Nov., 1903. Oraibi Summer Snake Ceremony — Voth. 297 



came to the Snake kiva, and he, with the Chief Snake priest and a 

 few others of the leading Snake men, indulged in a solemn smoke 

 around the fireplace, which was followed by a fervent prayer by this 

 Antelope priest and by Macangontiwa, whereupon Lomdyeshtiwa left. 

 At the foot of the ladder, however, he stopped and announced that in 

 the evening the singing would commence in the Antelope kiva. While 

 I have noticed the presence of an Antelope priest for this purpose in 

 the Snake kiva this one time only, it is probable that it occurs at every 

 ceremony.' 



No regular snake hunt is supposed to take place on this day, and 

 in this year (1896) none did take place, because, the men said, the 

 Antelopes were erecting an altar. In the other two years, however, 

 all but the chief priest and two or three of the older men went out on 

 a hunt again. They gave as a reason, their shortage of snakes. They 

 seemed to be as anxious, however, to find rabbits as snakes. When a 

 rabbit was brought into the kiva it was placed on the floor north of the 

 fireplace and one or several of those present sprinkled a pinch of meal 

 on the head of the rabbit and sometimes they smoked over it. 



When the time for the evening ceremony in the Antelope kiva 

 drew nearer the men began to comb their hair, to redaub their bodies, 

 tie hair feathers to their hair, and otherwise get ready for the evening 

 ceremony. Soon a young man named Talaswahtiwa entered the kiva. 

 He sprinkled some sacred meal towards the altar, and one of the other 

 men tied a nakwa into his hair, handed him a white corn-ear, and 

 assigned him a seat on the east side of the altar. He was a novice 

 and was to be initiated as a member of the Snake Fraternity. His 

 costume consisted of a plain white kilt with a pale green border, such 

 as are frequently worn on other ceremonial occasions. While this 

 man was called a kel^hoya (novice) and was treated as such, no regu- 

 lar initiation ceremony took place. ^ In fact, none has occurred 

 in the Snake Fraternity in any of the years when the Snake cere- 

 mony has been observed. Fortunately, however, most of the Snake 

 priests now living have been present at one time or other, and from 

 one of them the following description of such an initiation ceremony 

 was obtained. While it is, as a matter of course, to be regretted that 

 this important part of the Oraibi Snake presentation cannot be 

 described from personal observations, it has been thought best to 

 record at least the information pbtained on this subject from an eye 



' One of the Snake chiefs claims that Lomfi,yeshtiwa was there to get some colored sand and 

 other things to be used on the altar and sand mosaic he was about to make in the Antelope kiva. 



' When I later had occasion to befriend this man, he explained to me among other things that 

 he had been initiated while still a small child, but never participated in the ceremony, and hence 

 this partial initiation. This same custom the author has observed on other occasions. 



