White] THE PUEBLO OF SIA, NEW MEXICO 299 
CURE BY ADOPTION OR PLEDGE 
If a person has been ill for some time, or has been in a state of 
anxiety or melancholy, or has been having bad dreams, he may ask 
to be admitted to a society, or he may pledge himself to become a 
drummer or perhaps to take part in a katsina dance at a neighboring 
pueblo, as a therapeutic measure. A parent may pledge a child to a 
society, or ask to have it adopted by another clan, for the same 
reason. If a woman has had a number of miscarriages she may 
pledge an unborn child to a society in order to assure, or facilitate, a 
safe delivery. 
WHITE MAN’S MEDICINE 
I have already touched upon this subject in “Health, Sanitation, 
and Diet’ (p. 103). I might only add here that I believe that some 
of the older Indians a few decades age believed that White man’s 
medicine was effective in some cases but that it was incapable of 
coping with witchcraft; only Indian medicinemen could do this. 
COMMUNAL CURING CEREMONY 
Toward the end of winter, or early spring, the Tiamunyi orders a 
curing ceremony for the entire pueblo. Sickness is usually most 
prevalent during the winter, or as my informant put it: ‘‘the witches 
have been busy all winter; they get too thick in the pueblo.” This 
ceremony is called h‘a’stitc (pueblo) nyuk’atsime (no translation); its 
purpose is to purify the village, drive out evil spirits (witches) and 
influences, and treat any sickness that may be found. 
Decision to hold the ceremony is made by the cacique, but the 
actual request to the heads of the curing societies is made by the 
War chief. Corn from the hotcanitsa is ground into meal, some of 
which is used to make paper bread (matsinyi), which is distributed 
to the medicinemen at the time the request for their services is made. 
Flint, Giant, and Fire societies are always requested to participate 
in this communal ceremony. Kapina, Snake, Koshairi, and Gomai- 
wayic are sometimes asked to take part, and it was said that Kwiraina 
could participate. But Katsina and Caiyeik societies never take part. 
Preparations for the communal curing ceremony are quite similar 
to those for the cure of an individual patient: the societies retire to 
their houses for 4 days, vomit every morning, observe sexual con- 
tinence, and get their medicines and paraphernalia ready. On the 
fourth evening, the night of the ceremony, all the curing societies 
gather together in one large house which has been cleared for this 
occasion. A sand painting is made and fetishes are laid out as usual. 
