84 THE SIA. 



to dance. The dancers faced first the east, then the west, sprinkling 

 the altar whenever they reversed, invoking the cloud people to gather. 

 The boy was beautifully graceful, but the women were clumsy ; one of 

 them attempted to force out the man at the north end; failing in this, 

 a second woman tried with better success, and the man joined in the 

 dance; this little byplay amused the women. The ho'naaite sprinkled 

 the young man, who in turn sprinkled the ho'naaite. Before the close 

 of the dance the aged woman at the west end of -the south liue joined 

 the group of dancers and pulled the young man about, telling him to 

 dance well and with animation. At 1:.30 a.m. the women sprinkled 

 the altar and returned to their seats, but the man and boy continued 

 to dance and sprinkle the altar at intervals. The vicar placed the bas- 

 ket of plume offerings on the line of meal, and collecting suds from the 

 base of the cloud bowl deposited them in the center of the basket of 

 plumes; and all the members dipped their plumes into the medicine 

 water and sprinkled the altar; the man facing south and the boy 

 north, then sprinkled toward the respective points, and passing down on 

 either side of the meal line they sprinkled eastward, and crossing the 

 line of meal the man sjjrinkled to the north and the boy to the south, 

 and they returned to the altar and danced for a time, the man remain- 

 ing north of the line and the boy south. The sprinkling of the cardinal 

 points was rei>eated four tiines. 



The dancers having taken their seats in the line the ya'ni*siwittanni 

 removed the bowl of medicine water and ])laced it before the ba.sket of 

 plume offerings; then stooping, he took one of the ya'ya in his left hand 

 and with the right administered the medicine water from an abalone 

 shell to the women first, the infant in the mother's arms receiving its 

 portion; then to the boy and men. After each draft the hi'shami 

 and wands were touched to the ya'ya and the sacred breath drawn 

 from them; the ho'naaite was the last to be served by the ya'nitsiwit- 

 tiinrd, who in turn received the medicine water from the ho'naaite, who 

 held the ya'ya while officiating. The ya'ui*siwittanni then left the 

 chamber, carrying the ya'ya in his left hand and bowl of medicine 

 water with both hands. When outside the house he sprinkled the six 

 cardinal points, the water being taken into the mouth and thrown out 

 between the teeth. 



The ho'naaite lifting the basket of plume offerings stooped north of 

 the meal line and the ti'amoni and the younger member of the snake 

 division stooped south of the line of meal. The necklaces of bears' 

 claws had been removed and all but the ho'naaite's laid on a pile of 

 bear-leg skins, he depositing his on the snake fetich at the nortli side 

 of the altar. The two young men put on their moccasins and wrapped 

 around them their blankets which had served as seats during the cere- 

 monial before advancing to meet the ho'naaite, who, while tlie three 

 held the basket repeated a long litany, responded to by the two young 

 men. The women laughed and talked, paying little attention to this 



