526 THE ZUNI INDIANS [eth. ann. 23 



come through the eastern window, the men assemble before the altar 

 and pray. The women go outside of the house to offer their prayers 

 to the Sun Father, Imt return to sprinkle meal upon the altar and pra^^ 

 The Kia'kwemosi, rain priest of the North, who is a member of the 

 U'huhukwe, removes the animal fetishes from before the altar and, 

 blowing- the meal from them, gathers them into his arms. The owners 

 of the mi'wachi collect them, carefully blowing off' the meal, and in a 

 few moments the altar is bared of its adornments. A little later the 

 altar itself is taken apart and stored away until required for future use. 



The Fel)ruary ceremonial, in which initiation into the Mystery medi- 

 cine order occurred, was very much the same as the one described, with 

 the addition of playing with fire, and there was a greater display of 

 jugglery. The features not given in the December meeting are here 

 described. 



There is an elaborate displa}^ of fire on the third and fourth days of 

 the meeting of the fraternity, the members appearing in the street 

 before the ceremonial house and on the house tops with blazing brands 

 of cedar fiber. Three He'hea and six Na'wisho (anthropic gods) appear 

 for the occasion, though only the He'hea go to the ceremonial house 

 of the U'huhukwe. The He'hea gods have their nude bodies covered 

 with white kaolin and lined by drawing the finger nail through the 

 paint. A 3"ellow crescent is painted on the back of each (see plate 

 oxx). As soon as they enter the ceremonial chamber they are pelted 

 with fire from cedar brands, and the}" escape to the street, where they 

 create great amusement by their pantomimical conversations. Being 

 in the street does not save them, for they are followed by men and 

 women with flaming brands, who chase the gods up the ladder to the 

 roofs, where they get more pelting with fire by members of the frater- 

 nit}", especiall}" the women (see plate cxxi). The gods at times climb 

 a pole, perform gymnastics on the ladders and a pole suspended hori- 

 zontalh' before the ceremonial house. The men and women of the 

 fraternity also pelt one another with fire, not even sparing the face. 

 A very pretty sight is a run of about a thousand yards, in a kind of 

 meander, ])y two of the men of the fraternity, both carrying flaming 

 masses of cedar fiber, the foremost one flying like the wind and the 

 other apparently no less fast, but he does not catch the foremost. 

 The men are nude except for the black woven breechcloth. The 

 women wear their ordinary dress and knitted leggings, and their feet 

 are bare. The women especially seem to enjo}" the fun. Two tricks 

 worthy of mention are performed at night in the ceremonial chamber. 

 A yucca rope apparently passes through the body of another, the rope 

 being held by a man at each end. The illusion is perfect. Another 

 trick is the changing of a basket tray of balls of blue mush. The 

 writer, taking one, finds it to be as pliable as firm mush. The tray, 

 with the balls of mush, is afterward raised high and waved to the six 



