298 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 184 
spits it out into his own hand, holds it up so people can see it, then he 
deposits it into a pottery bowl. 
After all the doctors have “cured” the patient, they turn their 
attention to witches. If they discover that they have stolen the 
patient’s heart, they must go out and find it and bring it back. Some- 
times they look into the medicine bowl] “‘to see if there are any witches 
around; if there are, they can see them in that bowl.” If they see 
any, or, if they are going out to retrieve a stolen heart, the doctors 
prepare themselves to go out into the pueblo and battle with the 
witches. All the doctors do not go; some remain in the curing cham- 
ber. Those who are to go draw ma-cinyi (skins of bears’ forelegs) 
on their left arms, put on a necklace of bear claws, hang a reed whistle 
from their necks by a cord, pick up a flint knife in the right hand and 
set out. 
They run out into the town, or outside the village, looking for 
witches. Sometimes they fight them: ‘“‘You can hear them fighting 
in the dark, hollering.’”” Sometimes a doctor is rendered unconscious; 
sometimes a witch is captured and brought back into the curing 
chamber where he is killed. If they have been out after the patient’s 
stolen heart they invariably return with it. The “heart” is a ball of 
rags, in the center of which is a kernel of corn; the corn is the real 
heart. The doctors unwrap the rags and examine the corn closely. 
If they find it “burned or mouldy” the patient will remain sick, or 
even die. If the corn is unblemished, the patient will get well prompt- 
ly. In either case he is given the corn to swallow, and a draught from 
the medicine bowl. All the relatives of the patient are given medi- 
cine to drink from the bowl. The patient is then taken to his home. 
The mother, or close female relative, and her ‘‘helpers” now bring 
out the food, the stews, beans, chili, bread, etc., and everyone eats. 
Baskets of flour are brought in, too, and given by the patient’s family 
to the doctors. This is the payment for their services. 
SOCIETIES AND CURING 
The Flint, Giant, and Fire societies are the only ones capable of 
performing all kinds of curing rituals; only they have the heart songs. 
The Snake, Kapina, and Koshairi societies are capable of the aictyu- 
wanyi and the wikacanyi ceremonies only. Kwiraina and Katsina 
societies cannot cure at all. It is said that Gomaiyawic has the 
power and the right to cure, my medical informant stated, but added 
that he knew of no instance in which they had performed such a 
ritual. Essentially the same observation was made about Caiyeik 
society. 
