Part 10

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.”

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.

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.

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.