March, 1905. The Traditions of the Hopi • — Voth. 21 



was dear and sacred to the Hopi chief, and he wanted to keep it alone 

 to himself and for the Hopi, but did not want the people who would 

 scatter out to take this language along, and so he asked the Mocking- 

 bird (Yahpa), who talks everything, to give to the different people 

 a different language. This the Mocking-bird did, giving to one 

 party one language, to another party another language, and so on, 

 telling them that these languages they should henceforth speak. 

 Hereupon they sat down to eat a common meal, and the chief laid 

 out a great many corn-ears of different lengths which they had 

 brought from the under-world. "Now," he said, "you choose of 

 these corn-ears before you start." So there was a great wrangle over 

 these corn-ears, every one wanting the longest ears, and such people 

 as the Navaho, Ute, Apache, etc., struggled for and got the longest 

 corn-ears, leaving the small ones for the Hopi, and these the chief 

 took and said: "Thanks, that you have left this for me. Upon this 

 we are going to live. Now, you that took the long corn-ears will live 

 on that, but they are not corn, they will be kwahkwi, l^hu, and such 

 grasses that have seed." And that is the reason why these people 

 rub out the tassels of those grasses now and live on them; and the 

 Hopi have corn, because the smaller ears were really the corn. 



The chief had an elder brother, and he selected some of the best 

 foods that tasted well, such as n6okwiwi,' meats, etc. They were 

 now ready to start, and then the chief and his elder brother talked 

 with each other and agreed that the elder brother should go with a 

 party ahead towards the sunrise, and when he would arrive there he 

 should touch the sun, at least with his forehead, and then remain 

 and live there where the sun rises. But they should not forget their 

 brethren, they should be looking this way, towards the place where 

 they would settle down. A So Wuhti (old woman, grandmother) went 

 with each party. Each party also took a stone upon which there were 

 some marks and figures, and that fitted together. They agreed that 

 if the Hopi should get into trouble again, and live again the same way 

 as they did in the lower world, the elder brother should come back to 

 them and discover the Powakas who caused the trouble, and cut off 

 their heads. 



The elder brother and his party started first, and they became the 

 White Men as they traveled eastward. The chief, and his party 

 started next, both taking a southern route. The maiden that had 

 been found to be a Powdka, and who had been left behind at the open- 

 ing, followed these two parties after they had left. 



The people hereupon formed different parties, each party following 



* A stew preoared of mutton, shelled com, etc. 



