118 THE SIA. 



and the boy answers : "I will not speak of these things to anyone." 

 The Ka"suna then rubs the meal of the painting npon the child, and 

 those present afterwards gather around the painting and rub the meal 

 upon their bodies for mental and physical i)urification. The child de- 

 posits the ha'chamoni presented to him by the ho'naaite at the shrine 

 of the Quer'ranna at the base of the village and tf) the west. The 

 ha'chamoni is composed of eagle and turkey plumes. The child says 

 when depositing it, "I now know you, Ka"suna, and I pay you this 

 ha'chamoni.'' The ho'uaaite deposits a ha'chamoni for each member 

 of the .society at the shrine, which is in a fissure in a rock, and after 

 the deposition of the hii'chamoni the opening is covered with a rock and 

 no evidence of a shrine remains. 



SOCIETY OF THE OOUCJAR. 



This society is nearly extinct, its membership consisting of the ho'- 

 naaite (the oracle) and his vicar, the former being al.so ho'naaite of the 

 society of warriors; though aged, he retains his faculties jierfectly and 

 performs his oflBcial and religious duties with the warmest interest. 



Previous to a hunt for game a two days' ceremonial is held by this 

 society, and on the third morning ha'chamoni and plume offerings are 

 deposited by the vice ho'naaite. The cougar is appealed to, as he is 

 the great father and master of all game; he draws game to him by 

 simply sitting still, folding his arms, and mentally demanding the pres- 

 ence of the game ; likewise when he wishes to send game to any par- 

 ticular people he controls it with his mind and not by spoken words. 

 Though the cougar sends the game it is the sun who gives power to the 

 Sia to capture it. 



It is the prerogative of the ho'naaite of this society to decide upon 

 the time for the hunt. Ha'chamoni are deposited to the c(mgar of 

 the north, the west, the south, the east to convey the messages 

 of the Sia. If a rabbit hunt is to occur a rabbit stick and an arrow 

 point are deposited as offerings to the sun. The offerings to the 

 cougar of the zenith are deposited to the north and those to the sun to 

 the east. If the hunt is to be for larger game an arrow point only is 

 deposited to the sun. The hunt may occur very soon after these offer- 

 ings are made or not for some time, it being optional with the ho'naaite. 

 He does not directly notify the peoi)le, but speaks to the war chief, who 

 heralds his message. When announcement has been made of the pro- 

 spective hunt a fire is made at night on the east side of the village and 

 the selected huntsmen form in a circle around it; here the night is spent 

 making plans for the hunt, in epic songs, and story telling, and, like 

 other Indians, the Sia recount the valorous deeds of the mythical beings 

 and their people in low, modulated tones. The hunt occurs four days 

 from this time, and continency is observed until after the hunt. On the 

 fifth morning, if the hunt be for rabbits, the men and women of the 

 village pi"epare to join in the chase by first having their heads bathed 



