444 THE ZLTNI INDIANS [eth. ann. 23 



'Hle'wekwe (Wood Fraternity), or Sword Swallowers 



The *Hle'wekwe separated from their people at Han"^lipinkia" to 

 travel northward in quest of the Middle of the world. The great ones 

 of the *^Hle'wekwe carried two et'towe (rain and crop fetishes; see 

 A'shiwanni, rain priesthood) with them — the *hle'et'tone, the property 

 of the fraternity; and mu'et'tone, the cherished possession of the 

 ^Ko""loktakwe (Sand-hill crane) clan. Previous to the separation of 

 the *Hle'wekwe from the other A'shiwi these most precious of precious 

 things contained only the seeds of water for rain and vegetation. 

 Some time after the separation, the et'towe being placed upon cloud 

 forms of meal on the ground with te'likinawe (prayer plumes), and 

 prayers being offered for rain, great was the consternation when snow 

 came instead. Never before had the et'towe brought snow; never 

 before had the people seen snow; but henceforth these precious seed 

 reeds of the *Hle'wekwe were destined to bring the cold rains and 

 snows of winter.^ 



Having proceeded as far north as the directors thought wise, a des- 

 perate dispute arose between a man and wife and the fraternity, the 

 former declaring that the northern route should be continued, while 

 the others declared that their course should now be changed and they 

 should go a little southward and then eastward. 



A large and conspicuous Triassic sandstone rock, about I5 miles southwest of Zufii, 

 contained interesting markings that are declared by the Zunis to be a map of the 

 route followed by the 'Hle^wekwe after separating from their people, together with 

 other roads, with certain mesas, and constellations. An associate rain priest, who 

 was also a member of the "^Hle'wekwe, knowing the interest of the writer in the 

 markings on this rock, decided that she should have them; with no other tools 

 than two axes, a slab containing the pictographs was severed, and this was forwarded 

 to the United States National Museum. (See plate cvii.) 



This etching is believed by the Zunis to have been made by the original director 

 of the 'Hle^wekwe fraternity. The wavy line crossing the stone indicates the course 

 of migration of the 'Hle'wekwe from Hiin^'lipltnkia in the west to Shi^papolima in 

 the east. After traveling a long distance northward, the 'Hle^wekwe turned south., 

 and then proceeded to Shi^papolima in the east. The line crossing the bend in the 

 road was followed by the fraternity to secure certain medicinal plants. They returned 

 to the point whence they started for the plants and then resumed their journey. 

 The pits north of the line of travel indicate mesas and mountain peaks. The signifi- 

 cance of the hand symbol is not clear. The larger pit east of the hand is an extensive 

 basin constantly filled with water from rains and snows. The dots surrounding the 

 pit represent Ursa Minor. The short lines, no longer than an inch in the pictograph, 

 indicate the number of years consumed by the 'Hle'wekwe in going from Hiin^'lipin- 

 kta to Shi'papolima and thence to I^tiwanna, the site of the present Zuni. The 

 human figure is an ancient Shi'wi before the tail and water moss had been removed 



a See p. 34. 



''While tradition points to the far northwest as the Zufii place of nativity, the belief, not only of 

 the 'Hle'wekwe but of the combined priesthood, that snows were unknown until brought by the 

 et'towe of the <Hle'wekwe on their northern journey furnishes an interesting subject for investiga- 

 tion. According to the 'Hle'wekwe, the roots of grasses, after the snow disappeared, contained mucli 

 moisture and furnished refreshment for them when thirsty. 



