358 



rilE AMERICAN MUSEUM JOURNAL 



up.-tan(li]ig iiicisiveiiess of \\w Indiaiijs 

 of the Plains, their directness in per- 

 sonal intercourse, the interesting play 

 of individuality.^ 



Xow 1 think it is very clear that one 

 reason why the Puehlo is less incisive 

 and ])ersonal in his mentality, is that 

 his culture is much more pervaded hy 

 the idea of organization. To give a 

 hrief example chosen from the field of 

 religion, there are ahout sixteen hun- 

 dred Zuiii. or a little more than three 

 hundred adult males. Every one of 

 these belongs to a communal religious 

 society. At the head of this there are 

 fourteen sets of four or five priests 

 each, or one out of every six men. 

 These are ranked and grouped, with 

 certain divisions of function. In addi- 

 tion there is a head priest or sort of 

 pope, one of a college of six cardinals, 

 as they might be called, plus a speaker 

 or sun-priest, a woman assistant, a 

 grand dance manager, and two bow- 

 priests or executive officers. The re- 

 maining Zuni are divided into six 

 groups ; each of which has its own kiva 

 or ceremonial chamber, practically also 

 a club. Each of these clubs has its 

 manager and keeper of costumes. All 

 this is only part of the scheme of or- 

 ganization of the one communal so- 

 ciety. Beyond this are thirteen frater- 

 nal societies, each usually containing 

 several grades or orders, and each with 

 its head, deputy, speaker, and medicine 

 keeper. 



Enough of such details. It is clear 

 that on the side of religion alone the 

 average Zuni can hardly escape holding 

 some office or function during his life 

 because his scheme of ritual organiza- 

 tion is so elaborate as to provide almost 

 as many offices as there are possible in- 

 cumbents. Among the Plains Indians 

 there is nothing like this. Such simple 

 forms of organization as they possess 



' Dr. Robert H. Lowie. of the American Mu- 

 seum, in liis field study of North American In- 

 dians, has gone from the Plains to the Pueblos, 

 and has several times dilated on this very striking 

 difference. 



are absolutely rudimentary in compari- 

 son. 



What I am trying to show is tliat 

 these culture phenomena must ha\e a 

 reaction on the individuaFs psycliol- 

 ogy. The Zuiii does not think of an 

 individual except as a part of a ma- 

 chine. Organization is so dominant in 

 his life, so stamped all over himself 

 and his associates, that personality is 

 considerably stamped out of him ; 

 whereas the loosely organized Plains 

 tribesman has every opportunity to fos- 

 ter his individuality and to be direct 

 and frank in the expression of his char- 

 acter. 



Ju.st so, the Zuiii always inclines to 

 think of the symbolic meaning of an 

 act rather than of the act itself. His 

 whole mythology, the history of his 

 people as he tells it, is more or less in 

 this symbolic form. What is not sym- 

 bolic, he has left out. If he is forced 

 by circumstances or induced l)y advan- 

 tage to take up new things, such as 

 sheep or wool or woolen cloth, he says 

 to himself : "We are indeed using them, 

 but they are unsymbolic and not old 

 and therefore we will not use them in 

 religion." Then he gradually begins to 

 use these things nevertheless, because it 

 is convenient, but he still denies em- 

 ploying them. Anything that is used 

 in any ceremonial connection must con- 

 tain nothing of Caucasian origin, is the 

 rule ; but actually there are few ritual 

 paraphernalia that do not include 

 something which has been produced by 

 the white man. The Zuni uses these 

 paraphernalia but still tries to explain 

 the fact away : again a psychological 

 factor. After the innovation has l)een 

 with him long enough, he finally man- 

 ages to say to himself: "Of course we 

 have always had this material. Our 

 creation story tells how it came wyi out 

 of the ground with us and was always 

 Zufii.'' So he has at last made the 

 Caucasian importation a real ]iart of 

 his mvthological and symbolic form 

 wliich he loves so much. Again, a ten- 



