, no! We go only to see the Ka´ᵗsuna, and we wish to go,
for we know it is to be a great dance; we wish very much to see
it, and will not do as we did at Oraibi.” Finally, the mother and
grandmother said, “If you are satisfied to go and behave like good
boys we will consent.” It was a long way off, and the boys carried
their bows and arrows that their father, the sun, had given them. They
had proceeded but a short distance from their home, when the sun told
them each to get on an arrow, and the father drew his bow, shooting
both arrows simultaneously, the arrows striking the earth near where
the dance was to occur. The boys alighted from their arrows and walked
to the village. Every one wondered how they could have reached the
village in so short a time. The boys stopped at the door of a house
and, looking in, saw many people eating. They stood there awhile but
were not asked in, and they passed on from door to door, as they had
done at Oraibi, and no one invited them to eat. It was a very large
village, and the boys walked about all day, and they were very angry.
Discovering a house a little apart from the village, Ma´asewe said,
“Let us go there,” pointing to the house; “perhaps there we may get
food,” and upon reaching the door they were greeted by the man, woman,
and children of the house, and were invited to eat. The boys were,
as before, disguised with the honey spread over their bodies. After
the meal Ma´asewe, addressing the man and woman, said: “You and your
children are the first and only ones to invite us to enter a house and
eat, and we are happy, and we give you thanks. We have been in this
village all day and, until now, have had nothing to eat. I guess the
people do not care to have us eat with them. Why did your ti´ämoni
invite people from all villages to come here? He was certainly not
pleased to see us. You (addressing the man and woman) and your children
must leave this village and go a little way off. It will be well for
you to do so.”

And this family had no sooner obeyed the commands of the boys than
the people of the village were converted into stone, just as they
were passing about, the Ka´ᵗsuna as they stood in line of the dance,
some of them with their hands raised. It was never known what became
of the beings of the Ka´ᵗsuna. Ma´asewe then said: “Younger brother,
now what do you think?” U´yuuyewĕ replied, “I do not think at all; you
know.” “Yes,” said Ma´asewe, “and I think perhaps I will not return to
my house, the house of my mother and grandmother. I think we will not
return there; we have converted the people of two villages into stone,
and I guess our mother will be very unhappy.” And again Ma´asewe said:
“What do you think?” and U´yuuyewĕ replied, “I do not think at all;
you, Ma´asewe, you think well.” Then Ma´asewe said, “All right; I think
now I should like to go to see our father.” “Well,” said U´yuuyewĕ,
“let us go to him.”

There was a great rainbow (Kash´-ti-arts) in ti´nia; the feet of the
bow were on the earth and the head touched the heavens. “Let us be
off,” said the boys. They stepped upon the rainbow, and in a short
space of time the boys reached their father, the sun, who was in
mid-heavens. The bow traveled fast. The sun saw the boys approaching
on the bow and knew them to be his children. He always kept watch over
them, and when they drew near the father said, “My children, I am very
happy to see you. You have destroyed all the giants of the earth who
ate my people, and I am contented that they are no more; and it was
well you converted the people of the two villages into stone. They
were not good people.” Then Ma´asewe said: “Father, listen to me while
I speak. We wish you to tell us where to go.” “Yes,” said the father,
“I will; I know where it is best for you to make your home. Now, all
the people of the earth are good and will be good from this time forth
(referring to the destruction of the Sia by the cannibals). I think it
will be well for you to make your home there high above the earth,”
pointing to the Sandia mountain, “and not return to the people of the
earth.” “All right, my father,” replied Ma´asewe; “we are contented and
happy to do as you say.”

Before leaving their people Ma´asewe organized the cult societies of
the upper world. These tiny heroes then made their home in the Sandia
mountain, where they have since remained, traveling, as before, on the
rainbow.

The diminutive footprints of these boys are to be seen at the entrance
of their house (the crater of the mountain) by the good of heart, but
such privilege is afforded only to the ti´ämoni and certain theurgists,
they alone having perfect hearts; and they claim that on looking
through the door down into the house they have seen melons, corn, and
other things which had been freshly gathered.

After the expiration of four years the ti´ämoni desired to travel on
toward the center of the earth, but before they had gone far they
found, to their dismay, that the waters began to rise as in the lower
world, and the whole earth became one vast river. The waters reached
nearly to the edge of the mesa, which they ascended for safety. The
ti´ämoni made many offerings of plumes and other precious articles
to propitiate the flood, but this did not stay the angry waters, and
so he dressed a youth and maiden in their best blankets, and adorned
them with many precious beeds and cast them from the mesa top; and
immediately the waters began to recede. When the earth was again
visible it was very soft, so that when the animals went from the mesa
they would sink to their shoulders. The earth was angry. The ti´ämoni
called the Ka´pĭna Society together and said, “I think you know how to
make the earth solid, so we can pass over it,” and the theurgist of
that order replied, “I think I know.” The same means was used as on the
previous occasion to harden the earth. The theurgist of the Ka´pĭna
returning said, “Father, I have been working all over the earth and it
is now hardened.” “That is well,” said the ti´ämoni, “I am content. In
four days we will travel toward the center of the earth.”

During the journey of the Sia from the white-house in the north they
built many villages. Those villages were close together, as the Sia
did not wish to travel far at any one time. Finally, having concluded
they had about reached the center of the earth, they determined to
build a permanent home. The ti´ämoni, desiring that it should be
an exact model of their house of white stone in the north, held a
council, that he might gain information regarding the construction,
etc., of the white village. “I wish,” said the ti´ämoni, “to build
a village here, after our white-house of the north, but I can not
remember clearly the construction of the house,” and no one could be
found in the group to give a detailed account of the plan. The council
was held during the night, and the ti´ämoni said, “To-morrow I shall
have some one return to the white-house, and carefully examine it. I
think the Si´sika (swallow) is a good man; he has a good head; and I
think I will send him to the white-house,” and calling the Si´sika he
said: “Listen attentively; I wish you to go and study the structure
of the white-house in the north; learn all about it, and bring me
all the details of the buildings; how one house joins another.” The
Si´sika replied, “Very well, father; I will go early in the morning.”
Though the distance was great, the Si´sika visited the white-house,
and returned to the ti´ämoni a little after the sun had eaten (noon).
“Father,” said the Si´sika, “I have examined the white-house in the
north carefully, flying all over it and about it. I examined it well
and can tell you all about it.” The ti´ämoni was pleased, for he had
thought much concerning the white house, which was very beautiful.

  [Illustration: FIG. 15. Diagram of the white house of the north,
  drawn by a theurgist.

  Lines indicate houses.
    _a_, Street.
    _b_, Plaza.
    _c_, Plaza.
    _d_, Doorway of the north wind.
    _e_, The great chita.
    _f_, Cougar, mother of the north village.]

He at once ordered all hands to work, great labor being required in the
construction of the village after the plan laid down by the Si´sika.
Upon the completion of this village, the ti´ämoni named it Kóasaia. It
is located at the ruin some 2½ miles north of the present site of
Sia. (Fig. 15.) It is an accurate copy of a plan drawn by the theurgist
who first related the cosmogony to the writer.

The theurgist explained that the cougar could not leave her post at
the white stone village of the north; therefore, the lynx was selected
as her representative at this village. And no such opening as shown in
_d_ existed in the duplicated village, as the doorway of the north wind
was ever in the north village. And the ti´ämoni, with all his people,
entered the large chita and held services of thanksgiving. Great was
the rejoicing upon the completion of the village, and the people
planted corn and soon had fine fields.

The Sia occupied this village at the time of their visit from
Po´shaiyänne, the quasi messiah, after he had attained his greatness,
and when he made a tour of the pueblos before going into Mexico.

Po´shaiyänne was born of a virgin at the pueblo of Pecos, New Mexico,
who became pregnant from eating two piñon nuts. The writer learned
through Dr. Shields, of Archuleta, New Mexico, that the Jemez Indians
have a similar legend. When want and starvation drove the Pecos Indians
from their pueblo they sought refuge with the Jemez. Philologists claim
that the languages of the Pecos and Jemez belong to the same stock.
The woman was very much chagrined at the birth of her child, and when
he was very young she cast him off and closed her doors upon him. He
obtained food and shelter as best he could; of clothing he had none but
the rags cast off by others. While still a little boy he would follow
the ti´ämoni and theurgists into the chita and sit apart by the ladder,
and listen to their wise talk, and when they wished a light for their
cigarettes Po´shaiyänne would pass a brand from one to another. But no
one ever spoke to him or thanked him, but he continued to follow the
wise men into the chita and to light their cigarettes. Even when he
reached years when other youths were invited to sit with the ti´ämoni
and theurgists and learn of them, he was never spoken to or invited to
leave his seat by the entrance.

Upon arriving at the state of manhood he, as usual, sat in the chita
and passed the light to those present. Great was the surprise when it
was discovered that a string of the rarest turkis encircled his right
wrist. After he had lighted each cigarette and had returned to his seat
by the entrance, the ti´ämoni called one of his men to him and said,
“What is it I see upon the wrist of the boy Po´shaiyänne; it looks
like the richest turkis, but surely it can not be. Go and examine it.”
The man did as he was bid, and, returning, told the ti´ämoni that it
was indeed as he had supposed. The ti´ämoni requested the man to say
to the youth that he wished to know where he obtained the turkis and
that he desired to buy the bracelet of him. When the man repeated the
message, Po´shaiyänne said, “I can not tell him how it came upon my
wrist, and I do not wish to sell it.” The reply being delivered to the
ti´ämoni, he said to his messenger, “Return to the youth and tell him
I have a fine house in the north. It and all its contents shall be his
in exchange for the bracelet.” The people present, hearing the words
of the ti´ämoni, regretted that he offered his house and all therein
for the bracelet, but they did not say anything as they thought he
knew best. The message being delivered to Po´shaiyänne, he said, “Very
well, I will give the bracelet for the house and all it contains.” The
ti´ämoni then called Po´shaiyänne to him and examined the bracelet, and
his heart was glad because he was to have the jewels. He then begged
Po´shaiyänne to be seated, saying, “We will play the game Wash´kasi.”[7]

In playing the favorite game of Wash´kasi (Fig. 16), forty pebbles form
a square, ten pebbles on a side, with a flat stone in the center of the
square. Four flat sticks, painted black on one side and unpainted on
the other, are held vertically and dropped upon the stone. The ti´ämoni
threw first. Two black and two unpainted sides faced up. Two of the
painted sides being up entitled the player to move two stones to the
right. Po´shaiyänne then threw, turning up the four painted sides. This
entitled him to move ten to the left. The ti´ämoni threw and three
painted sides faced up. This entitled him to move three stones to the
right. Again Po´shaiyänne threw and all the colored sides faced up,
entitling him to move ten more. The next throw of the ti´ämoni showed
two colored sides and he moved two more. Po´shaiyänne threw again, all
the colored sides being up; then he moved ten. The ti´ämoni then threw
and all four unpainted sides turned up; this entitled him to move six.
Po´shaiyänne threw and again all the painted sides were up, entitling
him to move ten, which brought him to the starting point, and won him
the game.

  [Illustration: FIG. 16. The game of Wash´kasi.]

The following morning, after the ti´ämoni had eaten, they went into
the chita as usual; Po´shaiyänne, following, took his seat near the
entrance, with a blanket wrapped around him. When he approached the
ti´ämoni to hold the lighted stick to his cigarette, the ti´ämoni’s
astonishment was great to find a second bracelet, of ko-ha-qua,[8]
upon the wrist of Po´shaiyänne. Each bead was large and beautiful. The
ti´ämoni urged Po´shaiyänne not to return to his seat by the ladder,
but to sit with them; but he declined, and then a messenger was sent
to examine the bracelet, and the man’s report excited a great desire
in the ti´ämoni to secure to himself this second bracelet, and his
house in the west, with all that it contained, was offered in exchange
for the bracelet. This house was even finer than the one in the north.
Po´shaiyänne replied that if the ti´ämoni wished the bracelet, he would
exchange it for the house in the west. Then he was invited to be seated
near the ti´ämoni, who placed between them a large bowl containing six
2-inch cubes, which were highly polished and painted on one side. The
ti´ämoni said to Po´shaiyänne, “Hold the bowl with each hand, and toss
up the six cubes. When three painted sides are up the game is won; with
only two painted sides up the game is lost. Six painted sides up is
equivalent to a march in euchre.” Po´shaiyänne replied, “You first, not
I. You are the ti´ämoni; I am no one.” “No,” said the ti´ämoni, “you
play first;” but Po´shaiyänne refused, and the ti´ämoni tossed up the
blocks. Only two painted sides were up; Po´shaiyänne, then taking the
bowl, tossed the blocks, and all the painted sides turned up. Again
the ti´ämoni tried his hand, and three painted sides faced up; then
Po´shaiyänne threw and the six painted sides were up. The ti´ämoni
again threw, turning up two painted sides only; then Po´shaiyänne
threw, with his previous success. The ti´ämoni threw, and again two
painted sides were up. Po´shaiyänne threw, and six painted sides faced
up as before, and so a second house went to him. The ti´ämoni said, “We
will go to our homes and sleep, and return to the chita in the morning,
after we have eaten.”

The following morning Po´shaiyänne took his seat at the usual place,
but the ti´ämoni said to him: “Come and sit among us; you are now more
than an ordinary man, for you have two houses that belonged to the
ti´ämoni,” but Po´shaiyänne refused and proceeded to light the stick
to pass around for the lighting of the cigarettes. When he extended
his hand to touch the stick to the cigarettes it was discovered that
he wore a most beautiful bracelet, which was red, but not coral. The
ti´ämoni again sent an emissary to negotiate for the bracelet, offering
Po´shaiyänne his house in the south in exchange for the red bracelet.
Po´shaiyänne consented and again a game was played. Four circular
sticks some 8 inches long, with hollow ends, were stood in line and a
blanket thrown over them; the ti´ämoni then put a round pebble into the
end of one, and removing the blanket asked Po´shaiyänne to choose the
stick containing the pebble. “No, my father,” said Po´shaiyänne, “you
first. What am I that I should choose before you?” but the ti´ämoni
replied, “I placed the stone; I know where it is.” Then Po´shaiyänne
selected a stick and raising it the pebble was visible. Po´shaiyänne
then threw the blanket over the sticks and placed the stone in one of
them, after which the ti´ämoni selected a stick and raised it, but
no stone was visible. This was repeated four times. Each time the
ti´ämoni failed and Po´shaiyänne succeeded, and again the house in the
south went to Po´shaiyänne.

The next day when all had assembled in the chita and Po´shaiyänne
advanced to light the cigarettes a bracelet of rare black stone beads
was noticed on his wrist. This made the ti´ämoni’s heart beat with envy
and he determined to have the bracelet though he must part with his
house in the east; and he offered it in exchange for the bracelet, and
Po´shaiyänne accepted the offer. The ti´ämoni then made four little
mounds of sand and throwing a blanket over them placed in one a small
round stone. Then raising the blanket he requested Po´shaiyänne to
select the mound in which he had placed the stone. Po´shaiyänne said:
“My father, what am I that I should choose before you?” The ti´ämoni
replied, “I placed the stone and know where it is.” Then Po´shaiyänne
selected a mound, and the one of his selection contained the stone.
The placing of the stone was repeated four times, and each time the
ti´ämoni failed, and Po´shaiyänne was successful; and the hearts of all
the people were sad when they knew that this house was gone, but they
said nothing, for they believed their ti´ämoni knew best. The ti´ämoni
said: “We will now go to our homes and sleep, and on the morrow, when
we have eaten, we will assemble here.”

In the morning Po´shaiyänne took his accustomed place, entering after
the others. Upon his offering the lighted stick for the cigarettes the
people were struck with amazement, for on the wrist of Po´shaiyänne was
another bracelet of turkis of marvelous beauty, and when the ti´ämoni
discovered it his heart grew hungry for it and he sent one of his men
to offer his house of the zenith. Po´shaiyänne replied that he would
give the bracelet for the house. This house contained many precious
things. The ti´ämoni requested Po´shaiyänne to come and sit by him;
and they played the game Wash´kasi and, as before, Po´shaiyänne was
successful and the house of the zenith fell to him.

The following morning, when the people had assembled in the chita
and as Po´shaiyänne passed the stick to light the cigarettes, the
ti´ämoni and all the people saw upon his wrist another bracelet of
large white beads. They were not like the heart of a shell, but white
and translucent. The ti´ämoni could not resist the wish to have this
rare string of beads, and he sent one of his men to offer his house of
the nadir for it. When Po´shaiyänne agreed to the exchange, all the
people were sad, that the ti´ämoni should part with his house, but they
said nothing and the ti´ämoni was too much pleased with the beautiful
treasure to be regretful. He had Po´shaiyänne come and sit by him and
again play the game with the six blocks in the large bowl. The game was
played with success on the part of Po´shaiyänne and he became the owner
of the sixth house.

On the following day when all were gathered in the chita the ti´ämoni
said to Po´shaiyänne: “Come and sit with us; surely you are now equal
with me, and you are rich indeed, for you have all my houses,” but
he refused, only passing among theurgists and people to offer the
lighted stick for the cigarettes. When he extended his hand a bracelet
was discovered more beautiful than any of the others. It was pink and
the stones were very large. The ti´ämoni upon seeing it cried, “Alas!
alas! This is more beautiful and precious than all the others, but all
my houses and treasures are gone. I have nothing left but my people;
my old men and old women; young men and maidens and little ones.”
Addressing the people, he said: “My children, what would you think
of your ti´ämoni should he wish to give you to this youth for the
beautiful beads?” They replied, “You are our father and ruler; you are
wise and know all things that are best for us;” but their hearts were
heavy and sad, and the ti´ämoni hesitated, for his heart was touched
with the thought of giving up his people whom he loved; but the more he
thought of the bracelet the greater became his desire to secure it, and
he appealed a second time to his people and they answered: “You know
best, our father,” and the people were very sad, but the heart of the
ti´ämoni though touched was eager to possess the bracelet. He sent one
of his men to offer in exchange for the bracelet all his people, and
Po´shaiyänne replied that he would give the bracelet for the people.
Then the ti´ämoni called the youth to him, and they repeated the game
of the four sticks, hollowed at the ends. Po´shaiyänne was successful,
and the ti´ämoni said: “Take all my people; they are yours; my heart
is sad to give them up, and you must be a good father to them. Take
all the things I have, I am no longer of any consequence.” “No,” said
Po´shaiyänne; “I will not, for should I do so I would lose my power
over game.” The two remained in the chita and talked for a long time,
the ti´ämoni addressing Po´shaiyänne as father and Po´shaiyänne calling
the ti´ämoni father.

After a time Po´shaiyänne determined to visit all the pueblos, and then
go into Mexico.

He was recognized by the Sia at once upon his arrival, for they had
known of him and sung of him, and they looked for him. He entered the
chita in company with the ti´ämoni (the one appointed by Ût´sĕt) and
the theurgists. It was not until Po´shaiyänne’s visit to the Sia that
they possessed the power to capture game. The men were often sent out
by the ti´ämoni to look for game, but always returned without it,
saying they could see the animals and many tracks but could catch none;
and their ruler would reply: “Alas! my children, you go for the deer
and return without any;” and thus they hunted all over the earth but
without success.

After Po´shaiyänne’s talk with the ti´ämoni, and learning his wish for
game, he said: “Father, what have you for me to do?” And the ti´ämoni
replied: “My children have looked everywhere for deer, and they can
find none; they see many tracks, but they can not catch the deer.”
“Well,” replied Po´shaiyänne, “I will go and look for game.” He visited
a high mountain in the west, from whose summit he could see all over
the earth, and looking to the north, he saw on the top of a great
mountain a white deer. The deer was passing toward the south, and he
said to himself, “Why can not the Sia catch deer?” And looking to the
west, he saw a yellow antelope on the summit of a high mountain. He,
too, was passing to the south, and Po´shaiyänne said to himself, “Why
can they not catch antelope?” And he looked to the south, and saw on
the great mountain of the south a sheep, which was also passing to
the south, and he looked to the east, and there, on a high peak, he
saw the buffalo, who was passing to the south; and then, looking all
over the earth, he saw that it was covered with rabbits, rats, and all
kinds of small animals, and that the air was filled with birds of every
description. Then, returning to the ti´ämoni, he said: “My mother, my
father, why do your children say they can catch no game? When I first
looked to the mountain of the north I saw the deer, and to the west I
saw the antelope, and to the south the mountain sheep, and to the east
the buffalo, and the earth and air were filled with animals and birds.”
The ti´ämoni inquired how he could see all over the earth. He doubted
Po´shaiyänne’s word. Then Po´shaiyänne said: “In four days I will go
and catch deer for you.” “Well,” said the ti´ämoni, “when you bring the
deer I will believe. Until then I must think, perhaps, you do not speak
the truth.”

For three days the men were busy making bows and arrows, and during
these days they observed a strict fast and practiced continency. On the
fourth morning at sunrise Po´shaiyänne, accompanied by Ma´asewe and
Úyuuyewĕ, who came to the earth to greet Po´shaiyänne, and the men of
the village, started on the hunt. They ate before leaving the village,
and after the meal Po´shaiyänne asked: “Are you all ready for the
hunt?” And they replied: “Yes; we are ready.” Po´shaiyänne, Ma´asewe,
and Úyuuyewĕ started in advance of the others, and when some distance
ahead Po´shaiyänne made a fire and sprinkled meal to the north, the
west, the south, and the east, that the deer might come to him over
the roads of meal. He then made a circle of meal, leaving an opening
through which the game and hunters might pass, and when this was done
all of the men of the village formed into a group a short distance from
Po´shaiyänne, who then played on his flute, and, holding it upward, he
played first to the north, then west, then south, and then east. The
deer came over the four roads to him and entered the great circle of
meal. Ma´asewe and Úyuuyewĕ called to all the people to come and kill
the deer. It was now before the middle of the day. There were many deer
in the circle, and as the people approached they said one to another:
“Perhaps the deer are large; perhaps they are small.”

(The deer found by the Sia in this world are quite different from those
in the lower world. Those in the lower world did not come to this
world; they are called sits´tä-ñe, water deer. These deer lived in the
water, but they grazed over the mountains. They were very large, with
great antlers. The deer in this world are much smaller and have smaller
antlers.)

The circle was entered at the southeast, Ma´asewe passing around the
circle to the left was followed by half of the people, Úyuuyewĕ passing
to the right around the circle, preceded the remainder. As soon as they
had all entered Po´shaiyänne closed the opening; he did not go into the
circle but stood by the entrance. The deer were gradually gathered into
a close group and were then shot with arrows. When all the deer had
been killed they were flayed, and the flesh and skins carried to the
village. As they passed from the circle Po´shaiyänne said, “Now carry
your meat home. Give your largest deer to the ti´ämoni and the smaller
ones to the people of your houses.” After the Sia had started for their
village Po´shaiyänne destroyed the circle of meal and then returned to
the ti´ämoni, who said: “You, indeed, spoke the truth, for my people
have brought many deer, and I am much pleased. On the morrow we will
kill rabbits.” The ti´ämoni informed the coyote of his wish for the
rabbits, and in the morning a large fire was made, and the coyote spoke
to the fire, saying: “We desire many rabbits but we do not wish to go
far.” He then threw meal to the cardinal points, zenith, and nadir,
and prayed that the sun father would cause the small and large rabbits
to gather together that they might not have to go a great distance to
find them, for as he, the father, wished, so it would be, and Ma´asewe
and the coyote sat down while the people gathered around the fire and
passed their rabbit sticks through the flames. Then Ma´asewe directed
them to start on the hunt. They formed into an extensive circle
surrounding the rabbits, and a great number were secured. Some were
killed by being struck immediately over their hearts. It was very late
when the people returned to the village laden with rabbits.

The ti´ämoni said: “Day after to-morrow we will have a feast.”
Po´shaiyänne agreeing, said: “It is well, father.” All the women worked
hard for the feast. Half of their number worked for the ti´ämoni
and half for Po´shaiyänne. The ti´ämoni going alone to the house of
Po´shaiyänne, said: “Listen: to-morrow you will have the great feast at
your house.” Po´shaiyänne replied: “No, father; you are the elder, and
you must have it at your house.” The ti´ämoni answered: “Very well, my
house is good and large; I will have it there.”

In the morning, when the sun was still new, the ti´ämoni had the feast
spread—bowls of mush, bread, and meat; and he said to Po´shaiyänne, who
was present: “Father, if you have food bring it to my house and we will
have our feast together.” Po´shaiyänne replied: “It is well, father;”
and, to the astonishment of all, Po´shaiyänne’s food immediately
appeared. It was spread on tables;[9] the bowls holding the food being
very beautiful, such as had never before been seen. The ti´ämoni told
Ma´asewe to bid the people come to the feast; and all, including the
most aged men and women and youngest children, were present. Upon
entering the house they were surprised with the things

they saw on Po´shaiyänne’s table, and all who could went to his
table in preference to sitting before the ti´ämoni’s. Even the water
upon Po´shaiyänne’s table was far better than that furnished by the
ti´ämoni; and those who drank of this water and ate Po´shaiyänne’s food
immediately became changed, their skins becoming whiter than before;
but all could not eat from Po´shaiyänne’s board and many had to take
the food of the ti´ämoni, and they remained in appearance as before.

After this feast, Po´shaiyänne visited all the pueblos and then passed
on to Chihuahua in Mexico. Before Po´shaiyänne left the Sia, he said
to them: “I leave you, but another day I will return to you, for this
village is mine for all time, and I will return first to this village.”
To the ti´ämoni he said: “Father, you are a ti´ämoni, and I also am
one; we are as brothers. All the people, the men, the women, and the
children are mine, and they are yours; and I will return to them again.
Watch for me. I will return;” and he added, “In a short time another
people will come; but before that time, such time as you may choose, I
wish you to leave this village, for my heart is here and it is not well
for another people to come here; therefore depart from this village
before they come near.”

Upon entering the plaza in Chihuahua Po´shaiyänne met the great chief,
who invited him to his home, where he became acquainted with his
daughter. She was very beautiful, and Po´shaiyänne told the chief that
he was much pleased with his daughter and wished to make her his wife.
The chief replied: “If you desire to marry my daughter and she wishes
to marry you, it is well.” Upon the father questioning the daughter
the girl replied in the affirmative. Then the father and mother talked
much to the daughter and said: “To-morrow you will be married.” The
chief sent one of his officials to let it be known to all the people
that Po´shaiyänne and his daughter were to be united in marriage in
the morning, and many assembled, and there was a great feast in the
house of the chief. Many men were pleased with the chief’s daughter,
and looked with envy upon Po´shaiyänne; and they talked together of
killing him, and finally warriors came to the house of Po´shaiyänne
and carried him off to their camp and pierced his heart with a spear,
and his enemies were contented, but the wife and her father were sad.
The day after Po´shaiyänne’s death he returned to his wife’s home, and
when he was seen alive those who had tried to destroy him were not only
angry but much alarmed; and again he was captured, and they bound gold
and silver to his feet, that after casting him into the lake his body
should not rise; but a white fluffy feather of the eagle fell to him,
and as he touched the feather the feather rose, and Po´shaiyänne with
it, and he lived again, and he still lives, and some time he will come
to us. So say the Sia. Po´shaiyänne’s name is held in the greatest
reverence; in fact, he is regarded as their culture hero[10], and he
is appealed to in daily prayers, and the people have no doubt of his
return. They say: “He may come to-day, to-morrow, or perhaps not in our
lifetime.”

Soon after Po´shaiyänne’s departure from Sia the ti´ämoni decided to
leave his present village, though it pained him much to give up his
beautiful house. And they moved and built the present pueblo of Sia,
which village was very extensive. The ti´ämoni had first a square of
stone laid, which is to be seen at the present day, emblematic of the
heart of the village (for a heart must be, before a thing can exist).
After the building of this village the aged ti´ämoni continued to
live many years, and at his death he was buried in the ground, in a
reclining position. His head was covered with raw cotton, with an eagle
plume attached; his face was painted with corn pollen, and cotton was
placed at the soles of his feet and laid over the heart. A bowl of food
was deposited in the grave, and many hä´chamoni were planted over the
road to the north, the one which is traveled after death. A bowl of
food was also placed on the road. All night they sang and prayed in the
house of the departed ti´ämoni, and early in the morning all those who
sung were bathed in suds of yucca made of cold water.

There are two rudely carved stone animals at the ruined village
supposed to have been visited by Po´shaiyänne. These the Sia always
speak of as the cougar, but they say, “In reality they are not the
cougar, but the lynx, for the cougar remained at the white-house in the
north.”

This cosmogony exhibits a chapter of the Sia philosophy, and though
this philosophy is fraught with absurdities and contradictions, as is
the case with all aboriginal reasoning, it scintillates with poetic
conceptions. They continue:

“The hour is too solemn for spoken words; a new life is to be given to
us.”

Theirs is not a religion mainly of propitiation, but rather of
supplication for favors and payment for the same, and to do the will of
and thereby please the beings to whom they pray. It is the paramount
occupation of their life; all other desirable things come through its
practice. It is the foundation of their moral and social laws. Children
are taught from infancy that in order to please the pantheon of their
mythical beings they must speak with one tongue as straight as the
line of prayer over which these beings pass to enter the images of
themselves.

It will be understood from the cosmogony that the Sia did not derive
their clan names from animal _ancestors_, nor do they believe that
their people evolved from animals, other than the Sia themselves. The
Zuñi hold a similar belief. The Zuñi’s reference to the tortoise and
other animals as ancestors is explained in the “Religious Life of the
Zuñi Child.”[11]

I am of opinion that closer investigation of the North American Indian
will reveal that the belief in the descent of a people from beasts,
plants, or heavenly bodies is not common, though their mythological
heroes were frequently the offspring of the union of some mortal with
the sun or other object of reverence. There is no mystery in such
unions in the philosophy of the Indian, for, as not only animate but
inanimate objects and the elements are endowed with personality, such
beings are not only brothers to one another, but hold the same kinship
to the Sia, from the fact, according to their philosophy, that all are
living beings and, therefore, all are brothers. This is as clearly
defined in the Indian mind as our recognition of the African as a
brother man.

The spider is an important actor in Sia, Zuñi, and Tusayan mythology.
Sia cosmogony tells us the spider was the primus, the creator of all.
Sûs´sĭstinnako is referred to as a man, or, more properly, a being
possessing all power; and as Sûs´sĭstinnako created first man and
then other beings to serve his first creation, these beings, although
endowed with attributes superior to man in order to serve him, can
hardly be termed gods, but rather agents to execute the will of
Sûs´sĭstinnako in serving the people of his first creation.

Sûs´sĭstinnako must be supplicated through the mediator Ûtsĕt, who is
present at such times in the fetich I´ärriko. Ko´shairi and Quer´ränna
appear for the sun and moon. The war heroes and the warriors of the six
mountains of the world, the women of the cardinal points, and animals,
insects, and birds holding the secrets of medicine, are present, when
invoked, in images of themselves. The Sia can not be said to practice
ancestor worship. While the road to Shipapo (entrance to the lower
world) is crowded with spirits of peoples returning to the lower world,
and spirits of unborn infants coming from the lower world, the Sia do
not believe in the return of ancestors when once they have entered
Shipapo. While many of the kokko (personated by persons wearing masks)
are the immediate ancestors of the Zuñi, the Ka´ᵗsuna of the Sia, also
personated by men and women wearing masks, are altogether a distinct
creation, and can not be considered to bear any relation to ancestor
worship.

The Sia, however, have something as appalling to them as the return of
the dead, in their belief in witchcraft, those possessing this craft
being able to assume the form of dogs and other beasts; and they are
ever on the alert when traveling about on dark nights, especially if
the traveler is a man of wealth, as witches are always envious of the
financial success of others. They create disease by casting into the
body snakes, worms, stones, bits of fabric, etc. Hair must be burned
that it may not be found by wizards or witches, who, combining it with
other things, would cast it into the person from whose head it was
cut, causing illness and perhaps death. There is, however, a panacea
for such afflictions in the esoteric power of the theurgists of the
secret cult societies. A man was relieved of pain in the chest by a
snake being drawn from the body by an eminent theurgist during the
stay of the writer at Sia. Such is the effect of faith cure in Sia
that, though the man was actually suffering from a severe cold, his
improvement dated from the hour the snake was supposed to have been
extracted.




                            CULT SOCIETIES.


Ût´sĕt, being directed in all things by Sûs´sĭstinnako, originated
the cult societies of the lower world, giving to certain of them the
secrets for the healing of the sick.

The societies are mentioned in their line of succession, most of them
having been named for the animals of which they were composed.

The first society organized was the Ka´pĭna, which included only the
spider people, its ho´-na-ai-te,[12] or theurgist, being Sûs´sĭstinnako
himself; and as the members of this society were directly associated
with Sûs´sĭstinnako, they knew his medicine secrets.

Then followed the societies of the bear, cougar, badger, wolf, and
shrew (_Sorex_).

