106 THE ZUNI INDIANS . [eth. ann. .ia 



the line in front of the dancers to the ^roup of Ko'yemshi standing 

 north and near the west end of the line of dancers. The leader prays 

 and sprinkles each Ko'yemshi with meal. The dancers continue the 

 song and dance to the accompaniment of the rattle. After a time they 

 turn, forming- into single file facing the east, and so they reverse sev- 

 eral times. The step in the dance is of dull uniformity, the balancing 

 being done with the left foot, while the right is raised slightly above 

 the ground and put down squarely with a stamp. 



After the Kor'kokshi danco once they retire for a time to the 

 ki'wi'sine whence the}" came. They are soon followed to the plaza by 

 four Sa'ya*hlia, who remain a short time, brandishing* their huge 

 bunches of giant yucca, causing men, women, and children to get out 

 of their way. They retire to the He'iwa ki'wi^sine, where they, with 

 two Ko'yemshi, pass the boys assembled there through voluntary 

 initiation into the Ko'tikili. 



Eight of the Ko'j^emshi remain in the plaza, where they are joined by 

 members of the Ne'wekwe (Galax}") fraternity, who have their entire 

 bodies painted ash-color, with curves of black under each eye and over 

 the upper lip. Their heads and ears are covered with ash-colored 

 cotton skullcaps ornamented on the top and over the ears with rib- 

 boned corn-husk rosettes. Native black-wool breechcloths are worn. 

 A bunch of unspun black jsivn hangs about the neck and a string of 

 it is tied around the left ankle. One man has his body and limbs 

 encircled b}- bands of white paint. Each is provided with a large 

 blanket, which is worn most of the time, for the day is extremely 

 cold, and each carries his baton (see plate xv, Group of Ne'wekwe), 

 the harlequin's bauble (see plate xvii). Throughout the afternoon 

 during the interval of the Kor'kokshi dancing the Ko'yemshi and 

 Ne'wekwe hold high carnival, delighting the hundreds of spectators 

 with their buffoonery. 



Women of the higher rank gather inside the houses or on elevated 

 galleries to witness the ceremonials in Si'aa' te'wita. Others sit on 

 the housetops or on blankets spread on the south side of the plaza. 

 The return of the dancers is always the signal for the cessation of all 

 nonsense, and these clowns, with great seriousness, attend to the wants 

 of the Kor'kokshi, some portion of their regalia not infrecjuentlj'^ 

 requiring attention. The warrior of the Ko'yemshi whirls the rhombus 

 during the dancing, calling upon the rain-makers to gather, the Kor'- 

 kokshi being their personators. 



After the fifth dance a bowl of food is brought to the plaza, and 

 after the food is eaten by the Ne'wekwe one of them brings a bowl of 

 urine and drinks and gargles his throat with it, and places it in the 

 northwest corner of the plaza when the dancers are seen advancing. 

 It is drunk after the dancers leave the plaza. 



