76 THE SIA. 



RAIN CEREMONIAL OF THE SNAKE SOCIETY. 



The morning was spent by the ho'naaite (theurgist) and his vicar 

 ill the preparation of ha'chamoui' and plume ofieriugs. The hii'cha- 

 moni are symbolic of the beings to whom they are ofl'ered, the mes- 

 sages or prayers being conveyed through the notches upon the sticks. 

 These sjnubols frequently have hf-r'rotuma (more slender sticks rep- 

 resenting the official staflf) bound to them with threads of yucca; Pis. 

 XI and XII show an incomplete set of ha'chamoui before the plume 

 oflerings are appended, which the Snake Society deposits when rain 

 is desired; PL xiii, specimens of ha'chamoni with plume offerings 

 attached. 



About 4 o'clock p. m. the ho'naaite and his younger brother were 

 joined by the third member of the society, when the ho'naaite began the 

 sand painting,^ the first one being laid immediately before the a"chin 

 (slat altar), which had been erected earlier in the day, and the second in 

 front of the former (PI. xiv). 



Upon the completion of the paintings the ho'naaite deposited several 

 long buckskin sacks upon the floor and the three proceeded to remove 

 such articles as were to be placed before the altar. There were six 

 ya'ya, four of these being the property of the ho'naaite, two having 

 come to him through the Snake Society, and two through the Spider, 

 he being also ho'naaite of the Spider Society, the others belonging to 

 the vice ho'naaite and third member of the Snake Society. 



The ya'ya are most carefully preserved, not only on account of their 

 sacred value, but also of their intrinsic worth, as the parrot plumes of 

 which they are partially composed are very costly and difficult to ob- 

 tain, they being procured from other Indians, who either make journeys 

 into Mexico and trade for these plumes with the Indians of that country, 

 or the Indians on the border secure them and bring them for traffic 

 among their more northern brothers. 



The ya'ya are wrapped first with a piece of soft cloth, then with buck- 

 skin, and finally with another cloth; slender splints are placed around 

 this outer covering and a long buckskin string secures the packages. 



After unwrapping the ya'ya the ho'naaite proceeds to arrange the 

 fetiches. Three of the ya'ya are placed immediately in front of the 

 altar upon a paralellogram of meal, which is always drawn at the base 

 of the altars, and is emblematic of seats for the ya'ya. An image, 8 



' A member of a society is selected by the ho'naaite to collect the willow twigs from which the 

 ha'chamoni are made. The ho'naaite arranges a bunch of liird plumes which the collector attaches to 

 the limb of a willow, saying : "I iiave come to collect twigs for hii'chanioiii and I pay you with these 

 plumes." The tree to which the plumes are attached is not touched, but the one nearest to it. A 

 stroke at the place where the twig is to be cut is made with an ancient stone tnife and the twig is 

 severed from the tree on a line at right angles with itself, the stick varying from four inches to a foot 

 in length, according to the symmetry of the twig, which is divided by three cuts (these having first 

 been indicated by the stone knife), leaving the selected portion with a pointed end which in cross 

 section would show an equilateral triangle. 



^Tho Sia do not difter from the Zufii, Tusayan, and Navsgo in their process of preparing nand paint- 

 ings, the powdered ])igment being sprinkled between the index linger and thumb. All these Indian 

 artists work rapidly. 