The hĭs´tiän[13] (knife) was composed of the cougar and the bear, these
two societies being consolidated. Sûs´sĭstinnako finding that the bear
was always dissatisfied and inclined to growl and run from the people
when they approached, decided to make the cougar first and the bear
second, giving as his reason that when the people drew near the cougar
he sat still and looked at them; he neither growled nor ran, and the
people were not afraid; he commanded their respect, but not their fear,
and for this reason Sûs´sĭstinnako united these societies that the bear
might be second, and under the direction of the cougar.

The next six societies organized were the snakes, composed of the
snakes of the cardinal points, the snake of the north being Ska´towe
(Plumed Serpent), the west Ka´spanna, the south Ko´quaira, the east
Quĭs´sĕra, the heavens Hu´waka, the earth Ya´ai. The Ska´towe (Serpent
of the North) and Ko´quaira (Serpent of the South) having special
influence over the cloud people, have their bodies marked with cloud
emblems; the Ka´spanna (Serpent of the West) and the Quĭs´sĕra (Serpent
of the East) hold esoteric relations with the sun and moon; hence their
bodies are painted with the crescent. Hu´waka (Serpent of the Heavens)
has a body like crystal, and it is so brilliant that one’s eyes can not
rest upon him; he is very closely allied to the sun. The Ya´ai (Serpent
of the Earth) has special relations with Ha´arts (the earth). His body
is spotted over like the earth, and he passes about over Ha´arts until
someone approaches, when he hastens into his house in the earth.

The seven ant societies followed the snakes. The five animal
societies, the six snake societies, the first three ant societies,
and the society of the eagle were given the secrets of the medicine
for healing the sick, through the process of sucking, the ant alone
receiving the secret of the medicine by brushing; the last four
societies of ants were instructed in the songs for rain only. The
reason given for this division is that only the first three ants
produced irritation or swelling from their bites, the last four being
peaceable ants. (Fig. 18).

The next six societies were those of the birds of the cardinal points,
zenith and nadir.—The Ha´-te-e, Bird of the North; Shas´-to, Bird of
the West; Ma´-pe-un, Bird of the South; Shu-wa-kai´, Bird of the East;
Tiä´mi, Bird of the Heavens (the eagle); Chas´-ka, Bird of the Earth
(chaparral cock). While these six societies were instructed in the
songs for rain, the eagle alone learned the medicine songs. It will be
noticed that only such animals as were regarded as virulent were given
the secrets of the medicine for healing the sick. All of the animals of
the world were subordinate to the animal societies; all of the snakes
of the world were submissive to the six snake societies; all the ants
and other insects were subject to the seven ant societies, and all the
birds of the world to the six bird societies.

The next society organized was the Ha´kan, fire. Sûs´sĭstinnako,
desiring to have fire that their food might be cooked, placed a round
flat stone on the floor and attached a small sharpened stone to one end
of a slender round stick; he then called together the ho´naaites of the
cult societies, and the priestly rulers of the Sia and other Indians,
requesting each one in proper succession to produce fire by rubbing the
circular stick between the hands upon the round flat stone. As each one
attempted to make the fire, a blanket was thrown over him and the stone
that he might work in perfect seclusion. All failing in their efforts
(this work being performed in the daytime) Sûs´sĭstinnako dismissed
them. He then passed through three chambers, carrying the fire stone
with him, and entering the fourth sat down and thought a long while,
and after a time he attempted to make the fire and was successful.
Sûs´sĭstinnako then called in Ût´sĕt and her principal officer (a man
of the Sia people), and handing her an ignited fire brand of cedar told
her to light a fire, and this fire burned four days and nights. Ût´sĕt,
obeying the command of Sûs´sĭstinnako, requested her officer to place
a ho´naaite of a snake society at the first door, the ho´naaite of the
Hĭs´tiän and his vice (the cougar and a bear) at the second and third
doors, and to guard the inner door himself, that no one might enter and
see the fire. On the fifth day all the people discovered the smoke,
which escaped from the chamber, and they wondered what it could be,
for as yet they did not know fire. On the sixth morning Sûs´sĭstinnako
said to the officer of Ût´sĕt, “I will now organize a fire society and
I appoint you the ho´naaite of the society.” On this same morning the
ho´naaites of the cult societies and the priestly rulers of the Indians
were called to the chamber to see the fire and to understand it. Then
the ho´naaite of the fire society carried some of the fire to the house
of the ruler of the Sia.

  [Illustration: Bureau of Ethnology.    Eleventh Annual Report. Plate X

  GAST LITH. CO. N.Y.

  PERSONAL ADORNMENT WHEN RECEIVED INTO THE THIRD DEGREE OF OFFICIAL
  MEMBERSHIP CULT, SOCIETY.]

Ko´shairi received directly from the sun valuable medicine for rain,
and so the songs of the Ko´shairi are principally invocations for rain
to fructify the earth.

Quer´ränna’s office is similar to that of the Ko´shairi, though his
dress is different, as he comes from the house of the moon and not the
sun. Besides the songs for rain the sun gave him the secret of the
medicine, which would not only make ha´arts but women pregnant.

After the Sia, animals and Ka’ᵗsuna entered this world, they being led
by the mother Ût´sĕt, the Ka´ᵗsuna were directed by Ût´sĕt to go to
the west and there make their homes. Before their departure, however,
masks were made to represent them. Ût´sĕt sent Ko´shairi and Quer´ränna
to the east, telling the former to make his home near the house of
the sun and the latter to make his house a little to the north of the
sun’s. It will be remembered that Sûs´sĭstinnako sent the sun to this
world before the advent of the Sia. Ko´shairi performs not only the
office of courier between the sun and Ka´ᵗsuna, but is also mediator
between the Sia and the sun. (See Pl. X.)

Upon the departure of Ko´shairi and Quer´ränna, Ût´sĕt organized
two orders bearing their names, to wait upon the personators of the
Ka´ᵗsuna whenever they should appear. The representatives of Koshai´ri
and Quer´ränna are supposed to be the exact reproductions of the
originals. The body of Ko´shairi is painted white and striped in black;
that of Quer´ränna is half yellow and half white, dotted with black
crescents. Thus we see stripes and particolors as indicative of the
harlequin is of prehistoric origin. The hair of Ko´shairi is brought
to the front and tied with painted black and white corn husks. The
breechcloth is black cotton (Pl. X A). Quer´ränna’s hair is
brought forward and tied to stand erect (Pl. X B).

Whenever the Ka´ᵗsuna appear in Sia they are attended by the Ko´shairi
and Quer´ränna, they waiting upon the Ka´ᵗsuna, adjusting any of their
wearing apparel which becomes disarranged, etc. They also play the
fool, their buffoonery causing great merriment among the spectators.

After ridding the world of the destroyers of the people, Ma´asewe said
to the ti´ämoni of Sia (the Sia were still living at the white house),
“Now that I have killed the bad people of the world it is well to
organize societies similar to those instituted by Ût´sĕt in the lower
world, and learn from the animals the secrets of medicine.” It must be
understood that all the animals were not bad.

The first society originated by Ma´asewe was the Hĭs´tiän or Knife.
This society being first, because it was through the power of the
knives or arrows given to the boys by the sun father that the enemies
were destroyed; Hĭs´tiän, in this case, meaning the knife or arrow of
lightning.

The next society originated was that of the cougar, then followed the
societies of the bear, the skoyo (giant), the snake, and the ant.
The ho´naaite of each society was furnished with medicine by the
two warriors, this medicine being bits of the hearts of the enemies
destroyed; a portion of each heart being given to each ho´naaite.

Ma´asewe then organized the Ope Society (Warriors), designating himself
as the ho´naaite[14] of the society and his brother as its vicar. He
then appointed six men members of the society, to reside for all time
in the six high mountains of the world, that they might look from
the six cardinal points and discover bad people, and inform the Sia
of an approaching enemy. These six men, in conjunction with Ma´asewe
and U´yuuyewĕ, guide the arrows of the Sia when contending with the
enemy. It will be remembered it was stated in the “Sia Cosmogony” that
Ma´asewe and U´yuuyewĕ went to reside in the interior of the Sandia
mountain.

When these societies had been formed, the animal societies assembled
at the white house and taught the ho´naaites their medicine songs;
previous to this, when the Sia were ill, they received their medicine
direct from the animals, the animals officiating and singing. After
instructing the Sia in their songs, they told them to make stone
images of themselves, that passing over the road of meal they might
enter these images; and so the Indians are sure of the presence of the
animals. The beings pass over the line of meal, entering the fetiches,
where they remain until the close of a ceremonial, and then depart over
the line.

The secret of the fire was not brought to this world, and the fire
society was originated here in this way. The people grew tired of
feeding about on grass, like the deer and other animals, and they
consulted together as to how fire might be obtained. It was finally
decided by the ti´ämoni that a coyote was the best person to steal
the fire from the world below, and he dispatched a messenger for the
coyote. Upon making his appearance the ti´ämoni told of the wish of
himself and his people for fire, and that he wanted him to return to
the world below and bring the fire, and the coyote replied, “It is
well, father; I will go.” Upon reaching the first entrance of the house
of Sûs´sĭstinnako (it was the middle of the night), the coyote found
the snake who guarded the door asleep, and he quickly and quietly
slipped by; the cougar who guarded the second door was also asleep, and
the bear who guarded the third door was sleeping. Upon reaching the
fourth door he found the ho´naaite of the fire asleep, and, slipping
through, he entered the room and found Sûs´sĭstinnako also soundly
sleeping; he hastened to the fire, and, lighting the cedar brand which
was attached to his tail, hurried out. Sûs´sĭstinnako awoke, rubbing
his eyes, just in time to be conscious that some one was leaving the
room. “Who is there?” he cried; “some one has been here,” but before he
could arouse those who guarded the entrance the coyote was far on his
way to the upper world.

After the organization of the cult societies the ti´ämoni, influenced
by Ût´sĕt, commanded the cougar to make his home for all time in the
north; the bear was likewise sent to the west, the badger to the south,
the wolf to the east, the eagle to the heavens, and the shrew to the
earth.




                          THEURGISTIC RITES.


It is only upon acquaintance with the secret cult societies that one
may glean something of the Indians’ conception of disease, its cause
and cure. It is supposed to be produced almost wholly through one or
two agencies—the occult powers of wizards and witches, and the anger of
certain animals, often insects. Therefore, though some plant medicines
are known to these Indians, their materia medīca may be said to be
purely fetichistic; for when anything of a medicinal character is used
by the theurgist it must be supplemented with fetich medicine and
magical craft.

While there are thirteen secret cult societies with the Zuñi, there are
but eight in Sia, some of these being reduced to a membership of two,
and in one instance to one. While the Zuñi and Sia each has its society
of warriors, the functions of these societies are somewhat different.

The cult societies of the Sia, as well as those of Zuñi, have their
altars and sand paintings; but while each Zuñi altar, with its
medicines and fetiches, is guarded during ceremonials by two members
of the Society of Warriors, this entitling the members of this society
to be present at the meetings of all the cult societies, the Sia have
no such customs. Their altars and fetiches are not protected by others
than the theurgists and vice-theurgists of their respective societies.
At the present time, owing to the depleted numbers of the Society of
Warriors of the Zuñi, some of their altars have but one guardian.

The Society of Warriors has for its director and vicar, like the Zuñi
and the other pueblos, the representatives of the mythologic war
heroes, who, though small in stature, are invulnerable. “Their hearts
are large, for they have the heart of the sun.” The head or director of
a society is termed the elder brother; the vicar, younger brother.

When the cult societies invoke the cloud people to water the earth,
the presence of certain anthropomorphic and zoomorphic beings having
potent influence over the cloud people is assured by the drawing of a
line of meal from the altar to the entrance of the ceremonial chamber,
over which these beings pass, temporarily abiding in the stone images
of themselves which stand before the altar. These beings are exhorted
to use their mystic powers with the cloud people to water the mother
earth, that she may become pregnant and bear to the people of Ha´arts
(the earth) the fruits of her being.

In order to obtain their services the Sia compensate them. The
hä´chamoni (notched stick), which is deposited to convey the message,
invariably has plumes attached to it, these plume offerings being
actual compensation for that which is desired. Other offerings are
made, among which are gaming blocks, hoops for the cloud people to
ride upon, and cigarettes filled with the down of humming birds, corn
pollen, and bits of precious beads. (See Plate XI).

Eagles are kept caged, and turkeys are domesticated for the purpose of
obtaining plumes for these offerings.

It is the prerogative of the ti´ämoni to specify the time for the
meetings of the cult societies, excepting ceremonials for the healing
of the sick by the request of the patient or his friend. These meetings
being entirely under the jurisdiction of the theurgist, who does not
possess within himself the power of healing, he is simply the agent
acting under the influence of those beings who are present in the stone
images.

The gala time is the beginning of the new year in December, when
the cult societies hold synchronal ceremonials extending through a
period of four days and nights, at which time the fetich medicines are
prepared; and those possessing real or imaginary disease gather in the
chamber of the society of which they are members, when the theurgists
and their followers elaborate their practices of mysticism upon their
subjects.

The cult societies have two ways of retaining their complement of
members. An adult or child joins a society after being restored to
health by a theurgist; and a parent may enter a child into a society,
or a boy or girl having arrived at years of discretion, may declare a
desire to join a society.

In the case of a young child the paternal or maternal parent calls upon
the theurgist and, making known his wish, presents him with a handful
of shell mixture,[15] saying, “I wish my child to become a member of
your society that his mind and heart may be strong.” In the case of an
elder boy or girl the clan is first notified, and the applicant then
calls upon the theurgist and, presenting him a handful of the shell
mixture, makes known his wish.

Most of the societies are divided into two or more orders, the more
important order being that in which the members are endowed with the
anagogics of medicine, except in the Snake Society, when the snake
order is essential. One must pass through three degrees before being
permitted to handle the snakes. In the case of minors they can not be
initiated into the third degree until, in the ho´naaite’s judgment,
they are amenable to the rigid rules. A person may belong to two or
more of these societies.

  [Illustration: Bureau of Ethnology.   Eleventh Annual Report. Plate XI

  Drawn by Mary Irvin Wright.    GAST LITH. CO. N.Y.

  HÄ´-CHA-MO-NI BEFORE PLUME OFFERINGS ARE ATTACHED.]

Women may be members of the various orders, excepting in the societies
of the Snake, Cougar, or Hunters and Warriors. The Snake division of
the Snake Society has no female members, and the societies of the
Cougar or Hunters and Warriors are composed entirely of men. When one
makes known his desire to enter a society he states to the theurgist
which division he wishes to join.

The objection to handling the snakes keeps the Snake division of this
society limited, though the honor is much greater in belonging to this
division. Upon entering the medicine order of any society the new
member is presented with the fetich ya´ya by the theurgist, who must
practice continency four days previous to preparing the fetich.

The cult societies observe two modes in curing disease: One is by
sucking, and the other by brushing the body with straws and eagle
plumes. The former mode is practiced when Ka-nat-kai-ya (witches) have
caused the malady by casting into the body worms, stones, yarn, etc.;
the latter mode is observed when one is afflicted through angry ants or
other insects, which are thus drawn to the surface and brushed off.

The medicine ceremonials of the cult societies are quite distinct from
their ceremonials for rain.

The only compensation made the theurgist for his practice upon invalids
either in the ceremonial chamber or dwelling is the sacred shell
mixture. It is quite the reverse with all other Indians with whom the
writer is acquainted. The healing of the sick in the ceremonial chamber
is with some of the peublos gratuitous, but generous compensation is
required when the theurgist visits the house of the invalid.

Continency is observed four days previous to a ceremonial, and an
emetic is taken each morning for purification from conjugal relations.
On the fourth day the married members bathe (the men going into the
river) and have their heads washed in yucca suds. This is for physical
purification. The exempting of those who have not been married and
those who have lost a spouse seems a strange and unreasonable edict in
a community where there is an indiscriminate living together of the
people.

The ceremonials here noted occurred after the planting of the grain.
Several of the ordinances had been held previous to the arrival of the
writer. She collected sufficient data, however, to demonstrate the
analogy between the rain ceremonials of the secret cult societies,
their songs bearing the one burden—supplication for rain.


                 RAIN CEREMONIAL OF THE SNAKE SOCIETY.

The morning was spent by the ho´naaite (theurgist) and his vicar in
the preparation of hä´chamoni[16] and plume offerings. The hä´chamoni
are symbolic of the beings to whom they are offered, the messages or
prayers being conveyed through the notches upon the sticks. These
symbols frequently have hĕr´rotuma (more slender sticks representing
the official staff) bound to them with threads of yucca; Pls. XI and
XII show an incomplete set of hä´chamoni before the plume offerings are
appended, which the Snake Society deposits when rain is desired; Pl.
XIII, specimens of hä´chamoni with plume offerings attached.

About 4 o’clock p.m. the ho´naaite and his younger brother were joined
by the third member of the society, when the ho´naaite began the sand
painting,[17] the first one being laid immediately before the ä´ᵗchîn
(slat altar), which had been erected earlier in the day, and the second
in front of the former (Pl. XIV).

Upon the completion of the paintings the ho´naaite deposited several
long buckskin sacks upon the floor and the three proceeded to remove
such articles as were to be placed before the altar. There were six
ya´ya, four of these being the property of the ho´naaite, two having
come to him through the Snake Society, and two through the Spider, he
being also ho´naaite of the Spider Society, the others belonging to the
vice ho´naaite and third member of the Snake Society.

The ya´ya are most carefully preserved, not only on account of their
sacred value, but also of their intrinsic worth, as the parrot plumes
of which they are partially composed are very costly and difficult
to obtain, they being procured from other Indians, who either make
journeys into Mexico and trade for these plumes with the Indians of
that country, or the Indians on the border secure them and bring them
for traffic among their more northern brothers.

The ya´ya are wrapped first with a piece of soft cloth, then with
buckskin, and finally with another cloth; slender splints are placed
around this outer covering and a long buckskin string secures the
packages.

  [Illustration: Bureau of Ethnology.    Eleventh Annual Report. Plate
  XII

  Drawn by Mary Irvin Wright. GAST LITH. CO. N.Y.

  HÄ´-CHA-MO-NI BEFORE PLUME OFFERINGS ARE ATTACHED.]

After unwrapping the ya´ya the ho´naaite proceeds to arrange the
fetiches. Three of the ya´ya are placed immediately in front of the
altar upon a paralellogram of meal, which is always drawn at the base
of the altars, and is emblematic of seats for the ya´ya. An image, 8
inches high, of Ko´chinako (Yellow Woman of the North) stands to the
right of the ya´ya, and a wolf of red sandstone, its tail being quite
the length of its body, which is 6 inches, is placed to the left of
the ya´ya, and by the side of this wolf is a bear of black lava, and
next an abalone shell; two cougars of red sandstone, some 12 inches
in length, are posted to the right and left of the altar; an antique
medicine bowl, finely decorated in snake, cloud, and lightning designs,
is placed in front of the three ya´ya; two finely polished adzes, 12
inches long, are laid either side of the medicine bowl, and by these
two large stone knives; two ya´ya stand side by side in front of the
bowl, and before each is a snake’s rattle, each rattle having twelve
buttons; the sixth ya´ya stands on the tail of the sand-painted cougar;
a miniature bow and arrow is laid before each of the six ya´ya; eight
human images are arranged in line in front of the two ya´ya, these
representing Ma´asewe, Úyuuyewĕ, and the six warriors who live in
the six mountains of the cardinal points, the larger figures being 8
and 10 inches high and the smaller ones 4 and 5, the figure of the
Warrior of the North having well-defined eyes and nose in bas-relief.
This figure is decorated with a necklace of bears’ claws, a similar
necklace being around its companion, a clumsy stone hatchet. Most of
the images in this line have a fringe of white wool around the face,
symbolic of clouds. In front of these figures are three fetiches of
Ko´shairi, not over 4 or 5 inches high, with a shell in front of them,
and on either side of the shell there are two wands of turkey plumes
standing in clay holders, the holders having been first modeled into
a ball and then a cavity made by pressing in the finger sufficiently
deep to hold the wand. These holders are sun dried. In front of the
shell is a cross, the only evidence discovered of an apparent influence
of Catholicism. The cross, however, bears no symbol of Christianity
to these Indians. The one referred to was given to a theurgist of the
Snake Society in remote times by a priest so good of heart, they say,
that, though his religion was not theirs, his prayers traveled fast
over the straight road to Ko´pĭshtaia; and so their reverence for this
priest as an honest, truthful man led them to convert the symbol of
Christianity into an object of fetichistic worship. The cross stands
on a 6-inch cube of wood, and is so covered with plumes that only the
tips of the cross are to be seen, and a small bunch of eagle plumes
is attached pendent to the top of the cross with cotton cord. A bear
of white stone, 5 inches long, is placed to the left of the cross and
just back of it a tiny cub. A wolf, also of white stone, and 5 inches
in length, is deposited to the right of the cross. At either end of,
and to the front of, the altar are two massive carvings in relief,
in red sandstone, of coiled snakes. Bear-leg skins, with the claws,
are piled on either side of the altar, and by these gourd rattles and
eagle plumes, in twos, to be used by the members in the ceremonial. A
necklace of bears’ claws, with a whistle attached midway the string,
having two fluffy eagle plumes fastened to the end with native cotton
cord, hangs over the north post of the altar. The ho´naaite wear this
necklace in the evening ceremony. The sacred honey jug (a gourd) and
basket containing the sacred meal, a shell filled with corn pollen, a
buckskin medicine bag, an arrow point, and an ancient square pottery
bowl are grouped in front of the snake fetich on the north side of
the altar, and to the north of this group are other medicine bags and
turkey feather wands, with bunches of fluffy eagle plumes, tipped black
and the other portion dyed a beautiful lemon color, attached to them
with cotton cord. These wands are afterwards held by the women, who
form the line at night on the north side of the room. A Tusayan basket,
containing the offerings, consisting of hä´chamoni, each one being
tipped with a bit of raw cotton and a single plume from the wing of a
humming bird, with plumes attached upright at the base; Hĕr´ro-tume
(staffs) ornamented with plumes, Ta´-wa-ka (gaming blocks and rings
for the clouds to ride upon), Maic’-kûr-i-wa-pai (bunches of plumes
of birds of the cardinal points, zenith and nadir), is deposited in
front of the snake fetich on the south side of the altar, and beyond
this basket are similar wands to those north of the altar, which are
carried in the ceremonial by the women on the south side of the room.
Five stone knives complete the group. A white stone bear, 12 inches
long, is placed in front of the whole, and a parrot is attached to the
top of the central slat figure. (Pl. XV) Unfortunately, the
flash-light photograph of the altar of the Snake Society made during
the ceremonial failed to develop well, and, guarding against possible
failure, the writer succeeded in having the ho´naaite arrange the altar
at another time. The fear of discovery induced such haste that the
fetiches, which are kept carefully stored away in different houses,
were not all brought out on this occasion.[18]

When the altar is completed the ho´naaite and his associates stand
before it and supplicate the presence of the pai´ätämo and Ko´pishtaia,
who are here represented by images of themselves, these images
becoming the abiding places of the beings invoked. After the prayer,
the ho´naaite and his vicar sit upon their folded blankets near the
fireplace, where a low fire burns, and with a supply of tobacco and
corn husks content themselves with cigarettes until the opening of the
evening ceremony.

By 9 o’clock the Snake society was joined in the chai-än-ni-kai
(ceremonial chamber) archaic, Su´ᵗ-sĕr-ra-kai by the Kapĭna, it being
the prerogative of the hónaaite of one organization to invite other
societies to take part in his ceremonies. They formed in line, sitting
back of the altar; the hónaaite being in the rear of the central slat
figure, which symbolized the hónaaite of the cult society of the cloud
people. The other members were seated in the rear, as near as could be,
of the corresponding symbolic figures of the cloud and lightning
people. A boy of 8 years of age, who lay sleeping as the writer entered
the room, was aroused to take his position in the line, and a boy of
4 years, who had been sleeping upon a sheepskin, spread on the floor
between two of the women, was led from the room by one of them, as he
had not entered the degree when he might hear the songs and see the
making of the medicine water.

  [Illustration: Bureau of Ethnology.    Eleventh Annual Report. Plate
  XIII

  Drawn by Mary Irvin Wright. GAST LITH. CO. N.Y.

  HÄ´-CHA-MO-NI WITH   PLUMES ATTACHED.]

The women formed right angles with the line of men, four sitting on
the north side of the room and four on the south side. The elder
female member sat at the west end of the line on the north side of the
room. The men wore breechcloths of white cotton; the hónaaite and the
ti´ämoni wore embroidered Tusayan kilts for breechcloths. The hair was
done up as usual, but no headkerchief was worn. The boy and men held
oh´-shi-e-kats (gourd rattles) in their right hands and hi´-shä-mi (two
eagle plumes) in the left.

The women were attired in their black wool dresses, the calico gown
being discarded, and red sashes, wearing the conventional cue and bang.
The neck and arms were exposed and the feet and lower limbs were bare.
Each woman held two wands of turkey plumes in the right hand, and both
men and women wore numerous strings of coral and kohaqua beads with
bunches of turkis (properly earrings) attached pendent to the necklaces.

The ceremonial opened with the rattle and song, the women accompanying
the men in the song. After a short stanza, which closed, as all the
stanzas do, with a rapid manipulation of the rattle, the second stanza
was almost immediately begun, when the vicar (Pl. XVII) standing before
the altar shook his rattle for a moment and then waved it in a circle
over the altar. He repeated this motion six times, for the cardinal
points, and returned to his seat before the closing of the stanza. The
circle indicated that all the cloud people of the world were invoked to
water the earth.

On the opening of the third stanza all arose and the hónaaite reaching
over the altar took a yá-ya in either hand, he having previously
laid his rattle and eagle plumes by the altar. This stanza was sung
with great vivacity by the men, who swayed their bodies to the right
and left in rhythmical motion, while the women waved their wands
monotonously. The movement of the arms of both the men and women was
from the elbow, the upper arms being apparently pinioned to the sides;
there was no raising of the feet, but simply the bending of the knees.

At the close of the stanza, which continued thirty minutes, the
hónaaite gave a weird call for the cloud people to gather; all, at the
same instant, drew a breath from their plumes and took their seats. A
woman then brought a vase of water and gourd from the northeast corner
of the room and placed it in front of the altar. (Pl. XVI.)
In a moment the song was resumed, and the yáni-ᵗsi-wittäñi (maker of
medicine water) proceeded to consecrate the water. He danced in front
of the altar and south of the line of meal, which had been sprinkled
from the altar to the entrance of the chamber, raising first one heel
and then the other, with the knees slightly bent, the toes scarcely
leaving the floor; he held his eagle plumes in his left hand, and
shook the rattle with the right, keeping his upper arms close to his
side, excepting when extending his plumes toward the altar, which he
did three times, each time striking the plumes near the quill end with
his rattle as he shook them over the medicine bowl. He then waved his
plumes toward the north, and giving a quick motion of the rattle in
unison with those of the choir, he drew a breath from the plumes as the
fourth stanza closed, and in a moment the song was resumed. The three
members of the Snake order then put on necklaces of bears’ claws, each
having attached, midway, a whistle. The yániᵗsiwittänn̄i, who had not
left his place in front of the altar, danced for a few minutes, then
dipped a gourd of water from the vase, raised it high with a weird
hoot, and emptied it into the medicine bowl. A second gourdful was
also elevated, and, with a cry, it was emptied into the cloud bowl,
which stood on the sand-painting of the clouds. The third gourdful
was emptied into the same bowl, the raising of the gourd and the cry
being omitted; the fourth gourdful was uplifted with a cry and emptied
into the medicine bowl. The fifth gourdful was also hoisted with a
cry, as before, to the snake hónaaite to implore the cloud rulers to
send their people to water the earth, and emptied into the cloud bowl.
The sixth gourdful was raised with the call and emptied into the same
bowl. The seventh gourdful was elevated with a wave from the south to
the altar and emptied into the medicine bowl. The eighth gourdful was
raised with a similar motion and emptied into the cloud bowl. The ninth
gourdful was elevated and extended toward the east and returned in a
direct line and emptied into the medicine bowl. The tenth gourdful was
raised toward the west and emptied into the cloud bowl. The eleventh,
twelfth, thirteenth, and fourteenth gourdfuls were lifted from the
vase and emptied without being hoisted into the same bowl. The fifth
stanza closed as the last gourd of water was poured into the bowl.
In filling the medicine bowl the gourd was passed between two yá-ya.
The woman returned the water vase to the corner of the room, and
the yániᵗsiwittänn̄i lifted the bowl and drank from it, afterwards
administering a draught of the water from an abalone shell to each
member, excepting the hónaaite, who, after the yániᵗsiwittänn̄i had
resumed his seat in the line, passed to the front of the altar and
drank directly from the bowl and returned it to its place.

In the administering of the water the women were helped first, a
feature never before observed by the writer in aboriginal life.

With the beginning of the sixth stanza the hónaaite arose, and leaning
forward waved his plumes over the medicine bowl with a weird call,
each member repeating the call, the women exhibiting more enthusiasm
than the men in this particular feature of the ceremony. The cry,
which was repeated four times, was an invocation to the cloud rulers
of the cardinal points to water the earth, and, with each cry, meal
was sprinkled into the medicine bowl, each member being provided with
a small buckskin bag of meal or corn pollen, which had been previously
taken from a bear-leg skin, and laid beside the altar. The members of
the Snake Division sprinkled corn pollen instead of meal, the pollen
being especially acceptable to the Snake hónaaite, to whom many of
their prayers are addressed.

  [Illustration: BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY.    Eleventh Annual Report. Plate
  XIV

  GAST LITH. CO. N.Y.

  ALTAR AND SAND PAINTING OF SNAKE SOCIETY.]

The preparation of the medicine water began with the opening of
the seventh stanza. The ya´niᵗsiwittänñi danced before the altar,
keeping south of the line of meal, and holding six pebble fetiches
in either hand, which he had taken from two small sacks drawn from
one of the bear-leg skins. He did not sing, but he kept time with the
choir. Extending his right hand toward the altar, he touched the two
front ya´ya, and then, placing his hands together, he again extended
them, and, drawing closer still to the altar, he dropped a fetich
from his right hand into the medicine bowl with a weird cry to the
Snake ho´naaite of the north to invoke the cloud ruler of the north
to send his people to water the earth; and after raising his hands
above his head he again extended them toward the altar, and, leaning
forward, dropped a fetich from his left hand into the cloud bowl. This
was repeated four times with each bowl, with petitions to the Snake
ho´naaites of the north, the west, the south, and the east to intercede
with the cloud rulers to send their people to water the earth. Then,
taking two large stone knives from before the altar, he struck them
together, and, passing from the south of the line of meal to the north,
he again brought the knives together. Recrossing the line of meal, he
dipped the knives into the bowl of medicine water and sprinkled the
altar; then, passing to the north of the line, he dipped the knives
into the medicine water and repeated the sprinkling of the altar four
times; again, standing south of the line, he dipped the knives into the
water, throwing it to the east, and, crossing the line, dipped them
into the bowl and repeated the motion to the east, and resumed his seat
at the south end of the line of men. The ho´naaite then leaned over the
altar, and, dipping his plumes into the medicine bowl, sprinkled the
altar four times by striking the plumes on the top with the rattle held
in the right hand. The song, which had continued for an hour without
cessation, now closed, and the men gathered around the tobacco which
lay near the fire-place, and, making cigarettes, returned to their
seats and smoked. The boy ignited the fire-stick and held it for the
men to light their cigarettes. He passed it first to the man at the
north of the line. As each man took the first whiff of his cigarette
he blew the smoke toward the altar and waved the cigarette in a circle
as he extended it to the altar. After the smoke the song and rattle
again resounded through the room, and at the close of a short stanza
the man at the north end of the line cried out in a high tone and the
women gathered before the altar, and each, taking a pinch of meal from
the meal bowl, sprinkled the altar and returned to their seats. The
ya´niᵗsiwittänñi lifted the shell of pollen from before the altar,
and, passing to the entrance and opening the door, waved his rattle
along the line of meal and out of the door. After repeating the waving
of the rattle he passed his hand over the line and threw out the pollen
from his fingers, as offering to the Snake ho´naaite. Returning to
the altar, he stood while the ho´naaite dipped his plumes into the
medicine water and sprinkled the altar by striking the plumes with the
rattle. After the ya´niᵗsiwittänñi and ho´naaite had returned to the
line, the cloud-maker (a member of the Spider Society), who sat at the
north end, crossed the line of meal, and, holding his eagle plumes
and rattle in his left hand, lifted with his right the reed which lay
across the cloud bowl, and, transferring it to his left, he held it and
the plumes vertically while he prayed. The vice ho´naaite dipped ashes
from the fire-place with his eagle plumes, holding one in either hand,
sprinkled the cloud-maker for purification, and threw the remainder
of the ashes toward the choir. During his prayer, which continued for
eight minutes, the cloud-maker appeared like a statue. At the close of
the prayer he dropped into the cloud bowl a quantity of to´chainitiwa
(a certain root used by the cult societies to produce suds, symbolic of
the clouds), and sprinkled with corn pollen the surface of the water,
which was already quite covered with it; then, taking the reed in his
right hand and still holding it vertically, he began a regular and
rapid movement with the reed, in a short time producing a snowy-white
froth, which, under his dextrous manipulation, rapidly rose high above
the bowl, and fell from it in cascades to the floor. The bowl stood
on a cincture pad of yucca, a circle of meal symbolic of the heart or
life of the water having been first made. The reed was never raised
from the bowl during the stirring of the water. When the clouds were
perfected the song ceased, and the cloud-maker stood the reed in the
center of the suds, which now wholly concealed the bowl. He then rose,
and, after holding his two eagle plumes in his left hand for a moment,
he changed one to the right hand and began dancing before the altar;
presently he dipped a quantity of suds from the base of the bowl with
his two eagle plumes, and threw them to the north of the altar; again
dipping the suds, he threw them to the south; continuing to dance to
the music of the rattle and the song, he dipped the suds and threw them
to the fire-place; dipping them again, he threw them to the earth,
each time with an invocation to the cloud people. As he threw the
suds to the earth two of the choir dipped their plumes into the bowl
of medicine water and sprinkled the altar by striking the upper sides
of the plumes with their rattles. The cloud-maker again dipped up the
suds, and, facing east, threw them toward the zenith; he then dipped
the suds and deposited them in the center of the basket containing the
plume offerings; then waving his eagle plumes from north to south, he
continued dancing, raising first one plume and then the other as he
pointed them toward the altar. In a moment or two he dipped suds and
threw them toward the women on the north side of the room, and dipping
them again threw them toward the women of the south side; at the same
time the male members reached forward, and, dipping their plumes into
the medicine bowl, sprinkled the altar, each time petitioning the cloud
people to gather. The cloud-maker then threw suds to the west; again
he dipped the suds and threw them to the zenith, then to the altar;
a portion was then placed on the front ya´ya; again he danced, for a
time extending his eagle plumes and withdrawing them, and dipped the
suds and threw them upward and toward the man on the north end of
the line; at the same time the ho´naaite dipped his plumes into the
medicine bowl and sprinkled the altar as heretofore described; and the
cloud-maker dipped the suds, throwing them toward the vice ho´naaite,
and, again dipping them, he threw them toward the ya´niᵗsiwittänñi; he
then lifted suds and threw them to the west, then to the zenith, never
failing to call the cloud people together. The ho´naaite, keeping his
position back of the altar, dipped his plumes into the medicine water
and sprinkled the members; again the cloud-maker lifted suds and threw
them to the zenith; at the same time the second woman at the west end
of the line on the north side dipped her wand into the medicine water,
with a cry for the cloud people to gather; the cloud-maker then threw
the suds to the west and the ho´naaite sprinkled the members with the
medicine water, and the cloud-maker placed the suds upon the heads of
the white bear and parrot; and stooping he stirred the suds briskly.

