Feb., 1912. Miscellaneous Hopi Papers — Voth. iiq 



up and down, sang slowly for awhile, whereupon they replaced them, 

 and the men then smoked a while. 



This is as far as I was able to study this ceremony, but believe that 

 no further performances took place. The new ceremonial year, with 

 its cycle of secret and public ceremonies and dances, had been ushered 

 in. A few weeks later the Wuwuchim ceremony, probably the most 

 important in the entire ceremonial calender, is celebrated. The youths 

 and young men of the village are then initiated into the Wuwuchim 

 (men's) Agave, Horn and Singer fraternities, and right after it appears 

 the first Katcina — the Soyal, — announcing, as it were, the approaching 

 Katcina season. Still a few weeks later on the occasion of the great 

 Soyal celebration, the Qooqoqlom Katcinas make the round of the vil- 

 lages, "opening" the kivas for the coming Katcinas, whereupon a series 

 of Katcina performances of great variety of names, costumes and pur- 

 pose appear at shorter and longer intervals until the Katcina season 

 closes with the Niman, or Farewell Katcina ceremony in July. 1 Mean- 

 time certain secret ceremonies by the different orders take place in the 

 different kivas, by the Flute, Snake, Marau, OaqSl and other societies, 

 especially during December, January and February, some lasting one 

 day others nine days. With the exception of the Powamu ceremony, 

 which is very closely related to the Katcina cult and during which the 

 Katcina imitations take place, these secret winter kiva performances 

 are less complicated and apparently of less importance than those per- 

 formed by these societies between the Niman (Farewell) and the next 

 New Year ceremony. 



1 See the Author's paper on "The Oraibi Niman Ceremony," in preparation by The Field Museum. 



