Feb., 1912. The Oraibi Marau Ceremony — Voth. 23 



on the altar and over the medicine bowl towards her, whereupon he 

 resumes his seat. The singing is then resumed, the woman beating 

 time with one end of the stick on the floor. This stick, as well as the 

 others in the sand ridge, is supposed to represent one of the dead 

 members of the order (as is also the case with similar sticks in other 

 ceremonies), and it is believed that the striking of the floor announces 

 to the deceased members in the nether world that a ceremony is in 

 progress. 



At a certain period of the song, when the word "wawayina" 1 occurs, 

 she waves the stick in a horizontal circle from right to left and then 

 continues to beat time on the floor. This she does seven times. 2 



When the song is over all say thanks, the woman holds the 

 stick with one end resting on the floor, and all wait in silence. The 

 chief priest again steps behind the altar, takes the stick from the 

 woman, swings it backward over the medicine bowl and along the 

 string road towards himself, and replaces it and then resumes his 

 seat. After a short silence he speaks a brief prayer: "Pay hapi ita 

 yep maksontota; Owi itah maksoni akvmongwastotini." "Now (or 

 well!) we exert (or trouble, constrain) ourselves here. And now our 

 exertions shall be consummated," to which the others respond by saying, 

 anchaa (be it so). His assistant (Navini) lights a pipe and the two 

 men smoke while the women take seats in different parts of the kiva. 



The leaders fast on this day until late in the evening; the other 

 members abstain from salty foods only. This same rule applies also 

 to the second, third and fourth day. 



Second Day (Shush tala, First Day). 



Early in the morning the natsi is put up again, the women make 

 their offering to the dawn, which consists of a little corn-meal that 

 they sprinkle towards the east behind a rock, south of the village, the 

 two leaders also waving their ears of corn towards the east, whereupon 

 all file back to the kiva. The same ceremony then takes place around 

 the altar as on the previous evening. 3 After the morning meal a number 

 of nakwakwosis are made and deposited, though just how many has 

 not been recorded. The chief priest and priestess, and the latter's 



1 Whether this is an old form for wangwaiyi.call, beckon; or whether wawayi-na. call (the) father, 

 or waway-ina, call my father, is the correct etymology could not yet be fully determined. 



1 This number seems to be unusual, six times, apparently, being the normal number. Why seven 

 times I did not ascertain. But I have observed on other occasions that certain rites were performed 

 seven times, where six would have seemed the regular number. Where the words are the same in 

 each stanza it may sometimes be an error. 



1 From my notes it appears, that in all the altar ceremonies from this day, except on the eighth 

 day, the making of the meal lines on the walls during the first song and the performance with the 

 makwanpis and the corn-ears during the second songs were dispensed with. 



