506 THE ZUNI INDIANS [eth. ann. 23 



and to the novice. Some put the medicine into their mouths at once, 

 while others wait until the}^ are about ready to eat the fire. This 

 medicine is chewed to protect the mouth when the fire is eaten. After 

 the medicine is distributed, the ^Hlem'mosona places near the fire- 

 place a bundle of the juniper splinters previously referred to, and the 

 novice is again conducted by the woman to the middle of the floor. 

 She turns him to face the east, and moves his shoulders as has been 

 described, while the dancers pass twice around the altar. Again the 

 female leader of the file of dancers goes to the novice as before, and 

 the first woman returns to her seat; then the *Hlem'mosona lights the 

 bundle of splinters and puts them into the novice's mouth. When the 

 fire is out he draws them over the novice's shoulders, head, and mouth, 

 as previously described; this ceremony is repeated four times by each 

 member of the order, a fresh bundle of splinters being used each time. 

 After this ceremony the splinters are laid by the fireplace. The novice 

 now passes with his fraternity father once around the altar and returns 

 to his seat, and all sprinkle the altar with meal, and pra}^; then the 

 warrior of the Fire division carries the partially burned splinters east 

 of the town and deposits them at Ku'shilowa (red earth). 



Second day. After six songs are sung to the six regions for snow, 

 two members of the Fire order go in single file, the second man whirl- 

 ing the rhombus, to collect two young trees. They are preceded by 

 another man, who carries a meal basket and sprinkles meal for a short 

 distance north of the village. The trees which are selected are about 

 3 feet high, one being pinon, the other another species of pine. 

 Three marks are made near the base and on the east side of each tree, 

 denoting eyes and mouth. The trees are cut with a stone knife and 

 ai'e carried in the left arm to the ceremonial chamber, Avhere the man 

 who accompanied the tree collectors beyond the village, receives them 

 and waves them to the six regions. The *Hlem'mosona afterward 

 pufl's smoke from native tobacco in a reed over them and attaches a 

 la'showanne of a single white fluffy eagle plume to each tree. The 

 collectors of the trees are careful to bring young buds of spruce 

 and pinon trees in separate husks, some of which are put into the 

 medicine water; the remainder are afterward distributed to the fra- 

 ternity at large. The women especially are anxious for the "bud 

 medicine," as they call it, which is eaten when a woman is preg- 

 nant. If a boy is desired, she eats the buds of the pine; if a girl, 

 she takes those of the pinon. The wish is always realized unless 

 the woman's heart is bad. Upon the writer's asking for the buds 

 from a pine branch brought to the village with a load of wood, a mem- 

 ber of the Great Fire fraternity exclaimed: "Oh, they are no good; 

 the bough was not cut from the tree while the old songs of the Ma"ke 

 ^Hlan'nakwe were sung." 



The man who receives the trees lays them north of the swords, 



