352 



THE ZUNT INDIANS 



[ETH. ANN. 23 



miijoiitv of the ZufiLs leave the village and settle in comfortable houses 

 in the farming districts for the summer, remaining as late as possible 

 in the autumn. Some few have found the country home so greatly 

 preferable that they have taken up their permanent abode at their 

 farms, but this does not prevent their prompt attendance at ceremo- 

 nials held in Zufii. 



When the corn has been gathered it is brought home and spread on 

 the roof. After the husk has been removed, the ears are stacked with 

 great precision and care in the storage rooms. Corn husking is as 

 nmch of a frolic with the Zufiis as it was with the j^ouths and maidens 

 of our own country districts in the past. Wherever corn is seen on 

 the roof one is pretty sure to hear the merry voices of the buskers, 



1 g-uardian. 



though the red ear does not suggest the kiss. The Zufiis are not much 

 given to kissing, though the}^ are not entirely free from it; the young- 

 men kiss their favorite girls on the sly, and fathers are fond of kissing 

 their infants. 



The. soil is harrowed with primitive implements, and the wheat is 

 threshed in the farming districts where it is raised, goats and occasion- 

 ally horses taking the place of threshing machines. The wheat is 

 Avinnowed by tossing it in baskets made for the purpose. It is stored 

 either in large bins constructed of stone slabs or in immense pottery 

 jars in the storage rooms. A Zuni storage room (figure 23) contains a 

 promiscuous mass of material ranging from objects of the most sacred 

 character to those of little or no value. 



