i8o Field Columbian Museum — Anthropology, Vol. VIII. 



of the Mocking-bird, and that is the reason why they talk and jabber 

 so much, because the Mocking-bird is a great talker. The men of the 

 village have ever since been considered to be the children of the 

 Rooster, and that is the reason why they are so gentle and docile. If 

 all the people had been the children of the Rooster they would all be 

 gentle and kind and not talk so much. 



56. THE TOAD AND THE SNOW KATCINAS.' 



Halfksai! A long time ago they were living in Oraibi. There was 

 a kiva in the northern part of the village called the Chorzhovi (Blue- 

 bird Height). In this kiva one time the Snow Katcmas were prac- 

 ticing for a dance. North of the village at Katcfnavala lived the 

 Toad Woman (Machak Wuhti). She had a son. The latter fre- 

 quently went to the village in the evening to listen to the Katcinas 

 when they were practicing their singing. When he would be lying on 

 the kiva roof looking down, the other young men would pile up on 

 him and thus worry him. So finally he did not do that any more 

 but sat. aside and simply listened to the singing of the Katcinas. He 

 usually wore a robe of wildcat skin, as was customary among the 

 young men at that time. 



On the eighth day (Tot61<a), the women of the village were pre- 

 paring food for the dance on the next day. The Toad Woman also 

 prepared some plkami and other food. Her son was anxious to see 

 the dance the next day. During the night he did not sleep, but re- 

 mained awake in the village with the others. Early in the morning 

 the Toad Woman washed his head with suds. When he had dried 

 his hair, his mother got some pikami and they were eating. The sun 

 then rose. He put on his wildcat robe again, and also put on a cap 

 of skin, and then went to the village, as the Katcinas went to the 

 village for the first time. 



When he entered the village he put a little paint into a bowl and 

 painted his face. When the children saw him they laughed at him, 

 partly on account of his funny cap. On the plaza the Katcinas were 

 dancing, distributing food among the people at the same time, but 

 nobody gave this youth any food. Soon an old man said to the 

 children who were on the plaza they should take the Toad Boy to some 

 ant hill, because he liked ants very much. There were ants living in 

 different parts of the village. So the children took him to a place and 

 dug out ants so that they were running about in great numbers. The 

 Toad at once commenced to eat them and the children laughed at 



' Told by KwAyeshva (Oraibi). 