  [Illustration: Bureau of Ethnology.    Eleventh Annual Report PLate XV

  ALTAR OF SNAKE SOCIETY.]

The ti´ämoni lighted a cigarette from a coal at the fireplace and
handed it to the cloud-maker, who stood the reed in the center of the
suds before receiving the cigarette; he blew the first few whiffs over
the suds and then smoked a moment or two and laid about one-third
of the cigarette by the side of the cloud bowl. The song, which had
continued almost incessantly for three hours, now ceased, and the
cloud-maker returned to his seat in the line. The ti´ämoni sat by the
fire and smoked, several joining him for a short time; but all soon
returned to their seats in the line and continued their smoke.

At the beginning of the succeeding song the two women at the east end
of the south line danced before the altar and sprinkled it by striking
the wand held in the left hand on the top with the one held in the
right. One of the women was frequently debarred taking part in the
ceremony owing to the attention required by her infant, who was at
times fretful.

Two women from the east end of the north line joined in the dance,
and then a third woman from the south line; three of the women formed
in line running north and south; an aged woman at the west end of
the south line danced, but did not leave her place at the end of the
line. She pulled the young boy who sat near her forward, telling him
to dance. The dancers faced first the east, then the west, sprinkling
the altar whenever they reversed, invoking the cloud people to gather.
The boy was beautifully graceful, but the women were clumsy; one of
them attempted to force out the man at the north end; failing in this,
a second woman tried with better success, and the man joined in the
dance; this little byplay amused the women. The ho´naaite sprinkled
the young man, who in turn sprinkled the ho´naaite. Before the close
of the dance the aged woman at the west end of the south line joined
the group of dancers and pulled the young man about, telling him to
dance well and with animation. At 1:30 a.m. the women sprinkled the
altar and returned to their seats, but the man and boy continued to
dance and sprinkle the altar at intervals. The vicar placed the basket
of plume offerings on the line of meal, and collecting suds from the
base of the cloud bowl deposited them in the center of the basket of
plumes; and all the members dipped their plumes into the medicine water
and sprinkled the altar; the man facing south and the boy north, then
sprinkled toward the respective points, and passing down on either side
of the meal line they sprinkled eastward, and crossing the line of
meal the man sprinkled to the north and the boy to the south, and they
returned to the altar and danced for a time, the man remaining north of
the line and the boy south. The sprinkling of the cardinal points was
repeated four times.

The dancers having taken their seats in the line the ya´niᵗsiwittänñi
removed the bowl of medicine water and placed it before the basket of
plume offerings; then stooping, he took one of the ya´ya in his left
hand and with the right administered the medicine water from an abalone
shell to the women first, the infant in the mother’s arms receiving its
portion; then to the boy and men. After each draft the hi´shämi and
wands were touched to the ya´ya and the sacred breath drawn from them;
the ho´naaite was the last to be served by the ya´niᵗsiwittänñi, who
in turn received the medicine water from the ho´naaite, who held the
ya´ya while officiating. The ya´niᵗsiwittänñi then left the chamber,
carrying the ya´ya in his left hand and bowl of medicine water with
both hands. When outside the house he sprinkled the six cardinal
points, the water being taken into the mouth and thrown out between the
teeth.

The ho´naaite lifting the basket of plume offerings stooped north of
the meal line and the ti´ämoni and the younger member of the snake
division stooped south of the line of meal. The necklaces of bears’
claws had been removed and all but the ho´naaite’s laid on a pile of
bear-leg skins, he depositing his on the snake fetich at the north
side of the altar. The two young men put on their moccasins and
wrapped around them their blankets which had served as seats during
the ceremonial before advancing to meet the ho´naaite, who, while the
three held the basket repeated a long litany, responded to by the
two young men. The women laughed and talked, paying little attention
to this prayer. At the conclusion the ho´naaite gave a bundle of
hä´chamoni to the ti´ämoni and a similar one to his companion; he then
gave a cluster of plume offerings to the ti´ämoni and the remainder
of the feathers to the companion. The offerings were received in the
blanket thrown over the left arm; and each of the young men taking
a pinch of shell mixture left the chamber to deposit them at the
shrines of the Ko´pĭshtaia with prayers to the Snake ho´naaites: “I
send you hä´chamoni and pay you hĕr´rotume, Ta´waka, maic´kûriwapai,
I-´ᵗsa-ti-en (turkis and shell offerings) Ûpĕr-we (the different
foods) that you may be pleased and have all things to eat and wear.
I pay you these that you will beseech the cloud rulers to send their
people to water the earth that she may be fruitful and give to all
people abundance of all food.”

  [Illustration: Bureau of Ethnology.    Eleventh Annual Report PLate XVI

  Drawn by Mary M. Mitchell.    GAST LITH. CO. N.Y.

  CEREMONIAL VASE.]

As the bearers of the offerings left the chamber the ho´naaite played
upon a flute which was quite musical; and upon their return he received
them standing in front of the altar, and north of the meal line; after
a prayer by the ho´naaite the young men turned to the altar and the
ti´ämoni offered a prayer, which was responded to by the ho´naaite, who
now sat back of the altar.

The boy then made two cigarettes and, after lighting one, he handed it
to the ti´ämoni; the second he gave to the companion. After a feast
of bread, stewed meat, and coffee, the ho´naaite stooped before the
altar and, taking the ya´ya from the tail of the sand-painted cougar
in his left hand, he pressed the palm of his right hand to the sand
cougar, and drew a breath from it, and, raising the ya´ya to his lips,
drew a breath from it, and clasped it close to his breast and passed
behind the altar and, reaching over it, he moved the center one of
the three ya´ya to the right, and substituted the one he carried, and
resumed his seat. In a moment or two the ho´naaite removed the two
large fetiches of the cougar to the back of the altar; and the vicar
prayed and touched the four cardinal points of the sand painting with
pollen, and then placed the palm of his right hand to the sand-painted
cougar and, after drawing the sacred breath, rubbed his hand over
his body, when all the members hastened to press their hands to the
sand-painting, draw the breath, and rub their bodies for mental and
physical purification; during which time the ti´ämoni sat back of the
altar holding his eagle plumes with both hands before his face, and
silently prayed.

The remaining sand was brushed together from the four points by a woman
with an eagle plume, and lifted, with the plume, and emptied into the
palm of her left hand and carried to her home and rubbed over the
bodies of her male children.

The ya´ya were collected by their individual owners, who blew the meal
from the feathers and carefully inclosed them in their three wrappings.
The four wands of turkey plumes in the clay holders concealed
hä´chamoni for Sûs´sĭstinnako from the ho´naaite of the Spider Society;
these were not deposited until sunrise, and then by such members of
the Spider Society as were designated by the ho´naaite. They were
planted to the north, west, south, and east of the village, whence
Po´shaiyänne departed, with prayers to Ût´sĕt to receive the hä´chamoni
for Sûs´sĭstinnako, the Creator. After examining them (the spiritual
essence) to see that they are genuine, she hands them to Sûs´sĭstinnako.

The hä´chamoni convey to those to whom they are offered messages as
clear to the Indian understanding as any document does to the civilized
mind.

The following account of the initiation of a member into the third
degree of the Snake order was given the writer by the vicar of the
Snake Society.

  I was very ill with smallpox caused by angry ants, and one night
  in my dreams I saw many snakes, very many, and all the next day
  I thought about it, and I knew if I did not see the ho´naaite of
  the Snake Society and tell him I wished to become a member of that
  body I would die. In two days I went to the house of the ho´naaite
  bearing my offering of shell mixture and related my dreams and made
  known my wish to be received as a member of the society. The man
  now ill with his heart notified the ho´naaite of the Snake Society
  that he wished to join the society. The ho´naaite sent for me and
  the other official member to meet him in the ceremonial chamber
  to receive the sick man, who, presenting the shell mixture to the
  ho´naaite informed him that he had dreamed of many snakes and knew
  that he must become a member of the society or die.

Such is the impression made upon these people by dreams. This man
will be a novitiate for two years, as it requires that time to learn
the songs which must be committed to memory before entering the third
degree. He continued:

  I was two years learning the songs, during which time I passed
  through the first and second degrees. I then accompanied the
  ho´naaite and the members of the society to the house of the
  snakes, when I was made a member of the third degree.

The ceremonials in which snakes are introduced are exclusively for the
initiation of members into the third degree of the Snake division.
These ordinances must be observed after the ripening of the corn.

The day of the arrival of the society at the snake house (a log
structure which stands upon a mound some 6 miles from the village)
hä´chamoni are prepared by the ho´naaite and the other members of this
division of the society; they are then dispatched by the ho´naaite to
the north in search of snakes; and after the finding of the first snake
the hä´chamoni are planted; the number of snakes required, depending
upon the membership, the ratio being equal to the number of members;
there must be a snake from each of the cardinal points, unless the
membership is less than four, which is now the case. There being but
three members at the present time, only the north, west, and south are
visited for the purpose of collecting snakes, but the members must go
to the east and deposit hä´chamoni to the Snake ho´naaite of the east.

The war chief notifies the people each day that they must not visit
the north, west, south, or east; should one disobey this command and
be met by any member of the society he would be made to assist in the
gathering of the snakes.

  [Illustration: Bureau of Ethnology.    Eleventh Annual Report PLate XVII

  VICE HO´-NA-AI-TE OF SNAKE SOCIETY.]

An emetic is taken these four days for purification from conjugal
relations, and continency is observed during this period. The emetic is
composed of the stalks and roots of two plants, which are crushed on a
stone slab by the ho´naaite and mixed with water when he designates the
member to place it over the fire. It is drunk slightly warm.

The decoction so constantly drank by the Tusayan Indians previous to
their snake ceremonial is an emetic, and is taken for the same purpose,
and not, as some suppose, to prevent the poisonous effect of snake
bites. Medicine for the snake bite is employed only after one has been
bitten; for this purpose the Sia use the plant _Aplopapus spinulosus_
(Indian name ha´-ti-ni) in conjunction with ka´-wai-aite, a mixture
of the pollen of edible and medicinal plants. An ounce of the plant
medicine is put into a quart of water and boiled; about a gill is drunk
warm, three times daily, during the four days and the afflicted part is
bathed in the tea, and wrapped with a cloth wet with it. An hour after
each draught of the tea a pinch of the ka´-wai-aite is drunk in a gill
of water. The patient is secluded four days; should one suffering from
a snake bite look upon a woman furnishing nourishment for an infant,
death would be the result. The Zuñi have the same superstition.

The fifth day a conical structure of cornstalks bearing ripe fruit is
erected some 70 feet east of the log house, in a ravine parallel with
the side of the house, and a sand painting is made by the ho´naaite on
the floor of the house; and when the painting is completed he takes his
seat in the west end of the room (the entrance being in the east end),
the male members of the society sitting on his right and left, and the
women forming right angles at either end of the line. The novitiates
are seated southwest of the sand painting, and all are necessarily
close together, as the room is very small.

The ritual begins with the rattle and song, and after the song the
ho´naaite passing before the line of women on the north side takes
a snake from a vase, and, holding it a hand’s span from the head,
advances to the east of the sand painting (which is similar in Pl.
XIV, with the addition of two slightly diverging lines, one of
corn pollen, the other of black pigment, extending from the painting
to the entrance of the house), and lays it between the lines, with its
head to the east.

There are two vases in niches in the north wall near the west end (Pl.
XXXV); one holds the snakes, and the other receives them
after they have been passed through the ceremony. At the close of the
prayer now offered, he says, “Go to your home; go far; and remain there
contentedly.” He then sprinkles corn pollen upon the snake’s head,
which rite is repeated by each member; the snake, according to the
vice-ho´naaite’s statement, extending its tongue and eating the pollen,
“the snake having no hands, puts his food into his mouth with his
tongue.” The snake is then placed around the throat and head and over
the body of the novitiate.

Though the snake can not speak, he hears all that is said, and when
he is placed to the body he listens attentively to the words of the
ho´naaite, who asks him to look upon the boy and give the boy wisdom
like his own that the boy may grow to be wise and strong like himself,
for he is now to become a member of the third degree of the Snake
division of the society. The ho´naaite then prays to the snake that he
will exhort the cloud rulers to send their people to water the earth,
that she may bear to them the fruits of her being.

The snake is not only implored to intercede with the cloud rulers to
water the earth that the Sia may have abundant food, but he is invoked
in conjunction with the sun father in the autumn and winter to provide
them with blankets and all things necessary to keep them warm.

Propitiatory prayers are not offered to the snakes, as, according to
the Sia belief, the rattlesnake is a peaceful, and not an angry agent.
They know he is friendly, because it is what the old men say, and their
fathers’ fathers told them, and they also told them that it was the
same with the snakes in Mexico. “In the summer the snake passes about
to admire the flowers, the trees and crops, and all things beautiful.”

The snake is afterwards placed in the empty vase, and the
vice-ho´naaite repeats the ceremony with a second snake, and this rite
is followed by each member of the Snake division of the society. The
ho´naaite then directs his vicar and another member of the society
to carry the vases to the grotto (the conical structure outside) and
the latter to remain in the grotto with the snakes; he then with a
novitiate by his side passes from the house, and approaching the grotto
stands facing it while the vicar and other male members of the society
form in line from east to west facing the north, the vice and novitiate
standing at the west end of the line.

Those of the Snake division wear fringed kilts of buckskin with the
rattlesnake painted upon them, the fringes being tipped with conical
bits of tin. The ho´naaite’s kilt is more elaborate than the others,
the fringes having fawns’ toes in addition to the tin. Their moccasins
are of fine buckskin painted with kaolin. The hair is flowing. The body
of the one to receive the third degree is colored black with a fungus
found on cornstalks, crushed and mixed with water. The face is painted
red before it is colored black, and a red streak is painted under
each eye, symbolic, they say, of the lines under the snakes’ eyes. A
fluffy eagle plume is attached to the top of the head, and the face
is encircled with down from the hawk’s breast. The hands and feet are
painted red, and the body zigzagged with kaolin, symbolic of lightning.
The buckskin kilt is painted white, with a snake upon it, and white
moccasins are worn (Pl. X C). The other members of the society
do not have their bodies painted, and they wear their hair done up in
the usual knot and their feet bare.[19] They wear instead of the kilt a
white cotton breechcloth. The women who do not take part in the dance
wear their ordinary dress, the cotton gown being discarded.

Upon the opening of the song and dance the ho´naaite procures a snake
at the entrance of the grotto and holding it horizontally with both
hands presents it to the novitiate, who receives it in the same manner,
clasping the throat with the right hand; the ho´naaite and novitiate
pass back and forth north of the line from the grotto four times, now
and then the novitiate allowing the snake to wrap itself around his
throat. The ho´naaite then takes the snake and returns it to the man
in the grotto. If there be a second novitiate he and the first one
change places, and the ho´naaite inquires of the second whom he wishes
for a father and companion; the boy designates a member of the Snake
division, and the chosen one is required by the ho´naaite to take his
place by the side of the novitiate and accompany him to the grotto;
he again receives a snake which he hands to the boy and the former
ceremony is repeated. When the novitiates have concluded, each member
of the Snake division takes his turn in passing back and forth four
times with a snake, the snake being handed him by a companion member.
The song and dance does not cease until each snake has been passed
through the ceremony. Two of the novitiates, if there be two or more,
if not, a novitiate and a member, are requested by the ho´naaite to
enter the grotto and receive the vases from the man inside. These they
carry to a cave about half a mile distant, and here the bearers of the
vases take out each snake separately and placing it upon the ground
say: “Go to your home; go far and be contented.” The first snake is
deposited to the north, the second to the west, the third to the south,
and the fourth to the east; this is repeated until all the snakes are
disposed of. The vases are then placed in the cave and the entrance
covered with a large slab. The ho´naaite returning to the house takes
the ya´ya from the tail of the sand-painted cougar and holding it in
his left hand places the palm of his right hand to the cougar and
draws from it a breath and rubs his hand over his breast, after which
all evidences of the sand-painting are soon erased by the members who
hasten forward and rub their bodies with the sand that they may be
mentally and physically purified.

When Mr. Stevenson discovered that the Sia held ceremonials with
snakes he induced the vicar of the snake society to conduct him to the
locality for that special rite. Leaving Sia in the early morning a
ride of 6 miles over sand dunes and around bluffs brought the party,
including the writer, to the structure known as the snake house,
hid away among chaotic hills. Every precaution had been observed to
maintain secrecy. The house is a rectangular structure of logs (the
latter must have been carried many a mile) and is some 8 by 12 feet,
having a rude fireplace; and there are two niches at the base of the
north wall near the west end in which the two vases stand during the
indoor ceremonial. Though this house presented to the visitors a
forlorn appearance, it is converted into quite a bower at the time of
a ceremonial, when the roof is covered and fringed with spruce boughs
and sunflowers and the interior wall is whitened. Some diplomacy was
required to persuade the vicar to guide Mr. Stevenson to the cave in
which the vases are kept when not in use. A ride half a mile farther
into chaos and the party dismounted and descended a steep declivity,
when the guide asked Mr. Stevenson’s assistance in removing a stone
slab which rested so naturally on the hillside that it had every
appearance of having been placed there by other than human agency. The
removal of the slab exposed two vases side by side in a shallow cave.
A small channel or flume had been ingeniously made from the hilltop
that the waters from ti´nia might collect in the vases. These vases
belong to the superior type of ancient pottery, and they are decorated
in snakes and cougars upon a ground of creamy tint. Mr. Stevenson was
not quite satisfied with simply seeing the vases, and determined if
possible to possess one or both; but in answer to his request the vicar
replied: “These can not be parted with, they are so old that no one
can tell when the Sia first had them; they were made by our people of
long ago; and the snakes would be very angry if the Sia parted with
these vases.” Whenever opportunity afforded, Mr. Stevenson expressed
his desire for one of them; and finally a council was held by the
ti´ämoni and ho´naaites of the cult societies, when the matter was
warmly discussed, the vicar of the Snake society insisting that the
gift should be made, but the superstition on the part of the others was
too great to be overcome. Mr. Stevenson was waited upon by the members
of the council; the ho´naaite of the Snake society addressing him:
“You have come to us a friend; we have learned to regard you as our
brother, and we wish to do all we can for you; we are sorry we can not
give you one of the vases; we talked about letting you have one, but we
concluded it would not do; it would excite the anger of the snakes, and
perhaps all of our women and little ones would be bitten and die; you
will not be angry, for our hearts are yours.”

The night previous to the departure of the party from Sia the vicar of
the Snake Society made several visits to the camp, but finding other
Indians present he did not tarry. At midnight when the last Indian
guest had left the camp he again appeared and hurriedly said, “I will
come again,” and an hour later he returned. “Now,” said he, “closely
fasten the tent, and one of you listen attentively all the while and
tell me when you hear the first footstep;” and he then took from the
sack one of the vases, he being in the meanwhile much excited and also
distressed. He would not allow a close examination to be made of
the vase, but urged the packing of it at once; he deposited a plume
offering in the vase, and sprinkled meal upon it and prayed while tears
moistened his cheeks. The vase was brought to Washington and deposited
in the National Museum.

  [Illustration: Bureau of Ethnology.    Eleventh Annual Report PLate XVIII

  GAST LITH. CO. N.Y.

  ALTAR AND SAND PAINTING.

  GIANT SOCIETY.]


                 RAIN CEREMONIAL OF THE GIANT SOCIETY.

About noon the ho´naaite, who was nude except the breechcloth, left his
seat by the fireside in the ceremonial chamber, where his vicar had
been assisting him during the morning in cutting willows and preparing
hä´chamoni, and proceeded to make a sand painting in the east end
of the room, and when this was completed he erected the slat altar
(Pl. XVIII _a_). During the preparation of the sand painting
(_b_) the vicar remained at his post at work upon the hä´chamoni.
When the two female members, a woman and a little girl some 8 years
of age, arrived, the ho´naaite took from the wall nine shabby-looking
sacks, handing one to each person present, reserving two for himself
and laying the remaining four to one side to be claimed by the other
members of the medicine order of the society. These sacks contained the
ya´ya, one of which, it is claimed, was captured from the Navajo by a
former ho´naaite of this society, and this fetich is as precious as the
others for the reason that it also represents Ût´sĕt, the mother of all
Indians.

The five ya´ya were placed in line in front of the altar and on the
sand-painting, and a miniature bow and arrow were laid before four of
them, the captive one having none. Bear-leg skins with the claws were
piled on either side of the altar, and upon these were laid necklaces
of bears’ claws, each necklace having a reed whistle suspended midway,
two fluffy eagle plumes, tipped with black, being attached to the end
of the whistle. The medicine bowl was posted before the five ya´ya, the
stone fetiches arranged about the sand painting, and the cloud bowl
in front of the whole. The woman brought a triple cupped paint stone
near the altar and ground a black pigment, yellow ocher, and an impure
malachite; these powders were mixed with water, and the woman and girl
painted the hä´chamoni, the child being quite as dextrous as her elder,
and equally interested.

While the hä´chamoni were being colored the ho´naaite was busy
assorting plumes. He first laid thirteen turkey plumes separately upon
the floor, forming two lines; upon each plume he laid a fluffy eagle
feather, and then added successively to each group a plume from each of
the birds of the cardinal points, turkey plumes being used instead of
chapparal cocks’. A low weird chant was sung while the ho´naaite and
his vicar tied each pile of plumes together with native cotton cord,
the ho´naaite waving each group, as he completed it, in a circle from
left to right before his face. The woman at the same time made four
rings of yucca, 1¼ inches in diameter, some two dozen yucca needles
having been wrapped in a hank and laid in a bowl of water. The child
brought the hank from the farther end of the room to the woman, who,
taking a needle of the yucca, wound it four times around her thumb and
index finger; then wrapping this with an extra thread of yucca formed
the ring. When the four rings were completed the child took them to the
paint stone, which the woman had removed to the far end of the room,
and dipped them into the yellow paint and laid them by the woman, who
tied three of the piles of plumes together and afterwards handed the
rings to the ho´naaite, who added to each ring a plume from the wing
of a humming bird. These rings were offerings to the cloud children
emblematic of the wheels upon which they ride over ti´nia.

In attaching the plume offerings to the hä´chamoni, the latter are held
between the large and second toes of the right foot of the men and
woman. There were ten hä´chamoni to bear messages to the cloud rulers
of the cardinal points—Ho´chänni, high ruler of the cloud people of the
world, Sûs´sĭstinnako, Ût´sĕt, and the sun, the extra bunches of plumes
being tied pendent to those already attached to the hä´chamoni for
Sûs´sĭstinnako, Ût´sĕt, and the sun.

The ho´naaite placed the hä´chamoni and rings in a flat basket and set
it before the altar in front of the cloud bowl, and posted a stuffed
parrot upon the central slat of the altar. At this time the other
official members appeared, and, unwrapping their ya´ya, handed them to
the ho´naaite, who stood them before the altar (Pl. XIX). The
woman then brought a vase of water and gourd from the far end of the
room, and the ho´naaite emptied four gourdfuls into the medicine bowl
and then sprinkled corn pollen upon the water, and, dipping his two
eagle plumes into the bowl, he sprinkled the altar and offerings. He
did not speak a word, but took his seat by the fire and began smoking,
awaiting the hour for the evening ceremonial. The ho´naaite and vicar
had their meals served in the ceremonial chamber, and after eating, the
remainder of the basket of bread and bowl of meat was placed before the
altar.

The night ceremony opened with the ho´naaite (Pl. XX) and his
vicar dipping their plumes into the medicine water and sprinkling the
altar and the food which had been placed before it; the ho´naaite then,
sitting in front and to the north side of the altar, repeated a long
prayer, supplicating Mo´kaitc, Cougar of the North, to intercede with
the cloud people of the north to water the earth that the crops might
grow; Ko´hai, the Bear, to intercede with the cloud people of the west
to water the earth that the crops might grow; a similar invocation was
made to the Tuo´pe, Badger of the South, Ka´kanna, Wolf of the East,
Tiä´mi, Eagle of the Heaven, and Mai´tubo, Shrew of the Earth. The
vicar then gathered a bit of bread from the basket and of meat from
the bowl and handed it to the ho´naaite, who left the house with the
food in his left hand, holding his eagle plumes in his right; he cast
the food to the animal Ko´pĭshtaia of the cardinal points, begging
that they would intercede with the cloud people to come and water the
earth; then, returning to the ceremonial chamber, he stooped before
the altar and to the south side of the line of meal and prayed to the
Ko´pĭshtaia, closing with these words: “I have offered you food, our
food, that you may eat, and I pray you to exhort the Ko´pĭshtaia of
ti´nia [referring to the cloud people] to come and water the earth.”
The male members of the society each smoked a cigarette, and afterward
the bowl of stew and basket of bread were deposited in the center of
the room, and all gathered around and ate. The men then sat on either
side of the room and again indulged in a smoke, the woman and girl
sitting on the north side near the west end. After the cigarettes were
finished the vicar drew a fresh line of meal from the altar to the
door situated on the south side and near the west end, and the members
formed in line back of the altar. (An explanation of the drawing of the
line of meal and the relative positions of the line of men back of the
altar has already been given, and is applicable to the rain ceremonials
of all the cult societies.) The woman took her seat on the north side
of the room, near the altar, the little girl sitting opposite to her on
the south side.

  [Illustration: Bureau of Ethnology.    Eleventh Annual Report PLate XIX

  ALTAR OF GIANT SOCIETY, PHOTOGRAPHED DURING CEREMONIAL.]

The ho´naaite and the ti´ämoni (the latter’s position as ti´ämoni
has nothing whatever to do with his relations in the cult societies
in which he holds membership) wore white Tusayan cotton breechcloths
elaborately embroidered in bright colors; the vicar’s was dark blue and
the others white cotton; each man held two eagle plumes and a gourd
rattle in the left hand. The woman and little girl wore their ordinary
dresses, the high-neck calico gowns being omitted, and they held a
turkey wand tipped with fluffy eagle plumes dyed a lemon color, in
either hand.

The vicar gave a pinch of meal to the ho´naaite from the pottery meal
bowl by the altar, who without rising from his seat sprinkled the
altar. The song then opened to the accompaniment of the rattle, which
had been transferred to the right hand, the eagle plumes still being
held in the left, and keeping time with the rattle. Each stanza closed
with a short and rapid shake of the rattle. (The writer noticed in the
ceremonials of the cult societies of the Sia the absence of the pottery
drum, which is such an important feature with the Zuñi and Tusayan.)
With the commencement of the ritual the men from either end of the line
moved to the fireplace, and lifting ashes with their plumes, deposited
them before the altar and north and south of the meal line, and after
dancing and gesticulating for a moment or two they again lifted ashes
and sprinkled toward the altar, the under side of the plume held in
the left hand being struck with the one held in the right; again
lifting ashes one sprinkled to the north and the other to the south,
and passing down on either side of the meal line they sprinkled to
the west, and crossing they passed up the line and when midway one
sprinkled to the north, the other to the south; again dipping ashes
they sprinkled to the zenith and with more ashes they sprinkled to the
nadir. This sprinkling of the cardinal points was repeated four times,
and the men then returned to their seats. The second man from the north
end of the line coming forward danced while the others sang to the
accompaniment of the rattle, each succeeding stanza following in quick
succession, the dancer now and then varying the monotony of the song
by calling wildly upon the cloud people to come and water the earth.
The woman and child waved their wands to the rhythm of the song; the
woman who held a sick infant much of the time occasionally fell asleep,
but she was awakened by the vicar who sat near her, passing his eagle
plumes over her face. Whenever the infant slept it was laid upon a
sheepskin, seemingly unconscious of the noise of the rattle and song.

When an especial appeal was to be made to Ût´sĕt, the ho´naaite reached
over the altar and took the Navajo ya´ya in his right hand and the
one south of it in his left hand (he had deposited his eagle plumes
by the altar, but he held his rattle). All now stood, the ho´naaite
energetically swaying his body as he waved the ya´ya, holding them
out, then drawing them in as he appealed to Ût´sĕt to instruct the
cloud people to come and water the earth. This petition concluded,
the ho´naaite leaned over the altar, returning the ya´ya to their
places, and the choir took their seats and smoked cigarettes of native
tobacco wrapped in corn husks. In a few moments the song was resumed,
when the woman sprinkled the altar with meal and passing to the west
end of the room she lifted a vase of water, placing it on the line
of meal, not far from the door, keeping time with the song with her
two wands and moving her body up and down by bending her knees, her
feet resting firmly on the floor and over the line of meal; again the
bowl was raised and moved about 2 feet forward, and she repeated the
motion. The bowl was in this way moved five times, the last time being
placed immediately before the basket of offerings. As she placed the
bowl for the last time she waved the wand held in her right hand twice
over the altar, when the song closed only to begin again immediately.
The ya´niᵗsiwittänñi now appeared before the altar, north of the meal
line and danced, holding two eagle plumes in the left hand and rattle
in the right. After a time, transferring the rattle to his left hand,
he lifted a gourd of water from the vase and, holding it for a moment,
waved it before the altar and emptied it into the medicine bowl with an
appeal to the cougar of the north to intercede with the cloud people
that the earth might be watered; another gourdful immediately followed;
he then took the rattle in the right hand and joined in the song, and
danced. A third time he dipped a gourd of water, waved it toward the
west with an exhortation to the bear of the west, and emptied it into
the bowl, following this with another gourdful, when a weird call was
given for the cloud people to come and water the earth. Again he danced
and sang, and after a time a fifth gourdful was lifted and waved toward
the south, with an appeal to the badger of the south, and emptied into
the bowl, when another gourdful followed, and dancing for a moment
he lifted another gourdful and emptied it into the medicine bowl,
imploring the wolf of the east to exhort the cloud people to water the
earth, when another gourdful immediately followed. After dancing for
a time a gourdful was again dipped and waved toward the altar, then
upward, with a call upon the eagle of the heaven to invoke the cloud
people to water the earth, and immediately another gourdful of water
was emptied into the bowl. Again dancing awhile, a gourdful was waved
toward the altar and emptied into the bowl, with a call upon the shrew
of the earth to implore the cloud people to water the earth, and again
a gourdful was emptied into the bowl. The song closed as the last gourd
of water was poured into the bowl and the ya´niᵗsiwittänñi resumed
his seat. The woman returned the vase to the west end of the room, and
taking a small medicine bag from before the altar, she untied it and
handed it to the ya´niᵗsiwittänñi. The men and the girl then took
similar bags from before the altar, and the song again began in a low
tone to the accompaniment of the rattle. Each member, taking a pinch
of corn pollen from his medicine bag, threw it upon the altar and into
the medicine bowl, giving a peculiar cry, it being an invocation to the
cloud people to gather and water the earth, the woman and child not
failing to throw in their share of pollen, raising their voices to the
highest pitch as they petitioned the cloud people to water the earth.
All then proceeded to take meal from the meal bowl before the altar and
throw it into the medicine bowl, continuing their entreaties to the
cloud people to water the earth. Six times the meal was thrown into the
bowl with invocations to the cloud people. They then returned to their
seats, having first deposited the medicine bags before the altar.

