FIRST CEREMONIAL DAY. 



(SHUSH KA HIMUU; ONCE NOT ANYTHING.) 



In the morning at about five o'clock, the Chief Snake and Ante- 

 lope priests repair to their respective kivas, bringing with them their 

 natsis, some pipes and tobacco, and some sacred corn-meal. On one 

 occasion I saw the Snake priest get this meal from the ancestral home 

 of the Snake clan, where his sister had ground it for him. The latter 

 priest goes to the Tcu (Rattlesnake), the Antelope priest to the 

 Nashabe (Central) kiva. The latter will for convenience' sake be 

 called Antelope kiva throughout the paper. 



After sprinkling a circle of corn-meal around the kivas, ^ to warn, 

 it is said, nonparticipants that a ceremony is in progress in that kiva, 

 both priests put up their ndtsi. This consists in both cases of two 

 round sticks, about fourteen inches long, to which two long black 

 eagle wing feathers are fastened. In fact, it is one of the so-called 

 tcii wuwahpis^ (rattlesnake whips), used on the snake hunts, and hence 

 might be properly called, whip ndtsi. (See A, PI. 155.) The aoat (bow) 

 natsi is not put up until the fifth day, and will be described later. 

 The whip natsi is inserted in the matting at the south side of the 

 hatchway. Before it is inserted, the priest holds a pinch of meal to 

 his lips, utters a silent prayer over it, and then sprinkles a part of it 

 on the place where the ndtsi is to stand and throws the rest towards 

 the rising sun. On one occasion I noticed that the Antelope priest 

 spurted a little honey on the ndtsi, and that he stopped at the foot of 

 the ladder for a few moments, uttering a brief, silent prayer before he 

 took it from the kiva. It is more than probable that he does that 

 every time when he puts it up, and it is possible that the Snake priest 

 does the same, though I have not noticed it thus far on any other 

 occasion. 



Having placed the ndtsis in position, both chiefs sweep their 

 kivas, carry out the refuse or sweepings, build a fire, and then squat 

 down near the fireplace, where they smoke for about an hour, during 

 which time, usually one or two others, who are to participate in the 

 ceremony, join them. Near the fireplace may at this time usually be 

 noticed a tray with meal, a pouch with tobacco, some pipes, a can or 



• In 1898 this meal ring was made by the Snake chief after the natsi had been erected. 

 » This whip is also called piihiiwanpi (soothing implement) from piihiiwanta, to soften, make 

 pliable— for instance, a hide; or to soothe, make gentle— for instance, a child, animal, etc. 



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