STEVENSON] SHU M^ A K WE 541 



until fatigue compels retirino-. Many dance thirty' minutes, while 

 others keep on the floor an hour, and a few dance two hours," 



To prevent fatigue the dancers lift a quantity of suds from the 

 cloud bowl and rub them on their legs. Before each dancer leaves 

 the floor, the eagle-wing phimes that are carried are passed four times 

 over the lips of each novice, beginning with the one at the west end of 

 the line. The plumes are held diagonalh^ to the mouth and drawn 

 downward. Afterward each dancer passes the right hand across his or 

 her forehead and then across some part of the bod}^ of the novice, gen- 

 erallv the breast or legs first. Again rubbing the hand across the face 

 it is passed over some portion of the bod}- of the novice. This is 

 repeated four times with each novice. As each male member finishes 

 this ceremony he returns to the choir, so that the choir is at no time 

 deplete of its members. The five remaining Shumai'koli appear sepa- 

 rately^ in regular order and dance. After the god of the North comes 

 the one of the West, with blue face mask, then red for the South, 

 white for the East, all-color for the Zenith, and black for the Nadir. 

 The cloud decorations on the faces of the masks differ. The cere- 

 mony of dipping the corn into the medicine water and placing it to 

 the lips of the novice is repeated with the appearance of each Shu- 

 mai'koli. The same ceremony is repeated l)v the Shumai'koli of the 

 Zenith and Nadir over two Sia guests, which is a mark of very deli- 

 cate courtes3\ The novices remain standing as long as a Shumai'koli 

 is present, but as soon as the god retires, the novices and the women 

 sit down until another appears, but the clasped hands continue in 

 motion. 



As the hour for the rising of the morning star approaches, the 

 participants exhibit much anxiety to know the instant the star appears 

 above the horizon; there is, therefore, continual ascending of the 

 ladder. The straw mat which covers the hatchwa}' is raised as each 

 one goes forth to look for. the star. About this time an old woman 

 deposits a great heap of corn husks and a cedar-fiber ))rand near the 

 fireplace and makes a large fire. Finally the appearance of the star is 

 announced by the withdrawal of the mat from the hatchway. The 

 bar charm is laid aside by its bearer, who innuediately lights a heap 

 of corn husks and runs with the blazing mass to the choir, pelts the 

 singers, and afterward dances violently, still holding the husks: and 

 agam pelts the choir and again dances. A numl)er of dancers now 

 congregate on the floor. Rushing to the fire, the young man gathers 

 more husks and lighting them pelts the male and female dancers. 

 Another and another light great bunches of the husks until the room 

 is ablaze, women and children vying with one another, one of the 



a This fraternity seems more devoid of decency in the ceremonial chamber than the others both 

 sexes using the same urinal, which stands in a convenient place in the room, members of other 

 fraternities leave the chamber for such purposes. 



