STEVENSON.] RITES WITH CHILDBIRTH. 141 



is eaten by the eliild, who takes the nourishment of tiie mother corn as 

 it draws the milk from its mother's breast). The writer foUowed after 

 the woman and, passing a few feet to the right of the entrance after 

 leaving the house, they stood while the grandfather went from the door 

 directly to the eastern gateway of his placita and stood facing east, 

 where he was joined by the others, the doctress leading the way; she 

 stooped at his right. The father of the infant was not present any of 

 the time and the grandmother did not leave the house. The grand- 

 father prayed and sprinkled meal to the east (PI. xxxiii); the mother 

 then whispered a short prayer and sprinkled meal to the same point; the 

 doctress afterward stooping until she almost sat upon the ground bared 

 the child's head as she held it toward the rising sun and repeated a 

 long prayer, and addressing the child she said, " I bring you to see 

 your sun father and Ko'pishtaia that you may know them and they 

 you." At the close of the prayer she led the way to the house, and 

 upon entering the woman sat on her bed with her legs extended and 

 received the infant from the doctress, who laid the child across the 

 mother's arms with its head to the east; the doctress then laying the 

 ear of corn lengthwise on the child's breast re(iuested the writer to hold 

 the corn with her. The grandmother and the two boys stood to the 

 left of the woman while the grandfather standing at the feet of the 

 child offered a prayer. The doctress then repeated the long baptismal 

 prayer, naming the child.' 



She then placed the infant in the writer's arms, saying, "The child is 

 named ; it is yours." When the child was returned to her she washed 

 its head in yucca suds, and bathed its body by again tilliug her mouth 

 with water and spirting it over the child. It was afterwards rubbed 

 with ashes, especially about its face, and the doctress gave it some 

 warm water to drink by dipping her fingers into the vase and letting 

 the drops fall from them into the infant's mouth; the child smacked its 

 lips in evident satisfaction; and it was then strapped to the cradle 

 which was handed the doctress by the grandmother; and the child in 

 the cradle was placed on the mother's lap, and she proceeded to nour- 

 ish it. 



The grandtather brought an Apaclie basket containing a pyramid of 

 meal and held it to the infant's face, then to the mother's, who blew 

 upon the meal. The grandmother then blew upon it (that it might be 

 blessed with the best thoughts of the breath of life) and, stooping, the 

 grandfather held the basket with both hands while the doctress (Fig. 19) 

 held it on the oi^iiosite side with her two hands, the grandfather whisper, 

 ing a prayer and then retiring to the far end of the room. The doctress 

 offered a silent prayer, and left the room without fixrther ceremony, 

 carryiiig the basket of meal, which was a gift to her from the infant, it 



'The dortresa names all infants, one name usually serving the female through life, but the male 

 may have a plurality of names: for example, upon his return after a long journey, or after having 

 performed .some valorous deed his head is hathed in yueea suds hy some female member of the cult 

 society to which ho belongs, or by a member of his elan, when she bestows an appropriate name. 



