Part 14

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.

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.

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.

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.

SOCIETY OF WARRIORS.