moonet] THE MESSIAH AND THE NAVAHO 811 



Keams Caiion is about 125 miles northwest of Fort Wingate, the point 

 from which Dr Matthews writes, and nearer by that much to the 

 Paiute, Cohonino, and Walapai, all of whom have accepted the new reli- 

 gion. Mr Stephen states that some time in February or March, 1890, 

 he first heard rumors amongthe Navaho that "the <>hl men long dead" 

 had returned to some foreign tribes in the north or east, the vague 

 faraway. The intelligence was brought to the Navaho either by the 

 Ute or Paiute. or both. The rumor grew and the idea Ix-c; ■ com- 

 monly current amongthe Navaho that the mythic heroes were to return 

 and that under their direction they were to expel American and Mexi- 

 can and restrict the Zufii and llopi close to their villages; and, in fact, 

 to reestablish their old domain from San Francisco mountains to Santa 

 Fe. (Stephen, 1.) On November 22, 1891, he further writes: 



While out this last time I camped over night with some Navajo friends, and over 

 a pipe brought up the messiah topic. This family beloags to the Bitter-Water gens, 

 and this is the gist of what I got from them: A Pah-ute came to a family of their 

 gens living near Navajo mountain and told them that \n -Eeh-tkla-i was to return 

 from the under world and bring back all the Tinneh (Navajo) he had killed. 

 Na -krh-lkla-i li. e.. " foreigner with white foot sole") in the long ago had a puma 

 and a hear. These were his pets. He would call puma from the east and hear from 

 the west, and just before dawn they met in the center. Thus they met four times. 

 On the fourth meeting puma reached back with his forepaw ami [plucked his mane, 

 tossing the hair aloft, ami for every hair a Tinneh died. This fatal sorcery con- 

 tinued for a long time, and great numbers were killed. Now, the Pah-ute said, this 

 sorcerer was to return, and would call his pets, and they would come east and west, 

 and following their trail would lie all the people whose death they had caused. 

 These Navajo said they had heard of other Pah-ute prophecies a year or more ago, 

 all to the effect that long dead people were to return alive from the under world. 

 These resurrected ones were also to bring back the departed game, and the Tinneh 

 would again dominate the region. Hut, said my informant, datmigi yelti, '• it is 

 worthless talk." (Stephen, :. 



In connection with hypnotism as seen in the Ghost dance, Dr 

 Matthews states that in one curious Navaho ceremony he has several 

 times seen the patient hypnotized or pretend to be hypnotized by a char- 

 acter dressed in evergreens. The occurrence of the hypnotic trance is 

 regarded as a sign that the ceremony has been effective. If the trance 

 does not occur, some other ceremony must be tried. (Matthews, 2.) 



West of the Navaho in northeastern Arizona live the Hopi, or Moki, 

 a Pueblo tribe occupying several villages on the tops of nearly inac- 

 cessible mesas. In July, 1891, four of these Indians, while on a visit 

 to the Cohonino, living farther to the west, first heard of the new doc- 

 trine and witnessed a Ghost dance, as will be described hereafter. They 

 brought back the news to their people, but it made no impression on 

 them and the matter was soon forgotten. (Stephen, 3.) In this connec- 

 tion Mr Stephen states, in response to a letter of inquiry, that although 

 he does not recollect any Hopi myth concerning rejuvenation of the 

 world and reunion with the resurrected dead on this earth, yet the 

 doctrine of a reunion with the revivified dead in the under world is a 

 commonly accepted belief of the Hopi. They have also a curious myth 



