136 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 184 
forenoon of December 29; custom may, of course, have changed at 
this point since 1930. Every Sia man is supposed to be in the pueblo 
at that time if possible. Messages or messengers are sent to absen- 
tees, such as men who may be employed in Albuquerque or else- 
where, firmly requesting them to be present. Announcement and 
installation take place in the hotcanitsa. The heads of the medicine 
societies sit in the back of the room with the tiamunyi and the War 
chiefs. As the names of the officers are called out, the outgoing 
officer comes up and surrenders his yapi or cane to tiamunyi. It 
is then “‘blessed’’ by the medicinemen and formally presented to the 
incoming officer. Masewi and Oyoyewi are installed first, then come 
the governor, his lieutenant, the two fiscales, the gowatcanyi, and 
finally the capitani, in this order. A dance in honor of the new offi- 
cers is held on January 6, King’s Day. 
All officers serve without compensation. The responsibilities are 
ereat, especially for the more important officers, and the duties nu- 
merous and frequently onerous. Men are sometimes disinclined 
to serve, but once public announcement is made they have no alter- 
native. And the number of offices is so great, the term of office so 
brief, and the number of eligible men so small, that almost all men 
in the pueblo have held some office at least once; some have held 
various offices or the same one a number of times. 
On certain ceremonial occasions, all of the major officers, i.e., ex- 
cluding the helpers of the War captains and the governor, sit in a 
row, usually on the north side of the plaza, to watch the dance or 
ceremony in progress. The seating order is as follows: 
Bat ;, BM... D-T...D..0....M... T-3; T-25 Gaara 
As here indicated, the officers would be facing toward the top of 
this page. T-1, T-2, and T-3 are the first, second, and third 
tcraikatsi, respectively. C is the cacique; M, Masewi; O, Oyoyew1; 
D, Dapop; D-T, Dapop teniente; B—M, Bickari (fiscale) major; 
and B-T, Bickari teniente. 
SOCIETIES 
By society I mean an organization of men, or of men and women, 
established, according to Sia belief, in the mythologic past, by a 
supernatural being who thus became the society’s “father,” or patron. 
The societies were endowed with supernatural power and were pro- 
vided with songs, paraphernalia, rituals, and in some instances dances, 
through which this power was expressed or used for certain purposes 
such as curing sickness, hunting, or warfare. The societies of the 
modern era are simply continuations of these original organizations. 
On page 73 of “The Sia,” Stevenson (1894) states that there were 
eight “cult societies” in Sia in 1890 (ca.). But she does not list them 
