NO. 30 



SMITHSONIAN EXPLORATIONS, I 1 ) I 2 



37 



conducted. Space will not permit a detailed account of the cere 

 ni( mies of this ancient ritual. 



1 here is perhaps not a man among the Tewa who can boast of 

 having taken a scalp, but the how priesthood, or fraternity of war- 

 riors, survives, since this organization has important duties to per- 

 form aside from going to battle and taking scalps. < )ne of these 

 is to conduct the celebration of the feast of the harvest which occurs 

 only when the people are blessed with bountiful crops, for the cere- 



iih 



d 



LP 



Fig 38. — Prayer-sticks used in the shrine on Mt. Tsi'korw 



mony is a rejoicing over the harvest of plenty. The dance on this 

 occasion is called the "throwing out." Gifts are thrown in great 

 profusion by the dancers to the populace as evidence of the prosperit's 

 of the pe< iple. 



Another purely aboriginal dance of the Tewa is a dramatic repre- 

 sentation of the huntsmen returning with game, and is called the 

 buffalo dance. It includes extremely attractive impersonations oi 

 buffalo, deer, and antelope. The costumes are most elaborate. This 

 feast usually occurs on the twenty-third of January, but occasionally 

 it is omitted, as was the case in the present year 



