Feb., 191 2. The Oraibi Marau Ceremony — Voth. 25 



The following is taken from my notes of January 22, 1897: 



"After the chief priestess had put up the natsi all took their corn- 

 ear mothers and some corn-meal and slowly filed out to a small shrine 

 south of and close to the village. At one place they stopped, held 

 the meal to their lips, dropped a part of it on a small shrine and sprinkled 

 a small quantity towards the rising sun; they then proceeded a few 

 steps, lined up, held the remaining meal to their lips and cast it towards 

 the east, whereupon they returned to the kiva, sprinkled a pinch of 

 meal to the altar and replaced their ears of corn on the floor in front 

 of the altar. 



Wickwaya filled the cloud blower and placed it on the floor for use 

 later on. All then arranged themselves in a semicircle south of the 

 altar as usual. Nasingyaonoma sprinkled the meal line from the 

 altar to the ladder and then the same ceremony was gone through as 

 on the morning of the two preceding days. At the conclusion Wickwaya 

 and Navini each uttered the usual brief prayer, each woman, one 

 after the other, responding, "Paitam ookaoyani" (we shall be strong, 

 or firm), the rest saying each time, Ow£, (yes). 



Navini then lit a pipe at the fireplace, handed it to Wickwaya, 

 who smoked at the altar. He handed the pipe back to Navini, who 

 also smoked a few puffs from it at the fireplace. Hereupon Wickwaya 

 and the two chief priestesses resumed their places again in the north- 

 west corner of the kiva. One woman went and got four large, flat 

 trays with piki (the typical thin Hopi bread), four small, flat trays 

 with some white mush, and four small bowls with what looked like a 

 stew containing beans. On top of the piki in each tray was also a 

 small cake not over one and one-quarter inches in diameter. These 

 cakes the woman, who brought this food in, placed on the floor in front 

 of the altar, with a pinch of each of the other dishes of food. 



All present now commenced to prepare many prayer offerings. 

 The chief priest made a double baho, which was unusual from the fact 

 that its color was light blue instead of the usual green color, and that it 

 had a bright yellow band right above the black tips. To it he attached, 

 besides the two usual herbs, the corn-husk packet, short turkey feather 

 and eagle feather nakwakwosi, a long piihu (road). He then painted 

 crosswise two black lines on the four cakes, that the woman had placed 

 in front of the altar, and put these, as well as the baho, on a tray. 



It was utterly impossible to determine the exact number of prayer 

 offerings each man and woman now made, of what feathers and just 

 what disposition she made of them, as all were working at the same 

 time, were not disposing of them at the same place, etc. But the 

 following details were noted: Most of the women made some puhus 



