STEVENSON] THANKSGIVING FOB CROPS 207 



a war club/' The elder brother Row priest, who has been sitting- on 

 a low stool, now seats himself with the others upon the south ledge of 

 the room near the fireplace keeping time with the song- and drum. 

 He holds his war club under his left arm and a pistol in his right hand. 

 At times the little ones gather in from the streets and listen most 

 attentively. After one song the elder brother Bow priest laj'-s aside 

 the pistol and war club and beats time with his right hand, while he 

 holds in the left a lighted cigarette, from which he now and then 

 takes a whiff. Commercial tobacco is smoked incessantly. 



The second song closes at 5 o'clock, and one of the men appointed 

 by the scalp custodian leads in a girl, who takes her seat on the 

 north ledge of the. room, his alternate following, accompanied by a 

 second girl, who sits beside the first. The A'wan 'Si'ta appears from 

 an inner room with a shovel of live coals and proceeds to make a 

 fire in the fireplace. The girls' dresses are embellished by the men 

 whom they accompany, without removing the black woven gown. A 

 mi'ha (white embroidered blanket) is folded lengthwise and passed 

 under the right arm and fastened over the left shoulder. The arms 

 and legs are bare. The women as well as the men are never unmindful 

 of their adornments at such times, and a man is dispatched in haste 

 for the forgotten bracelets. The friends of the dancers are usually 

 willing to contribute fine blankets, ko'hakwa (white shell), coral and 

 turquoise necklaces, and earrings to add to the beauty of their dress. 



As the fire burns up brightl}^ the songs of the warriors become more 

 hilarious, growing louder and louder as the}' appeal to the Gods of 

 War to give them the lives of .their enemies, that they ma}' have rain 

 and bountiful crops.* They now leave the house and form into two 

 lines. After dancing before the ceremonial chamber the elder brother 

 Bow priest leads the north line, followed in succession by a young 

 girl, provided with an arrow, the younger brother Bow priest, a wai- 

 rior, and another girl and warrior. The south line is headed by a 

 warrior, followed b}- women and warriors. Two virgins, each holding 

 ■ an arrow, dance back and forth between the lines, the drummer walk- 

 ing in front north of the lines. Their number is increased by young 

 men and boys, some not older than 6 or T years. One boy carries 

 a stuffed horse's leg over his right shoulder, another a stick of wood 

 in the right hand and a drumstick in the left, and a third carries a doll. 

 The lines halt and dance vis-a-vis. After the first song the dancers 

 advance westward sidewise; and after a second dance they proceed in 

 the double file. The third song is prefaced with the war whoop as 

 the}^ enter te'wita *hlan'na (large plaza) from the northeast. The 

 house tops are crowded with spectators and the plaza is walled liy 

 them, manj^ on horseback. After dancing in the plaza for an hour 



a These instruments of torture hang on the walls of the ceremonial room, ready for use. 

 6The spirit of the scalped enemy become§.a friend. 