  [Illustration: Bureau of Ethnology.    Eleventh Annual Report PLate XX

  HO´-NA-AI-TE OF GIANT SOCIETY.]

The ti´ämoni took from a bear-leg skin six small pebble
fetiches, handing one to each man, who in turn passed it to the
ya´niᵗsiwittänñi. This recipient advanced to the front of the altar
and danced to the music of the choir, and waving his left hand over
the altar he dropped a fetich into the medicine bowl, at the same time
waving the eagle plumes and rattle which he held in his right hand.
After dancing awhile he dropped a fetich from his right hand into the
medicine water, and, continuing to dance, he let fall the remaining
four fetiches alternately from the left and right hand. Each time a
fetich was dropped he gave a weird animal-like growl, which was a
call upon the prey animals of the cardinal points to exhort the cloud
people to gather and water the earth that she might be fruitful. He
then returned to his seat, but almost immediately arose and, standing
for a moment, advanced to the front of the altar, stirred the medicine
water with the eagle plumes he held in the left hand and sprinkled the
offerings by striking the plumes on the top with the rattle, held in
the right hand. The sprinkling was repeated four times while the cloud
people were invoked to water the earth; as the plumes were struck the
fourth time the choir stood and sang and the ya´niᵗsiwittänñi again
dipped this plumes into the medicine water and sprinkled the altar.
The ho´naaite then leaning forward dipped his plumes into the water
and sprinkled the altar with a weird call for the cloud people to
gather and water the earth that she might be fruitful. Then each member
repeated the sprinkling of the altar with a similar prayer, the little
girl being quite as enthusiastic as the others, straining her voice to
the utmost capacity as she implored the cloud people to gather. The men
struck the plumes in their left hands with the rattles held in their
right, and the woman and child struck the wand held in the left hand
with the one held in the right. Each person repeated the sprinkling
of the altar successively six times, with appeals to the animals of
the cardinal points. After each sprinkling the sprinkler returned to
his place in the line. Thus the choir was at no time deficient in
more than one of its number. At the conclusion of the sprinkling a
stanza was sung and the altar was again sprinkled six times by each
member; in this instance, however, the choir was grouped before the
altar, the ho´naaite alone being seated back of it absorbed in song.
After the sprinkling the choir returned to the line and joined the
ho´naaite in the chant and at its conclusion he sprinkled the altar
four times. He did not leave his seat, but leaned forward and dipped
his plumes into the medicine water. The ti´ämoni then advanced from
the south end of the line and the ya´niᵗsiwittänñi from the north end
and sprinkled toward the cardinal points, by passing along the line
of meal as heretofore described, the sprinkling being repeated twice.
The ti´ämoni returned to his seat and the ya´niᵗsiwittänñi removed
the bowl of medicine water, placing it before the fetiches and on the
line of meal and stooping with bended knees and holding his two eagle
plumes and a ya´ya in his left hand he administered the medicine water
to all present, the girl receiving the first draught from an abalone
shell. The woman was served next, some being given to the infant she
held in her arms, the ho´naaite receiving the last draught. Taking the
ya´ya from the ya´niᵗsiwittänñi he drew it to his breast and then
returned it to the ya´niᵗsiwittänñi, he receiving it in his left hand
and lifting the bowl with both hands he left the house and filling his
mouth from the bowl threw the medicine water through his teeth to the
cardinal points, and returning placed the bowl and ya´ya in position
before the altar.

The ho´naaite gathering the hä´chamoni in his left hand and taking a
pinch of meal with his right, stooped before the altar and south of the
meal line and offered a silent prayer, and, after sprinkling the altar
and hä´chamoni, he divided the offerings, holding a portion in either
hand. The ti´ämoni and a companion then stooped north of the line of
meal and facing the ho´naaite, clasped his hands with their right
hands, holding their eagle plumes in their left and responded to a low
litany offered by the ho´naaite, who afterwards drawing a breath from
the plumes laid them upon the blankets over their left arms, the two
men having wrapped their blankets about them before advancing to the
ho´naaite. They then left the ceremonial chamber and walked a long
distance through the darkness to deposit the offerings at a shrine of
the Ko´pĭshtaia. The remaining members talked in undertones until the
return of the absent ones, who, upon entering the chamber, stood before
the altar and offered a prayer which was responded to by the ho´naaite.
All the members then gathered before the altar and asked that their
prayers might be answered. The woman and girl arranged bowls of food in
line midway the room and south of the meal line and the feast closed
the ceremonial at 2 o’clock. a. m.

  [Illustration: Bureau of Ethnology.    Eleventh Annual Report PLate XXI

  SICK BOY IN CEREMONIAL CHAMBER OF GIANT SOCIETY.]


     FOUR NIGHTS’ CEREMONIAL OF THE GIANT SOCIETY FOR THE HEALING
                            OF A SICK BOY.

The night succeeding the ceremonial of the Sko´-yo-Chai´-än (Giant
Society) for rain the assembly began its ritualistic observances, which
continue four consecutive nights, for the curing of the sick by the
brushing process. During the afternoon a sand-painting was made in
the east end of the room (compare sand-painting Giant Society, (Pl.
XVIII_b_); ya´ya and stone fetiches were grouped upon the
painting; a medicine bowl was placed before the ya´ya; bear-leg skins
were deposited on either side of the fetiches and a white embroidered
sacred Tusayan blanket was folded and laid by the bear-leg skins south
of the painting. The five male members of the medicine division of the
society had refreshments served early in the evening by the female
members, and after supper the ti´ämoni, who is a member of the medicine
division, placed a bowl of stewed meat and a basket of bread near the
painting; the remainder of the food was stored in the northwest corner
of the room for future consumption.

The five men formed in line back of the fetiches, the ho´naaite being
the central figure; they had scarcely taken their seats, however,
before the ti´ämoni brought a vase of water and a gourd from the west
end of the room and set it before the sand-painting and returned to his
seat; the ho´naaite, advancing, dipped six gourdfuls of water, emptying
each one into the medicine bowl.[20]

The ho´naaite then passing to the north side of the painting stooped
with bended knees, holding in his left hand two eagle plumes, and
repeated a low prayer; then, taking a small piece of the bread, he
dipped it into the stew and scattered it before the fetiches; and,
taking more bread and a bit of the meat, he left the ceremonial chamber
and threw the food as an offering to the animals of the cardinal
points. The ti´ämoni then returned the bowl of meat and basket of bread
to the far end of the room. Upon the return of the ho´naaite his vicar
spread the Tusayan blanket upon the floor, some 5 feet in front of
the painting. He next sprinkled a line of meal from the edge of the
blanket nearest the painting to the bear fetich, which stood foremost
on the painting; thence across the blanket and along the floor to the
entrance on the south side and near the west end of the chamber; again,
beginning at the center of the blanket he sprinkled a line of meal
across the blanket to the south edge, and beginning again at the center
he sprinkled a line of meal to the north edge and continued this line
to the north wall. Then beginning at the line ending at the south of
the blanket, he ran it out to the south wall (these four lines being
symbolic of the four winds), and placed the bowl of meal in front of
the painting and north of the line of meal. The meal having become
somewhat exhausted, the pottery meal bowl was replaced by an Apache
basket, containing a quantity of fresh meal, ground by a woman in an
adjoining room, where a portion of the family had already retired. The
basket of meal was received from the woman by the ti´ämoni, who stood
to her left side while she ground the corn in the ordinary family mill.
The remainder of the contents of the pottery meal bowl was emptied into
the Apache basket, the portion from the bowl being deemed sufficient
in quantity to lend a sacred character to the freshly ground meal. The
ho´naaite then fastened about his neck a string of bears’ claws with
a small reed whistle, having two soft white eagle plumes tied to the
end, attached midway, which he took from a pile of bear-leg skins,
having first waved the necklace around the white bear fetich, which
stood to the front of the painting. Each member of the society then
put on a similar necklace; two of the members fastened amulets around
their upper right arms and two around their left arms. The ho´naaite
rolled his blanket in a wad and sat upon it. The other members made
similar cushions. The ti´ämoni, whose seat was at the south end of the
line, crossed to the north side of the room, and taking a bit of red
pigment rubbed it across his face and returned to his seat, each member
rubbing a bit of galena across the forehead, across the face below the
eyes, and about the lower part of the face. The paint was scarcely
perceptible. It was put on to insure the singing of the song correctly.
The ti´ämoni again crossed the room, and taking from the north ledge
a bunch of corn husks, he handed them to the man who sat next to him,
who was careful to manipulate them under his blanket, drawn around him.
The writer thinks that they were made into funnels, in which he placed
tiny pebbles from ant hills. The vice-ho´naaite, at the north end of
the line, left the room, and during his absence the ho´naaite, taking
a bunch of straws which lay by the bear-leg skins, divided it into
five parts, giving a portion to each one present. He reserved a share
for the absent member, who returned in a short time, bearing the sick
child in his arms, being careful to walk on the line of meal; he set
the child upon a low stool placed on the broad band of embroidery of
the blanket. (Pl. XXI) The man then handed the basket of meal
to the child, who, obeying the instructions of the vice-ho´naaite, took
a pinch and threw it toward the altar with a few words of prayer to
Ko´pĭshtaia. The vicar then returned to his seat, and the members, with
eagle plumes and straws in their left hands and rattles in their right,
began the ritual; they were nine minutes singing the first stanza,
which was sung slowly and in very low tones, and at its close each
one drew a breath from the eagle plumes and straws. The second stanza
was sung louder and faster. The monotony of the song was broken by an
occasional animal-like call, which was a request to the cougar of the
north to give them power over the angry ants. The child was afflicted
with a severe sore throat, caused by ants having entered his body when
he was in the act of micturition upon their house, and ascending they
located in his throat. After the second stanza the ho´naaite blew first
on the right side of the child, then on his back, his left side, and
his breast; the other members continuing the song to the accompaniment
of the rattle. When he took his seat, the ti´ämoni and the man who sat
next to him each drew a breath from their eagle plumes and straws, and
dipping them into the medicine water, each one extended his plumes
to the child, who drew a breath from them. The two men then resumed
their seats. The ho´naaite, again dipping his plumes in the medicine
water, passed the ends through the ti´ämoni’s mouth, and afterwards
through the mouth of each member, the plumes being dipped each time
into the bowl of medicine water. The men were occupied a few moments
in drawing something from several of the bear-leg skins. All except
the ho´naaite gathered around the altar, dancing and gesticulating in
excessive excitement and blowing upon the whistles suspended from their
necklaces. They constantly dipped their eagle plumes into the medicine
water, throwing their arms vehemently about, sprinkling the altar and
touching the animal fetiches with their plumes, and then placing the
plumes to the mouths, absorbing from them the sacred breath of the
animal. The ho´naaite with bowed head continued his invocations to the
cougar of the north, seemingly unconscious of all that was going on
about him. After maneuvering before the altar, the four men performed
similar extravagances about the child, one of the men standing him in
the center of the blanket, careful to place the boy’s feet in diagonal
angles formed by the meal lines. Then the four left the room, carrying
with them the material taken from the bear-leg skins. The ho´naaite
did not cease shaking the rattle and singing during the absence of
the four, who visited the house of the sick boy to purify it. Upon
returning to the ceremonial room they threw their arms aloft, waving
their plumes above them and then about the child, singing and growling,
after which they resumed their seats in line with the ho´naaite, and
joined him in the song to the accompaniment of rattles. After a few
moments these four men and the ho´naaite surrounded the boy; the
ho´naaite standing at the northeast corner of the blanket, and the
ti´ämoni at the southeast corner, while the others formed a semicircle
behind the boy. They all waved plumes and straws in their left hands
over the invalid boy, and passed them simultaneously down his body
from head to feet, striking the plumes and straws with rattles which
they held in their right hands; and as the plumes and straws were
moved down the boy’s body ants in any quantity were supposed to be
brushed off the body, while in reality tiny pebbles were dropped upon
the blanket; but the conjuration was so perfect the writer could not
tell how or whence they were dropped, although she stood close to the
group and under a bright light from a lamp she had placed on the wall
for the purpose of disclosing every detail. The tiny nude boy standing
upon the white embroidered blanket, being brushed with the many eagle
plumes, struck with their rattles by five beautifully formed Indians,
was the most pleasing scene of this dramatic ceremonial. The brushing
of the child with the plumes was repeated six times, and he was then
backed off the blanket over the line of meal and set upon the stool,
which had been removed from the blanket, and was afterward given a
pinch of meal and told to stand and look at the ants which had been
extracted from his body, and to sprinkle the meal upon them. After
this sprinkling he resumed his seat upon the stool. The ho´naaite
stooped with bended knees at the northeast corner of the blanket and
whispered a prayer and sprinkled the blanket. Each member with eagle
plumes sprinkled the blanket with meal and carefully brushed together
all the material which had fallen on the floor instead of the blanket,
after which the ti´ämoni gathered the corners together, waved it over
the child’s head, and left the room with it. All sat perfectly quiet,
holding their rattles, eagle plumes, and straws in their right hands
during the absence of the ti´ämoni. Upon his return he waved the folded
blanket twice toward the group of fetiches and toward himself, then
passed it twice around the child’s head, and finally laid it upon the
pile of bear-leg skins at the south side of the painting. The child,
who was ill and burning with fever, was led by the vice ho´naaite to
the fetiches, which he sprinkled with meal, and was carried from the
chamber and through an outer room to his mother at the entrance.

  [Illustration: Bureau of Ethnology.    Eleventh Annual Report PLate XXII

  GAST LITH. CO. N.Y.

  ALTAR AND SAND PAINTING.

  KNIFE SOCIETY.]

The ho´naaite is not supposed to leave the ceremonial chamber
throughout the four days and nights, as he must guard the animal
fetiches and medicine. The other members are also supposed to spend
much of the day and all of the night in watching the fetiches; but the
writer is of the opinion that they all go to sleep after the feast,
which is enjoyed as soon as the child leaves the chamber.

The only variation in the ceremonial on the second night was that the
vicar dipped the bit of bread into the bowl of stew and scattered it to
the animal fetiches, having previously lifted ashes from the fireplace
and sprinkled the altar with them by striking the plume held in the
left hand on the under side with the plume held in the right; then
holding the plumes between his hands he repeated a long and scarcely
audible prayer. After scattering the food to the animal fetiches, he
dipped a piece of bread into the stew, left the house and threw the
food to the cardinal points, as the ho´naaite had done the previous
night, and, returning, removed the bowl of stew and basket of bread
to the northwest corner of the room. He then swept the floor with his
two eagle plumes, beginning some 18 inches in front of the altar (the
line of meal remaining perfect to this point) to the point where the
blanket was to be placed, and then laid the blanket and made the meal
lines, the change in the drawing of these lines being that the line was
begun at the line of meal which extended in front of the altar and ran
over the blanket to the entrance of the room; then beginning in the
center of the blanket, the line was extended across to the north wall,
and again beginning in the center, a line was run across to the south
wall. The writer mentions this deviation in the drawing of the meal
lines, though she believes it was a mere matter of taste on the part of
the worker. Instead of the vice ho´naaite receiving the child at the
outer entrance, the man who sat between him and the ho´naaite brought
the child into the room, and he was led out by the ti´ämoni. Upon this
occasion, and on the third and fourth nights, the child walked into and
out of the room, an indication that he was in better physical condition
than on the first night of the ceremony. The songs on the second night
were addressed to the bear of the west instead of the cougar of the
north. The child did not seem to move a muscle throughout the ceremony,
except when he stepped to his position on the blanket.

  [Illustration: Bureau of Ethnology.    Eleventh Annual Report PLate XXIII

  ALTAR OF KNIFE SOCIETY, PHOTOGRAPHED DURING CEREMONIAL.]

The scenes on the third and fourth nights were coincident with those
of the second, with a few variations. The man who sat between the
ho´naaite and his vicar dipped the ashes with his plumes and sprinkled
the altar, and, returning to his seat, the vicar laid the blanket and
sprinkled the meal lines in the same manner as on the previous night;
he also procured the child. When dancing before the altar two men wore
bear-leg skins on their left arms, and two others wore them on their
right arms. It was noticed that the skins were drawn over the arms upon
which the amulets were worn. Their dancing and incantations were even
more turbulent and more weird than on the two former nights.

The songs the third night were addressed to the badger of the south and
on the fourth to the wolf of the east.


                 RAIN CEREMONIAL OF THE KNIFE SOCIETY.

While the ho´naaite and his vicar sat during the morning making
hä´chamoni they rehearsed in undertones the songs of their cult. The
membership of this society consists at the present time of five men and
two boys, and two novitiates, a man and a boy.

The sun was far to the west when the members came straggling in and
the ho´naaite proceeded to set up the slat altar (Pl. XXII_a_). Then
each man took from the wall a soiled buckskin sack. The well-wrapped
ya´ya was first taken out and then other fetiches. After the ho´naaite
had unwrapped his ya´ya he prepared the sand painting in front of the
altar (Pl. XXII_b_). The five ya´ya were stood on the line specially
made for them and a miniature bow and arrow laid before each ya´ya. The
ho´naaite then grouped fetiches of human and animal forms, then the
medicine bowl containing water and a basket of sacred meal. He then
drew a line of meal which extended from the slat altar to a distance
of 3 feet beyond the group of fetiches, his vicar afterwards assisting
him with the additional fetiches. Two stone cougars 2 feet in length
each were stood up on either side of the group. A cougar 12 inches
long, with lightning cut in relief on either side, and a concretion,
were then deposited before the group. Bear-leg skins were piled high
on either side of the altar. The cloud bowl and reed were added, the
two flat baskets of hä´chamoni and plume offerings shown in the sketch
were afterwards deposited upon the backs of the cougars. While this
arrangement was in progress the minor members returned the powdered
kaolin and black pigment to the ancient pottery vases, from which they
had been taken to prepare the sand-painting.

  [Illustration: FIG. 17.—Sand painting as indicated in Pl. XXV.]

The ho´naaite consecrated the bowl of water by a prayer, and dropping
in the six fetiches he dipped his eagle plumes into the water and
striking them on the top with his rattle, sprinkled the altar; holding
the plumes in the left hand and the rattle in the right, he sprinkled
the cardinal points. The vicar formed a circle of meal, then sprinkled
meal upon the circle and placed a cincture pad of yucca upon it,
and holding the cloud bowl high above his head, he invoked the cloud
people of the north, west, south, east, zenith, and nadir, and of the
whole world, to water the earth. The bowl was then set upon the pad
and a reed 8 inches long laid across it from northeast to southwest.
The vice ho´naaite spread a small cloth and upon it reduced the bit of
root which was to produce the suds to a powder, which he placed in a
little heap in front of the cloud bowl. The ho´naaite, who had left the
chamber, now returned with a parrot and a white stone bear 12 inches
long; the bear was wrapped in a large fine white buckskin and the
parrot was under the ho´naaite’s blanket. These were deposited before
the altar (Pl. XXIII).

  [Illustration: Bureau of Ethnology.    Eleventh Annual Report PLate XXIV

  HO´-NA-AI-TE OF KNIFE SOCIETY.]

  [Illustration: FIG. 18.—Sand painting used in ceremonial for sick
  by Ant Society.]

The ho´naaite (Pl. XXIV) stooped and, praying, sprinkled corn
pollen upon the bear and parrot. The bear and the bird had eagle plumes
attached to their necks with cotton cord. Those on the bear were on the
top of the neck and those of the parrot hung under the beak. After the
prayer the ho´naaite lighted a cigarette of native tobacco and corn
husk from a stick some 5 feet long, held by a boy member, and puffed
the smoke over the bear and parrot. He then extended the cigarette over
the altar, afterwards waving it to the cardinal points. The vicar and
boy sprinkled the bear and parrot with pollen from an abalone shell and
the vicar dipped his eagle plumes into the medicine bowl and sprinkled
them four times, then the altar, by striking the plumes with the rattle
held in his right hand. The ho´naaite then puffed smoke into the cloud
bowl and over the bear and parrot, and extended his cigarette to the
cardinal points, and over the altar. The vicar lighted a similar
cigarette from the long stick held by the boy, and standing to the west
of the altar blew smoke over it, the ho´naaite standing and smoking to
the right of him. The vicar laid the end of his cigarette by the cloud
bowl and to the east of the line of the meal. The shell of corn pollen
was then placed back of the altar and the ho´naaite’s eagle plumes and
rattle laid beside it; a prayer before the altar by all the members
closed the afternoon ceremony.

It will be noticed that the slat altar in Pl. XXV differs from that in
Pl. XXIII. Both belong to the Knife Society and may be seen hanging
side by side on the wall in the ceremonial chamber of the Quer´ränna,
(Pl. XXVIII) which is also the official chamber of the Knife Society.
The second was made in case of failure of the first. The vicar of this
society is also ho´naaite and only surviving member of the Ant Society,
and he, being anxious that the writer should see the sand painting of
the Ant Society, prepared the painting for this occasion instead of
the ho´naaite (Fig. 17). He also drew her a sketch of the painting of
Ant Society for ceremonial held for the sick, which is here introduced
(Fig. 18). This last may be described as follows:

_a_ represents meal painting emblematic of the clouds, _b_ and _c_
bear-leg skins laid either side of it. The remainder of painting is in
sand. _d_: Ant chief clad in buckskin fringed down the arms and legs;
he carries lightning in his left hand; his words pass straight from
his mouth, as indicated by a line, to the invalid _e_, who sits at the
opening of the ceremonial to the right of the painting. The ant chief
speaks that the malady may leave the invalid. A song of this character
is sung by the members of the society. The invalid then passes to the
front of the altar and stands upon a sacred Tusayan blanket (position
indicated by _f_), when the ho´naaite and other members of the society
proceed with their incantations over him, imploring the prey animals to
draw the ants to the surface of the body. When the ants have appeared
and been brushed from the body then a song is addressed to the eagle
_g_ to come and feed upon the ants. When the ants have been eaten by
the eagle the invalid will be restored to health. The two circular
spots _h_ represent ant houses. These, with the paintings of the ant
chief and eagle, are gathered into the blanket upon which the invalid
stood and carried some distance north of the village and deposited.
After the blanket has been taken from the chamber the meal painting is
erased by the ho´naaite brushing the meal from each of the cardinal
points to the center with his hand; he then rubs the invalid’s body
with the meal, after which the members hasten to rub their bodies with
it, that they may be purified not only of any physical malady but of
all evil thoughts.

When the writer entered the ceremonial chamber later in the evening
food was being placed in line down the middle of the room. There
were seven bowls, containing mutton stew, tortillas, waiavi, and
hominy. There was also a large pot of coffee and a bowl of sugar. The
ho´naaite, standing to the east of the meal line, which extended from
the altar to the entrance, repeated a long grace, after which one of
the boy members gathered a bit of food from each vessel, and standing
on the opposite side of the line of meal, handed the food to the
ho´naaite, who received it in his left hand, having transferred his
eagle plumes to the right. He then left the house, and throwing the
food to the cardinal points, offered it to the animal Ko´pĭshtaia, with
a prayer of intercession to the cloud people to gather, saying:

“Ko´pĭshtaia! Here is food, come and eat; Ko´pĭshtaia, Cougar of the
North, receive this food; Bear of the West, receive this food; Badger
of the South, we offer you food, take it and eat; Wolf of the East, we
give you food; Eagle of the Heavens, receive this food; Shrew of the
Earth, receive this food. When you eat, then you will be contented, and
you will pass over the straight road [referring to the passing of the
beings of the ko´pĭshtaia over the line of meal to enter the images of
themselves]. We pray you to bring to us, and to all peoples, food, good
health, and prosperity, and to our animals bring good health and to our
fields large crops; and we pray you to ask the cloud people to come to
water the earth.”

  [Illustration: Bureau of Ethnology.    Eleventh Annual Report PLate XXV

  ALTAR OF KNIFE SOCIETY, WITH HO´-NA-AI-TE AND VICE HO´-NA-AI-TE ON
  EITHER SIDE.]

Upon returning to the ceremonial chamber, the ho´naaite, standing
before the altar, prays to Ma´asewe, Úyuuyewĕ, and the six warriors of
the mountains of the cardinal points to protect them from all enemies
who might come to destroy their peace; and, standing at the end of the
line of food, he offers a prayer of thanksgiving, holding his eagle
plumes in his left hand. He then rolls his blanket into a cushion,
sits upon it west of the line of meal and smokes a cigarette. The food
having been brought in by the wives of the members, all present drew
around and enjoyed the feast. That the minor members felt at liberty to
join with their elders was indicated by the way in which they proceeded
to help themselves.

The war chief came into the room soon after the beginning of the meal,
wrapped in a fine Navajo blanket, and carrying his bow and arrows. He
stood in front of the altar, on the west side of the meal line, and
prayed. The vice-ho´naaite administered to the war chief a draft of
the medicine water which had been prepared in the afternoon, and then
handed him the official staff of the society (a slender stick some
2 feet in length), which he held with his bow and arrows until the
close of the ceremonial. The war chief sat for awhile at the south
end of the room, and then left to patrol the town and to see that no
one not privileged entered or came near the ceremonial chamber. After
the meal was finished the three boys removed the bowls to another
room, and, upon their return, one of them swept the middle of the
floor, destroying most of the meal line, leaving but 2 feet of it
undisturbed in front of the altar. This line, however, was renewed by
the vice-ho´naaite, who carried two eagle feathers and the meal bowl
in his left hand, while he sprinkled the meal with the right, not
for the purpose of furnishing a road for the beings of pai´ätämo and
ko´pĭshtaia to pass over, for they had previously come to the images of
themselves, but that the songs might pass straight over and out of the
house.

The men now indulged in a smoke. The writer never observed Sia boys
smoking in these ceremonials or at any other time. The cigarettes
were lighted from the long stick passed by one of the boys, and after
smoking, the ho´naaite and his younger brother put on white cotton
embroidered Tusayan kilts as breechcloths, which they took from a hook
on the wall, those of the other members being plain white cotton. The
ho´naaite now took his seat back of the altar and lighted a second
cigarette from the long stick, blowing the smoke over the altar. This
smoke was offered to Pai´ätämo and Ko´pĭshtaia, the ho´naaite saying:
“I give this to you; smoke and be contented.” He then administered
medicine water to all present, dipping the water with a shell. The
vice-ho´naaite, who received the last draft, drank directly from the
bowl, and was careful not to leave a drop in it, after which the
ho´naaite removed the six stone fetiches from the bowl. The process of
preparing medicine water is substantially the same with all the cult
societies, there not being in Sia nearly so much ceremony connected
with this important feature of fetich worship as with the Zuñi and
Tusayan. The six fetiches were returned to the buckskin bag and the
ho´naaite resumed his seat behind the altar, the members and novitiates
having already formed in line back of the altar, the official members
each holding two eagle plumes in the left hand and a gourd rattle in
the right. After a short prayer by the ho´naaite, the boy lifted ashes
from the fireplace with his eagle plumes and placed them near the altar
and east of the meal line; again he dipped a quantity, placing them
west of the line of meal. As the chant opened, he stood west of the
line and facing the altar, and an adult member stood on the east side,
and each of them held an eagle plume in either hand and a gourd rattle
also in the right. The boy dipped with the plumes the ashes which lay
west of the line of meal and the man those which lay east of the line,
and sprinkled toward the north by striking the plumes held in the left
hand on the underside with the plume held in the right; again dipping
the ashes, the boy sprinkled toward the west and the man toward the
east; again lifting ashes, they passed to the south and sprinkled
there; the boy then crossed to the east of the line of meal and the man
to the west of the line, and when midway of the line the boy sprinkled
to the east and the man to the west; then, dancing before the altar,
they again lifted ashes and sprinkled to the north. When dancing, both
eagle plumes were held in the left hand and the rattle in the right.
Ashes were again lifted and thrown twice toward the zenith and then
thrown to the nadir. The sprinkling to the cardinal points, zenith and
nadir, was repeated fifteen times in the manner described. This was to
carry off all impurities of the mind, that it might be pure; that the
songs would come pure from the lips and pass straight over the road of
meal—the one road. The man and boy having resumed their seats in the
line, the vice-ho´naaite stood before the altar to the west side of
the line of meal, shook his rattle for a moment or two, then waved it
vertically in front of the altar, invoking the cloud people to come;
he then waved the rattle from the west to the east, repeating the
weird exhortation, his body being kept in motion by the bending of his
knees, his feet scarcely leaving the ground. The rattle was waved three
times from the west to the east, and then waved toward the west and
toward the altar, the east and to the altar; then, raising the rattle
high above his head, he formed a circle. This waving of the rattle was
repeated sixteen times. Previous to each motion he held the rattle
perfectly still, resting it on the eagle plumes which he held in the
left hand.

After the sixteenth repetition he waved the rattle over the altar. The
song during this time is an appeal to the cloud people of the north,
west, south, east, and all the cloud peoples of the world, to gather
and send rain to water the earth, that all mankind may have the fruits
of the earth. The vicar then stood to the right of the ho´naaite, and
the choir, rising, continued to sing. The ho´naaite, leaning over
the altar, took two of the central ya´ya, one in either hand, and
alternately raised them, keeping time with the song, now and then
extending the ya´ya over the altar. The young novitiate held neither
rattle or plumes. The boy at the east end of the line, having passed
through two degrees, held his rattle in the right hand and in his left
a miniature crook. The vicar who stood at the right of the ho´naaite
and the man who stood to his left moved their rattles and feathers in
harmony with his motion, the three swaying their bodies back and forth
and extending their arms outward and upward. About this time it was
noticed that the boys at the east end of the line had fallen asleep,
and it was more than the man who sat next to them could do to keep
them awake, although he was constantly brushing their faces with his
eagle plumes. This little scene was something of a picture, as the boy
whose shoulder acted as a support for the head of the other is the son
of one of the most prominent and richest men in the pueblo, the other
boy being the pauper referred to. The stanzas in this song were much
longer than any before heard by the writer, and each closed with a
quick shake of the rattle. The song continued an hour and a quarter,
when the singers took a few moments’ rest, and again sang for thirty
minutes; another few minutes’ rest, and the song again continued. In
this way it ran from half past 9 o’clock until midnight. At its close
one of the boys brought a vase of water and a gourd from the southwest
corner of the room and placed it near the altar and west of the line
of meal. The ya´niᵗsiwittänn̄i stood before the vase, and, lifting
two gourdfuls of water, emptied them into the medicine bowl; emptying
two gourdfuls, also, into the cloud bowl, he danced for a time before
the altar, waving his plumes and rattle over it; he then emptied two
more gourdfuls into the medicine bowl and two more into the cloud
bowl, and resumed his dance. He did not sing while performing this
part of the ceremony, but when emptying the water into the bowls he
gave bird-like trills, calling for the cloud people to gather. Again
he emptied two gourdfuls into the medicine bowl and two in the cloud
bowl; and after dancing a moment or two he poured two more gourdfuls
into the medicine bowl and two into the cloud bowl, and resumed the
dance; again he emptied a gourdful into the medicine bowl and two into
the cloud bowl; then he emptied three into the medicine bowl and drank
twice from the bowl, after which he returned to his seat in the line,
the boy restoring the vase to the farther corner of the room. Two small
medicine bags were handed to each member from the altar, one containing
corn pollen and the other corn meal of six varieties of corn: yellow,
blue, red, white, black, and variegated. The bags were held in the left
hand with the eagle plumes, that hand being quiet, while the rattle was
shaken with the right in accompaniment to the song. After singing a few
minutes, pollen and meal taken from the medicine bags were sprinkled
into the medicine bowl. The choir did not rise and pass to the altar,
but leaned forward on either side; and with each sprinkling of the meal
and pollen a shrill call was given for the cloud people to gather; the
ho´naaite, in sprinkling in his pollen, reached over the altar slats.
The sprinkling of the pollen was repeated four times, the novitiates
taking no part in this feature of the ceremony, although they were
provided with the bags of pollen and meal. The ya´niᵗsiwittänn̄i
danced before the altar and west of the line of meal without rattle or
plumes, but continually hooted as he waved his hands wildly over the
altar and dropped pebble fetiches alternately into the medicine and
cloud bowls, until each bowl contained six fetiches; then, reaching
behind the altar for his rattle and eagle plumes, he held an eagle
plume and rattle in the right hand and an eagle plume in the left, and
stirred the water and sprinkled the altar; then he stirred the water
in the cloud bowl with the reed, and sprinkled the altar with it. The
sprinkling of the altar from the medicine bowl and the cloud bowl was
repeated six times.

