White] THE PUEBLO OF SIA, NEW MEXICO 291 
and War chief give their permission for this ceremony, the close rela- 
tives of the sick one will have another meeting in the morning of the 
following day. At this time they will make up a packet of prayer 
meal in a cornhusk, upon which each relative will breathe his prayer, 
and one of the close male relatives will take it to the head of the 
society that has been chosen to perform the ceremony. 
The head of the curing society assembles his members on the even- 
ing of the day on which he receives the petana. He distributes the 
meal among them and tells them who has requested their services 
and what kind of treatment they desire. If the society to which the 
request has been addressed does not have enough doctors to perform 
the ceremony properly, and many of the societies during recent years 
do not, the head will go to the nawai of another society and ask for 
helpers. They will be present when the society head distributes the 
prayer meal. The Flint, Giant, or Fire society would ask either one 
or both of the other two for assistance. The Snake society would ask 
Flint only. Kapina cannot ask any other society for help. More 
doctors are required for the tsinaodanyi treatment than for the wika- 
canyi; the former may require most, or even all, members of the Flint, 
Fire, and Giant societies. 
On the morning after the packet of prayer meal has been distributed, 
the medicinemen begin to vomit. ‘“They may soak some weeds in 
water, but they usually use plain, lukewarm water” for this purpose. 
They may engage in their regular occupations and may eat any kind 
of food, but they must observe sexual continence. This procedure 
is observed for 4 consecutive days. In the evening of each day the 
doctors meet in the ceremonial house of the society in charge where 
they sing and pray for the sick person. They do not visit their 
patient during this 4-day period unless he, or his close relatives, make 
a special request for them to come. 
The curing ceremony reaches its climax, or culmination, on the 
evening of the fourth day. But there are differences of procedure 
among the curing societies: the Flint, Fire, Giant, and Snake societies 
have their patient brought into their ceremonial house and invite 
people to come in to witness the ceremony; Koshairi, Kwiraina, 
Gomaiyawic, and Kapina do not bring the patient into their house 
nor invite people to come in—instead, they go to the house of the 
patient, going back and forth from their ceremonial chamber perhaps 
several times during the evening. 
On the evening of the fourth day the medicinemen gather in the 
ceremonial house of the society in charge. They erect their slat 
altar, lay down a meal painting, place their corn-ear and other fetishes 
in proper position, and lay out other items of paraphernalia, such as 
bear paws, eagle feathers, medicine bowls, and so on (figs. 43, 44, 45). 
