March, 1905. The Traditions of the Hopi — V'oth. 35 



The woman said to her husband : "You take our children back to my 

 home and then we shall go away from here alone." Then the man's 

 father made bahos, gave them to his son, who put all the snakes with 

 the bahos into his blanket and took them back to his wife's home, and 

 there told the Snake people why he brought their children and the 

 bahos. They said it was all right. Hence the Snake priests, when 

 carrying away the snakes from the plaza after the snake dance, take 

 with them and deposit with the snakes some bahos, so that they 

 should not themselves return to the village. 



When the Snake man returned to his village he and his wife trav- 

 eled south-eastward, stopping at various places. All at once they 

 saw smoke in the distance, and when they went there they found a 

 village perched on the mesa. This was the village of Walpi. They 

 at once went to the foot of the mesa on which Walpi was situated 

 and announced their presence. So the village chief went down to 

 them from the mesa, and asked what they wanted. They asked to 

 be admitted to the village, promising that they would assist the 

 people in the ceremonies. The chief at first showed himself unwilling 

 to admit them, but finally gave his consent and took them up to the 

 village. From that time the woman bore human children instead of 

 little snakes. These children and their descendants became the 

 Snake clan, of whom only very few are now living. 



Soon also the Batki and P6na clan came to Walpi and found 

 admittance to the village. At Walpi the Snake people made the first 

 Snake tiponi, Snake altar, etc., and had the first Snake ceremony. 

 From here the Snake cult spread to the other villages, first to Shongo- 

 pavi, then to Mishongnovi, and then to Oraibi. At the first Snake 

 ceremony the Snake chief sent his nephew to the north, to the west, 

 to the south, and to the east to hunt snakes. He brought some from 

 each direction. The chief then hollowed out a piece of baho, made 

 of Cottonwood root. Into this he put the rattles of three of the 

 snakes and the fourth snake entirely. He then inserted into it a 

 corn-ear, and tied to it different feathers of the eagle, the oriole, 

 blue-bird, parrot, magpie, asya, and topockwa. winding a buckskin 

 string around these feathers. When he had made this tiponi, the 

 first ceremony was celebrated, and afterwards it took place regularly. 



7. THE SNAKE MYTH.' 



At W6hkol<ieq6 lived the Pihlcash and K6kop clans. The old men 

 often wondered where the Colorado River was flowing. So they built 

 a box, put provisions in, and a pole to push and guide the box with 



' Told by Sikdnakpu (Mish6ngnovi). 



