38 THE SIA. 



tliere are always mauy passing about over Tiuia for pleasure; these 

 people ride on wheels, small wheels being used bj^ the children and 

 larger ones by the elders. In speaking of these wheels the tSia add : 

 "The Americans have stolen the secret of the wheels (referring to 

 bicycles) from the cloud people." 



The cloud people are careful to keep behind their masks, which 

 assume difierent forms according to the number of peoi)le and the work 

 being done; for instance, II6n'nati are white floating clouds behind which 

 the people pass about for pleasure. He'Jish are clouds like the plains, 

 and behind these, the cloud peo])le are laboring to water the earth. 

 The water is brought from the s])rings at the base of the mountains in 

 gourd jugs and vases, by the men, women, and children, who ascend from 

 these springs to the base of the tree and thence through the heart or 

 trunk to the top of the tree which reaches to Ti'nia;they then pass on 

 to the designated point to be sprinkled. Though the lightning, thun- 

 der and rainbow peoples of the six cardinal points' have each their 

 priestly rulers and theurgists of their cult societies, these aie subor- 

 dinate to the priest of the cloud people, the cloud j)eople of each 

 cardinal point having their sepai-ate religioirs and civil organizations. 

 Again these rulers are subordinate to Ho'chjinni, arch ruler of the 

 cloud people of the world, the cloud people hold ceremonials similar 

 to the Sia; and tlie figures of the slat altars of the Sia are supjwsed to 

 be airangedjust as the cloud people sit in their ceremonies, the figures 

 (if the altars representing members of the cult societies of the cloud 

 and lightning peoples. The Sia in performing their rites assume rela- 

 tively similar positions back of the altars. 



When a priest of the cloud people wishes assistance from the thun- 

 der and lightning jieoples he commands their ti'ilmonis to notify the 

 theurgists to see that the labor is performed, he placing his cloud peo- 

 ple under the direction of certain of his theurgists, keeping a general 

 supervision himself over all. The jieoxde of Ti'nia are compensated 

 by those of Ila'arts for their services. These offerings are placed at 

 shrines, of which there are many, no longer left in view but buried 

 from sight. Cigarettes are made of delicate reeds and filled with down 

 from humming birds and others, minute quantities of precious beads 

 and corn pollen, and are offered to the priestly rulers and theurgists of 

 Ti'nia. 



The liglitning people shoot their arrows to make it rain the harder, 

 the smaller flashes coming from the bows of the children. The thun- 

 der people have human forms, with wings of knives, and by flapping 

 these wings they make a. great noise, thus frightening the cloud and 

 lightning peoples into working the harder. The rainbow people were 

 created to work in Ti'nia to make it more beautiful for the people of 

 Ha' arts to look upon ; not only the elders making the beautiful bows, 



' lu tliiH paper the words "rardinal points" are used to signify north, west, south, east, zenith, 

 and nadir. 



