Nov., 1903. Oraibi Summer Snake Ceremony — Voth. 287 



places from the charm, peculiar to the Snake cult, and make them 

 harmless for the uninitiated. The name hohdyaonga is derived from 

 hohoyaowuu, the Hopi name for a black beetle (asida rimata), which 

 is also considered to be a good snake antidote, and ngaya, the Hopi 

 name for root. The snake-hunters do not return until about six 

 o'clock in the evening. At noon they meet at a prearranged place, 

 for a smoke and common lunch, after which they again scatter out 

 until the time mentioned, when they meet in the kiva. Here they lay 

 down the snake bags in the north part of the kiva, assemble around 

 the fireplace, indulge in a smoke, and talk for about half an hour, and 

 then partake of the evening meal. After that another smoke follows. 

 The chief priest brings into the kiva, as soon as darkness has set in, 

 two fetishes, two lightning frames, several tohopkos (stone fetishes 

 representing the puma), and other altar paraphernalia, and places 

 them on the floor in the north end of the kiva. These fetishes are 

 put up late in the evening, which is unusual, as all Hopi altars, as far 

 as I know, are put up during the day. As there is no framework, not 

 even a regular sandridge in this case, this collection of fetishes and 

 other objects could perhaps hardly be called an altar. But as thus 

 far in descriptions of Hopi ceremonies the idols, fetishes, reredos, 

 slabs, and other sacred paraphernalia have been called altars when 

 they are put up or grouped together on stated occasions and accord- 

 ing to certain regulation, we shall for convenience' sake, also call 

 these fetishes and what is put up with them — altars. 



The principal object in this group (see PI. 157) is the figure of 

 Pdokong, the God of Protection and War. This is one of the best 

 made figures of .a Hopi deity the author has ever seen. There is 

 perhaps no idol on any of the Hopi altars whose face resembles so 

 much that of a human being as that of the Oraibi Snake Pdokong. 

 This, however, does not pertain to the other parts of the body, which 

 are mostly ill-proportioned. The idol is made of wood, which is 

 undoubtedly bdhko (cottonwood root), coveted, I think, partly with 

 rawhide. It is black and evidently very old. Around the neck 

 Pdokong wears several strands of old beads, and around the body a 

 belt of very old wampum and a string of red horsehair, called tiwa- 

 hona. On his back he carries a netted wheel, which represents a 

 shield, and on his head a cap of some old material, probably buck or 

 elk skin. Around his body is also tied a string of nakwdkwosis to 

 which new ones axe added at every ceremony. To the top of his cap 

 is fastened an old huriinkwa, which usually consists of a round hollow 

 stick to which many different kinds of feathers are fastened, and the 

 ends of which are closed up with buckskin, taken from the clothes of 



