STEVENSON] WINTER SOLSTICE CEREMONIES 109 



The sun priest makes daily observations of the sunrise at a petrified 

 stump which stands on the outskirts east of the village, and sprinkles 

 it with meal when he offers his matins to the rising- sun. When the 

 sun rises over a certain point of To'wa j^al'lannc he informs the elder 

 brother Bow priest, who notifies the first bod}'^ of A'shiwanni, and 

 the}^ meet the same night in the ceremonial chamber/' 



The following morning the pe'kwin prepares four te'likinawe for 

 the Sun Father and Moon Mother and, carrying them up the steep 

 acclivit}^ deposits them at a shrine on To'wa yjil'lanne. The four 

 te'likinawe are tied into groups of twos, each group having a blue 

 stick for the sun and a yellow one for the moon, which is referred to 

 as sister of the sun. The lower end of each stick is tipped with black 

 to indicate feet, and the top is beveled, with three black dots on the 

 beveled surface indicating eyes and mouth. Under tail and breast 

 feathers of the eagle and plumes of the birds of the six regions are 

 attached to each stick. 



The fourth morning following he deposits four te'likinawe in the 

 field ^ to the deceased a'pekwin (sun priests). The sticks of these are 

 black with turkey plumes attached. On the fourth morning after this 

 he returns to the sun shrine on To'wa yal'lanne and deposits four te'li- 

 kinawe. On the fourth morning next succeeding he plants four te'li- 

 kinawe in the field to his predecessors. Again on the next fourth 

 morning he deposits four te'likinawe at the sun shrine on To'wa yal'- 

 lanne. On the fourth morning following thereafter he plants four more 

 te'likinawe in the field to his deceased predecessors. The pe'kwin nmst 

 observe continency from four days previous to the first planting of 

 the plumes to four days following the last deposition of these offerings, 

 and he must fast from animal food four days following the offerings 

 made to the sun, but this fast is not observed in planting te'liki- 

 nawe to the deceased a'pekwin. 



The morning following the final planting of the te'likinawe the 

 pe'kwin announces from the house top that the winter solstice will 

 occur in ten days. Then the rising sun will strike the point referred 

 to as the Middle place, after which it returns over the road it has 

 traveled. The pe'kwin continues his dail}' visits to the petrified stump 

 to pray and sprinkle meal to the rising sun. 



Studies of the winter solstice ceremonies were made in 1891 and 1896; 

 and as each annual festival is substantiall}'^ the same onl}'' the one for 

 1891 will be described. It must be borne in mind that the dates vary 



a While this room is the ceremonial ehambcr of the first body of A'shiwanni, who arc known as 

 the Kia'kwe amosi (Directors of the house), the house referred to l)eiiig the i)erpetual home of the 

 et'tonC (see p. 163) of the Shi'wanni of the Nortli, it is sjujken of as the house of this shi'wanni in conse- 

 quence of his being: the possessor of the sacred fetish, which rests in the room immediately over the 

 center of the world; and, as has been stated, the Shi'wanni of the North is always referred to as the 

 Kla'kwemosi (Director of the house), while the others of tlie first body of A'shiwanni are spoken 

 of as Shi'wanni of the West, South, etc. 



6 Fields throughout this paper refer to ground under cultivation. 



