208 THE ZUNI INDIANS leth. ann. 23 



all disperse, and the elder brother Bow priest passes through the 

 town, calling- for all to gather later in the ki'wi*siwe to be happy and 

 thankful. 



The choir of the *San'iakiakwe (Ant fraternity) is assembled on the 

 east side of the ceremonial chamber which extends north and south, sing- 

 ing- to the accompaniment of rattle and drum. A bowl of medicine 

 water is in the northwest end of the room. A man and a woman of the 

 f raternit}' begin dancing, and the man appears to grow wilder and Avilder 

 as he growls and jumps about nearl}^ as possible like the bear he repre- 

 sents. He wears a black breechcloth and carries an eag-le-wing plume 

 in each hand; a salmon-colored fluif}^ eagle feather is tied to his fore- 

 lock. Every little while the man grabs at the legs of some of the 

 members of the choir. The dancing- continues nearly an hour, when 

 the A'pi^liishiwanni, with their nude bodies zigzagged in white kaolin, 

 representing lightning, enter in single file and form into an ellipse. 

 All wear deerskin skull caps, but Nai'uchi (elder brother Bow priest), 

 who wears a fur cap instead. They carry their bows and arrows and war 

 clubs. Nai'uchi now and then indulges in animal-like performances, 

 and he also holds a live coal in his mouth, afterwards running an arrow 

 down his throat, dancing about with it in that position. He is very 

 graceful, and there is no member more enthusiastic and energetic than 

 this old man, who has fought in many engagements with the Navahos. 



At the close of the dance the A'pi'*lashiwanni stand aside to make 

 room for a party personating Navahos, the songs being in the Navaho 

 tongue. After one dance this party leaves the chamber for the Chu' 

 pawa ki'wi'sine, and the warriors sing another song and dance with 

 even more enthusiasm than before. The dance is begun in an ellipse, 

 but after a time the}' break into a promiscuous group, and after 

 dancing a while they again form into an ellipse. These changes are 

 repeated several times. 



After the warriors leave the chamber, another part}^ representing 

 Navahos make their appearance and form into two files, the principal 

 dancers being two boys, one personating a girl, who would deceive the 

 closest observer, they are so like the Navahos. The girl wears a black 

 velvet waist and a full red calico skirt, which falls below the knees. 

 The tips of her moccasins are painted red, and her hair is done up in 

 Navaho style. A red spot of the size of a silver dollar is on either 

 cheek. The boy has his bod}' spotted in white. 



The choir of the Ant fraternity remains quiet during the presence of 

 both parties personating the Navahos. When the lines cease dancing, 

 the boy and girl take their position vis-a-vis and some distance apart. 

 Bending slightly forward, they run until they almost meet, and then 

 dance, the boy raising first one foot and then the other as high as 

 possible by drawing the knees nearly to the chin. The girl's step is 

 the same but not so high or violent. Their arms are kept in constant 



