82 Field Columbian Museum — Anthropology, Vol. VIII. 



maidens and liked them very much, and so we allowed them to cut 

 ofif our arms." "Very well," she said, "I am going to set you right 

 again. " So she asked them to lay down north of the fireplace. 

 She placed the two arms by their sides, covered them up, whereupon 

 she commenced to sing a song. When she was through singing, she 

 told them now to get up. They did so and found their arms healed. 

 The next day they proceeded to the house of the maidens, who 

 were surprised to see them fully recovered. The older of the two 

 sisters was the prettier one and P6ok6nghoya wanted to choose that 

 one. His younger brother protested, saying: "Yesterday you were 

 not willing to have your arm cut off, as you were then afraid, and now 

 you want to have the first choice. I had my arm cut off first and I 

 am going to choose first," to which his elder brother finally con- 

 sented. They slept with the maidens that night and then left them 

 and returned to their home north of Oraibi. 



19. THE POOKONGHOYAS AND THE CANNIBAL MONSTER.' 



A very long time ago a large monster, whom our forefathers called 

 Shfta, lived somewhere in the west, and used to come to the village 

 of Orafbi and wherever it would find children it would devour them. 

 Often also grown people were eaten by the monster. The people be- 

 came very much alarmed over the matter, and especially the village 

 chief was very much worried over it. Finally he concluded to ask 

 the Pookdnghoyas for assistance. These latter, namely P6ok6nghoya 

 and his younger brother Bal6ngahoya, lived north of and close to the 

 village of Orafbi. When the village chief asked them to rid them of 

 this monster they told him to make an arrow for each one of them. 

 He did so, using for the shaft feathers, the wing feathers of the blue- 

 bird. These arrows he brought to the little War Gods mentioned. 

 They said to each other: "Now let us go and see whether such a 

 monster exists and whether we can find it." So they first went to 

 Orafbi and kept on the watch around the village. One time, when 

 they were on the east side of the village at the edge of the mesa, they 

 noticed something approaching from the west side. They at once 

 went there and saw that it was the monster that they were to destroy. 

 When the monster met the two brothers it said to them: "I eat 

 you" (Shita). Both brothers objected. The monster at once swal- 

 lowed the older one and then the other one. They found that it was 

 not dark inside of the monster, in fact, they found themselves on a 

 path which, the younger brother, who had been swallowed last, fol- 



* Told by Qoydwaima (OraIbi) . 



