388 



THE ZUNI INDIANS 



[ETH. ANN. 23 



her elan; they all eat heartily. Coti'ee and water are freely indulged 

 in. The leader addressing- his players, watchers, and the rat man, 

 says: "You must eat much now, for 3'ou must neither eat nor drink 

 while the game is l)eing played." Should the leader of the game 

 on the opposite side come to him and ask if he did not wish to eat 

 or drink with him, he replies, "Yes, we Avill eat with 3^ou," if he 

 thinks it is ))est, but usually the invitation is refused. After the 

 repast the four players and four watchers gather near the fireplace 

 and apply l^ear or cougar grease under and above each e3'e and then 

 place red hematite over the grease. The leader then asks, "Are yon 

 ready r' and they reply "Yes," and the plavers and watchers go to 

 the plaza. The leader takes his place on the west side of the plaza 

 with his party; the players of the other side sit on the east side of the 

 plaza by the old Spanish church. The game, which is carried by the 



Pig. 14— Implements used in i'yiinkolo'we. 



leader, is deposited on the west side of the plaza, the open ends of 

 the cups to the east. The stone disk, ball, and straw counters are 

 laid upon the cups (see figure 14). A party from each side is dis- 

 patched for sand, and the first leader visits the house of the rain 

 priest to secure the gaming ball which was left on the west line of 

 meal. If it has moved to the most eastern line, the leader knows that 

 his side will win, but if it has moved onlv to the second or third 

 line, he can not tell anything about it. He lifts the stone while he 

 stands by the side of the rain priest, and, drawing a breath from it, 

 places it inside his shirt, and saying to the rain priest "So'anni" 

 (Good-by), returns to the plaza. He requests one of the watchers to 

 remove the disk from the cups and carr}^ it to the head player of 

 the opposite side and ask which side of the stone disk he will 

 choose — black or white. When the side is chosen, the watcher 



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