Nov., 1903. OrAibi Summer Snake Ceremony — Voth. 299 



and finally stopped between the puma figure and south border of the 

 mosaic, where he turned around facing the south end of the kiva. 

 The pipmongwi then handed him a cigarette consisting of a piece of 

 corn-husk filled with native tobacco. He smoked a few puffs and 

 then twirled his right hand over his left hand forward, or from him- 

 self. He then smoked again a few puffs and followed it by the same 

 motion with his hands, but this time rotatirfg his hands backwards or 

 towards himself. This he did in all four times, rotating the hands two 

 times forward, two times backward, but alternately and always pre- 

 ceding this motion by a few puffs from his cigarette. After the fourth 

 time he hobbled back to and behind the curtain, this time, however, 

 not backward, but face forward. As soon as he had entered the 

 inclosure, the man dressed as an Antelope priest, whom I shall call 

 'Antelope,' emerged from behind the curtains and went through 

 exactly the same performance and in the same manner as his com- 

 panion. A second time the Snake went through the same perform- 

 ance after the Antelope had returned to the inclosure, but on leaving 

 the altar, he, this time, instead of returning to the inclosure, hobbled 

 to the Snake priest, who was still sitting somewhat south-east from the 

 altar and who handed him a live rattlesnake. This he took a hold of 

 by the neck with his teeth and grasping the body of the snake with 

 both hands and waving it from one side to the other to the time of 

 the singing, he moved towards the novices again in that squatting 

 position, but facing them. Here he danced several times up and down 

 the line of the novices, but so close to them that the tail end of the 

 snake was dragged over their exposed knees. He then returned in 

 the same manner to the Snake chief, handed him the snake, and 

 returned in the same manner to the inclosure. Immediately the 

 Antelope came out and went through the same performance, only 

 instead of a snake, he used a bunch consisting of a young corn stalk, 

 watermelon, squash, bean, and other vines.' As soon as he had 

 returned to the inclosure, both men came out, side by side, again 

 danc;ng backward in a squatting position to the altar. When they 

 had arrived on the sand mosaic, they turned around as they had done 

 singly, the first time, whereupon 1;hey each received a cigarette from 

 the tobacco chief, which they smoked. When through smoking, they 

 da!nced, still in the same fashion, but now forward, over the sand 

 mosaic, making a circuit in a sinistral direction, not only destroying 

 the mosaic, but also upsetting the crooks. They then returned to the 

 inclosure, whereupon the singing, which had been kept up during all 



' Another informant says that this man's performance precedes that of the Snake priest's with 

 the snake, just as the dance with the bunch of vines on the eighth day precedes the dance where 

 snakes are used. It is more than probable that this informant is right. 



