28 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 63 



sible to identify it. From the end of this crook to the body of the 

 animal there extend two parallel lines of dots indicating the pathway 

 of a discharged weapon. Near the body of the animal these rows of 

 dots take a new direction, as if the weapon had bounded away or 

 changed its course. The rows of dots are supposed to represent lines 

 of meal by which Pueblos are accustomed to symbolically indicate 

 trails or &quot; roads. * 



There is, of course, some doubt as to the correct identification of the 

 crooked staff as a throwing stick, for as yet no throwing stick has 

 been found in the Mimbres ruins. The resemblance of the crooked 

 stick to those on certain Hopi altars and its resemblance to emblems 

 of weapons carried by warrior societies is noteworthy. Crooked 

 sticks of this character have been found in caves in the region north 

 of the Mimbres. 1 



We find a survival of a similar crook used as sacred paraphernalia 

 in several of the Hopi ceremonies, where they play an important role. 

 As the author has pointed out, crooked sticks or gnelas (fig. 16) 

 identified as ancient weapons surround the sand picture of the Ante 

 lope altar in the Snake Dance at Walpi, and in Snake altars of other 

 Hopi pueblos, but it is in the Winter Solstice Ceremony, or the Soya- 

 luiia, at the East Mesa of the Hopi, that we find special prominence 

 given to this warrior emblem. During this elaborate festival every 

 Walpi and Sitcomovi kiva regards one of these gnelas as especially 

 efficacious for the warriors, and it is installed in a prominent place 

 on the kiva floor, as indicated in the author s account of that 

 ceremony. 2 



The following explanation of these crooks was given him by the 

 priests : 



These crooks or gnelas have been called warrior prayer sticks, and are 

 symbols of ancient weapons. In many folk tales it is stated that warriors 

 overcame their foes by the use of gnelas which would indicate that they had 

 something to do with ancient war implements. Their association with arrows 

 on the Antelope altars adds weight to this conclusion. 



The picture from Oldtown ruin of the hunter who has laid aside the 

 quiver, bow, and arrow, and is using a similar gnela, 3 corroborates this 

 interpretation. 



Not all crooked sticks used by the Hopi are prayer sticks, or weap 

 ons, for sometimes in Hopi ceremonials a number of small shells are 



1 Bull. 87, U. S. National Museum. 



2 The Winter Solstice Ceremony at Walpi. Amer. Anthrop., ist ser., vol. n, 

 Nos. 3, 4, pp. 65-87, 101-115. 



3 An ancient crook found in a cave near Silver City is figured by Dr. Hough. 

 Bull. 87, U. S. National Museum. 



