26 THE ZUNI INDIANS [eth. ann. 23 



thereb}- to the outer world," Te'kohuiakwi u'kwa'ikia (lioht-of-ck}' 

 place). The Zufii.s, in speaking of Te'kohaiakwi u'kwai'ikia, add yam 

 Yil'tokia Ta"chu (my Sun lather), yam A'witelin *Si'ta (my Earth 

 Mother), u'natikiaiuipkia (I inhale the sacred breath). The place of 

 coming through to this world is called Ji'mi*kianapkiatea, a word full 

 of occult meaning, having reference to an opening in the earth tilled 

 with water which mysteriously disappeared, leaving a clear passage 

 for the A'shiwi to ascend to the outer world. 



The Divine Ones and the A'shiwi spent some time in each world as 

 the}' ascended, and many of the A'shiwi who were left behind struggled 

 on after the others. The A'shiwi had constant rainfall during their 

 ascent to the outer world, which was reached just as the Evening Star, 

 who is second warrior to the Sun Father and follows after him, rose 

 above the horizon. 



Songs of the Divine Ones over the Et'towe 



In the lower world the A'shiwi had rain priests (A'shiwanni; sin- 

 gular, shi'wanni), of whom six were assigned to the six regions. Each 

 shi'wanni possessed an et'tone,^ most sacred of their fetishes, which 

 he brought to this world wrapped in a mat of straw in a crude basket, 

 pressed to his breast. Kow'wituma and Wats'usi, the Divine Ones, 

 having know^ledge that the A'shiwanni possessed et'towe, made a meal 

 painting of a'wdhlwia'we (cumulus clouds) on the ground and on the 

 road, and the A'shiwanni placed their et'towe on the painting. The 

 Kia'kwemosi, Shi'wanni of the North, sat next to the road, on the 

 south side, the road being the dividing line; the Shi'wanni of the 

 West and Shi'wano"kia sat on his right. The Shi'wanni of the South 

 sat next, the Shi'wanni of the East being on his right. The A'shi- 

 wanni of the Zenith and Nadir sat next, and after them four other 

 A'shiwanni, Kow'wituma sitting at the end of the line. Four A'shi- 

 wanni sat on the other side of the road, with Wats'usi north of 

 them. Ya'nowwuluha, a man of great heart and wisdom, sat before 

 the meal painting to the north of the line, and the A'shiwi gath- 

 ered around on the north, west, and south of the painting. They 

 sang the songs of the Divine Ones for rain, that the earth should 

 abound in kia'\sanna (grass seed), the only food then known to the 

 A'shiwi. The}' sat singing in low tones until midnight. Then, leaving 

 their et'towe in place on the painting, the Divine Ones and the A'shi- 

 wanni retired a short distance and ate. After eating they slept awhile, 



a In an earlier publication it M-as stated that the A'shiwi ascended to the outer world through a huge 

 hollow reed. The student of mythology labors under many difficulties, none of which are more per- 

 plexing than that of distinguishing between the tribal cosmogony and the winter tales of special nar- 

 rators. The intimate acquaintance with the Indians of the Southwest acquired by the writer through 

 later investigations has served to mark quite definitely the differences between their mythology and 

 their winter tales. 



b Plural et'towe. The etymology of this word is not known, but it implies invariable bringer of 

 good. 



