270 



THE PIMA INDIANS 



[ETH. ANN. 26 



As examples of the orthography and extent of these vocabularies, 

 two are republished below. 



Vocabularies 



SoNG.S 



CLASSIFICATION 



During a stay of seven months among the Pimas not a single native 

 song was ever heard from a man, woman, or child. This is in striking 

 contrast with the writer's experience among most other tribes that 

 have not been longer in contact with the whites. Not half a dozen 

 individuals can be found in the upper villages who know any con.sid- 

 erable number of the old songs. And yet the munl>er of these songs 

 is very great and most of them are by no means unpleasing even to a 

 Caucasian ear. The songs are in series that are known to different 

 indivitluals. Thus, the songs sung at the puberty dances are in series 

 that are started by the first singer to arrive upon the scene in the even- 

 ing. If another singer arrives first during the next evening the series 

 of songs for the night is changed; though all belong to the general 

 class of "menstrual songs." Sometimes a festival is inaugurated 



