Feb., 1912. The Oraibi Marau Ceremony — Voth. 21 



p. m. all arrange themselves in a semicircle in front of the altar (see 

 diagram on page 17). 



The chief priest rises and goes through the same discharming 

 performance as he did before with the two priestesses who fetched the 

 water from the springs. The feather he circles this time in front of the 

 altar over the heads of the participants in the ceremony. He then 

 unties the nakwakwosis from the hair of the women, and places them 

 on the floor in front of the altar, and then fills a smoke pipe with native 

 tobacco which he also places on the floor, whereupon he squats down 

 in front and about the middle of the altar, Navini and four women 

 usually sitting on his left and four women on 'his right side. These 

 ten persons are usually the ones that participate in the ceremonies 

 around the altar, and hence are in this paper sometimes called leaders. 

 Wickwaya then utters the following brief prayer: 



"Taa, pai pi ita puu yep maksontota; owi ita yep itah mungwasi 

 nanapangwani. Nap hakakwat unaywasyat nalo nananiwo tuikaowak 

 put akv puma angk ichi palaye ak itamui okwatotwani." 



Free Translation. 



"Now then, we exert ourselves (we are constrained); therefore we 

 assist each other (cooperate) here in our concerns (offerings). From 

 somewhere the four different ones (referring to the rain deities in the 

 four world quarters) may they bring at the right time copious rains ' 

 quickly (to us) taking pity on us." 



Then the first song is begun (see Plate IX, a). Wickwaya beats 

 time with a rattle, consisting of a short crook, to which a number of 

 old cone shells are tied. His sister and her assistant beat time with 

 gourd rattles and the rest with their ears of corn, which they call their 

 "mothers." Navini, I think, beats time with a buzzard feather. 

 During this song one of the women (No. 8) takes a tray with fine corn- 

 meal and rubs four lines on the north, west, south and east wall of the 

 kiva respectively, then throws a small pinch of meal against a joist 

 over the altar and presses some to the floor east of the altar. Each of 

 these acts is performed during one of the verses of the song. 



The second song is then sung, during which the same woman takes 

 a pinch of powder of some kind of a berry from a corn-husk, sprinkles 

 it along the corn-ear and old makwanpi (aspergill) which are lying on 

 the north side of the bowl into the bowl, picks up those two objects 

 and holds both of them, point downward, into the medicine bowl and 

 then pours some water on them from a netted gourd vessel. After 

 having done this she asperges with them towards the altar and then 



