White] THE PUEBLO OF SIA, NEW MEXICO 215 
of marriage. Nevertheless, I believe that Sia has gained more 
citizens by marriage than she has lost between 1900 and 1957. 
DEATH AND BURIAL 
Burial takes place as soon as possible after death, but interment 
must be completed before noon; if it is seen that this cannot be done, 
burial is postponed until the morrow. All people are buried in the 
walled enclosure in front of the Church, which is regarded as 
holy ground. But its holiness is not derived from the Catholic church 
or from Christian gods (see our discussion of Christianity, p. 65). 
Exceptions to the above rule are: (1) stillborn children (see 
“Childbirth’’); (2) caciques, sacristans, and heads of societies, who 
are buried in the floor of the church (this information came from one 
informant only); and (3) the heretics who became ‘Holy Rollers’ — 
Juan Pedro Herrera and San Juanito Moquino were buried outside 
the churchyard east of the church, and without the aid of the fis- 
cales or medicinemen. 
When a death occurs a member of the deceased’s family will no- 
tify the sacristan at once. He in turn will notify the fiscale mayor 
and one or two of the governor’s helpers, who will assist the fiscale 
(the governor’s helpers may be notified by the fiscale rather than by 
the sacristan; my data are indefinite on this point). The fiscale 
and the capitani (governor’s helper) will begin to dig the grave at 
once unless it is clear that interment cannot be completed before 
noon. While the grave is being dug a capitani will ring the church 
bell, slowly and at uniform intervals at first, more rapidly as the 
grave becomes deeper. In digging a grave anywhere in the yard, 
previous graves will be disturbed, but this is inevitable because the 
yard is both small and finite and has been filled long ago. There is 
no division or segregation within the yard with regard to sex or any 
other principle. 
The body of the deceased is bathed by members of his family, and 
his hair washed. Then the body is dressed. Members of the socie- 
ties are dressed in the costume worn in their ceremonies. Nonso- 
ciety members are dressed in ordinary clothes. Tiny bits of food of 
all kinds are deposited with the dead; they are put into a bowl for a 
man, a basket for a woman, and placed under the left armpit. This 
is to feed him on his trip back to the underworld. Then the body is 
wrapped in a blanket and tied securely with a woman’s belt, split by 
cutting it lengthwise, if the deceased is a woman; with buckskin made 
into aropeifaman. If they do not have buckskin, an ordinary rope 
is used. If the deceased was a member of a secret society the head 
man of the society is notified immediately after death occurs. He 
