March, 1905. The Traditions of the Hopi — Voth. 13 



"You go and tell your people and then you all come here to me." 

 So he returned and the people asked him; "Now, what have you 

 found out? Have you found anybody?" "Yes," he said, "I have 

 found somebody and he has a good crop there." Skeleton had fed 

 the messenger with some of his good things which he had there. The 

 people had not brought much food with them from below and so they 

 had not very much left. The people were very glad for this invita- 

 tion and went to the place where Skeleton lived. But when they saw 

 the small field they thought: "Well, that will be gone in a very short 

 time," but Skeleton always planted and the food was never gone. 

 When they came there they gathered some wood and built a fire and 

 then they warmed themselves and were happy. Skeleton gave them 

 roasting ears, and watermelons, melons, squashes, etc., and they ate 

 and refreshed themselves. Some of the plants were very small yet, 

 others still larger, so that they always had food. 



So the people remained there, made fields, and they always kept 

 up a fire near the fields, which warmed the ground so that they could 

 raise a crop. When the crop had matured they gathered it all in, 

 and when they now had provisions they planned to start off again, 

 but there was still no sun, and it was cold. So they talked about this, 

 saying: "Now, it ought not remain this way." So the chiefs all met 

 in council with Skeleton, and talked this matter over in order to see 

 whether they could not make a sun as they had had it in the under- 

 world, but they did not just know how to do it. So they finally took 

 a piece of dressed buffalo hide (hakwAvu), which they cut in a round 

 shape, stretched it over a wooden ring, and then painted it" with 

 white ddma (kaoline). They then pulverized some black paint 

 (t6ho)' with which they drew a picture of the moon around the edge 

 of this disk, sprinkling the center of the disk with the same black 

 color. They then attached a stick to this disk. Hereupon they 

 stretched a large piece of white native cloth (mochapu) on the floor 

 and placed this disk on it. All these objects they had brought with 

 them from the under- world. 



They then selected some one (the story does not say whom) and 

 directed him to stand on this moon symbol. Hereupon the chiefs 

 took the cloth by its corners, swung it back and forth, and then threw 

 it upward, where it continued swiftly flying eastward into the sky. 

 So the people sat and watched. All at once they noticed that it be- 

 came light in the east. Something was burning there as they thought. 

 The light became brighter and brighter, and something came up in 

 the east. It rose higher and higher, and where the people were it 



' These paints are still universally used 'in their ceremonies. 