After each sprinkling a quick shake of the rattle was given. The
ho´naaite then reached over the altar slats, taking a ya´ya in either
hand, and all stood and sang. In a moment the man to the right of the
ho´naaite leaned over the west side of the altar, and, dipping his
plumes in the medicine water, sprinkled the altar; he repeated the
sprinkling four times, and when the two ya´ya were returned to the
altar the ho´naaite dipped his eagle plumes into the medicine water,
and sprinkled the altar by striking them on the top with the rattle
held in the right hand. Each member then sprinkled the altar four
times, with a wild exhortation to the cloud people, all apparently
exhibiting more enthusiasm when sprinkling the altar than at any
other time during the ceremonial. When the song closed two of the
boys proceeded to prepare cigarettes, taking their places before the
fireplace, and, tearing off bits of corn husks of the proper size, they
made them pliable by moistening them with saliva. One boy made his
cigarettes of native tobacco, which he took from an old cloth hanging
on the wall; the other filled his with commercial tobacco. As the boys
made cigarettes they tied them with ribbons of corn husks, simply to
keep them in shape until the smokers were ready. The remaining
native tobacco was returned to the old cloth and put in place upon the
wall. About the time the boys had finished preparing the cigarettes,
the vice-ho´naaite took his seat on his wadded blanket, in front of the
cloud bowl and west of the line of meal. The man at the east end of the
line dipped his eagle plumes into the ashes, holding a plume in either
hand and striking the one held in the left hand on the under side with
the plume held in the right, he sprinkled the head of the vicar, who
was offering a silent prayer, and at the same moment the song opened
to the accompaniment of the rattle. Previous to the vicar leaving the
line, the ho´naaite removed a white fluffy eagle feather from one of
the ya´ya, to which it had been attached with a white cotton cord, and
tied it to the forelock of the vicar, who put into the cloud bowl the
powdered root which was to produce the froth; then dipping the reed
into corn pollen he sprinkled the altar. He placed a pinch of pollen
into the upper end of the reed, and, turning that into the water, he
put a pinch into the other end, and touched the four cardinal points
of the cloud bowl with the corn pollen, and made bubbles by holding
the hollow reed in the center of the bowl and blowing through it. This
operation lasted but a few moments, when he began stirring the water
with the reed, moving it from right to left, and never raising the
lower end to the surface of the water, producing a beautiful egg-like
froth. Not satisfied with its rising high above the bowl, he did not
cease manipulating until the suds had completely covered it, so that
nothing could be seen but a mass of snowy froth; fifteen minutes of
continual stirring was required to produce this effect. He then stood
the reed in the center of the froth, and holding an eagle plume in each
hand danced before the altar vehemently gesticulating. He dipped suds
with his two plumes and threw them toward the altar, with a wild cry,
and again dipping suds he threw them over the altar to the north; a
like quantity was thrown to the west, and the same to the south, the
east, the zenith, and the nadir. He then dipped a quantity, and placing
some on the head of the white bear and putting some over the parrot, he
resumed his seat on the blanket and began blowing through the reed and
beating the suds. In five minutes he stood the reed as before in the
center of the bowl, then, dancing, he dipped the suds, placing them on
the head of the bear and over the parrot; he then removed the remaining
suds from the plumes by striking one against the other over the bowl
(this froth is always referred to by the Sia as clouds). During this
part of the ceremony the choir sang an exhortation to the cloud
peoples. A boy now handed a cigarette of native tobacco to the vicar,
who puffed the smoke for some time, extending the cigarette to the
north; smoking again, he blew the smoke to the west, and extended the
cigarette to that point; this was repeated to the south and east; when
he had consumed all but an inch of the cigarette, he laid it in front
of the cloud bowl and east of the meal line. The choir did not cease
singing during the smoking, and when the bit of cigarette had been
deposited, the vicar transferred his rattle to his right hand, keeping
time with the choir. When the song closed he left his seat in front of
the cloud bowl and stood by the west side of the altar, and removing
the eagle plume from his head returned it to the ya´ya and took his
seat near the fireplace. Two of the boys then lighted cigarettes of
native tobacco with the long fire-stick, handing one to each member.

  [Illustration: Bureau of Ethnology.    Eleventh Annual Report PLate XXVI

  SHRINE OF KNIFE SOCIETY.]

In fifteen minutes the song was resumed and the man west of the
ho´naaite dipped his eagle plumes in the medicine water and sprinkled
the altar, repeating the sprinkling four times. In twenty-five minutes
the song closed and the men enjoyed a social smoke, each man after
lighting his cigarette waving it towards the altar. In twenty-five
minutes the choir again sang, two boys standing in front of the altar,
one on either side of the line of meal. The one on the west side of
the line dipped his plumes into the medicine water and sprinkled the
altar, and the one on the east side of the line dipped his crook into
the medicine water and sprinkled the altar. They then dipped into the
cloud bowl and threw the suds to the north; dipping suds again the
boy west of the line threw the suds to the west, and the one east of
the line threw the suds to the east; again dipping medicine water
they passed to the south and threw the water to that point, the boy
west of the meal line crossed to the east, and the one on the east of
the line of meal crossed to the west, and returning to the altar they
dipped suds, the boy to the west of the line throwing suds in that
direction, and the boy east of the line throwing suds to that point;
again dipping the medicine water they sprinkled to the zenith, and
dipping the suds they threw them to the nadir; then the boy on the
west of the line crossed to the east, and the one on the east of the
line crossed to the west, and thus reversing positions they repeated
the sprinkling of the cardinal points, zenith and nadir, twelve times,
dipping alternately into the medicine water and the cloud bowl. With
the termination of the sprinkling the song ceased for a moment, and by
command of the ho´naaite the boys, each taking a basket of hä´chamoni,
which were resting on the backs of the cougar fetiches either side of
the altar, stood in front of the altar, one on the west side of the
meal line and the other on the east, and holding the baskets in their
left hands shook their rattles; they then held the basket with both
hands, moving them in time to the song and rattles of the choir. The
ho´naaite directed them to wave the baskets to the north, west, south,
and east, to the zenith and the nadir; this they repeated twelve times
and then deposited the baskets either side of the cloud bowl, and the
vicar placed the bowl of medicine water two feet in front of the cloud
bowl, on the line of meal, and taking one of the ya´ya in his left
hand, he passed east of the line and, stooping low, he stirred the
medicine water with an abalone shell, and then passed his hand over
the ya´ya and drew a breath from it. The man at the west end of the
line of worshipers now came forward and the vicar gave him a drink of
the medicine water, then the man at the east end of the line received
a draft. The boy who threw the suds with the plumes came next, and
following him the boy (the pauper) who held the miniature crook; then
the third boy advanced and drank; the man on the left of the ho´naaite
following next, the ho´naaite came forward; he did not receive the
water from the shell, but drank directly from the bowl; the vicar
holding the bowl with his right hand placed it to the ho´naaite’s lips,
the ho´naaite clasping the ya´ya, which was held in the left hand of
the vicar; he then taking the bowl with his right hand and clasping the
ya´ya with his left, held it to the lips of the vicar, who afterwards
left the room, carrying with him the remainder of the medicine water
and the ya´ya. He passed into the street and, filling his mouth with
the water, he threw a spray through his teeth to the north, west,
south, and east, the zenith and the nadir and then to all the world,
that the cloud people might gather and water the earth. In a short time
he returned and placed the bowl and ya´ya before the altar. The shell
was laid east of the line of meal and in front of the cloud bowl. A
cigarette was then handed the ho´naaite and, after blowing the first
few puffs over the altar, he finished it without further ceremony, and
taking the two baskets of plume offerings in either hand he stooped
with bended knees a short distance in front of the altar and west of
the line of meal. The two minor members wrapped their blankets around
them and stooped before the ho´naaite on the opposite side of the meal
line. The ho´naaite divided the offerings between the two, placing them
on the blanket where it passed over the left arm; these offerings were
to Pai´ätämo and Ko´pĭshtaia, and were deposited by the boys at the
shrines of Kopĭshtaia (Pls. XXVI and XXVII). Food was
now brought in by the boy novitiate, and with the feast the society
adjourned at 3 o’clock in the morning.

  [Illustration: Bureau of Ethnology.    Eleventh Annual Report PLate XXVII

  SHRINE OF KNIFE SOCIETY.]


                      SOCIETY OF THE QUER´RÄNNA.

The Society of the Quer´ränna has a reduced membership of three—the
ho´naaite, vicar, and a woman; and there is at the present time a
novitiate, a boy of 5 years. Three generations are represented in this
society—father, son, and grandson. The elder man is one of the most
aged in Sia, and, though ho´naaite of the Quer´ränna and vicar of the
Society of Warriors, and reverenced by his people as being almost as
wise as the “Oracle,” his family is the most destitute in Sia, being
composed, as it is, of nonproducing members. His wife is an invalid;
his eldest son, the vicar of the Quer´ränna Society, is a paralytic,
and a younger son is a trifling fellow. The third child is a daughter
who has been blind from infancy; she is the mother of two children,
but has never been married. The fourth child is a 10-year-old girl,
whose time is consumed in the care of the children of her blind sister,
bringing the water for family use, and grinding the corn (the mother
and sister occasionally assisting in the grinding) and preparing the
meals, which consist, with rare exceptions, of a bowl of mush. During
the planting and harvest times the father alone attends to the fields,
which are their main dependence; and he seeks such employment as can
be procured from his people, and in this way exchanges labor for
food. Every blanket of value has been traded for nourishment, until
the family is reduced to mere tatters for garments. For several years
this family has been on the verge of starvation, and the meagerness of
food and mental suffering tells the tale in the face of each member of
the household, excepting the worthless fellow (who visits about the
country, imposing upon his friends). Even the little ones are more
sedate than the other children of the village.

Nothing is done for this family by the clan. Close observation leads
the writer to believe that the same ties of clanship do not exist
with the Sia as with the other tribes. This, however, may be due to
the long continued struggle for subsistence. Fathers and mothers look
first to the needs of their children, then comes the child’s interest
in parents, and brothers and sisters in one another. No lack of
self-denial is found in the family.

The ho´naaite of the Quer´ränna is the only surviving member of the
Eagle clan, but his wife belongs to the Corn clan, and has a number
of connections. When the writer chided a woman of this clan for not
assisting the sufferers she replied: “I would help them if I could,
but we have not enough for ourselves,” a confirmation of the opinion
that the clan is here secondary to the nearer ties of consanguinity.
The care of one’s immediate family is obligatory; it is not so with the
clan.

  [Illustration: BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY   ELEVENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. XXVIII

  ALTAR OF QUER´-RÄN-NA SOCIETY.]

The house in which this family lives is small and without means of
ventilation, and the old man may be seen, on his return from his daily
labors, assisting his invalid wife and paralytic son to some point
where they may have a breath of pure air. They are usually accompanied
by the little girl leading her blind sister and carrying the baby on
her back by a bit of an old shawl which the girl holds tightly around
her.

Always patient, always loving, is the old man to those of his
household, and the writer was ever sure of a greeting of smiles and
fond words from each of these unfortunates. Not wanting in hospitality
even in their extremity, they invited her to join them whenever she
found them at their frugal meal.

The only medicine possessed by the Quer´ränna is se´-wili, which is
composed of the roots and blossoms of the six mythical medicine plants
of the sun, archaic white shell and black stone beads, turkis, and a
yellow stone.

The preparation of this medicine and that of the other cult societies
is similar to the mode observed by the Zuñi. Women are dressed in
sacred white embroidered Tusayan blankets, and they grind the medicine
to a fine powder amid great ceremony. When a woman wishes to become
pregnant this medicine is administered to her privately by the
ho´naaite, a small quantity of the powder being put into cold water and
a fetich of Quer´ränna dipped four times into the water. A dose of this
medicine insures the realization of her wish; should it fail, then the
woman’s heart is not good. This same medicine is also administered at
the ceremonials to the members of the society for the perpetuation of
their race; and the ho´naaite, taking a mouthful, throws it out through
his teeth to the cardinal points, that the cloud people may gather and
send rain that the earth may be fruitful.


              RAIN CEREMONIAL OF THE QUER´RÄNNA SOCIETY.

During the day hä´chmoni and plume offerings are prepared by the
ho´naaite, and in the afternoon he arranges the altar, which is quite
different from those of the other cult societies, and makes a meal
painting symbolic of clouds. Six fetiches of Quer´ränna are then
arranged in line, the largest being about 6 inches, the smallest 3,
the others graduating in size; a medicine bowl is set before the line
of fetiches; antlers are stood to the east of the meal painting; and
baskets of cereals, corn on the cob, medicine bags, and a basket of
hä´chamoni and plume offerings are arranged about the painting. Pl.
XXXVIII shows photograph at time of ceremonial; Pl. XXIX, made in case
of failure of the first, shows the meal painting, symbolic of clouds,
which is completely hidden in the first photograph, and illustrates
more definitely the feather decoration of the altar. The birds
surmounting the two posts are wood carvings of no mean pretensions;
the feathers by the birds are eagle plumes, and the bunches of plumes
suspended from the cord are tail feathers of the female sparrow hawk
(_Falco sparverius_) and the long-crested jay (_Cyanocetta macrolopha_).

The men and child have their forelocks drawn back and tied with
ribbons of corn husks, the men each having a bunch of hawk and jay
feathers attached pendent on the left side of the head. They wear
white cotton breechcloths and necklaces of coral and kohaqua (archaic
shell heads).[21] The woman wears her ordinary dress and several coral
necklaces, her feet and limbs being bare.

The ho´naaite, removing a bowl of meal from before the altar and
holding it in his left hand, together with his eagle plumes and a
wand,—the wand being a miniature crook elaborately decorated with
feathers,—sprinkled a line of meal from the painting to the entrance of
the chamber, for the being of Quer´ränna to pass over.

The ho´naaite, his vicar, and the woman sat back of the altar, the
ho´naaite to the west side, the vice to his right, and the woman to the
east side. At this time a child was sleeping near the altar.

The ho´naaite filled an abalone shell with corn pollen and holding
the shell, his two eagle plumes, and wand in his left hand and rattle
in the right, offered a long prayer to Quer´ränna to invoke the cloud
people to water the earth, and sprinkled the altar several times with
pollen. At the close of the prayer he handed the shell of pollen to the
woman, who passed to the front of the altar and east of the meal line
and sprinkled the altar with the pollen. The song now began, and the
woman, retaining her position before the altar, kept time by moving her
wand right and left, then extending it over the altar; each time before
waving it over the altar she rested it on the shell for a moment;
after repeating the motion several times, she extended the wand to the
north, moving it right and left, and after resting it on the shell she
extended it to the west, and the wand was in this way motioned to the
cardinal points, zenith and nadir. The waving of the wand to the points
was repeated four times; and the woman then returned the shell to the
ho´naaite, who had at intervals waved his plumes and wand over the
altar. At this time the child awoke, and making a wad of his blanket
sat upon it between the ho´naaite and the vicar; the latter supplying
the child with a wand and rattle, he joined in the song.

The vicar being afflicted with paralysis could add little to the
ceremony, though he made strenuous efforts to sing and sway his
palsied body. The group presented a pitiful picture, but it exhibited
a striking proof of the devotion of these people to the observance of
their cult—the flickering fire-light playing in lights and shadows
about the heads of the three members, over whom Time holds the scythe
with grim menaces, while they strained every nerve to make all that
was possible of the ritual they were celebrating; the boy, requiring
no arousing to sing and bend his tiny body to the time of the rattle,
joined in the calls upon the cloud people to gather to water the
earth with as much enthusiasm as his elders.

  [Illustration: Bureau of Ethnology.    Eleventh Annual Report PLate XXIX

  ALTAR OF QUER´-RÄN-NA SOCIETY.]

The song continued, with all standing, without cessation for an hour.
The woman then brought a vase of water and gourd from the southwest
corner of the room and placed it in front of the altar on the line
of meal, and the ho´naaite took from the west side of the altar four
medicine bags, handing two to the man and two to the boy (pollen being
in one bag and meal in the other), and giving the shell containing the
pollen to the woman. She stood in front of the altar east of the line
of meal swaying her body from side to side, holding her wand in the
right hand and the shell in the left, keeping time to the rattle and
the song. She emptied a gourd of water from the vase into the medicine
bowl, imploring Quer´ränna to intercede with the cloud people to
assemble; the ho´naaite then sprinkled se´wili into the medicine bowl;
then the little boy sprinkled pollen into the bowl, invoking the cloud
people to gather, and the vicar, with the same petition, sprinkled the
pollen. The woman then emptied a second gourd of water, first waving it
to the north, into the medicine bowl, with a call for the cloud people
to gather; the ho´naaite again deposited a portion of the se´wili into
the bowl and his vicar and the boy sprinkled in meal, with an appeal
to the cloud people; again the woman lifted a gourdful of water and
waved it toward the west and emptied it into the bowl, invoking the
cloud people to gather; and the others sprinkled corn pollen, the
vicar and boy calling upon the cloud people to gather; the woman then
waved a gourd of water to the south and emptied it into the bowl, and
again the others sprinkled pollen, the vicar and boy repeating their
petition; another gourdful was lifted and waved to the east and emptied
into the bowl and the sprinkling of the pollen was repeated. The woman
returned the vase to the farther end of the room (she officiated in
the making of the medicine water, as the vicar, being a paralytic, was
unable to perform this duty), and resumed her seat back of the altar;
reaching forward, she removed two small medicine bags, and taking a
pinch of pollen from one and a pinch of meal from the other, sprinkled
the medicine water; after repeating the sprinkling, she tied the bags
and returned them to their place by the altar. The ho´naaite, dipping
his plumes into the medicine bowl, sprinkled the altar three times by
striking the top of the plumes held in the left hand with the rattle
held in the right. The sprinkling was repeated three times by the
others while the ho´naaite sang a low chant. All now rose, and the
ho´naaite continuing the song, moved his body violently, the motion
being from the knees; as he sang he extended his eagle plumes over
the altar and dipped them into the medicine water with a call for the
cloud people to gather; he then dipped the bird feathers attached to
his wand into the medicine water with a similar exhortation; the boy
dipped the feathers attached to his wand into the water, striking them
with the rattle, calling upon the cloud people to gather and water the
earth; the ho´naaite dipped his eagle plumes twice consecutively into
the medicine water, invoking the cloud people to water the earth; and
the vicar dipped his feathers into the medicine water, making the most
revolting sounds in his efforts to invoke the cloud people; the boy
sprinkled with the invocation to the cloud people. The sprinkling was
repeated alternately six times by each of the members, the ho´naaite
pointing to the cardinal points as he continued his exhortation to the
cloud people. After resuming their seats they sang until midnight,
when the ho´naaite placed the ends of his feathers into his mouth and
drew a breath and the woman laid her wand to the east side of the meal
painting. The ceremonial closed with administering the medicine water,
the ho´naaite dipping it with a shell. Owing to the depleted condition
of the society, the duty of depositing the hä´chamoni and plume
offerings fell to the ho´naaite himself.


                           OTHER SOCIETIES.

In addition to the thirteen cult societies of the Zuñi they have the
society of the Kok´-ko, the mythologic society.

It is obligatory that all youths become members of this society to
insure their admittance into the dance house in the lake of departed
spirits; first by involuntary and later by voluntary initiation.
Females sometimes, though seldom, join this order. While the Sia
mythology abounds in these same anthropomorphic beings, their origin is
accounted for in an entirely different manner from those of the Zuñi.
The Ka´ᵗsuna of the Sia were created by Ût´sĕt in a single night in
the lower world.[22] These beings accompanied the Sia to this world,
and upon their advent here Ût´sĕt directed them to go to the west and
there make their home for all time to come.

They are solicited to use their influence with the cloud people, and
the dances of the Ka´ᵗsuna are usually held for rain or snow. It
is the prerogative of the ti´ämoni to control the appearance of the
Ka´ᵗsuna. When a dance is to occur, the ho´naaite of the Society of
Quer´ränna selects such men and women as he wishes to have dance and
holds a number of rehearsals, both of the songs and dances. Those who
are the most graceful, and who have the greatest powers of endurance
and the most retentive memories for the songs, are chosen to personate
the Ka´ᵗsuna regardless of any other consideration. Both sexes,
however, must have been first initiated into the mysteries of the
Ka´ᵗsuna.

Previous to initiation the personators are believed by the Sia to be
the actual Ka´ᵗsuna. The instruction continues from four to eight
days, and during this period continency must be observed, and an emetic
drank by the married men and women each morning for purification from
conjugal relations.

Whenever the Ka´ᵗsuna appear they are accompanied by their attendants,
the Ko´shairi and Quer´ränna, who wait upon them, attending to any
disarranged apparel and making the spectators merry with their witty
sayings and buffoonery.

  [Illustration: Bureau of Ethnology.    Eleventh Annual Report PLate XXX

  HO´-NA-AI-TE OF QUER´-RÄN-NA SOCIETY.]

The Sia have a great variety of masks, which must be very old, judging
from their appearance, and the priest of the Quer´ränna, who has them
in charge, claims for them great antiquity. Pls. XXXI and
XXXII illustrate some masks of the Ka´ᵗsuna.

When a boy or girl reaches the time when, as their fathers say, they
have a good head, some ten or twelve years of age, the father first
suggests to the ho´naaite of the Quer´ränna (if the father is not
living then the mother speaks) that he would like his son or daughter
to become acquainted with the Ka´ᵗsuna; he then makes known his wish
to the ti´ämoni, and after these two have said, “It is well,” he
says to his child, “My child, I think it is time for you to know the
Ka´ᵗsuna,” and the child replies, “It is well, father.” The parent
then informs the ho´naaite that his child wishes to know the Ka´ᵗsuna,
and the ho´naaite replies, “It is well.” The next time the Ka´ᵗsuna
come he may know them.

The ho´naaite prepares a meal painting for the occasion, covering it
for the time being with a blanket. Upon the arrival of the Ka´ᵗsuna
the father and child, and, if the child be a member of a cult society,
the theurgist of the society, proceed to the ceremonial house of the
Quer´ränna. If the child possesses a fetich of the ya´ya he carries it
pressed to his breast. Upon entering the ceremonial chamber the child
and attendants take their seats at the north end of the room near the
west side, the ho´naaite of the Quer´ränna sitting just west of the
meal painting, the boy to his right, and the parent next to the boy.
The ti´ämoni and ho´naaite of warriors are present and sit on the west
side of the room and about midway. The Sa´iahlia (two of the Ka´ᵗsuna)
stamp about in the middle of the room for a time, then the ho´naaite
leads the child before the meal painting, which is, however, still
covered with the blanket, and says to the Ka´ᵗsuna, “A youth [or
maiden, whichever it may be] has come to know you.” The Ka´ᵗsuna each
carry a bunch of Spanish bayonet in either hand, and the child receives
two strokes across the back from each of the Ka´ᵗsuna, unless he be an
official member of a cult society; in this case he is exempt from the
chastisement. A boy is nude excepting the breechcloth; a girl wears her
ordinary clothing. The ho´naaite, addressing the Ka´ᵗsuna, says: “Now
it is well for you to raise your masks that the child may see.” One of
the Sa´iahlia places his mask over the child’s head and the other lays
his by the meal painting, the ho´naaite having removed the blanket.
The personators of the Kaᵗsuna then say to the child: “Now you know
the Ka´ᵗsuna you will henceforth have only good thoughts and a good
heart; sometime, perhaps, you will be one of us. You must not speak of
these things to anyone not initiated.” The mask is then taken from the
child’s head and laid by the side of the other, and the boy answers:
“I will not speak of these things to anyone.” The Ka´ᵗsuna then rubs
the meal of the painting upon the child, and those present afterwards
gather around the painting and rub the meal upon their bodies for
mental and physical purification. The child deposits the hä´chamoni
presented to him by the ho´naaite at the shrine of the Quer´ränna at
the base of the village and to the west. The hä´chamoni is composed of
eagle and turkey plumes. The child says when depositing it, “I now know
you, Ka´ᵗsuna, and I pay you this hä´chamoni.” The ho´naaite deposits
a hä´chamoni for each member of the society at the shrine, which is in
a fissure in a rock, and after the deposition of the hä´chamoni the
opening is covered with a rock and no evidence of a shrine remains.


                        SOCIETY OF THE COUGAR.

This society is nearly extinct, its membership consisting of the
ho´naaite (the oracle) and his vicar, the former being also ho´naaite
of the society of warriors; though aged, he retains his faculties
perfectly and performs his official and religious duties with the
warmest interest.

Previous to a hunt for game a two days’ ceremonial is held by this
society, and on the third morning hä´chamoni and plume offerings are
deposited by the vice ho´naaite. The cougar is appealed to, as he is
the great father and master of all game; he draws game to him by simply
sitting still, folding his arms, and mentally demanding the presence of
the game; likewise when he wishes to send game to any particular people
he controls it with his mind and not by spoken words. Though the cougar
sends the game it is the sun who gives power to the Sia to capture it.

It is the prerogative of the ho[naaite of this society to decide upon
the time for the hunt. Hä´chamoni are deposited to the cougar of the
north, the west, the south, the east to convey the messages of the Sia.
If a rabbit hunt is to occur a rabbit stick and an arrow point are
deposited as offerings to the sun. The offerings to the cougar of the
zenith are deposited to the north and those to the sun to the east. If
the hunt is to be for larger game an arrow point only is deposited to
the sun. The hunt may occur very soon after these offerings are made or
not for some time, it being optional with the ho´naaite. He does not
directly notify the people, but speaks to the war chief, who heralds
his message. When announcement has been made of the prospective hunt a
fire is made at night on the east side of the village and the selected
huntsmen form in a circle around it; here the night is spent making
plans for the hunt, in epic songs, and story telling, and, like other
Indians, the Sia recount the valorous deeds of the mythical beings
and their people in low, modulated tones. The hunt occurs four days
from this time, and continency is observed until after the hunt. On
the fifth morning, if the hunt be for rabbits, the men and women of
the village prepare to join in the chase by first having their heads
bathed in yucca suds and then donning their best apparel; only men
hunt for the larger game. Rabbits are hunted on horseback with rabbit
sticks; deer, on foot and with the rifle in preference to the arrow.

  [Illustration: Bureau of Ethnology.    Eleventh Annual Report PLate XXXI

  GAST LITH. CO. N.Y.

  SIA MASKS.]

A party of hunters which had been indicated by the war chief to hunt
for deer and antelope left the village in the afternoon, the party
being led by the vice war chief. The ti´ämoni was a member of the
party. The writer mentions this as it is unusual for a ti´ämoni to
participate in the hunt, and it is claimed by the Sia that if their
ti´ämoni were not a mere boy he would observe the custom of his
predecessors and decline to join in the hunt. The scarcity of game in
this part of the country necessitated a three days’ journey before any
was obtained.

Previous to the departure of the party the ho´naaite of the society
of the cougar visited the house of each man who was to participate in
the hunt and embraced him, repeating a short prayer for success. The
prayer was addressed first to the cougar, father of game, that he might
send his children about the country, and afterwards to the sun to give
power to the hunters to secure the game. The wives and relatives of the
hunting party had been busy preparing food for them; each man’s wife
looked carefully after his personal needs. The wife handed the hunter’s
gun to him after he had mounted his horse, the unmarried man of the
party having his gun handed him by his father.

The huntsmen were absent thirteen days, and upon their return a member
of the party was sent in advance as courier to notify the war chief.
The news brought general delight to the villagers, particularly to
the wives of the hunters, who at once commenced preparing for their
arrival. They reached the river about sundown, and upon crossing were
received by the vice ho´naaite of the society of warriors and the war
chief, who offered prayers and sprinkled meal in thanksgiving for the
success and safe return of the hunters who grouped on the bank of the
river. The younger children of the returning party were also on the
river bank to meet their fathers, who at once took their little ones on
the horses with them and expressed much delight at again seeing them.
The huntsmen then in single file ascended the hill to the village, led
by the vicar of the society of warriors and the war chief, the latter
two being on foot, the war chief following the vicar. A man whose house
was at the entrance of the plaza dropped out of the file to go to his
home, and by the time he had reached the door his wife was outside to
receive his gun and other luggage which he bore; this was the only
greeting between the husband and wife. After the horsemen had crossed
the plaza a second man entered his home, he being the vicar of the
society of the cougar and son of the vicar of the society of warriors.
The war chief then led the party until but one horseman remained, who
upon reaching his home was assisted by the war chief in relieving
himself and animal of their burden. Several of the women of the village
embraced the ti´ämoni after he had dismounted, who, however, seemed
perfectly absorbed in his infant daughter, his wife’s greeting, like
those of the other wives, being simply to take first his gun and then
his other traps from his horse.

The ho´naaite of the cougar society visited the houses of all the
returned hunters, first entering the house of his vicar. The young
man stood in the center of the room and the ho´naaite embraced him
and repeated a prayer of thanksgiving for his success in the hunt
and his safe return. The old man was then assisted to a seat upon a
wadded blanket and the father of the hunter spread a sheepskin upon the
floor, wool side down, and emptied the contents of the sack which was
taken from the hunter’s horse upon it, which was nothing more than the
desiccated meat and bones of an antelope. The aged man then took from
his pouch a fetich of the cougar, about 3 inches long, and touching
it to the meat of the antelope many times prayed most earnestly for
several minutes. His prayers were addressed to the cougar, thanking him
for his goodness in sending his children over the land that the Sia
might secure them as payment to the cloud people for watering the earth.

In the next house visited the meat of the antelope was spread upon
a bear’s skin, the hair down. The skin of the antelope was folded
lengthwise and laid by the side of the meat, and the skull and antlers
placed at one end. The wife of the hunter laid over the skull many
strings of coral, ko´haqua, and turkis beads, and afterwards spread a
white embroidered Tusayan blanket over the carcass. A small bowl of
sacred meal was deposited in front of the head. The aged ho´naaite
repeated a prayer similar to the one he offered in the first house,
not omitting placing the fetich to the antelope; he then clasped his
hands four times over the skull of the antelope and drew a breath,
after which the hunter lighted a cigarette for the ho´naaite who blew
the first whiff over the antelope and extended the cigarette toward it.
The ho´naaite repeated the prayer in the houses of the four successful
hunters. The other two men were not overlooked, as he embraced them and
repeated a prayer of thanksgiving for their safe return.[23] The war
chief visited all of the houses, but did nothing more than sprinkle the
antelope with corn pollen, drawing in a sacred breath from the game,
puffing the first whiff of his cigarette over it and extending the
cigarette toward it.

When the game is shot, the hunter dips his fetich into the blood,
telling it to drink. The blood is often scraped from fetiches and
drunk in a little water to insure greater success in the hunt. There
are specimens of such fetiches in Mr. Stevenson’s collection in the
National Museum. Some students, through their imperfect knowledge,
have been led into the error of supposing from their new appearance
that these fetiches were of recent manufacture. The game is kept in
the houses of the hunters until the following morning, when it is
taken to the ceremonial house of the ti´ämoni, the war chief deciding
what day it shall be distributed among the ho´naaites of the several
cult societies. It may be one, two, or three days after the return
of the hunters. At the appointed time the ho´naaites assemble in the
ceremonial house of the ti´ämoni, who divides the game, each ho´naaite
carrying his portion to his ceremonial chamber. About noon of the same
day the members of the cult societies assemble in their respective
ceremonial chambers and prepare hä´chamoni; at the same time, if the
society has any female members, they place the game in a pot and cook
it in the fireplace in the ceremonial chamber, but if there be no
female members certain male members are designated for this purpose.
Toward evening the slat altars are erected, and the night is spent in
songs and supplications to the cloud people to gather and water the
earth. Hä´chamoni and the game are deposited before sunrise at four
shrines—to the cougar of the north, the west, the south, and the east,
that they will intercede for the cloud people to gather and water the
earth. Hä´chamoni are also deposited to the sun father that he will
invoke the cloud people to water the earth, and also that he will
embrace the earth that the crops may grow. Others are deposited in the
fields as payment to the cloud people for the services requested of
them.

  [Illustration: Bureau of Ethnology.    Eleventh Annual Report PLate XXXII

  GAST LITH. CO. N.Y.

  SIA MASKS.]


                         SOCIETY OF WARRIORS.

