FEWKES] THE KISI 1005 
The unwrapping of the tiponi has been witnessed in two Hopi cere- 
monies, the Flute and the Lalakonti. In these instances the contents 
of the palladium varied, but in both either kernels of corn or other seeds 
form essential parts. From chiefs of other societies it has been learned 
that their tiponis likewise contained corn either in grains or on the ear. 
Although from this information one is not justified in concluding that 
all tiponis contain corn, it is probably true with one or two excep- 
tions. The tiponi is called the ‘*mother,” and an ear of corn given to 
anovice has the same name. There is nothing more precious to an 
agricultural people than seed, and we may well imagine that during 
the early Hopi migrations the danger of losing it may have led to 
every precaution for its safety. Thus it may have happened that it 
was wrapped in the tiponi and given to the chief to guard with all 
care asa most precious heritage. In this manner it became a mere 
symbol, and as such it persists to-day. 
Tue Kist 
In no public ceremony of the Hopi is the cottonwood kisi introduced 
except in the Snake and Flute rites, in both of which its construe- 
tion is identical. This brush-house is doubtless a survival from very 
ancient times, and is related with the history of the ceremony with 
which it is connected. A line of meal is sometimes drawn around it. 
It is stated by the Snake people that they were the original inhab- 
itants of Walpi, and there is no doubt that the Bear, Snake, and Flute 
clans formed the nucleus of the ancient pueblo of which Walpi is 
the survivor. Equally emphatic is the claim of the Snake traditionists 
that their ancestors came from the north, and other evidence tends to 
substantiate the assertion. There is little difficulty in tracing a like- 
ness between the kisis of the pueblos and the medicine-lodges of 
nomadic tribes, but thus far there is nothing to prove the derivation of 
one from another. 
GENERAL REMARKS 
Three elements appear to be prominent in the Flute observance, 
viz, sun, rain, and corn worship, symbols of which are the most 
prominent on the altars and their accessories. The same is true of 
the Snake dance; but in both rites the cultus heroes and clan mothers 
are special deities to which the supplications for rain and corn are 
addressed. This is interpreted as a form of totemism in which the 
ancestors of the clan take precedence. The Sun as the father of all 
cultus heroes and the Earth as the mother of all gods, ancestral and 
otherwise, necessarily form an important part of the worship, which 
is traceable throughout both ceremonies. 
