White] THE PUEBLO OF SIA, NEW MEXICO 311 
body-feather, 2 or 3 short turkey body-feathers, and a feather from 
some other bird) is tied to the “neck” of the stick. A few short 
turkey and fluffy eagle feathers are tied near the butt end. This 
stick was apparently conceived of as a man by the informant who made 
the sketch, for he described one part as “shoulders,” another the trunk, 
and a third “the part covered by the [dance] kilt.”” This kind of 
stick may be used “for any kind of prayer.” 
In figure 48, 6, another common type of prayerstick is shown. Two 
of these sticks, one male, the other female, are tied together with a 
yucca leaf. Male sticks have blue-green faces; female, yellow; both 
have black eyes and mouth. They are about 4 or 5 inches long. A 
wasanyi is tied above the face; eagle and turkey feathers are tied at 
the base. This pair of sticks may be used for any kind of prayer. 
Figure 48, c, shows still another kind of stick. The four facets at 
the top are painted alternately yellow and blue green. One segment 
has been made square with notches on two opposite sides; the notches 
“are a ladder,” watiya’m. This stick is offered to the spirits of the 
six directions during the summer ceremony of kacaipime. The stick 
varies in length from 2 to 12 inches. If need for rain is urgent ‘“‘they 
make a short stick; if it isn’t, they use a longer one.’”? This stick 
may be used also at hanyiko, but in this case ‘“‘they use a larger 
stick.” 
WiCBI 
There is no English equivalent of “wicsi’. It is the name of a 
ceremonial object that is made and buried by each of the medicine 
societies periodically (unfortunately, my notes do not specify when). 
Each society makes and buries only one; all of the societies perform 
this ceremony at the same time, however. 
The wicsi is made of a piece of ‘‘cane,” or “bamboo,” commonly 
called istoa (‘arrow’). I was unable to obtain a specimen for identi- 
fication. It is described as having a hollow, segmented stalk; it may 
well be Phragmites sp. One cuts a piece of the stalk so that it is about 
10 or 12 inches long. It is cut so that a joint, or segment, is about 2 
or 3 inches from the bottom end; this end is cut off at right angles to 
the stalk. The top end is cut on a slant, or bevel. A narrow strip is 
cut, or scraped, down one side of the stalk, beginning at the lowest 
point of the beveled end at the top. This flattened strip is painted 
with liquid black paint (ma‘nyi) and, while the paint is still wet, it is 
Ficure 49.—Wicsi. 