The Society of Warriors and the Knife Society have a ceremonial chamber
in common; and in a certain sense these societies are closely allied,
the former having had originally as its presiding officers Ma´asewe
and U´yuuyewĕ, the twin children of the sun, the latter society having
derived its name from the arrows which were given by the sun father
to the invulnerable twins, and with which they destroyed the enemies
of the earth. Each of these societies, therefore, has a share in the
initiation of a victor.

The killing of an enemy is not sufficient to admit a man into the
Society of Warriors; he must return with such trophies as the scalp
and buckskin apparel. The victor carries the scalp on an arrow until
he draws near to the village, when he transfers it to a pole some 5
feet in length, the pole being held with both hands. The victor’s
approach is heralded, and if it be after the sun has eaten his midday
meal he must not enter the village, but remain near it until morning,
food being carried to him by the war chief. In the morning the Society
of the Knife, followed by the Warriors and the male populace of the
town, join the victor. An extended prayer is offered by the ho´naaite
of the Knife Society, and then, addressing the spirit of the enemy, he
says: “You are now no longer our enemy; your scalp is here; you will no
more destroy my people.” The ho´naaite of the Warriors and his vicar
respond, “So! So!” The air is resonant the remainder of the day with
the war song, there being occasional intermissions for prayers; and at
sundown the ho´naaite of the Warriors and his vicar, with the victor,
bearing the pole and scalp between them, lead the way to the village,
followed by the members of the society, and then the Knife Society,
led by its ho´naaite and his vicar. After encircling the village from
right to left, the party enters the ceremonial chamber, when the scalp
is deposited before the meal painting, the ho´naaite of the Knife
Society having prepared the painting and arranged the fetiches about
it in the morning before going to meet the victor. The two large stone
images of Ma´asewe and U´yuuyewĕ, which are brought out only upon the
initiation of a victor into the Society of Warriors, are kept in a room
exclusively their own; these particular fetiches of the war heroes are
never looked upon by women, consequently they have remained undisturbed
in their abiding place a number of years, the exception being when all
the fetiches and paraphernalia of the cult of the Sia were displayed in
1887 for Mr. Stevenson’s and the writer’s inspection. The members of
the Knife Society sit on the west side of the room and the Warriors on
the east side, the ho´naaites of the societies sitting at the north end
of either line, each ho´naaite having his vicar by his side, and the
victor by the side of the vicar of the Warriors; he does not join in
the song, but sits perfectly still. At sunrise the scalp is washed in
yucca suds and cold water by each member of the Knife Society, and the
victor’s hands are then bathed for the first time since the scalping,
and he proceeds to paint his body. The face and lower portion of the
legs are colored red and the remainder black, and galena is then spread
over the greater portion of the face. The Knife Society wears white
cotton embroidered Tusayan kilts and moccasins, and the Warriors wear
kilts of unornamented buckskin, excepting the fringes at the bottom and
the pouch made from the buckskin apparel captured from the enemy. The
victor wears the buckskin kilt, moccasins, and pouch, and he carries a
bow and arrows in his left hand, and the pole with the scalp attached
to it in the right. Each member of the society also carries a bow and
arrows in the left hand and a single arrow in the right. The members of
the Knife Society have gourd rattles in their right hands and bows and
arrows in the left. The hair of all is left flowing.

An arrow point is placed in the mouth of the victor by the ho´naaite of
the Knife Society, and they all then proceed to the plaza, the members
of each society forming in a line and the victor dancing to and fro
between the lines, raising the scalp as high as the pole will reach,
but he does not sing or speak a word. The numbers in the lines are
increased by the men of the village carrying war clubs and firearms,
keeping up a continual volley with their pistols and guns until
the close of the dance at sundown. The women are not debarred from
exhibiting their enthusiasm, and they join in the dance.

Upon their return to the ceremonial chamber the scalp is again
deposited before the meal painting and the ho´naaite of the Knife
Society proceeds with the final epic ritual which completes the
initiation of the victor into the Society of Warriors, closing with
these words: “You are now a member of the Society of Warriors,” and he
then removes the arrow point from the victor’s mouth. The members, in
conjunction with the victor, respond “Yes! Yes!”

  [Illustration: BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY   ELEVENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. XXXIII

  PRAYER TO THE RISING SUN.]

The cotton shirt and trousers are then donned and the scalp is carried
to the scalp-house (a cavity in the earth covered with a mound of
stone) and deposited with food for the spirit of the departed enemy.
Again returning to the ceremonial chamber, fast is broken for the
first time during the day, when a feast, which is served by the
female relatives of the victor, is enjoyed. After the meal they go to
the river and remove all evidences of the paint upon their bodies.
Continency is observed four days.

The few songs of the cult which the writer was able to collect are
direct invocations for rain, or for the presence of zoomorphic beings
in ceremonials for healing the sick, a few words sufficing for many
unexpressed ideas. The epic ritual of the Sia is so elaborate that
much time and careful instruction are required to impress it upon the
mind, and the younger men either have not the mind necessary for the
retention of the ritual or will not tax their memories; therefore the
web of Sia myth and religion is woven into the minds of but few.

The aged theurgists were eager to intrust to the writer the keeping of
their songs, which are an elaborate record of the lives of their mythic
heroes and of the Sia themselves.

The Sia sometimes adopt the poet’s license in their songs and alter a
word; for example, the name for “badger” is tuo´pi, but is changed in
the sko´yo song for rain to tupi´na, because, they say, the latter word
renders the stanza more rhythmical. And, again, different words are
synonymously used.

The hĭs´tiän and quer´ränna have each a similar song of petition for
rain, this song having been given to the hĭs´tiän by the sun. It will
be remembered that the name of this society indicates the knives or
arrows of lightning given to the heroes by their sun father.


                                SONGS.

          A RAIN SONG OF THE SHU´-WI CHAI´ÄN (SNAKE SOCIETY).

  1. Hĕn´-na-ti             2. Hĕn´-na-ti shi´-wan-na
     He´-äsh                   He´-äsh shi-wan-na
     Pûr´-tu-wĭsh-ta           Pûr´-tu-wĭsh-ta shi-wan-na
     Kŏw-mots                  Kŏw-mots shi´-wan-na
     Kash´-ti-arts             Kash´-ti-arts shi´-wan-na
     Ka´-chard                 Ka´-chard shi´-wan-na

(1) _Translation_:—Hĕnnati, white floating masks, behind which the
cloud people pass about over ti´ni´a for recreation; He´äsh, masks like
the plains, behind which the cloud people pass over ti´ni´a to water
the earth; Pûrtuwĭshta, lightning people; Kŏwmots, thunder people;
Kashtiarts, rainbow people; Ka´chard, rain, the word being used in this
instance, however, as an emphatic invocation to the rulers of the cloud
people.

(2) Shi´wanna, people.

_Free translation_:—An appeal to the priests of ti´nia. Let the white
floating clouds—the clouds like the plains—the lightning, thunder,
rainbow, and cloud peoples, water the earth. Let the people of the
white floating clouds—the people of the clouds like the plains—the
lightning, thunder, rainbow and cloud peoples—come and work for us, and
water the earth.

  3. Sha´-ka-ka             4. Sha´-ka-ka shi´-wan-na
     Shwi´-ti-ra-wa-na         Shwi´-ti-ra-wa-na shi´-wan-na
     Mai´-chi-na               Mai´-chi-na shi´-wan-na
     Shwi´-si-ni-ha-na-we      Shwi´-si-ni-ha-na-we shi´-wan-na
     Marsh´-ti-tä-mo           Marsh’ ti-tä-mo shi’-wan-na
     Mor´-ri-tä-mo             Mor´-ri-tä-mo shi´-wan-na

_Translation_:—Sha´kaka, spruce of the north; Shwi´tirawana, pine of
the west. Mai´china, oak of the south. Shwi´sinihanawe, aspen of the
east. Marsh´titämo, cedar of the zenith; Mor´ritämo, oak of the nadir.

(2) Shi´wanna, people.

_Free translation_:—Cloud priest who ascends to ti´nia through the
heart of the spruce of the north; cloud priest who ascends to ti´nia
through the heart of the pine of the west; cloud priest who ascends
to ti´nia through the heart of the oak of the south; cloud priest who
ascends to ti´nia through the heart of the aspen of the east; cloud
priest who ascends to ti´nia through the heart of the cedar of the
zenith; cloud priest who ascends to ti´nia, through the heart of the
oak of the nadir; send your people to work for us, that the waters of
the six great springs may impregnate our mother, the earth, that she
may give to us the fruits of her being.

Though the trees of the cardinal points are addressed, the supplication
is understood to be made to priestly rulers of the cloud peoples of the
cardinal points.

  5. Hĕn´-na-ti             ka´-shi-wan-na
     He´-äsh                ka´shi-wan-na
     Pûr´-tu-wĭsh-ta        ka´shi-wan-na
     Kŏw-mots               ka´shi-wan-na
     Kash-ti-arts           ka´shi-wan-na
     Ka´chard               ka´shi-wan-na
                            ka´shi-wan-na (all people).

_Free translation_:—All the white floating clouds—all the clouds like
the plains—all the lightning, thunder, rainbow and cloud peoples, come
and work for us.

  6. Sha´-ka-ka             ka´-shi-wan-na
     hwi´-ti-ra-wa-na       ka´-shi-wan-na
     Mai´-chi-na            ka´-shi-wan-na
     Shwi´-si-ni-ha-na-we   ka´-shi-wan-na
     Marsh´-ti-tä-mo        ka´-shi-wan-na
     Mor´-ri-tä-mo          ka´-shi-wan-na

_Free translation_:—

  Priest of the spruce of the north, send all your people to work for
      us;
  Priest of the pine of the west, send all your people to work for us;
  Priest of the oak of the south, send all your people to work for us;
  Priest of the aspen of the east, send all your people to work for us;
  Priest of the cedar of the zenith, send all your people to work for
      us;
  Priest of the oak of the nadir, send all your people to work for us.

  7. Hĕn´-na-ti             ho´-chän-ni
     He´-äsh                ho´-chän-ni
     Pûr-tu-wĭsh-ta         ho´-chän-ni
     Kŏw´-mots              ho´-chän-ni
     Kash´-ti-arts          ho´-chän-ni
     Ka´-chard              ho´-chän-ni

_Translation_:—Ho´chänni, arch ruler of the cloud priests of the world.

_Free translation_:—

  Ho´chänni of the white floating clouds of the world;
  Ho´chänni of the clouds like the plains of the world (referring to the
      cloud people behind their masks);
  Ho´chänni of the lightning peoples of the world;
  Ho´chänni of the thunder peoples of the world;
  Ho´chänni of the rainbow peoples of the world;
  Ho´chänni of the cloud peoples of the world—send all your peoples to
      work for us.

  8. Sha-´ka-ka             ho´-chän-ni
     Shwi´ti-ra-wa-na       ho´-chän-ni
     Mai´-chi-na            ho´-chän-ni
     Shwi´si-ni-ha-na-we    ho´-chän-ni
     Marsh´-ti-tä-mo        ho´-chän-ni
     Mor´-ri-tä-mo          ho´-chän-ni

_Free translation_:—

  Ho´chänni of the spruce of the north;
  Ho´chänni of the pine of the west;
  Ho´chänni of the oak of the south;
  Ho´chänni of the aspen of the east;
  Ho´chänni of the cedar of the zenith;
  Ho´chänni of the oak of the nadir; send all your peoples to work
      for us, that the waters of the six great springs of the world may
      impregnate our mother the earth, that she may give to us the
      fruits of her being.


  A SONG OF THE SHU´WI CHAI´ÄN (SNAKE SOCIETY) FOR HEALING THE SICK.

  1. Ska´-to-we chai´-än    Quĭs´-sĕr-a chai´-än
     Ka´-span-na chai´-än   Hu´-wa-ka-chai´-än
     Ko´-quai-ra chai’-än   Ya´-ai chai´-än

_Translation_:—Snake Society of the north, Snake Society of the west,
Snake Society of the south, Snake Society of the east, Snake Society of
the zenith, Snake Society of the nadir, come here and work with us.

  2. Ho´-na-ai-te           Ska´-to-we chai´-än
     Ho´-na-ai-te           Ka´-span-na chai´-än
     Ho´-na-ai-te           Ko´-quai-ra chai´-än
     Ho´-na-ai-te           Quĭs´-sĕr-a chai´-än
     Ho´-na-ai-te           Hu´-wa-ka chai´-än
     Ho´-na-ai-te           Ya´-ai chai´-än

An appeal to the ho´-naaites of the snake societies of the cardinal
points to be present and work for the curing of the sick.

  3. Mo´-kaite chai´-än     Ka´-kan chai´-än
     Ko´-hai chai´-än       Tiä´-mi chai´-än
     Tu-o´-pi chai´-än      Mai´tu-bo chai´-än.

An appeal to the animals of the cardinal points to be present at the
ceremonial of healing.

  4. Ho´-na-ai-te           Mo´-kaite chai´-än
     Ho´-na-ai-te           Ko´-hai chai´-än
     Ho´-na-ai-te           Tu-o´-pi chai´-än
     Ho´-na-ai-te           Ka´-kan chai´-än
     Ho´-na-ai-te           Ti-ä´-mi chai´-än
     Ho´-na-ai-te           Mai´-tu-bo chai´-än

An appeal to the ho´naaites of the animal societies of the cardinal
points to be present at the ceremonial.


          A RAIN SONG OF THE SKO´YO CHAI´ÄN (GIANT SOCIETY).

  1. Cher-ĕs ti mu   ko wai´ yä tu   ai´ ya mi wa wa   Ĭsh to wa
     Middle of the      door of      my medicine is    Arrow of
      world below      shi´pa-po     precious, it is   lightning
                                       as my heart

      tiᵗkä ᵗsi mai ah    kosh´ te än
          come to us          echo

  2. Kai´ nu a we eh   sha ka ka   ka´ shi wan na ti   ka´ ru ᵗsin i ah
        Who is it      “spruce of   all your people      your thoughts
                         north”

  3. Kai´ nu ah we he   hĕn´ na ti    ka´ ru ᵗsin i ah
        Who is it     “white floating   your thoughts
                          clouds”

      ti´ kä ᵗsi mai ah   ka´ shi wan na ti   ka´ ru ᵗsin i ah
         come to us         all your people      your thoughts

      ti´ kä ᵗsi mai ah
         come to us

  4. Kai´ nu ah we eh   he´äsh shi ᵗsi   ka´ru ᵗsin i ah
        Who is it      “clouds like the    your thoughts
                            plains”

      ti´ kä ᵗsi mai ah
         come to us

  5. Kai´ nu ah we he   ĭsh to wa   ka´ru ᵗsin i ah
        Who is it       “arrow of    your thoughts
                        lightning”

      ti´ kä ᵗsi mai ah
         come to me

  6. Kai´ nu ah we eh   ha´ a ᵗsi ᵗsi´ at ᵗsi n̄i   ka´ shi wan na ti
         Who is it             “earth horizon”          all your people

      ka´   ru ᵗsin i ah   ti´ kä ᵗsi mai ah
     your      thought          come to us

_Free translation_:—We, the ancient ones, ascended from the middle of
the world below, through the door of the entrance to the lower world,
we hold our songs to the cloud, lightning, and thunder peoples as we
hold our own hearts; our medicine is precious. (Addressing the people
of ti´nia:) We entreat you to send your thoughts to us that we may sing
your songs straight, so that they will pass over the straight road to
the cloud priests that they may cover the earth with water, so that she
may bear all that is good for us.

Lightning people, send your arrows to the middle of the earth, hear the
echo (meaning that the thunder people are flapping their wings among
the cloud and lightning peoples). Who is it (the singers pointing to
the north)? The people of the spruce of the north. All your people
and your thoughts come to us. Who is it? People of the white floating
clouds. Your thoughts come to us, all your people and your thoughts
come to us. Who is it (pointing above)? People of the clouds like the
plains. Your thought comes to us. Who is it? The lightning people. Your
thoughts come to us. Who is it? Cloud people at the horizon. All your
people and your thoughts come to us.


  A SONG OF THE SKO´YO CHAI´ÄN (GIANT SOCIETY) FOR HEALING THE SICK.

          Ah´...ha...ha...wa´-mi
              Sand painting

  1. Kai´-nu-a...we...eh   mo´kai-ra   ho´-na-wa-ai-te
         Who is it          cougar        theurgist

      nu-ro-wa-ah   ka´-ᵗsi-ma-ah
      all is yours  take away all disease

  2. Kai´-nu-a...we...eh   ko´-hai-ya   ho´-na-wa-ai-te
         Who is it           bear         theurgist

      nu-ro-wa-ah   ka´-ᵗsi-ma-ah
      all is yours  take away all disease

  3. Kai-nu-a...we...eh   tu´-pi-na   ho´-na-wa-ai-te
         Who is it          badger        theurgist

      nu-ro-wa-ah   ka´-ᵗsi-ma-ah
      all is yours  take away all disease

  4. Kai-nu-a...we...eh   ka´-kan-na   ho´-na-wa-ai-te
         Who is it           wolf         theurgist

      nu-ro-wa-ah   ka´-ᵗsi-ma-ah
      all is yours  take away all disease

  5. Kai-nu-a...we...eh   tä´-mi-na   ho´-na-wa-ai-te
         Who is it          eagle        theurgist

      nu-ro-wa-ah   ka´-ᵗsi-ma-ah
      all is yours  take away all disease

  6. Kai-nu-a...we...eh   ma´i-tu-bo   ho´-na-wa-ai-te
         Who is it          shrew         theurgist

  nu-ro-wa-ah   ka´-ᵗsi-ma-ah
  all is yours  take away all disease

_Free translation_:—Lion of the north, see the sand painting which you
have given us (a voice is heard). Who is it? “The lion.” I am but your
theurgist; you possess all power; lend me your mind and your heart that
I may penetrate the flesh and discover the disease. Through me, your
theurgist, take away all disease.

This appeal is repeated to each of the animals named.


          A RAIN SONG OF THE HĬSTIÄN CHAI´ÄN (KNIFE SOCIETY).

  1. Ha´-ta-we    sĕr´-ra-ᵗse    yu´-wa  ti´tä-mi  ka´-wash-ti-ma
     Corn pollen  pass over the  there    north    spring of the
                  road                                 north

      ko´-tû
     mountain

  2. Ha´-ta-we    sĕr´-ra-ᵗse    yu´-wa  po’-na  ᵗsi´-pĭn
     Corn pollen  pass over the  there    west   spring of
                  road                            the west

      ko´-tû
     mountain

  3. Ha´-ta-we    sĕr´-ra-ᵗse    yu´-wa  ko´wa  tŏw´-o-tu-ma
     Corn pollen  pass over the  there   south   spring of
                  road                           the south

  4. Ha´-ta-we    sĕr´-ra-ᵗse    yu´-wa  ha´-na-mi  ku´-chän
     Corn pollen  pass over the  there     east     spring of
                  road                              the east

      ko´-tû
     mountain

  5. Ha´-ta-we    sĕr´-ra-ᵗse    yu´-wa  ti´-na-mi  ko´-wa-tu-ma
     Corn pollen  pass over the  there     zenith    spring of
                  road                               the zenith

      ko´-tû
     mountain

  6. Ha´-ta-we    sĕr´-ra-ᵗse    yu´-wa  nûr´-ka-mi  sti´-a-chän-na
     Corn pollen  pass over the  there     nadir       spring of
                  road                                 the nadir

      ko´-tû
     mountain

_Free translation_:—Corn pollen pass over the north road[24] to the
spring of the north mountain, that the cloud people may ascend from the
spring in the heart of the mountain to ti´nia and water the earth. The
same is repeated for the five remaining cardinal points.


          A RAIN SONG OF THE HĬSTIÄN CHAI´ÄN (KNIFE SOCIETY).

      Ho´...hai...hai...ho´

  1. Yu´-wa...ti´tä-mi   ka´-wish-ti-ma   sha´...ka-ka
     There     north         spring    spruce of the north

      ka´-shi...wan...na   ha´-ti
    all cloud   people     where

  2. Yu´-wa-po-na-mi   shwi´-ti-ra-wa-na   ka´-shi...wan...na   ha´-ti
    There in the west  pine of the west      all      people    where


  3. Yu´-wa...ko´-wa-mi  ᵗ´se-ya mai´-chi-na   ka´-shi...wan...na
     There      south     great  oak of the      all     people
                                   south

      ha´-ti
      where

  4. Yu´-wa...ha´...na-mi   shwi´si-ni-ha-na-we  ka´shi...wan...na
     There          east     aspen of the east    all      people

      ha-´ti
      where

  5. Yu´-wa...ti´-na-mi   marsh´-ti-tä-mo    ka´-shi...wan...na
     There    the zenith  cedar of the zenith   all     people

      ha´-ti
      where

  6. Yu´-wa...nûr´-ka-mi   mor´-ri-tä-mo   ka´-shi...wan...na
     There      earth     oak of the earth   all      people

      ha´-ti
      where

  7. Ho´...hai...hai...ho´

The Quer´ränna has the same song.

_Free Translation_:—

1. Where are all the cloud people of the spring or heart of the spruce
of the north? There in the north [the singers pointing to the north].

2. Where are all the cloud people of the pine of the west? There in the
west [the singers pointing to the west].

3. Where are all the cloud people of the great oak of the south? There
in the south [the singers pointing to the south].

4. Where are all the cloud people of the aspen of the east? There in
the east [the singers pointing to the east].

5. Where are all the cloud people of the cedar of the zenith? There in
the zenith [the singers pointing upward].

6. Where are all the cloud people of the nadir? There [the singers
pointing to the earth].


    PORTION OF A RAIN SONG OF THE HISTIÄN CHAI´ÄN (KNIFE SOCIETY).

        Ha´ ah oh hai e är ha´ ah oh hai e är[25]

  1. Yu-wa...ti´-i-ta   shi´-pa-po   ni´-ma   mo´-kaite   ha´-ro-ᵗse
     There    north     entrance to  ascended   cougar        man
                        lower world

        Ha´ ah oh hai e är   ha´ ah oh hai e är

  2. Yu-wa...ti´-i-ta   shi´-pa-po   ni´ma   ko´-hai-ra   ha´ro-ᵗse
     There    north     entrance to  ascended   bear         man
                        lower world

        Ha´ ah oh hai e är   ha´ ah oh hai e är

  3. Yu-wa...ti´-i-ta   shi´-pa-po   ni´-ma   tu’[-]pi-na   ha´-ro-ᵗse
     There    north     entrance to  ascended   badger         man
                        lower world

        Ha´ ah oh hai e är    ha´ ah oh hai e är

  4. Yu-wa...ti´-i-ta   shi´-pa-po   ni´-ma   ka´-kan-na   ha´-ro-ᵗse
     There    north     entrance to  ascended   wolf          man
                        lower world

        Ha´ ah oh hai e är   ha´ ah oh hai e är

  5. Yu-wa...ti´-i-ta   shi´-pa-po   ni´-ma   ti-ä´mi   ha´ro-se
     There    north     entrance to  ascended  eagle      man
                        lower world

        Ha´ ah oh hai e är    ha´ ah oh hai e är

  6. Yu-wa...ti´-i-ta   shi´-pa-po   ni´ma    mai-tu-bo   ha´-ro-ᵗse
     There    north     entrance to  ascended   shrew       man
                        lower world

An appeal to the animals of the cardinal points to intercede with the
cloud people to water the earth. This song is long and elaborate.
It begins by stating that their people, the cougar people and the
others mentioned, ascended to ha´arts, the earth, through the opening,
shi´papo, in the north. It then recounts various incidents in the lives
of these beings, with appeals at intervals for their intercession with
the cloud people.


                A RAIN SONG OF THE QUER´RÄNNA CHAUI´ÄN.

  Hĕn´-na-ti      he´-äsh     O´-shats  Ta´-wac  Mo´-kaite  ko´hai
  White floating  clouds like   sun       moon    cougar     bear
    clouds.       the plains

      Tu-o´-pi
       badger

  Ka´kan  Ti-ä´-mi  Mai-tu-bo  Ma´-a-se-we       Uyuuyewĕ
   wolf    eagle      shrew   elder war hero  younger war hero

      Sa´-mai-hai-a
     name of warrior
      of the north

   Shi´-no-hai-a     Yu´-ma-hai-a   Ah´-wa-hai-a     Pe´-ah-hai-a
  name of warrior  name of warrior name of warrior  name of warrior
   of the west      of the south    of the east      of zenith

      Sa´-ra-hai-a
     name of warrior
        of nadir

    Wai-ti-chän-ni    ai-wan-na-tuon-ñi  Shi´-wan-na-wa-tu-un
  medicine water bowl    cloud bowl      ceremonial water vase

      hi-än-ye
      I make a
    road of meal

    Hi´-ah-är-ra      hi´-a-mo-ñi      Hi-shi-ko-yaᵗsas-pa
  the ancient road  the ancient road  white shell bead woman
                                      who lives where the sun
                                            descends

      sho´-pok-ti-ä-ma
         whirlwind

  Sûs´-sĭs-tin-na-ko  ya´-ya   ko´-chi-na-ko   Mĕr´-ri-na-ko
       creator        mother  yellow woman of  blue woman of
                                 the north       the west

      kûr´-kan-­ñi-na-ko
     red woman of the south

  Ka´-shi-na-ko    quĭs-sĕr-ri-na-ko          mu-nai-na-ko
  white woman of  slightly yellow woman  dark woman of the nadir
    the east         of the zenith.

_Free translation_:—White floating clouds. Clouds like the plains come
and water the earth. Sun embrace the earth that she may be fruitful.
Moon, lion of the north, bear of the west, badger of the south, wolf
of the east, eagle of the heavens, shrew of the earth, elder war hero,
younger war hero, warriors of the six mountains of the world, intercede
with the cloud people for us, that they may water the earth. Medicine
bowl, cloud bowl, and water vase give us your hearts, that the earth
may be watered. I make the ancient road of meal, that my song may pass
straight over it—the ancient road. White shell bead woman who lives
where the sun goes down, mother whirlwind, father Sûs´sĭstĭnnako,
mother Ya´ya, creator of good thoughts, yellow woman of the north, blue
woman of the west, red woman of the south, white woman of the east,
slightly yellow woman of the zenith, and dark woman of the nadir, I ask
your intercession with the cloud people.


                        PRAYER FOR SICK INFANT.

While the Sia have great faith in the power of their theurgists,
individually they make efforts to save the lives of their dear ones
even after the failure of the theurgist. Such is their belief in the
supplications of the good of heart, that the vice-theurgist of the
Snake Society, who is one of the writer’s staunchest friends, rode many
miles to solicit her prayers for his ill infant. He placed in her hand
a tiny package of shell mixture done up in a bit of corn husk, and,
clasping the hand with both of his, he said: “Your heart being good,
your prayers travel fast to the sun and Ko´pĭshtaia.” He, then, in the
most impressive manner, repeated the following prayer:

(1) Ku-chŏr-pĭsh-tai-a (2) Ku-chŏr-na-tä-ni (3) Ku´ti ot se ä ta (4)
Pai´-ä-tä-mo ki-ᵗchän-ni (5) Ha´-mi ha´-notch (6) U-wa mash-ta-ñi (7)
Ka´a-wĭnck (8) Ya´-ya (9) U-ä-mûts (10 Ka´-a-wĭinck (11) Sha´-mi wĭnck
(12) U-we-chai-ni (13) Ñi na mats (14) ñi to ñi (15) ᵗsi tu ma ñi to
ñi (16) Na´ wai pi cha.

_Explanation of prayer by governor for his sick child._

(1) Your thoughts and heart are united with Ko´pĭshtaia; you daily draw
the sacred breath of life.

(2) Your thoughts are great and pass first over the road to the sun
father and Ko´pĭshtaia.

(3) Our thoughts and hearts are as one, but yours are first.

(4) A man of the world.     }
                            } Referring to the child.
(5) Of the tobacco family.  }

(6) You will be to the child as a mother, and the child will be as your
own for all time to come; your thoughts will always be for one another.

(7) The hearts of ourselves and the child be united and as one heart
henceforth; those of us who pray for the child will be known by the
child and the child by us, even though the child has not been seen by
us; we will know one another by our hearts and the child will greet you
as——

(8) Mother.

(9) Take the child into your arms as your own.

(10) That the hearts of ourselves and the child’s be united and as one
heart; henceforth those of us who pray for this child will be known by
the child and the child by us; though the child has not been seen by
us, we will know one another by our hearts.

(11) May he have a good heart.

(12) May all good words come straight from his heart and pass over the
straight road.

(13) While he is growing from childhood to youth.

(14) While he is growing from youth to manhood.

(15) And may he be valued as he grows from manhood to old age.

(16) May the child be beautiful and happy.

When one is ill from the heat of the sun he sprinkles corn pollen or
meal to the sun, saying, “Father, I am ill in my head, it reaches my
heart; I pay you with this meal; I give it to you as food, and will be
thankful to you to take away my malady.”


                              CHILDBIRTH.

One of the most sacred and exclusive rites of the Sia is associated
with childbirth.

The accouchement here described was observed in May, 1890, at this
pueblo. Upon discovering the woman to be in a state of gestation,
the writer made every effort to obtain her consent, and that of the
doctress and members of her family to be present at the birth of the
child. She kept vigilant watch upon the woman and on the morning of the
twenty-second learned that the event was imminent.

Upon inquiring of the father of the women the same morning why he did
not go to the fields, he replied, “I can only sit and wait for the
little one to come; I must be with my daughter.” He was busy during the
day making beads of bits of shells, reducing them to the proper size by
rubbing them on a flat stone, afterwards piercing each piece by means
of a rotary drill. The following day he sat weaving a band to tie his
grandson’s hair. The woman worked as usual with her sewing and prepared
the family meals.

After the evening meal (which was some time before dark) on the 22d,
the family, consisting of the parents of the woman to be confined, her
husband and two boys of 8 and 9 years, gathered in the family living
room (this room being 15 by 35 feet). It was evident that the woman was
regarded with great consideration and interest, especially by her fond
parents, who by the way, were foster parents, the woman being a Navajo.
At the time of the removal of the Navajo to the Bosque Redondo, this
child was left by her mother in the pueblo of Sia and has since lived
with her foster parents.

On the evening of the 23d they gathered as before into the living room,
which had been specially prepared for the event. A small quantity of
raw cotton, a knife, and a string lay upon a shelf, and the infant’s
small wardrobe, consisting of a tiny sheet of white cotton, pieces of
calico and a diminutive Navajo blanket, which were gifts to the child,
were laid on a table in the farther end of the room. The family sat in
anxious expectancy.

It is the woman’s privilege to select her officiating ho´naaite
theurgist, and if her husband or father be a ho´naaite, or vicar of
a cult society, she usually selects one or the other, otherwise she
requests her husband to visit the ho´naaite of her choice and ask his
services; in the absence of her husband her brother goes. The woman,
holding shell mixture[26] in her right hand (when meal or shell mixture
is used in connection with the dead it is held in the left hand),
breathes four times upon it, that the expected child may have a good
heart and walk over one straight road, and then hands it to the bearer
of her message to be presented to the ho´naaite, this shell mixture
being the only compensation received for his services.

In this case the woman chose her father.

At 8 o’clock she was seized with the first stage of labor, and her
mother at once made a fire in the fireplace, and a low, heavy stool,
cut from a solid block, was placed in front of it. The woman took her
seat upon the stool, with her back to the fire, wearing her cotton
gown, woven dress and belt, and a small blanket around her.

The doctress (Fig. 19) and sister of the woman’s husband, who had been
summoned, arrived almost immediately. The father and husband removed
their moccasins and the women had their legs and feet bare. The father
took his seat upon a low chair in front of his daughter, the doctress
sat to her left, clasping an ear of yellow and purple corn, and the
writer by the side of the doctress, holding a medicine-stone which had
been given her some days previously by the doctress to be used on this
occasion. The husband sat upon his wadded blanket against the wall, and
by his side were his two sons and his sister, she having with her an
infant and a child some 2 years of age. The night was warm and the door
of the room was left open.

  [Illustration: FIG. 19.—Sia doctress.]

The ho´naaite laid three small buckskin medicine bags on the floor
in front of him (one containing shell mixture, another the pollen of
edible and medicinal plants, and the third a plant medicine powdered),
and, holding the quill ends of two eagle plumes between his hands, he
repeated in a low tone the following prayer;

I´-i-wa-u-wak´ nai´-she-eh shan´-nai ha´-arts. Nai´-she-eh
pitonipina-mu-ᵗsa. Na´-wai-pi-cha-u-wak. I-i-wa-u-wak´,
na´-wai-pi-cha-u-wak.

Mĭsh´-ᵗcha hätch-ᵗse ko´-ta-wa oh-wi-chai-ni u-wak. Nŏw´-a-muts
Pi-to-ni p´i-na-mu-ᵗsa. Ya´-ya ko´pĭsh-tai-a ha´-arts shan´-nai
Nai´-she-eh u-wak´, pi-to-ni pi-na-mu-ᵗsa.

Na´-wai-pi-cha u-wak.

