108 Field Museum of Natural History — Anth., Vol. XI. 



and who deposit them with some sacred meal in shrines, devoted to the 

 eagles. 1 



During the winter and spring months, when the Katcina cult flour- 

 ishes in all the villages, and Katcinas of the greatest variety may be 

 seen in the different ceremonies and dances, Eagle Katcinas, i. e., 

 masked Hopi representing eagles, or more properly speaking an Eagle 

 deity, may occasionally be seen. The typical features of this person- 

 age are a mask with an artificial eagle beak and otherwise representing 

 the head of an eagle; sometimes large eagle feathers are fastened to 

 the arms and to the back part of the costume representing the wings 

 and tail of the eagle (see Plate XLIII). These Katcinas receive 

 prayer offerings at the dances, which they deposit at Katcina shrines 

 "that the eagles may not fail to lay eggs and hatch them again the 

 next year." 



On the day after the great Niman (Farewell) Katcina ceremony in 

 July all the eagles in the village, except here and there one that is not 

 fully grown, are killed. This killing is done at about eight or nine 

 o'clock in the morning. While one person holds the rope, another 

 throws a blanket over the eagle and carries him down from the roof, 

 choking him while he descends (see Plate XLIV). No eagle is killed 

 by any other method. When life is extinct the feathers are plucked 

 and carefully assorted (see Plate XLV). When the larger feathers 

 have all been pulled the body of the eagle is flayed and the skin with 

 the remaining feathers also carefully dried and preserved on account of 

 the feathers. Nakwakwosis are then tied to the wings and legs of the 

 carcass "that the eagles should not be angry but hatch young eagles 

 again the next year." During this time a small tray, a small flat doll 

 and a few rolls of blue piki (the thin, typical Hopi bread), about four 

 inches long and about one inch thick, are prepared. When these 

 preparations are completed the carcass, the prayer offerings and a 

 pointed stick are taken to one of the grave-yards especially devoted 

 to eagles (see Plate XLI). Here a hole is dug in the ground with 

 the pointed stick, and the eagle body, with the food, placed into it 

 (see Plate XLVII). These grave-yards are usually located from 

 half to three-quarters of a mile from the village. 



The feathers, thus obtained from the eagles, are used for many 

 different purposes, mostly, however, ceremonial. The smaller ones 

 mostly for nakwakwosis, that have only one twisted string and for 

 puhus, that have one twisted and one single string attached to them. 

 Of these two kinds thousands are made on many different occasions 



1 Mr. C. L. Owen, who just returned from the Hopi-land says: "Small vessels are often placed 

 near rocks where eagles are supposed to hatch and to roost, which are from time to time filled with 

 water and also a pinch of meal sprinkled on it. (See PI. L). 



