230 THE ZIJNI INDIANS [eth. ann. 23 



shall be allowed to go unpunished after suppljang the party gener- 

 ously with peaches, which the Ko'yemshi carry to their house. The 

 other gods now return to the ki'wi'sine, where they remov^e their masks 

 and apparel and put on their ordinary clothing, which has been brought 

 by young men, who convey the masks and paraphernalia closely con- 

 cealed under their blankets to their proper places. Such are the daily 

 scenes during the exterior building of the house. 



The richer class is likely to entertain the Sha'liiko most fre- 

 quently, as the}^ are better able to remodel and enlarge their houses 

 from time to time, jet those who are very poor sometimes aspire to 

 this honor. In order to do so the house must undergo the necessary 

 improvements. One of the entertainers of the Sha'lako in 1896 

 was tried and condemned as a wizard while engaged on his house 

 improvements. It was with difficulty that the writer had this man 

 released, the whole village crying out against him, yet after being 

 exonerated he proceeded with his house building without further 



obstacles. 



Each family that is to remodel a house for the Sha'lako festival has 

 at harvest time a corps of men detailed to work in their fields by the 

 chief wor'li of the ki'wi'sine whence the personators of the gods are to 

 come. These men leave the village in a bodj^ usually on horseback, 

 at early morning, returning at sunset. They enjoy a repast at the 

 house of those for whom they have labored. Great preparations are 

 made for this occasion b}' the women of the household, their clan, and 

 the clan of the man of the house. Grinding is again done as described, 

 with ceremony and song. 



On August 16, 1896, the wor'li of the O'he'wa(East) ki'wi*sine visited 

 the house where the Sha'lako of his ki'wi'sine was to appear the coming 

 autumn, and informed the matron of the house that his people would 

 work in the fields. The fields worked on this occasion were those of 

 the man and woman of the house and of their two sons-in-law, the 

 products of all going to the household use. 



On the return of the workers at sunset, those who were to personate 

 a Sha'lako, his fellow, and the Ko'mosona being of the number, a 

 feast was served them on the roof of the house. ** The food was placed in 

 a line and twenty-one persons were seated on each side of it. The wives 

 of those who chanced to be of the clans of the inmates of the house were 

 assembled, with their babies, on the roof to receive their husbands and 

 aid in serving the meal. The fathers whose babies Avere present seemed 

 very much more interested in the wee ones than in the elaborate meal 

 that awaited them, and the babies, who exhibited great delight at the 

 presence of their fathers, were taken and tossed about and pla3'ed with 

 before the food was tasted. Those men whose wives and babies arrived 



« These people enjoy being out of doors in the cool of the evening. 



