XXVIII ANNUAL REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR 



of Jemez, and spent six remarkably successful weeks in mak 

 ing- a collection and studying the customs, sociology, and my 

 thology of the people. 



The Sia retain their ancient religion in great purity in spite 

 of the efforts of Christian priests, which have been continued 

 for centuries. Their ceremonial chambers contain brightly 

 colored altars of wood, before which many idols and other 

 sacred objects are placed, while the walls are hung with various 

 mythologic emblems of great delicacy and beauty. Mr. Stev 

 enson was invited to inspect all these freely. The fact was 

 disclosed that these people have a finer variety of fetiches than 

 even the Zufii. Their stone fetiches in human form present a 

 special feature, the carving being of a higher type than any 

 before seen in the region. 



From one of the large ceremonial chambers he was passed 

 through a concealed opening into a much smaller room liter 

 ally filled with masks made in imitation of their fetiches, all of 

 which he was permitted to examine at leisure, a most unusual 

 privilege, as these people have a superstitious dread of their 

 masks being seen when off the person. The collection of 

 masks made at this place is not only large, but is especially in 

 teresting by reason of the variety in its articles. Sketches 

 were made of many of them. 



The Sia, like the other Pueblos, have shrines scattered around 

 the village, both near and at a considerable distance from it, 

 which Mr. Stevenson was invited to visit and inspect. Some 

 of them are guarded by colossal stone animals crudely 

 formed. Having unexpectedly discovered, while studying the 

 mythology of these people, that, like the Tusayan Indians, 

 they hold ceremonials with live snakes, including the rattle 

 snake, he asked to be shown the exact place where the snake 

 ceremonials were held. This proved to be 5 or 6 miles dis 

 tant from the pueblo, in a desolate spot among the arid hills, 

 where there is a small square log structure in which the Snake 

 Order hold ceremonies before the dance, the snakes being con 

 tained in two large pottery vases. The cave, when found, was 

 closed and completely concealed by a stone slab, upon the re 

 moval of which two admirable specimens of ancient vases were 