The unexpressed idea is that the child is to be received upon its sand
bed, which is symbolic of the lap of its mother earth. That it will be
as one without eyes, and it will not know its father’s Ko´pĭshtaia. May
the Ko´pĭshtaia make its heart to know them.

Free translation: “Here is the child’s sand bed. May the child have
good thoughts and know its mother earth, the giver of food. May it
have good thoughts and grow from childhood to manhood. May the child
be beautiful and happy. Here is the child’s bed; may the child be
beautiful and happy. Ashes man, let me make good medicine for the
child. We will receive the child into our arms, that it may be happy
and contented. May it grow from childhood to manhood. May it know its
mother Ût´sĕt, the Ko´pĭshtaia, and its mother earth. May the child
have good thoughts and grow from childhood to manhood. May it be
beautiful and happy.”

He then gave a pinch of the powdered-plant medicine to the woman for
the good health of the woman and child, and her mother, lifting ashes
from the fireplace with her right hand, deposited them upon the floor
in front of the woman. The father, then, standing, dipped the ashes
with his eagle plumes, holding one in either hand, and, striking the
under side of the plume held in the left hand with the one held in
the right, threw the ashes to the cardinal points. Each time, after
throwing the ashes, he passed the plumes down each side of the woman.
When the plumes are struck the ho´naaite says: Mĭsh´ᵗcha hätch´ᵗse
kótawa ohwichaini u´wak—“Ashes man, permit me to make good medicine for
the child.”

The ho´naaite discovers the diseased parts of the body through the
instrumentality of ashes, and with the scattering of ashes to the
cardinal points, physical and mental impurities are cast from those
present and the chamber is also purified.

Again the sprinkling of the ashes was repeated, but instead of running
the plumes down each side of the woman, the ho´naaite held them in
his right hand while he stood to the right of the woman and, pointing
the feather ends down, began at the top of the head and passed the
plumes in a direct line in front and down the center of the body,
with a prayer for the safe delivery of the child. At the close of
this ceremony the doctress stood to the right side of the woman, and,
placing the tip end of the corn to the top of her head, blew upon it
and passed that also in a straight line down the center of the body,
with a prayer that the child might pass through the road of life
promptly and safely. This was repeated four times, when the doctress
returned to her seat. The ho´naaite then offered a short prayer and
placed a pinch of medicine in the woman’s mouth, after which he left
the house and went to the end of the placita and sprinkled meal to
the east, praying that the sun father might bestow blessings upon the
child. In a short time the woman passed down the long room, apparently
in considerable pain, but bearing herself with dignified composure.
Her mother brought a cloth to the point where the ceremony had been
held and emptied the contents (sand) upon the floor, and with her
hands flattened the mound into a circle of 20 inches in diameter and
some 5 inches deep. On this she laid a small black sheepskin, the
sister-in-law placed a bowl of water upon coals in the fireplace, and
the mother afterward brought a vase of water and gourd and set it by
the side of the fireplace. A urinal was deposited beyond the center of
the room, and still beyond was a vase of fresh water. The mother spread
a wool mattress at the south end of the room and upon it a blanket,
and in the center of the blanket a black sheepskin, and a wool pillow
was laid at the head; a rich Navajo blanket was folded and laid by the
side of this bed. Now, all was in readiness and an early delivery was
evidently expected. The woman would sit for a time either upon a low
stool or a chair, and then pass about in evident pain, but no word of
complaint escaped her lips; she was majestic in her dignity. But few
words were spoken by anyone; all minds seemed centered on the important
event to come. “It was a sacred hour, too sacred for spoken words, for
Sûs´sĭstinnako was to bestow the gift of a new life.”

The whole affair was conducted with the greatest solemnity. At 11
o’clock the woman, whose suffering was now extreme, changed the small
blanket which she wore around her for a larger one, which fell from
her shoulders to the floor, and stood before the fireplace while the
doctress standing behind her violently manipulated her abdomen with
the palms of her hands. (The Zuñi observe a very different mode of
manipulation.) The ho´naaite, who no longer acted professionally, but
simply as the devoted father of the woman, took his seat upon a stool
on the far side of the sand bed from the fireplace, the woman kneeling
on the sand bed with her back to the fireplace and the doctress sitting
on a low stool back of the woman. The woman clasped her hands about
her father’s neck and was supported at the back by the doctress, who,
encircling the woman with her arms, pressed upon the abdomen.[27] The
father clasped his hands around his knees, holding a stone fetich
of a cougar in the palm of the right hand, and the sister-in-law,
standing to the left of the woman, placed the ear of corn to the top
of the sufferer’s head and blew upon it during the periods of pain,
to hasten the birth of the child. The prayer that was blown into the
head was supposed to pass directly through the passageway of life.
After each paroxysm the woman rose and passed about the room in a calm,
quiet way. Sometimes she would sit on a low chair; again she would
sit in front of the fire toasting her bare feet, and then leaving the
extremely warm room would walk about outside of the house. The pains
were very frequent for three hours, the longest interval being thirty
minutes, the shortest thirty seconds, the average being ten minutes,
the pains continuing from three to twenty minutes. Though her suffering
was great, nothing more than a smothered groan escaped her lips. The
doctress seemed perfectly ignorant and unable to render any real
assistance.

The only attempt made by the doctress to hasten the birth was an
occasional manipulation of the abdomen, after which she placed the ear
of corn at the head of the woman, and after blowing upon it passed it
down the middle of the body four times, as before, and the heating of
the person by heaping a few coals upon the floor and putting upon them
cobwebs, the woman standing over the coals while the mother held the
blanket close around her feet. This failing in its desired effect,
scrapings from one of the beams in an old chamber were placed on coals,
the woman standing over the coals. It is claimed by the Sia that these
two remedies are very old and were used when the world was new. After
a time a third remedy was tried—the fat of a castrated sheep was put
on coals heaped in a small bowl, the woman also standing over this—but
all these remedies failed. The woman occasionally assisted herself
with a circular stick 4 inches in length wrapped with cotton. After 2
o’clock a. m. the father became so fatigued that the sister-in-law,
instead of blowing upon the corn, stood back of him and supported his
forehead with her clasped hands. The ear of corn, when not in use, lay
beside the sand bed. As the night waned the woman gradually became
more and more exhausted, and at half past two the mother laid several
sheepskins upon the floor and on these a blanket, placing two pillows
at the head of this pallet, and then taking a pinch of meal from the
bowl which was at the right side of the bed, which had been prepared
for use after the birth, put it into the right hand of the woman, who
now knelt upon the sand bed, leaning upon her father’s shoulder while
he, in the deepest emotion, stroked her head. As the woman received the
meal she raised her head and the sister-in-law handed the ear of corn
to the father, who held it between his hands and prayed, then running
the corn from the crown of the woman’s head down the body in a direct
line and holding it vertically while the woman sprinkled the meal upon
it and prayed to Ût´sět that she might pass safely through the trials
of parturition. She was now so exhausted that she was compelled to lie
on the pallet; twice she raised from the pallet and took position for
delivery.

The two babies of the sister-in-law slept on blankets, and the two sons
of the woman who had been sent from the room early in the evening had
returned and were also sleeping on rugs. At 4 o’clock the parents, in
alarm at the interrupted labor, sent for a prominent ho´naaite, and the
husband of the woman, who had left the room at the approach of extreme
labor. The husband, in company with the ho´naaite, soon appeared, the
former removing both his moccasins, the latter the one from his right
foot only. The newly arrived ho´naaite sent the sister-in-law for a
small bowl of water, and into this he sprinkled a pinch of medicine (a
specimen of this root was obtained) and then requested the woman to
drink the water. It was with difficulty that she stood while she drank
the medicine, and allowed the ho´naaite to practice his occult power,
blowing upon the head and then blowing in a straight line down the
center and in front of the body. The blowing was repeated four times,
when the ho´naaite, standing back of the woman, put his arms around
her, pressing hard upon the abdomen. After repeating a short prayer he
replaced his moccasin and left the room, and the woman sank exhausted
to her pallet, where she lay in a semi-conscious condition until half
past 5 in the morning.

Fetiches of Quer´ränna and of the cougar had been placed under her
pillow and a third fetich (a concretion) in her right hand. The father
kept a constant vigil, while the anxious mother moved quietly about
seeking to relieve the woman by many little attentions. The mental
agony of the parents was great, the more intense sufferer being the
father, whose devotion to his daughter through her entire illness
seemed without precedent. At half past 5 the woman opened her eyes
and, raising herself, clasped her father’s neck and made another
great effort, and failing, she returned to her pallet, weeping from
sheer discouragement. After a time the mother induced her to sit up
and take food; a basket of waiavi and a piece of jerked meat which
had been broiled over the coals in the same room were placed by the
bed, when the mother hastened to another room for the corn-meal gruel
she had prepared. (During the time this gruel is boiling it is dipped
with a gourd and held high and poured back into the pot; after it is
removed from the fire it is passed through this same process for some
time. When it is ready to drink it is light and frothy. The mixture
is composed of corn meal and water.) The woman ate quite heartily and
drank two bowlfuls of the gruel. She had hardly finished her meal when
she requested her father to hasten to his seat, and kneeling upon the
sand bed she clasped his neck as before; the pain lasted but a minute
and she returned to her bed. She was scarcely down, however, when she
jumped up and knelt beside the pallet, the child being born by the
time the woman’s knees had reached the floor, the birth occurring at
half past 6 o’clock. The excitement was great, as the birth at this
moment was a surprise. The father was too absorbed in his daughter to
think much of the infant, but the old mother was frantic for fear the
child would be smothered. The writer was called to hasten and rub the
father’s moccasin down the woman’s back; the toe of the moccasin must
be downward. This was to hasten the passage of the placenta, which
promptly followed. A sheepskin was with difficulty gotten under the
child, and finally the skin was pushed forward as the woman raised
herself, and the child was taken by the doctress. The woman stood while
the doctress raised the child and the sister-in-law the placenta four
times to her face, as she expressed the wish that the umbilical cord
might be severed without danger to the child. She then deliberately
removed her belt and woven dress and walked to the bed which had been
prepared for her and lay down.

The husband of the woman gave an extra sharpening to the knife which
had lain upon the shelf, and handed it to the doctress, who, first
placing the child upon the sand-bed, tied the umbilical cord an inch
and a quarter from the umbilicus, and after cutting it removed the
child, while the sister-in-law laid the placenta upon the sheepskin
and swept the sands of the sand-bed upon a piece of cloth, placing the
latter on the back of one of the little boys. Taking half of the raw
cotton from the shelf, she laid it on the placenta, with the wish that
the umbilicus might soon be healed; and folding the sheepskin, she
deposited it in a shallow bowl, and taking a pinch of shell mixture in
her right hand she carried the bowl from the house, followed by the
boy. The sand and placenta were cast into the river; the woman saying,
“Go! and when other women bear children may they promptly follow,”
referring to the placenta.

To the doctress was brought a bowl of warm water, with which she bathed
the child; then a bowl containing yucca and a small quantity of cold
water and a vase of warm water were set by her, and after making a
suds with the yucca she added warm water and thoroughly cleansed the
child’s head, and then bathed the child a second time, in yucca suds,
and taking water into her mouth from the bowl, she threw a solid stream
over the child for a remarkable length of time. The child was rubbed
with the hand, no cloth being used in the bathing. The greatest care
was observed in cleansing the infant, who was afterward wrapped in a
blanket and patted dry. During the bathing the grandparents, father,
and brothers of the little one looked admiringly upon it, with frequent
expressions of delight. The remaining portion of the umbilical cord was
drawn through a wad of raw cotton, which was wrapped closely about it,
and ashes were then rubbed over the child. The infant, a boy, weighed
some 8 or 9 pounds, and its head was covered with a profusion of black
silky hair; it had quite a perceptible red mark covering the center
of its forehead. It seemed brighter from its birth than children of
civilized parentage, and when twenty days old was as observing as many
of our children at two months.

The cradle was brought forward by the grandfather, and the diminutive
Navajo blanket spread over it. The tiny sheet was laid on the
doctress’s lap under the child. The writer was then requested to rise
and receive the child; and as she held the little one wrapped in the
sheet the grandfather offered a prayer of thanksgiving, and after
sprinkling meal upon the writer gave her a pinch of it. She could
not dream what was expected of her, but she ventured to make four
lines on the child’s breast, and sprinkled the remainder of the meal
to the east. The venture was a happy one, for it was just right. The
grandfather said: “The child is yours; I make it a gift to you.” The
writer then returned the child to the doctress, and the grandfather
proceeded to arrange the cradle, which has a transverse ridge, provided
with a niche for the neck. Two bits of calico, folded several times,
were laid on the blanket, and on this a piece of white cotton. The
infant was placed nude upon its bed, and a piece of white cotton was
laid over it from the neck to the lower part of the abdomen, extending
on either side of the body and passing under the arms, the ends of the
cloth being folded over the arms and tucked in on the inner sides. The
little sheet was laid over the child, and the blanket folded around
it; and then it was strapped to the cradle, which was deposited to the
left side of the mother, on a white sheepskin. The ear of corn which
had been such an important element previous to the birth was laid by
the right side of the child. The grandfather, taking his seat at the
foot of the cradle, deposited before him the three medicine bags which
had been used in the ritual previous to the birth, and, holding his
eagle plumes in his right hand, repeated a prayer. Two loosely twisted
cords of native cotton, which had been prepared by the father of the
infant immediately after the birth of the child, were placed under
the mother’s pillow, to her right side; these were afterwards tied
around the ankles of the infant, to indicate that it was a child of
Sûs´sĭstinnako and that it might know this father. After the prayer the
grandfather touched the head, either side and foot of the cradle, and
the child’s body, with a spear point of obsidian; this was repeated
four times for strength of body, limbs, heart, and mind of the child;
and the spear was passed over the mother’s limbs and body for the same
purpose. The grandfather then gave the child its first food by placing
in his own mouth a pinch of a specially sacred and valuable medicine
composed of the pollen of medicinal and edible plants and transferring
it into the infant’s mouth from his. He then placed a bit with his
fingers in the mother’s mouth. The medicine was given to the child that
he might know all the medicines of the earth, and to the mother that
her milk which was to nourish the infant might be good, so that the
child’s heart and mind would be good.

No attention was given to the woman by the doctress for two hours
after the birth, when a fresh gown was put on, the gown being changed
every morning and evening for four days, the one worn in the evening
having been washed and dried the same day. The sheepskin on the bed
was changed daily. About 9 o’clock a. m. the grandmother prepared a
bowl of tea made from freshly gathered cedar twigs steeped in water,
and the woman drank two gourdfuls. This tea is constantly drunk for a
designated period, which differs with different clans; some drinking it
regularly for four months, others taking it but three, and some only
two months. No water is drunk during the time this liquid is used,
and continency is observed for the two, three, or four months; the
husband, however, sleeps during this time in the same room, and in this
particular case the husband slept by his wife’s side. Should a woman
break the continency, an animal would enter her abdomen and she would
surely die, for so said the first mother of her clan.

After the first draft of the tea the woman ate a hearty breakfast of
tortillas, jerked meat, and corn-meal gruel. Her female relatives and
friends called to see her and the baby during the day, and she chatted
as merrily as if nothing had happened.

The Sia infant is nourished regularly from the time it is born; and in
this particular case the infant was nursed by a woman whose child was
three months old, until the third morning, when the mother took it in
charge. Though the door of the room could not be left open until the
child should have passed out the fourth morning to see its sun father,
and the two small windows being stationary, the most fastidious could
have found no fault with the purity of the atmosphere. The father
of the woman scarcely left her during the four days. He sat by her
bed-side, weaving garters, and showing her the tenderest care, and her
mother did little else than look after the wants of the invalid and
infant and admire and caress the latter. The woman’s husband was absent
all day working in the fields, but upon his return in the evening he
could be found by his wife’s side admiring the baby and saying pleasing
words to the woman of his choice. The family all slept in the same room
as usual with the addition the first two nights of the woman engaged to
furnish nourishment to the child, who also had her infant with her.

By half past 4 on the fourth morning the woman had donned her woolen
dress and belt and sat upon the bed awaiting the arrival of the
doctress, who soon came, and after a greeting handed ashes from the
fireplace to the woman, who receiving the ashes in her right hand
rubbed her legs and breast for purification, and then put on her
moccasins. The grandmother took the infant from the cradle and wrapping
it in its blanket handed it to the doctress, while the father of the
woman gave her the two stone fetiches from under her pillow, which
she placed in her bosom. The doctress then took from the fireplace a
bit of charcoal and put it into the woman’s mouth that the cold winds
might not enter through her mouth and congeal her blood and prevent
its flow, for should this occur the woman would surely die. The father
then handed sacred meal to his daughter and the doctress, and again
helping himself he gave some to the writer. The doctress led the way,
carrying the infant in her arms and pressing to its breast the ear
of corn which had played such an important part during parturition,
and had since lain by the side of the child; the woman followed, also
carrying an ear of corn, a companion of the first ear (everything
associated with life must have its dual, and “corn is life itself, for
it comes from the heart of Ût´sĕt; were it not for the mother corn none
could live.” These two ears of corn are afterwards wrapped together and
laid under the child’s cradle, where they must remain until the next
corn-planting time, when it is sown in two or four rows, apart from
the main field, and when ripe it is eaten by the child, who takes the
nourishment of the mother corn as it draws the milk from its mother’s
breast). The writer followed after the woman and, passing a few feet
to the right of the entrance after leaving the house, they stood while
the grandfather went from the door directly to the eastern gateway of
his placita and stood facing east, where he was joined by the others,
the doctress leading the way; she stooped at his right. The father of
the infant was not present any of the time and the grandmother did not
leave the house. The grandfather prayed and sprinkled meal to the east
(Pl. XXXIII); the mother then whispered a short prayer and
sprinkled meal to the same point; the doctress afterward stooping until
she almost sat upon the ground bared the child’s head as she held it
toward the rising sun and repeated a long prayer, and addressing the
child she said, “I bring you to see your sun father and Ko´pîshtaia
that you may know them and they you.” At the close of the prayer she
led the way to the house, and upon entering the woman sat on her bed
with her legs extended and received the infant from the doctress, who
laid the child across the mother’s arms with its head to the east; the
doctress then laying the ear of corn lengthwise on the child’s breast
requested the writer to hold the corn with her. The grandmother and the
two boys stood to the left of the woman while the grandfather standing
at the feet of the child offered a prayer. The doctress then repeated
the long baptismal prayer, naming the child.[28]

  [Illustration: Bureau of Ethnology  Eleventh Annual Report Plate XXXIV

  GAST LITH. CO. N.Y.

  PERSONAL ADORNMENT WHEN RECEIVED INTO THE THIRD DEGREE OF OFFICIAL
  MEMBERSHIP CULT, SOCIETY.]

She then placed the infant in the writer’s arms, saying, “The child
is named; it is yours.” When the child was returned to her she washed
its head in yucca suds, and bathed its body by again filling her mouth
with water and spirting it over the child. It was afterwards rubbed
with ashes, especially about its face, and the doctress gave it some
warm water to drink by dipping her fingers into the vase and letting
the drops fall from them into the infant’s mouth; the child smacked its
lips in evident satisfaction; and it was then strapped to the cradle
which was handed the doctress by the grandmother; and the child in the
cradle was placed on the mother’s lap, and she proceeded to nourish it.

The grandfather brought an Apache basket containing a pyramid of meal
and held it to the infant’s face, then to the mother’s, who blew upon
the meal. The grandmother then blew upon it (that it might be blessed
with the best thoughts of the breath of life) and, stooping, the
grandfather held the basket with both hands while the doctress (Fig.
19) held it on the opposite side with her two hands, the grandfather
whispering a prayer and then retiring to the far end of the room. The
doctress offered a silent prayer, and left the room without farther
ceremony, carrying the basket of meal, which was a gift to her from
the infant, it being her only compensation for her services. The
mother of the infant ate heartily and at half past seven in the
morning she walked fully 200 yards from the house down a declivity,
and on her return to the house was bathed for the first time since her
confinement, she herself doing the bathing.

Fig. 20 is the copy of a photograph of the infant the fourth morning
after birth.

The lochial discharge ceased after the fourth day, and from this time
until the expiration of the nine days but one fresh gown was worn each
day. The infant was bathed each of the first four mornings by the
doctress, and afterwards by the grandmother until the tenth morning,
when the mother bathed the child. The infant’s bed was changed several
times daily, the bedding being put upon the cradle a couple of hours
after washing. The night of the fourth day the doctress came about
9 o’clock and bathed the child; the ashes which had been applied to
the child from its birth after each bath not being omitted. The fifth
day the skin of the infant showed evidence of exfoliation, and the
grandfather remarked, “When the new skin comes then all will be well.”
The sixth day the remnant of the umbilical cord was removed by lifting
the raw cotton, and a finely powdered pigment of bluish-gray color was
rubbed upon the umbilicus and a cotton cloth laid over it. When there
is any appearance of suppuration the mother milks a few drops from her
breast upon the umbilicus and applies fresh pigment.

  [Illustration: FIG. 20.—Mother with her infant four days old.]

Prof. F. W. Clark furnishes the following analysis of this pigment: “A
slight amount is soluble in water, this consisting of sulphates of
lime and magnesia. The main portion consists of a mixture of a hydrous
carbonate of copper (presumably malachite) with a ferruginous sand. The
copper mineral dissolves readily in dilute acids and, in addition to
the copper, contains traces of iron and of phosphoric acid. Probably an
impure malachite pulverized.”

Though the woman is considered an invalid and exempt from all household
duties until the tenth morning after childbirth, she passes in and out
of the house after the fourth morning and occupies herself sewing, not
more than half of her time being spent in a reclining position.

The greatest attention was shown this woman and her child by her
father, mother, and husband, the two men performing the most menial
services for her and frequently waiting upon the infant.


                     MORTUARY BELIEFS AND CUSTOMS.

It was stated in a previous chapter that the Sia do not believe in
a return of the spirits of their dead when they have once entered
Shipapo. There was once, however, an exception to this. The story is
here given in the theurgist’s own words:

  “When the years were new and this village had been built perhaps
  three years, all the spirits of our dead came here for a great
  feast. They had bodies such as they had before death; wives
  recognized husbands, husbands wives, children parents, and parents
  children. Just after sundown the spirits began arriving, only a
  few passing over the road by daylight, but after dark they came in
  great crowds and remained until near dawn. They tarried but one
  night; husbands and wives did not sleep together; had they done so
  the living would have surely died. When the hour of separation came
  there was much weeping, not only among the living but the dead. The
  living insisted upon going with the dead, but the dead declared
  they must wait; that they could not pass through the entrance to
  the other world; they must first die or grow old and again become
  little children to be able to pass through the door of the world
  for the departed. It was then that the Sia first learned all about
  their future home. They learned that the fields were vast, the
  pastures beautiful, the mountains high, the lakes and rivers clear
  like crystals, and the wheat and cornfields flourishing. During the
  day the spirits sleep, and at night they work industriously in the
  fields. The moon is father to the dead as the sun is father to the
  living; the dead resting when the sun travels, for at this time
  they see nothing; it is when the sun returns to his home at night
  that the departed spirits work and pass about in their world below.
  The home of the departed spirits is in the world first inhabited by
  the Sia.”

It is the aim of the Sia to first reach the intermediate state at the
time the body ceases to develop and then return gradually back to
the first condition of infancy; at such period one does not die, but
sleeps to awake in the spirit world as a little child. Many stories
have come to the Sia by those who have died only for a time; the heart
becomes still and the lips cold and the spirit passes to the entrance
of the other world and looks in, but it does not enter, and yet it sees
all, and in a short time returns to inhabit its earthly body. Great
alarm is felt when one returns in this way to life, but much faith is
put in the stories afterwards told by the one who has passed over the
road of death.

A ho´naaite holds a corresponding position in the spirit world.

When a death occurs any time before sundown, the body is buried as
soon as it can be prepared for the grave; but if one dies after dark
the body must not be touched until after sunrise, when it is bathed
and buried as soon as possible. It is usual for an elderly woman of
the clan to bathe the body, cold water being used; the head is washed
first in yucca suds. Sometimes, however, this method is deviated from,
if the remaining wife or husband has a special friend in some other
clan. In the case of a man the breechcloth he has worn during his last
illness is not removed. The immediate relatives in consanguinity and
clan are present during the bathing and make the air hideous with their
lamentations. The body is bathed on the bed upon which the party dies
and here it remains until burial. The mourners are seated around the
room, no one being near the bed but the woman who prepares the body for
burial. If the corpse be a female, after the body is bathed a blanket
is laid across the abdomen and limbs and tucked in on either side, the
upper portion of the body being exposed.

The official members of the cult societies are painted after death,
just as they were at their initiation into the society, the body
having been previously bathed. The one exception to this rule—being
the ho´naaite of warriors (Pl. XXXIV)—will show the change.
The painting is done by the ho´naaite or vicar of the society to which
the deceased belonged. Corn pollen is sprinkled on the head. Female
officials have only their faces painted. When a man is not an official,
neither his face nor body is painted, but as each man or woman of his
clan looks upon the body a bit of corn pollen is sprinkled in a line
under each eye and on the top of the head. While the body is being
prepared for burial, the relatives who are present, amid lamentations,
cut the apparel of the corpse, including his blankets, into strips and
all is laid upon the body. After the body has been placed upon the
blanket which is to wrap it for burial, if it be a man the wife places
a quantity of food under the left arm, the arms hanging straight by
the sides. If the wife does not perform this office then some member
of his clan acts in her place. In the case of the death of a woman a
member of her clan places the food. Again a small quantity of food is
placed under the left arm by the man who principally officiates in
the wrapping of the body. This is sometimes done by the son of the
deceased. The blanket is first folded over one side of the body and
then the other; then the end next to the head is caught together just
above the head and tied some little distance from the end, tassel
fashion, with a rope. The rope is fastened around the throat of the
corpse and then continued around the body to the feet, and the blanket
is tied below the feet to correspond with the head. Two men perform
this service and alone carry the body to the grave and bury it without
further ceremony, though the wailing and weeping is kept up in the
house for a considerable time.

If a husband dies the wife is bathed after the burial by a female
member of her clan. This is done that the one remaining may be cleansed
of much of her sorrow and be only a little sad. When a wife dies the
husband is bathed by a female member of his clan. The bathing of the
remaining husband or wife in Zuñi is done for a very different reason.
When a child dies both the paternal and maternal parents are bathed;
but children are not bathed when a parent dies.

The fourth day after death, when the spirit starts on its journey to
the lower world, after hovering around the pueblo in the meantime, a
ceremonial is held by the society to which deceased belonged. If the
person was not a member of one of the cult societies the family select
the ho´naaite they wish to have perform the ceremony. A hä´chamoni
which was made on the third day by the theurgist is deposited on the
north road for the spirit to carry to its future home. A vase of food
is deposited at this time to feed the spirit on its journey, and if
any other pieces of clothing have been found they are cut and thrown
over the north road. The clothing must never be deposited whole as the
spirit of the clothing could not leave the body if it was in perfect
condition.

The road to the lower world, which is to the north (the dead returning
to the world whence they came), is so crowded that the spirits are
often in each other’s way, for not only the spirits of the Sia pass
over this road but the spirits of all Indians. The spirits of the dead
are traveling to their first home and the unborn spirits are passing to
the villages in which, after a time, they are to be born.

Upon reaching the entrance to the lower world a spirit is met by two
guards to the entrance, who say to them, “So you have come here,”
and the spirit replies, “Yes.” “Where is your credential?” inquires
the chief guard, and the spirit shows his hä´chamoni, and the guard
says, upon examining it, “Yes, here is your hä´chamoni to your
mother, Sûs´sĭstinnako, that she may know you came promptly over the
straight road; she will be pleased.” If the spirit be not provided
with hä´chamoni it can not enter the lower world, but must roam about
somewhere in the north. After examining the hä´chamoni, the guard says,
“You may enter Shipapo and go to your mother in the lower world.” The
first one met by the spirit in the lower world is Ût´sĕt, who says,
“You have come from the other world?” and the spirit replies, “Yes.”
Then Ût´sĕt says, “You bring a hä´chamoni?” and the spirit replies,
“Yes.” “Let me see your hä´chamoni,” and, after carefully looking
over it, she hands it to Sûs´sĭstinnako, who says, “Good! good!” and,
pointing to the dead relatives of the newly arrived spirit, she adds,
“There, my child, are your relatives; go join them and be happy.” When
one has been very wicked in this world he is not permitted to enter the
lower world even though he has a hä´chamoni. The guards at the entrance
can read all hearts and minds, and they put such spirits into a great
fire which burns in the earth below somewhere not far distant from
Shipapo. The spirit is burned to death in this fire and can never know
anything, as it is entirely destroyed. When ti´ämonis and ho´naaites
have performed their duties in this world with unwilling hearts, it is
known to the mother in the lower world, and when such men enter after
death they are made to live apart, and alone, and without nourishment
for a certain period of time, depending upon the amount of purification
required. Some sit alone for two years; others for five, and some for
ten before the mother considers them worthy to enter into peace.

The spirits of all animals go to the lower world; domestic animals
serving the masters there as they did here. The masters would not
always recognize them, but Sûs´sĭstinnako knows the property of all.
The spirits of the prey animals return, and know their friends, in
the lower world. A hä´chamoni is made for the prey animal when he is
killed, and a dance and ceremonial are held. The animal carries the
hä´chamoni as his credential just as the spirit of the man does.

The cloud people never die; that is, no one, not even the oldest men’s
grandfathers ever knew of or saw a cloud person die.


                                MYTHS.

The writer gave but limited study while at Sia to myths not directly
connected with their cosmogony and cult. The minds of several of the
elder men are filled with the stories of the long-ago myth-makers, and
they believe in the truth of these fables as they believe in their own
existence, which is the cause, no doubt, for the absence of myth-making
at the present time. It must be borne in mind, however, that these
people have their winter tales and romances which they recognize as
fiction. The animal myths here recorded were recited to the writer in a
most dramatic manner by the vicar of the Snake Society, these portions
of the stories where the coyote suffers disappointment, and is cheated
of his prey, giving special delight to the narrator.

The coyote seems to be a despised though necessary object in the mythic
world of the Indian of the Southwest. He is certainly not reverenced,
nor is he a being for whom they feel terror. While he is the object
of ridicule he is also often of great service. Through his cunning
he supplied the Sia of the upper world with fire by stealing it from
Sûs´sĭstinnako in the lower world. When the world was new, people
were depilous except upon their heads. The coyote said (animals could
communicate with men then): “It is not well for you to be depilous,”
and from the pilous growth about his mouth and belly he clothed the
pubes and axilla of the Sia.

  [Illustration: Bureau of Ethnology Eleventh Annual Report Plate XXXV

  GAST LITH. CO. N.Y.

  CEREMONIAL WATER VASES—SIA.]


                THE COYOTE ENCOUNTERS DISAPPOINTMENTS.

