FEWKES] THE FIREWOOD PEOPLE AT SIKYATKI 633 
We can rely on the statement that Sikyatki was inhabited by the 
Kokop or Firewood people of Tusayan, who were so named because 
they obtained fire from wood by the use of drills. These people are 
represented today at Walpi by Katci, whose totem is a picture of 
Masauwt, the God of Fire. It is said that the home of the Firewood 
people before they built Sikyatki was at Tebunki, or Fire-house, a round 
ruin northeastward from Keam’s canyon. They were late arrivals 
in Tusayan, coming at least after the Flute people, and probably before 
the Honani or Badger people, who brought, I believe, the katcina cult. 
Although we can not definitely assert that this cultus was unknown at 
Sikyatki, it is significant that in the ruins-no ornamental vessel was 
found with a figure of a katcina mask, although these figures occur on 
modern bowls. The original home of the Kokop people is not known, 
but indefinite legends ascribe their origin to Rio Grande valley. They 
are reputed to have had kindred in Antelope valley and at the Fire- 
house, above alluded to, near Eighteen-mile spring. 
The ruin of Fire-house, one of the pueblos where the Kokop people 
are reputed to have lived before they built Sikyatki, is situated on the 
periphery of Tusayan. It is built of massive stones and differs from 
all other ruins in that province in that it is circular in form. The round 
type of ruin is, however, to be seen in the two conical mounds on the 
mesa above Sikyatki, which was connected in some way with the inhab- 
itants who formerly lived at its base. 
The reason the Kokop people left Fire-house is not certain, but it is 
said that they came in conflict with Bear clans who were entering the 
province from the east. Certain it is that if the Kokop people once 
inhabited Fire-house they must have been joined by other clans when 
they lived at Sikyatki, for the mounds of this pueblo indicate a village 
much larger than the round ruin on the brink of the mesa northeast of 
Keam’s canyon. The general ground plan of the ruin indicates an 
inclosed court with surrounding tiers of houses, suggesting the eastern 
type of pueblo architecture. 
The traditional knowledge of the destruction of Sikyatki is very 
limited among the present Hopi, but the best folklorists all claim that 
it was destroyed by warriors from Walpi and possibly from Middle 
Mesa. Awatobi seems not to have taken part in the tragedy, while 
Hano and Sichomoyi did not exist when the catastrophe took place. 
The cause of the destruction of Sikyatki is not clearly known, and 
probably was hardly commensurate with the result. Its proximity to 
Walpi may have led to disputes over the boundaries of fields or the 
ownership of the scanty water supply. The people who lived there 
were intruders and belonged to clans not represented in Walpi, which 
in all probability kept hostility alive. The early Tusayan peoples 
did not readily assimilate, but quarreled with one another even when 
sorely oppressed by common enemies. 
