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AXNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1921. 



pate with other members of the clan, since they are considered as 

 elder brothers or, as legends say, descendants of a Snake Hero and 

 Heroine, the ancestral pair which the snake and antelope priests 

 secretly personate in their kiva where the uninitiated are denied en- 

 trance. As a matter of bodily purification the heads of the reptiles, 

 like those of the priests, are washed and prayers are said for abundant 

 harvests and bountiful rains for crops. The reptiles are not wor- 

 shipped but regarded with reverence, for on account of their magic 



a. Chicken. 



c. Eagle. 



*>• O w l- d. Duck. 



Fig. 6.— Indian pictures of Bird Katcinas. 



powers it is believed that they are capable of rendering most potent 

 supernatural aid in obtaining material blessings. When at the 

 close of the festival they are released, prayer meal is sprinkled on 

 them and they are carried back to their homes and urged to " bring 

 the needed rain." 



The first parents of the Snake clan, human and reptilian, are 

 called the Snake Youth and the Antelope or Snake Maid, both of 

 whom are personated in the chief kiva at Walpi as described in the 

 several published accounts of the Hopi Snake Dance. These per- 