One day a shurtsûnna (coyote) was passing about and saw a hare sitting
before his house, and the coyote thought, “In a minute I will catch
you,” and he sprang and caught the hare, who cried, “Man coyote, do not
eat me; wait just a minute, I have something to tell you, something
that you will be glad to hear, something you must hear.” “Well,” said
the coyote, “I will wait.” “Let me sit at the entrance of my house and
I can talk to you,” and, standing near, he allowed the hare to take
his seat there. The hare said, “What are you thinking of, coyote?”
“Nothing,” said the coyote. “Listen, then, to what I have to say; I
am a hare, and I am much afraid of people; when they come carrying
arrows I am very afraid of them, for when they see me they aim their
arrows at me and I am very afraid, and oh! how I tremble;” and suiting
the action to his words the hare trembled violently, until he saw the
coyote was a little off his guard; at this instant the hare started
off at a run. It took a moment for the coyote to collect his thoughts,
when he followed the hare, but he was always a little behind; after
running some distance the hare entered the house of his companion just
in time to escape the coyote. The coyote upon reaching the house found
it was hard stone and he became very angry. “Alas!” cried he, “I was
very stupid. Why did I allow this hare to fool me? I was so anxious
to kill him; I must have him. How can I catch him? Alas! this house
is very strong, how can I open it?” and he began to work, but after a
while he cried, “The stone is so strong I can not open it.” Presently
the hare called, “Man coyote, how are you going to kill me?” “I know
how I am going to kill you,” replied the coyote, “I will kill you with
fire.” “Where is the wood?” cried the hare, for there was no wood at
the house of the hare. “I will bring grass,” said the coyote, “and set
fire to it and the fire will enter your house and go into your eyes,
nose, and mouth, and kill you.” “Oh,” said the hare, “the grass is
mine, it is my food, it will not kill me; why would my food kill me? It
is my friend. No, grass will not kill me.” “Then,” cried the coyote, “I
will bring all the trees of the woods and set fire to them,” and the
hare replied, “all the trees know me, they too are my food, they will
not kill me, they are my friends.” The coyote said, “I will bring the
gum of the piñon and set fire to it,” and the hare cried, “Oh, now I am
much afraid, I do not eat that and it is not my friend,” and the coyote
rejoiced that he had discovered a plan for getting the hare. He hurried
and brought all the gum he could carry and placed it at the door of
the hare’s house and set fire to it and in a short time the gum boiled
like hot grease, and the hare cried, “Now I know I shall die, what
shall I do?” and the coyote’s heart was glad. In a little while the
hare called, “The fire is entering my house,” and the coyote cried to
him, “Blow it out”. At the same time, drawing near to the fire, he blew
with all his might to increase the flame. “Oh!” cried the hare, “your
mouth is so close you are blowing the fire on to me, and I will soon
die;” and the coyote put his mouth still closer to the fire and thought
the hare must die; he blew with all his strength, drawing nearer in
his eagerness to destroy the hare, until his face was very close to
him, when the hare threw the boiling gum into the face of the coyote
and escaped. The coyote’s thoughts were now directed to the removal of
the hot gum from his eyes and face. It was a long time before he could
see anything, and his eyes were painful. When he realized the hare had
again escaped him he cried, “I am very, very stupid;” and he started
off disgusted with himself, and was very sad. After traveling a long
distance and crossing a mountain he came to a man (lynx) sleeping. The
coyote was pleased to see the man, and thought, “Here is a companion.
I guess the fellow has either worked hard all night or traveled much,
for he sleeps soundly.” And after thinking quite a while, the coyote
procured a slender round stick and thrust it into his stomach and
twisted it very carefully to gather fat. The lynx still slept soundly.
“I will tell my companion when he awakes,” said the coyote, “that I
have the fat of the deer on my stick,” and he laid it to one side and
began thinking. “Ah, I have a thought. In the old days my companion’s
mouth was not so large; it was small; I will make it as it was. His
ears were not so large; I will make them as they were. His tail was not
so long; I will shorten it. His legs and arms and body were longer; I
will lengthen them;” and he worked and pressed about the mouth until it
was reduced in size, and so he labored over the ears until they were
small, and pressed the tail until it grew shorter, and then pulled the
legs and arms and body until they were the proper length. After his
work was completed the coyote thought, “This is well.” Still the lynx
slept, and the coyote called, “Companion!” but no answer; the second
time, “Companion!” and no answer; none coming to the third call, the
coyote thought, “Why is it my companion sleeps so soundly? he must
have traveled hard or worked hard all night,” and again he called,
“Companion!” and the lynx opened his eyes and looked about as one does
when he has just awakened, but did not speak.

When he discovered that he was unlike his former self he said nothing,
but thought, “That coyote man has done this work.” The coyote then
bringing the stick, with the fat upon it, said, “Companion, I wish much
to talk with you; you have slept very soundly; I have brought you some
fat from the deer; eat it; you will like it. I killed a deer the other
day, and this is the reason I can bring you some fat;” and the lynx,
thinking the coyote spoke the truth, ate the fat with much relish.
When the fat had been consumed the coyote said, “Well, companion, what
do you think of the deer fat?” but before the lynx made any reply the
coyote added, “I lied to you; it is your own fat which I took from your
stomach while you slept.” The lynx at once became very sick and began
vomiting. “I did not eat it,” cried the lynx. “Yes, you did,” said the
coyote. “See, you can not keep it;” and the lynx continued vomiting
until all the fat had been thrown from his stomach. He was very angry
with the coyote, and thought, “Some time I will play the same trick
upon you, man coyote.”

The two now separated, taking opposite roads; but in a short time the
lynx returned and followed the coyote, aiming to keep close to him;
but the coyote soon distanced the lynx, leaving him far behind; the
coyote, however, did not know that the lynx was following him. After
he had traveled a long distance he became tired and lay down to rest
and sleep. After a time the lynx arrived, and finding the coyote
sleeping, said: “Ah! ah! now I will play my trick;” and he called to
the coyote, “Companion!” and no answer; again he called, “Companion!”
and no answer; and the third and fourth calls brought no reply. The
coyote was sleeping soundly. “He is surely asleep,” said the lynx, and
with a stick similar to the one employed by the coyote, he drew the fat
from the coyote’s stomach and placed it to one side; he then proceeded
to change the appearance of the coyote; he pulled upon the mouth until
he made it project, and it was much larger than before; then he pulled
upon the ears until they became long, and he lengthened the tail to
twice its size, and he also stretched the body and the arms. When he
had completed his work he cried four times to the coyote, “Companion!”
The fourth time the coyote awoke, and the lynx said, “I have brought
you some deer fat;” and the coyote was stupid enough to believe the
story, and ate the fat, for he was very hungry. Then, said the lynx,
“Man, what do you think? Do you think I have lied to you? Well, I have
lied to you; for the fat is from your own stomach;” and the coyote was
very angry and vomited all that he had eaten. And he cried, “Man lynx,
we are even;” and in a little while they separated, taking opposite
roads.

The coyote traveled a great distance, and in the middle of the day it
was very hot, and he sat down and rested, and he thought as he looked
up to ti´nia, “How I wish the cloud people would freshen my path and
make it cool;” and in a little while the cloud people gathered above
the road the coyote was to travel over, and he rejoiced that his path
was to be shady and cool; but after he had traveled a short distance,
he again sat down, and, looking upward, said, “I wish much the cloud
people would send rain, that my road would be fresher and cooler.” In
a little while a shower came, and the coyote was contented and went on
his way rejoicing; but in a short time he again sat down and wished
that the road could be very moist, that it would be fresh to his feet,
and almost immediately the road was wet as though a river had passed
over it, and the coyote was very contented.

But after going a short distance he again took his seat and said to
himself, “I guess I will talk again to the cloud people;” and he said
to them, “I wish for water over my road; water to my elbows, that I
may travel on my hands and feet in the cool waters; then I shall be
refreshed and happy;” and in a little while his road was covered
with the water and the coyote moved on; but after a time he wished
for something more, and he sat down and said to the cloud people, “I
wish much for water to my shoulders; I will then be very happy and
contented;” and in a moment the waters arose as he had wished; but he
did not go far before he again sat down and talked to the cloud people,
saying, “If you will only give me water so high that my eyes, nose,
mouth, and ears are alone above it I will be happy and contented; then
my road will indeed be cool;” and his prayer was answered.

But even this did not satisfy him, and after traveling a short distance
he sat down and implored the cloud people to give him a river that he
might float over the road, and immediately a river appeared and the
coyote floated with the stream. He was high in the mountains and wished
to go below to the hare land. After floating a long distance he came
to the hare land and saw many hares a little distance off, both large
and small, and they were on both sides of the river. The coyote lay
down as though he were dead (he was covered in mud), and listened,
and presently he saw a woman ka´wate (mephitis) approaching, carrying
her vase and gourd; she was coming for water. Before the coyote saw
the ka´wate he heard the gourd striking against the vase. As she drew
near the coyote peeped at her and she looked at him and said: “Here
is a dead coyote. Where did he come from? I guess from the mountains
above. I guess he fell into the water and died.” When she came closer
he looked at her and said: “Come here, woman.” “What do you want?” said
the ka´wate. “I want you to be my companion,” said the coyote. “I know
all the hares and other small animals well, and I guess in a little
while they will all come here, and when they think I am dead they will
be very happy.” And the two talked much together and the coyote said:
“Let us be companions, what do you think about it?” “I have no thoughts
at all,” said the ka´wate. “I,” said the coyote, “think we had better
work together.” And the ka´wate replied: “It is well.” Then said the
coyote: “Go and bring me four clubs; I want them for the hares.” When
the ka´wate returned with the clubs the coyote said: “Put them on the
ground and cover them with earth.” When this was done he lay upon them.
Then said the coyote: “Go and bring me the seeds from the pátiän.” (A
very tall grass; the seeds when ripe are black.) He put the seeds on
his mouth, nostrils, eyes, and ears and scattered them over his body.
This he did that the hares might think him dead and being eaten by
worms. Then he said to the ka´wate: “Look around everywhere for the
hares; when you see them, say a coyote is dead; they will soon come to
look at me and they will dance around me for joy because I am dead. You
return with them, and when they dance tell them to look to the cloud
people while they dance, and then throw your poison (mephitic fluid)
up and let it fall upon their faces like rain, and when it goes in
their eyes they can not see, for the poison of the ka´wate burns like
red pepper, and when they become blind we can kill them; you will take
two of the clubs and I will take two, one in either hand.” When the
ka´wate reached the hares she spoke to the hare chief. “Hare, listen;
I saw a dead coyote over there.” “Where?” cried the chief. “There by
the river.” “You are not lying?” said the chief. “No; I speak the
truth, there is a dead coyote.” “What killed the coyote?” “I don’t know
what killed him, but I think he must have fallen into the water far
above and was brought here by the river.” And the chief communicated
the news to all of his companions and they concluded to send one hare
alone to see if the ka´wate spoke the truth. “Go quickly,” said they to
the hare, “and see if the woman speaks the truth.” The hare hastened
off, and when he reached the coyote he looked carefully all about and
concluded the coyote had been dead some time, for he saw that the body
was covered with worms, and returning he told his people what he had
seen, but some refused to believe that the coyote was dead. It was
decided to send another messenger, and a second hare was dispatched
to see if the first one’s story was correct. He returned with the
same news and so a third and fourth were sent, and each came bearing
the story that a coyote was dead and being eaten by worms. Then the
hares decided to go in a body and see the dead coyote. The men, women,
and children hastened to look upon the dead body of the coyote, and
rejoicing over his death they struck him with their hands and kicked
him. There were crowds of hares and they decided to have a great dance.
Now and then a hare would leave the group of dancers and stamp upon the
coyote, who lay all the time as though he were dead, and during the
dance they clapped their hands over their mouths and gave a whoop like
the war whoop.

After a time the ka´wate stepped apart from the group and said, “All of
you hares look up, do not hold your heads down, look up to the cloud
people while you sing and dance; it is much better to hold your heads
up.” All threw their heads back and looked to ti´ni´a. Then the ka´wate
threw high her mephitic fluid, which fell like rain upon the faces and
into the eyes of all the hares, and their eyes were on fire; all they
could do was to rub them; they could not see anything. And the coyote
quickly rose, and handed the ka´wate two of the clubs, keeping two
himself, and they killed all of the hares; there was a great number,
and they were piled up like stones. Then said the coyote, “Where shall
I find fire to cook the hares? Ah,” said he, pointing across to a very
high rock, “that rock gives good shade and it is cool; I will find
the fire and cook my meat near the shade of the rock;” and he and the
ka´wate carried all of the hares to this point and the coyote made
a large fire and threw them into it. When this was done he was very
warm from his work about the fire and he was also tired, and he lay
down close to the rock in the shade. He was now perfectly happy, and
contented to be quiet, but only for a short time. He must be at work
about something, and he said to the ka´wate, “What shall we do now?”
and she answered; “I do not know,” then the coyote said, “We will work
together for something pretty; we will run a race and the one who
wins will have all the hares.” “Oh,” said the ka´wate, “how could I
beat you? your feet are so much larger than mine.” “Well,” said the
coyote, “I will allow you the start of me.” The coyote made a torch of
the inner shreds of the cedar bark and wrapped it with yucca thread
and lighting it tied this torch to the end of his tail. The fire was
attached to his tail to light the grass that he might see everywhere
about him to watch the ka´wate that she might not escape him. He then
said, “Woman, I know you can not run fast, you must go first and I will
wait until you have gone a certain distance.” The ka´wate started off,
but when out of sight of the coyote she slipped into the house of the
badger. At the proper time the coyote started with the fire attached to
his tail. Wherever he touched the grass he set fire to it. The ka´wate
waited for him to pass and then came out of the house of the badger and
hastening back to the rock she carried all the hares to a high ledge,
leaving but four tiny little ones below. The coyote was surprised in
his run not to overtake the ka´wate. “She must be very quick,” thought
he. “How could she run so fast,” and after passing around the mountain,
all the time expecting to see the ka´wate ahead of him, he returned to
the rock surely expecting to find her there. Not seeing her, he cried,
“Where can the ka´wate be?”

He was tired and sat down in the shade of the rock. “Why does she not
come,” thought the coyote; “perhaps she will not return before night,
her feet are so small; perhaps she will not come at all. Strange I have
not seen her; she must be far off.” The Ka´wate, who was just above
him, heard all that he said. She watched him and saw him take a stick
and look into the mound for the hares. (They had covered the hares
before leaving the place.) He pulled out a very small one which he
threw away. He then drew a second one, still smaller than the first,
and this he also threw off, and again a third, and a fourth, each one
smaller than the other. “I do not care for the little ones,” he said,
“I have many here, I will not eat the smaller ones,” and he hunted and
hunted in the mound for the hares, but found no more; all were gone,
and he looked about him and said, “That woman has robbed me,” and he
was glad to collect the four he had cast away and eat them, for he was
very hungry. After his meal he looked about him and found the ka´wate’s
footprints on the rocks. He hunted everywhere for her, but he did not
think to look above, and after searching a long time he became weary
and laid down to rest. As he looked upward, he saw the woman sitting
on the ledge of the rock with the hares piled beside her. The coyote
was hungry for the hares, and he begged the ka´wate to bring him some,
and she threw him down a very small one, and the coyote was angry with
her and still more angry with himself, because he could not climb the
rock; she had gone where he could not go. The coyote was very angry
when he parted from the ka´wate. After traveling a little way he saw
a small bird. The bird was hopping about contentedly and the coyote
thought, “What a beautiful bird, it moves about so gracefully. I guess
I will work awhile with that bird,” and drawing nearer to the bird, he
asked, “What beautiful things are you working at?” but the bird could
not understand the coyote, and he could only stand and admire the bird.
He saw the bird take out his two eyes and throw them straight up, like
two stones, to ti´nia, and then look upward, but he had no eyes in
his head; presently the bird said, “Come my eyes, come quickly, down
into my head,” and immediately the eyes fell into the sockets of the
bird, and the bird was apparently pleased, and the eyes appeared much
brighter than before. The coyote discovering how improved the bird’s
eyes were, he asked the bird to take out his eyes and throw them up
that they might become brighter, and the bird took out the coyote’s
eyes and held an eye in either hand for a little while, then threw them
to ti´nia, and the coyote looked upward, but he had no eyes, and he
cried, “Come back, my eyes, come quickly,” and the eyes fell into the
coyote’s head. He was delighted with the improvement in his eyes, and,
thinking that they might be made still more brilliant and penetrating
by throwing them up a second time, he asked the bird to repeat the
performance. The bird did not care to work any more for the coyote and
told him so, but the coyote persistently urged the bird to throw his
eyes up once more. The bird, growing a little angry, said, “Why should
I work for you, coyote? No, I work no more for you,” but the coyote was
persistent, and the bird a second time took out his eyes, this time
causing the coyote such pain that he cried. As the bird threw up the
eyes the coyote looked up to ti´nia and cried, “Come my eyes come to
me!” but the eyes continued to ascend and did not return. The coyote
was much grieved and moved about slowly and awkwardly, for he could not
see, and he wept bitterly over the loss of his eyes.

The bird was very much annoyed to be thus bothered with the coyote, and
said to him, “Go away now; I am tired of you, go off and hunt for other
eyes, do not remain to weep and bother me,” but the coyote refused to
leave and begged and entreated the bird to find eyes for him. Finally
the bird gathered gum from a piñon tree and rolled two small bits
between the palms of his hands, and, when they were round, he placed
the two balls into the eye sockets of the coyote, who was then able to
see, but not clearly as before, and these eyes, instead of being black
like his other eyes, were slightly yellow. “Now,” said the bird, “you
can remain no longer.”

After traveling some little distance the coyote met a deer with two
fawns; the fawns were beautifully spotted, and he said to the deer,
“How did you paint your children, they are so beautiful?” The deer
replied, “I painted them with fire from the cedar.” “And how did you
do the work?” inquired the coyote. “I put my children into a cave,”
answered the deer, “and built a fire of cedar in front of the cave, and
every time a spark flew from the fire it struck my children, making a
beautiful spot.” “Oh,” said the coyote, “I will do the same and make my
children beautiful,” and he hurried to his house and put his children
into a cave and built a fire of cedar, and then stood off to watch
the fire. The children cried much, because the fire was very hot. The
coyote tried to stop their cries by telling them they would soon be
beautiful like the children of the deer. After a time their weeping
ceased and the coyote thought his words had comforted them, but, in
fact, the children were burned to death. When the cedar was consumed
the coyote hastened to the cave, expecting to find his children very
beautiful, but instead he found them dead; he was enraged with the
deer and ran fast to hunt her, but he could find her nowhere, and he
returned to his house much distressed and much disgusted with himself
for having been so easily fooled by the deer.


                      THE COYOTE AND THE COUGAR.

When the world was new the coyote was very industrious. He was always
at work passing around the world everywhere. He was never lazy, but his
thoughts were not good. He visited one camp of people and told them he
belonged to the Corn people; at another camp he said he belonged to
the Knife people. Both times he lied. After a while the coyote told
the cougar, who was the father of all game, that he would like to be
a ho´naaite. The cougar replied, “When your thoughts are good, then
you may become one.” “I guess the coyote is not lying, he has good
thoughts now,” and the cougar said to him, “Come in four days to me
and we will make hä´chamoni.” The coyote returned on the fourth day
and worked eight days with the cougar preparing hä´chamoni. He was
supposed to abstain during this time from food, drink, and smoking, and
to practice continency. The cougar also fasted and practiced continency
for the same period of time. Each night when it was dark the cougar
said, “You, man coyote, now it is night, take this food which I give
you and offer it to Ko´pĭshtaia.” The first night the coyote returned
with a contented heart, and upon entering the cougar’s house he sat
down. The second night after the coyote left the house with the food
for Ko´pĭshtaia, he felt a little hungry, and he said to himself,
“Last night I was not hungry, now I am hungry, alas! I am afraid or
I would eat this food. Why have I wished to be a ho´naaite? I have
food here and I wish to eat it, for I am hungry and yet I am afraid.”
And so he argued with himself until he overcame all scruples and ate
the food. “Now,” said he, “I am contented; I am no longer hungry;”
and he returned to the cougar, pretending he had offered the food to
Ko´pĭshtaia, and so the remaining eight nights the coyote ate the food
which was given him by the cougar to offer to Ko´pĭshtaia, but he said
nothing of this to anyone. The cougar grew to be straight and had
no belly, but the coyote did not change in appearance, and the sixth
night the cougar began to suspect that the coyote was not making his
offerings to Ko´pĭshtaia. The coyote told the cougar each night that
he was contented and was not hungry. “I think you are a little sad,”
the cougar replied. “No, I am not sad; my stomach is strong,” said
the coyote, “I can fast eight days; I wonder that I am not a little
sad. Why am I not hungry? I feel strong all the time that I am passing
about.”

On the seventh day the cougar and the coyote worked very hard all day
making hä´chamoni, and when the work was completed the cougar taught
the coyote the song which he would sing as ho´naaite of the Coyote
Society. They sang all the eighth day and night and at the conclusion
of the song the coyote was ordained a ho´naaite. Then said the cougar
to the coyote, “Go now and kill a deer, and when you kill the deer
bring the meat here and we will eat,” and the coyote said, “It is
well;” and he went to hunt the deer. In the early morning the coyote
saw a deer, but the deer ran fast, and, though he followed him all day,
he could not get close enough to catch him; he did not carry arrows,
but was to catch him with his hands, and at night the coyote returned
worn out. While the coyote was absent the cougar thought, “I guess the
coyote will be gone all day,” and when evening came and the coyote was
still absent he thought, “The coyote has not a good head or thoughts
for a ho´naaite.” When the coyote returned at night the cougar said,
“Why have you been gone all day and come back without a deer?” “I
saw a deer,” said the coyote, “early this morning, and I ran all day
following him; I went very far and am tired.” “Well,” said the cougar,
“why is it your head and heart cared to be a ho´naaite? I gave you food
for Ko´pĭshtaia and you, coyote, you ate the food that should have been
given to Ko´pĭshtaia; this is why you did not catch the deer to-day.
Had you given the food to Ko´pĭshtaia, instead of eating it, you would
have caught the deer.” The coyote thought much, but did not say a word.
He slept that night in the cougar’s house, and at dawn the cougar said
to one of his own people, “you go and catch a deer.” “Well, be it so,”
said the companion, and he started for the deer before the sun was up.
In a short time he saw one; it was very near him, and with one jump
he sprang upon the game and caught it before the sun was yet up, and
hurrying back to the house of his chief he said, “Here is the meat of
the deer.”

The chief was much pleased and contented, but the coyote was very
sad. All the companions of the cougar were happy and rejoiced. “Good,
my son!” said the cougar, “I am much contented; we will pay the
Ko´pĭshtaia with plumes; now we will eat the flesh of the deer.” The
chief ate first and the others after him; he would not give any of the
meat to the coyote, because the coyote’s thoughts were not good. The
chief enjoyed his food greatly, this being the ninth morning from the
beginning of his fast. The cougar said to the coyote, “Your thoughts
and heart are not good; you are no longer a ho´naaite; go! You will
henceforth travel quickly over and about the world; you will work
much, passing about, but you will never understand how to kill the
deer, antelope, or any game; I do not travel fast, but my thoughts are
good, and when I call the deer they come quickly.” Since that time the
coyote is always hunting the deer, rabbit, and other game, but is not
successful.


                      THE COYOTE AND RATTLESNAKE.

The coyote’s house was near the house of the rattlesnake. The coyote
said to the snake, “Let us walk together,” and while walking he said
to the snake, “To-morrow come to my house.” In the morning the snake
went to the house of the coyote and moved along slowly on the floor,
shaking his rattle. The coyote sat to one side, much afraid; he became
frightened after watching the movements of the snake and hearing the
noise of the rattle. The coyote had a pot of rabbit meat cooking on
the fire, which he placed in front of the snake, inviting him to eat,
saying, “Companion, eat.” “No, companion, I will not eat your meat;
I do not understand your food,” said the snake. “What food do you
eat?” asked the coyote. “I eat the yellow flowers of the corn,” was
the reply, and the coyote immediately began to look around for some,
and when he found the pollen, the snake said, “Put some on the top of
my head that I may eat it,” and the coyote, standing as far off as
possible, dropped a little on the snake’s head. The snake said, “Come
nearer and put enough on my head that I may find it.” He was very much
afraid, but after a while he came close to the snake and put the pollen
on his head, and after eating the pollen the snake thanked the coyote
saying, “I will go now and pass about,” but before leaving he invited
the coyote to his house: “Companion, to-morrow you come to my house.”
“Very well,” said the coyote, “to-morrow I will go to your house.” The
coyote thought much what the snake would do on the morrow. He made a
small rattle (by placing tiny pebbles in a gourd) and attached it to
the end of his tail, and, testing it, he was well satisfied and said:
“This is well;” he then proceeded to the house of the snake. When he
was near the house he shook his tail and said to himself, “This is
good; I guess when I go into the house the snake will be very much
afraid of me.” He did not walk into the house, but moved like a snake.
The coyote could not shake the rattle as the snake did his; he had to
hold his tail in his hand. When he shook his rattle the snake appeared
afraid and said, “Companion, I am much afraid of you.” The snake had a
stew of rats on the fire, which he placed before the coyote and invited
him to eat, saying, “Companion, eat some of my food,” and the coyote
replied, “I do not understand your food; I can not eat it, because I do
not understand it.” The snake insisted upon his eating, but the coyote
continued to refuse, saying, “If you will put some of the flower of
the corn on my head I will eat; I understand that food.” The snake
quickly procured some corn pollen, but he pretended to be afraid to
go too near the coyote, and stood off a distance. The coyote told him
to come nearer and put it well on the top of his head; but the snake
replied, “I am afraid of you.” The coyote said, “Come nearer to me;
I am not bad,” and the snake came closer and put the pollen on the
coyote’s head and the coyote tried to eat the pollen; but he had not
the tongue of the snake, so could not take it from his head. He made
many attempts to reach the top of his head, putting his tongue first
on one side of his nose and then on the other, but he could only reach
either side of his nose. His repeated failures made the snake laugh
heartily. The snake put his hand over his mouth, so that the coyote
should not see him laugh; he really hid his head in his body. The
coyote was not aware that the snake discovered that he could not obtain
the food. As he left the snake’s house he held his tail in his hand and
shook the rattle; and the snake cried, “Oh companion! I am so afraid
of you,” but in reality the snake shook with laughter. The coyote,
returning to his house, said to himself, “I was such a fool; the snake
had much food to eat and I would not take it. Now I am very hungry,”
and he went out in search of food.


                             THE SKÁTONA.

The myth of the ska´tona (a monster plumed serpent) who, in the old
time, ate the people, is familiar to every man, woman, and child of
Sia. This serpent, who lived in the mountains, did not move to catch
the people, but drew them to him with his breath; he never called but
one person at a time, compelling each one to approach sidewise so that
he could not be seen. The hand was usually grabbed first, then the
serpent would take the hand into his mouth and gradually devour his
victim.

+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
|                             FOOTNOTES:                               |
|                                                                      |
| [1] The author mentions gratefully the share of this work performed  |
| by her late husband, Mr. James Stevenson, whose notes taken during   |
| his last year’s work in the field have been freely used by her and   |
| whose life interest in the North American Indians has been her       |
| inspiration.                                                         |
|                                                                      |
| [2] Davis, Spanish Conquest of New Mexico, 1869, pp. 351, 352.       |
|                                                                      |
| [3] The writer is indebted to Mr. A. F. Bandelier for the            |
| information regarding the Catholic missions.                         |
|                                                                      |
| [4] Sûs´sĭstinnako is referred to both as father and mother, he      |
| being the parent of all, and sometimes as grandmother or the first   |
| parent.                                                              |
|                                                                      |
| [5] In this paper the words “cardinal points” are used to signify    |
| north, west, south, east, zenith, and nadir.                         |
|                                                                      |
| [6] The Ï´ärriko or ya´ya (mother) is an ear of corn which may       |
| be any color but must be symmetrically perfect, and not a grain      |
| must be missing. Eagle and parrot plumes are placed in pyramidal     |
| form around the corn. In order that the center feathers may be       |
| sufficiently long they are each attached to a very delicate splint.  |
| The base of this pyramid is formed of splints woven together with    |
| native cotton cord and ornamented at the top with shells and         |
| precious beads. A pad of native cotton is attached to the lower      |
| end of the corn. When the ya´ya is completed there is no evidence    |
| of the corn, which is renewed every four years when the old corn     |
| is planted. The ya´ya is made only by the theurgists of the cult     |
| societies, and continency must be practiced four days previous       |
| to the making of the Ï´ärriko, and an emetic taken each of the       |
| four mornings before breaking fast for purification from conjugal    |
| relations. A ya´ya is presented by the theurgist to each official    |
| member, the little ones being apparently as appreciative and proud   |
| as their elders of the honor conferred upon them. The Ï´ärriko       |
| is the Sia’s supreme idol. The one given to the writer by the        |
| theurgist of the knife society is now in the National Museum.        |
|                                                                      |
| [7] Though it is not mentioned in the story, it seems to be          |
| understood that these games were played for the houses, for had      |
| Po´shaiyänne lost the games he would have lost the houses.           |
|                                                                      |
| [8] Ancient flat shell beads as thin as paper.                       |
|                                                                      |
| [9] This reference to tables appears to evidence the fact that this  |
| portion of the cosmogony is of later date, and the whole paragraph   |
| savors of a coloring from Christian or biblical teaching.            |
|                                                                      |
| [10] The culture hero of the Sia bears a name similar to that of     |
| the corresponding prodigy among the Zuñi. The same is true of other  |
| of their mythological beings.                                        |
|                                                                      |
| [11] Fifth Ann. Rept. Bu. Eth., pp. 539-553.                         |
|                                                                      |
| [12] Presiding officer of a cult society.                            |
|                                                                      |
| [13] This society differed from the one of the same name afterwards  |
| organized in the upper world; knife in the former referring to       |
| the implement used for domestic and other purposes, while the        |
| word in the latter indicates the arrows presented to Ma´asewe and    |
| U´yuuyewĕ, the two war heroes, sons of the sun, by their father.     |
|                                                                      |
| [14] The ho´naaite, in this instance, is not, strictly speaking,     |
| the theurgist, for the priest-doctor of the society of warriors      |
| practices surgery exclusively, such as extracting balls and          |
| arrows, while the theurgist has to deal with afflictions caused      |
| by witchcraft and the anger of certain animals and insects, he       |
| acting simply as the agent of the prey animals. The functions of     |
| the ho´naaites of the Koshai´ri and Quer´ränna also differ from      |
| those of the other societies. As these two societies received their  |
| songs and medicine directly from the sun, they are not entitled      |
| to the slat altars used in ceremonials and given by Ût´sĕt to the    |
| societies in the lower world; only those ho´naaites who practice     |
| through the power of the prey animals possess the sand paintings.    |
| The Warriors, Koshai´ri and Quer´ränna, make their cloud emblems of  |
| meal.                                                                |
|                                                                      |
| [15] The sacred meal, or shell mixture as it is often called by the  |
| Sia, may be prepared by an adult of either sex; it is composed of    |
| coarsely ground meal, powdered shells, and turkis.                   |
|                                                                      |
| [16] A member of a society is selected by the ho´naaite to collect   |
| the willow twigs from which the hä´chamoni are made. The ho´naaite   |
| arranges a bunch of bird plumes which the collector attaches to      |
| the limb of a willow, saying: “I have come to collect twigs for      |
| hä´chamoni and I pay you with these plumes.” The tree to which the   |
| plumes are attached is not touched, but the one nearest to it. A     |
| stroke at the place where the twig is to be cut is made with an      |
| ancient stone knife and the twig is severed from the tree on a line  |
| at right angles with itself, the stick varying from four inches to   |
| a foot in length, according to the symmetry of the twig, which is    |
| divided by three cuts (these having first been indicated by the      |
| stone knife), leaving the selected portion with a pointed end which  |
| in cross section would show an equilateral triangle.                 |
|                                                                      |
| [17] The Sia do not differ from the Zuñi, Tusayan, and Navajo in     |
| their process of preparing sand paintings, the powdered pigment      |
| being sprinkled between the index finger and thumb. All these        |
| Indian artists work rapidly.                                         |
|                                                                      |
| [18] The uncolored illustrations are from photographs by Miss May    |
| S. Clark, the interior views being by flash light. The writer is     |
| pleased to congratulate Miss Clark for having succeeded under the    |
| most trying circumstances.                                           |
|                                                                      |
| [19] All the figures show the feet as they are colored before the    |
| moccasins are put on. The red spot on the body designates the        |
| heart, the black spot on the figure of the member of the fire        |
| society indicates the coal which is eaten. The white around the      |
| face, arms, and legs is down from the breast of the hawk.            |
|                                                                      |
| [20] Female members are never present at the ceremonial of brushing  |
| with straws and feathers, and therefore the ya´ya belonging to the   |
| woman and child were not to be seen on this occasion, and neither    |
| did the one captured from the Navajo appear.                         |
|                                                                      |
| [21] The portraits of the ho´naaites were made in secluded spots in  |
| the woods. The hair is not arranged as it is in the ceremonials,     |
| fear of discovery preventing the proper arrangement and adornment    |
| with feathers. (Pl. XXX.)                                            |
|                                                                      |
| [22] There were other Ka´ᵗsuna, however, which were in the upper    |
| world before the Sia came. While the Sia can not account for their   |
| origin they are also personated by them.                             |
|                                                                      |
| [23] The aged ho´naaite has since died.                              |
|                                                                      |
| [24] Here the singers sprinkle pollen to the north with an under     |
| wave of the hand.                                                    |
|                                                                      |
| [25] Can not be translated.                                          |
|                                                                      |
| [26] Shell mixture and sacred meal are synonymous.                   |
|                                                                      |
| [27] After the religious services it is usual for the ho´naaite      |
| to absent himself, even though he be the woman’s husband or          |
| father; his remaining being an evidence of unusual devotion.         |
| The mother-in-law may be present at childbirth, but not the          |
| father-in-law unless he be the chosen ho´naaite for the occasion,    |
| and his affection for the daughter-in-law prompting him to remain,   |
| this, however, being very rare. “Should the expectant mother fail    |
| to bend her thoughts upon the event to come the child would not      |
| care to be born and would lie still and die.” It is rare for a Sia   |
| woman to die in childbirth; or for a child to he stillborn.          |
|                                                                      |
| [28] The doctress names all infants, one name usually serving the    |
| female through life, but the male may have a plurality of names;     |
| for example, upon his return after a long journey, or after having   |
| performed some valorous deed his head is bathed in yucca suds by     |
| some female member of the cult society to which he belongs, or by a  |
| member of his clan, when she bestows an appropriate name.            |
|                                                                      |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+


Transcriber’s Notes:

 - Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_).
 - Blank pages have been removed.
 - Obvious typographical errors have been silently corrected.
 - Native words spacing, hyphenation, and markup varies, this
   has been left as is.