114 THE ZUNI INDIANS [eth. ann. 23 



and sprinkle the god.s with meal. Each member of the A'pi'Hashi- 

 wanni leaves a te'likinane in the belt of each idol. 



The maker of the sacred fire of the new year is chosen by the Kia'- 

 kwemosi and notified by the Ko'pekwin, who immediately after sunrise 

 carries a small quantity of prayer meal wrapped in corn husks to the 

 house of the selected party. Clasping- the hitter's hands with both of 

 his, and still holding the meal, the Ko'pekwin deliyers his message and 

 prays. The otfice of fire-maker is filled alternately by a member of 

 the Badger clan and a child of that clan (see List of clans). He often 

 becomes the personator of the god Shu'laawi'si in the Sha'lako cere- 

 monial the following autumn, but this is not alwaj^s the case. 



The plucking of an eagle occurs in the house of a prominent shi'wanni 

 (not one of the first bod}^ of A'shiwanni) on the fourth day. The 

 process is as follows: The male members of the family are busy 

 arranging plumes for their te'likinawe, when the stepson of the shi'- 

 wanni is dispatched for an eagle (the eagle« are kept in cages), which 

 is brought into the room under coyer of a heav^y lilanket. Before 

 remoying the blanket entirely, one man catches the feet and another 

 holds the head of the bird. The blanket is spread on the fioor, and 

 the eagle is held on it. An ear of white corn is held to the east of the 

 eagle, the head of the bird being to the west. Then the plucking 

 begins, which requires some time, after which the feathers are depos- 

 ited in an Apache basket. During the plucking a gourd of powdered 

 ke'chipa (kaolin) is brought in by the elder daughter of the house, who 

 washes several of the eagle plumes in water and holds theiu near the 

 fire. When dry, the feathers are ru))bed with the kaolin to whiten 

 them. The 3"ounger daughter mixes a quantity of kaolin with water 

 in a small bowl and places it north of the eagle. After the plucking 

 is completed the stepson lifts the ear of white corn, and biting of!' sev- 

 eral grains takes a mouthful of the kaolin mixture. The man at the 

 head of the eagle holds its mouth open while tlie other, standing- with 

 his head some distance above the eagle's, ejects the mixture of kaolin 

 and chewed corn into the eagle's mouth; then, throwing- the remainder 

 from his mouth over the eagle, he rubs that which remains in the 

 bowl over every spot where the white fiufiy plumes should grow. 

 The corn is used that the plumes may soon grow, as corn comes up, 

 and the kaolin that the plumes may be white. While this is going 

 on in the center of the room the old shi'wanni sits with his back to the 

 fire, with piles of plumes before him and a basket on the ledge by 

 him, filled with plvime sticks. When the plumes are all assorted into 

 groups he attaches them to the sticks. After each te'likinane is com- 

 pleted he breathes upon it and offers a prayer. The eagle is carried 

 under cover of the blanket to his cage, where he remains in compara- 

 tive peace until required for another plucking. 



The preparation of wheat and corn bread for the feasts that follow 



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