120 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL, I33 



comes the tense moment. The machi tells the people, through the liaison, how 

 serious the condition of the sick person is; he tells that the sickness began at 

 such a time, that it is now at its height, or will be then, or then. He then indi- 

 cates who caused the sickness. He mentions no names nor describes the person 

 in any way, but he points with much emphasis in a direction and says, "That 

 is the direction in which the one lives who is the cause of this sickness." Every 

 one is stunned. After that, the machi tells whether the patient will recover or 

 not. Sometimes what he says comes true ; sometimes not. This conversation has 

 taken about a half hour. Now he takes his wada and shakes it while he kneels 

 at the side of the sick person. The sick person strips himself, or if too sick, is 

 stripped of all his clothes. Then the machi rubs the body from head to foot with 

 twigs while he sings his fourth song. All this takes about an hour. And this is 

 scandalous, especially if the machi is a man and the patient a woman, or vice 

 versa. (I did not tell you this during yesterday's interview because I was 

 ashamed of it as a practice of my people. But after I got home, I thought about 

 it, and I decided that I should tell it. Once I saw a motion picture in which the 

 Negroes of Africa knelt before their idol while a great thunderstorm was raging. 

 I decided that since these people were willing to have their ways written up 

 just as they are, and since the machitun is our way of doing, the truth should 

 be told ; and so now I have told it to you. But to continue : ) The machi now 

 rises from his knees and again talks to the liaison predicting that if the sick 

 person has not improved in five — or maybe fewer — days, that he will not get 

 well. Then he turns to all persons present and says to them that they must help 

 him, so that the person will get well. After that he hops to where the pole with 

 the banner is and comes out of his trance. — While in his trance, he is like a 

 man who is intoxicated : he loses his faculties of mind and says and does things 

 that he knows nothing about when he comes to; others must tell them to him. 

 He drinks nothing intoxicating at any time. — He now walks into the ruka and 

 sits down near the liaison — he is like an ordinary man now; just like the other 

 people that are there. Now the liaison must tell him all that he (the machi) 

 said while he was possessed by the devil. — I know all this because I have been 

 the liaison several times. If it were not for the sake of my relatives who ask 

 this of me as a favor, I would never attend a machitun; the whole thing is 

 repellent to my nature. — After the machi has heard all that the liaison has to 

 tell, he says, "It is all very well." Then the head of the house will say to the 

 machi, "If the person recovers, we shall pay you." This will be whatever they 

 had decided to give him, maybe 300 or 500 or more pesos. Very seldom does a 

 machi specify the sum. This is true for all machi in the area [Alepiie], except 

 for one woman. If the patient does not recover, the machi is given only 50 pesos. 

 This is to pay for his efforts, his time, and the distance he traveled. If the 

 people have no money, they give him an animal. The machitun begins just before 

 sunset, and lasts until nearly midnight. Some machi tell the people that assist 

 by their presence to sleep then, but one in Maiquillahue will not let them sleep. 

 If the people do sleep, they are awakened long before sunrise and the same cere- 

 mony is repeated; it usually ends after the sun is somewhat above the horizon. 

 By the time it has ended a young calf has been slaughtered and meat and tortillas 

 prepared. The machi and all those who helped are fed. Half of the calf, how- 

 ever, the machi takes with him and also at least two, if not three, big-sized tor- 

 tillas. Then everyone leaves for home. One man accompanies the machi ; there 

 is no ceremonial leavetaking by the machi. No conversation is carried on between 



