STEVENSON] WINTER SOLSTICE CEREMONIES 119 



rated and deposited, the father standinj^ his te'likinawe, includingtho.se 

 of his ti'kili (fraternity), in one end of the excavation, the mother 

 placing hers in the other end, and the children depositing theirs 

 between. The infant is carried to the field on the mother's back, and 

 with its tiny hand, guided by the mother, plants its plumes. These 

 offerings may be planted any hour between sunrise and sunset (see 

 plate xxiv). Those who are absent on long journeys or those too ill 

 to leave the house have their offerings deposited for them by some 

 member of the family. All nmst have the head bathed with yucca 

 suds previous to depositing the plume. There may be exceptions to 

 this rule, such as a young child suffering with a cold. 



The sun rose in splendor on the morning of the fifth day, making 

 brilliant the mantle of snow that covered the earth. The valley was 

 sparkling white, and the mesa walls were white, with here and there a 

 patch of dark blue, the pines veiled by the atmosphere. The snowy 

 plain was avast kaleidoscope from morning until evening, the devotees 

 in their bright clothing going to and returning from their sacred 

 mission. 



One description of a family planting prayer plumes will answer for 

 all, and the writer will describe the one in which she took part, having 

 been expected to perform this sacred office with one of the families. 



On the present occasion the male head of the house is an associate 

 shi'w^anni. Those Avho accompany him are his wife, mother-in-law, 

 daughter about 10 years of age, a younger one of 4 years, a son 8 

 months old, the younger brother of his wife with his wife and infant, 

 a girl of 12 years, daughter of the younger brother Bow priest, who 

 is the elder brother of the associate shi'wanni's wife, and the writer. 

 The associate shi'wanni hands the writer the te'likinawe he has made 

 for her, saying: "Though you are a woman you have a head and a 

 heart like a man, and you work like a man, and you must therefore 

 make offerings such as men make." 



The party proceeds to a melon patch of the associate shi'wanni, 

 where he makes an excavation about 14 inches square and of the 

 same depth, using an old saber for the purpose. The excavation com- 

 pleted, all except the two infants remove the corn husks which wrap 

 the te'likinawe and, after sprinkling prayer meal in the excavation, 

 proceed w ithout formality to plant te'likinawe. Each man deposits 

 as his individual offerings one te'likinane with its stick colored ])lue 

 to the Sun Father and four wMth sticks colored black to his ancestors. 

 The younger brother of the wife plants, in addition to his individual 

 te'likinawe, offerings as a member of the Great Fire fraternity (see 

 plate xxv)/' one to Po'shaiyanki (culture hero), one to the younger 

 brother, or fellow, of Po'shai3^anki. The one to Po'shaiyiiuki has 



"It should be noted thiit the te'likinawe on pi. xxv are inverted. To get a proper view of the 

 prayer plumes the plate should be reversed. Through inadvertence in the color printing this mistake 

 occurred. 



