514 NAVAHO HOUSES [ETH. ANN. 17 
The mask recess, which is found in all the larger hogans, is always 
made in the middle of the western side of the iyd¢askuni. It is usually 
somewhat wider and deeper than in the ordinary dwelling. The bun- 
dles containing the masks and other paraphernalia to be used in the 
ceremony are placed in the recess by the qgagdl‘i, who then fastens a 
skin or cloth across it. The upper edge at a height of about 3 feet 
from the floor is fastened with strings to the sloping timbers. The 
lower edge is held by small pegs driven into the edge of the bench like 
ledge of earth which marks the limits of the floor. When he needs 
them the qagdl‘i reaches behind the curtain for the paraphernalia he 
has previously prepared and deposited there. The masks must never 
be seen except when worn by the dancers, nor are the fetiches exposed 
except when certain rites demand their display. 
This recess is called by the Navaho djic binaskla, literally ‘‘ mask 
recess.” Besides its practical use it has a mythic significance, as it indi- 
cates the position occupied by First-man, who sat there with Qastcéyale¢i 
(Dawn) and Qastcéqogan (Twilight) on either hand, in the house where 
the Corn people were made. They also occupied similar positions in 
the house in which they made the celestial bodies, and also in the 
first iyd¢askuni, which was made by them to celebrate the occurrence 
of the first menstruation of Estsanatlehi. 
No special veneration attaches to the iyd¢askuni except when a 
ceremony is in progress. At that time it is devoted exclusively to the 
gacdli and the other actors in the rites, and it is then known as qag¢dl: 
biqogan, the song house. Perhaps the family for whose benefit it was 
first used may have contributed the larger share of the food for the 
workers who constructed it, but it is not held to be the exclusive 
property of any one person; it is for the use of the neighborhood. In 
the summer time, during which season no important rites are cele- 
brated, the women often erect their vertical looms there and use it as 
a workroom. Some of the neighbors may find it convenient to occupy 
it temporarily, or when some occasion brings an influx of visitors they 
adjourn to the flat-roof house, if there be one near, to smoke and 
gamble and sleep there. But it is rarely used as a dwelling in winter, 
as it would have to be vacated whenever one of the neighbors wished 
to have a ceremony performed. Moreover, owing to its large size, it 
would be more difficult to keep warm than the more compact hogan. 
HOGAN NOMENCLATURE 
qogan iltei'n ¢ezd‘—conical hut; probably from sinil, a plural article 
pronoun; fsin, a timber; and ¢ezd‘, a point. 
qgogan ¢itedli—round, inclosed hut. Both this term and the preced- 
ing are used to designate the ordinary dwelling hut, but the former 
is more commonly used. 
qad‘a—east. 
ca¢ad—south. 
