STEVENSON.) RAIN CEREMONIAL. 81 



siiisin than tlic men in tliis particular feature of the ceremony. The 

 cry, wliich was rei)eated four times, was an invocation to the cloud 

 rulers of the cardinal points to water the earth, and, with each cry, 

 meal was sprinkled into the medicine bowl, each member being ])ro- 

 vided with a small buckskin bag of meal or corn ])ollen, which liad been 

 previously taken from a bear-leg skin, and laid beside the altar. 

 The members of the Snake Division sprinkled corn pollen instead of 

 meal, the pollen being especially acceptable to tln^ Snake honaaite, to 

 whom many of their prayers are addressed. 



The preparation of the mediciiu> water began with the opening of 

 the seventh stanza. The ya'ni'siwittiiiini <lanced before the altar, keep- 

 ing south of the line of meal, and holding six pebble fetiches in either 

 hand, whi<!h he had taken from two small sacks drawn from one of the 

 boar-leg skins. He did not sing, but he kept time with the choir. Ex- 

 tending his right hand toward the altar, he touched the two front ya'ya, 

 and then, placing his hands together, he again extended them, and, draw- 

 ing closer still to the altar, lie dropped a fetich from his right hand into 

 the medicine bowl with a weird cry to the Snake ho'naaite of the north 

 to invoke the cloud ruler of the north to send his people to water the 

 earth; and after raising his hands above his head he again extended 

 them toward the altar, and, leaning forward, dropped a feticli from his left 

 hand into the cloud bowl. This was repeated four times with each bowl, 

 with petitions to the Snake ho'uaaites of the north, the west, the south, 

 and the east to intercede with the cloud rulers to send their people to 

 water the earth. Then, taking two large stone knives from before the 

 altar, he struck them together, and, passing from the south of the line of 

 Dieal to the north, he again brought the knives together. Kecrossing 

 the line of meal, he dipped the knives into the bowl of medicine water 

 and sprinkled the altar; then, passing to the north of the line, he dip])ed 

 . the knives into the mcdicin(! wat(!r and repeated the sprinkling of the 

 altar four times ; again, standing south of the line, he dipped the knives 

 into the water, throwing it to the east, and, crossing the line, dip])ed 

 them into the bowl and repeated the motion to the east, and resumed 

 his seat at the south end of the line of men. The ho'naaite then leaned 

 over the altar, and, dipping his plumes into the medicine bowl, sprinkled 

 the altar four times by striking the plumes on the top with the rattle 

 held in the right hand. The song, which had continued for an hour 

 without cessation, now closed, and the men gathered arouiid the toba(^co 

 which laj' near the tire-place, and, making cigarettes, returned to their 

 seats and smoked. The boy ignited the fire-stick and held it for the 

 men to light their cigarettes. He passed it first to the man at the north 

 of the line. As each man took the tirst whiff of his cigarette he blew 

 the smoke toward the altar and waved the cigarette in a circle as he 

 extended it to the altar. After the smoke the song and rattle again 

 resounded through the room, and at the close of a short stanza the man 

 at the north end of the line cried out in a high tone and the women 

 11 ETH 6 



