STEVENSON] ""hLa'hEWE CEREMONY FOR RAIN 203 



mi'wachi and lines of te'likinawe fall over at the command of the man 

 of the Frog clan, who has kept his seat b.y the meal painting- and west 

 of it facing- east. Although the writer is seated near the cloud symbol, 

 it is impossible to discover the clever trick of the falling- of the mi'wachi 

 and te'likinawe. The A' wan a'mosi now fasten with delicate splinters 

 native black blanket wraps over the blankets and necklaces of the A'wan 

 a'mosono'^da; the other mi'laiilapo'na rise, and all place their baskets 

 on their heads. A member of the ^Hla'hewe choir stands at the right 

 of the A'wan mosono"kia of his side and a mem))er of the Sho'- 

 ko^we choir and a flutist stand to the left of the A'wan mosono"kia 

 on the Sho'ko'we side. The men also have baskets on their heads. 

 The A'wan mosono'^kia of the *Hla'hewe side is the only one of the 

 party who holds the basket without the aid of the right hand. All in 

 the htim'pone remain still until the seats of the mi'laiilapo'na are 

 removed and the Shi'wanni of the West has sprinkled all the partici- 

 pants with meal. The A'wan a'mosono"kia and three musicians keep 

 time with the Sho'ko'we choir and flutists by a peculiar motion of the 

 body, and the *kia'potiikwe and *kia'punakwe contiime the dance. 

 The picture presented at this time is one of the most pleasing and 

 striking to be seen during the entire drama. 



It is after 9 o'clock when the flutists, still performing, form in line 

 facing east. Again the elder and younger brother Bow priests stand 

 at either end of the line of dancers and whirl the rhombi. In a short 

 time the flutists, who have played unceasingly since the opening of 

 the early morning (^eremony, group themselves together and pray 

 aloud: after the prayer the baskets are removed from the heads and 

 placed in line in their former position. The A'wan a'niosono"kia and 

 the three musicians remain standing, the other mi'laiilapo'na stoop 

 beside their baskets. 



The Mda'potiikwe, their powers of endurance having been severely 

 tested through the long hours of continuous motion, now return to 

 the hiim'pone by the Sho'ko'we side, four of them passing around 

 to the *Hla'hewe side and are disrobed. The *kia'punakwc take 

 their former places in the hjim'pone, and the te'likinawe which fell })y 

 command of the man of the Frog clan are returned to the baskets 

 and the kilts thrown over them. Medicine water is then admin- 

 istered by the Kia'kwemosi, who dips it from the medicine bowl 

 with a shell. The holy water is given in turn to the A'shiwanni, 

 the male participants, the females, and the spectators in the plaza, 

 a goodly number having gathered after sunrise, though during the 

 night there were but few present and the house tops were quite 

 deserted. All eject the medicine water upon their hands and rub 

 them over their bodies for physical pui-itication. The pe'kwin stands 

 west of the cloud symbol, and facing east closes the protracted ritual 

 with long prayers for rains to fructify the earth, that she may yield 



