White] THE PUEBLO OF SIA, NEW MEXICO 273 
assistants of the governor or the War chief, keep a close watch on the 
spectators to make sure that no one takes photographs or makes 
sketches of the performers—or, indeed, of anything. 
On August 15, 1957, it rained quite hard in the midafternoon while 
the dance was in progress; it continued without interruption. During 
the intermission the rain stopped and the sun came out. When the 
dancers and singers returned to the plaza the males among the former 
had, with one or two exceptions, removed their moccasins; virtually 
all the singers kept theirs on, however. Almost all the paint had 
been washed off the bodies of the dancers; the Koshairi had been 
washed clean except for a few traces of the black stripes. At first, 
when the dance began, there was some laughing among the dancers 
and a few remarks were made; they seemed a bit self-conscious. 
This soon passed, however, and they settled down again to the serious 
business of dancing which then proceeded with much spirit. After 
all, it is rain that every pueblo Indian prays—and dances—for. 
The dance ended when the third song of the fifth series had been 
concluded. The dancers formed two parallel lines, facing each other, 
in front of the saint’s house. The drummer took up a position in 
front of the house of the saint, on the east side of the door. Four 
men held the canopy for the saint, waiting for the procession to start. 
For a few minutes nothing took place at all; it was as if they were 
waiting for something, but if so I never discovered what it was. The 
head of the Koshairi was in charge. Koshairi No. 2 and the pole 
carrier stood at the end of the west line of dancers, away from the 
saint’s house. The head Koshairi had some difficulty getting Ko- 
shairi No. 3, who was just a boy with short hair and so had to wear 
the crown of a felt hat to sustain his tassels of cornhusk, to take his 
place beside Koshairi No. 2. Head Koshairi made a number of 
remarks, most of which provoked laughter among the Indian on- 
lookers. While this was going on an Indian, and I am sure he was 
a non-Sia, came up to the head Koshairi, broke of a few little twigs 
of the evergreen he was wearing, drew the sacred breath (ianyi) 
from them, and departed with them. 
At last the saint, again carried by women, emerged from her house 
and the procession back to the church began. The drummer rolled 
his drum, the church bell was rung, and the guards fired their guns 
from time to time. The dancers and the Koshairi knelt and held 
their hands together in the devotional attitude of Christians at prayer 
as the saint made her way between the two lines and on into the 
north plaza and then into the church. Mexican women, some 
Indians, and a few tourists formed the procession. 
As soon as the saint left the plaza the dancers got to their feet 
and broke ranks. It looked for a moment as if they were going to 
