STEVENSON] MA^'^K?: ^san'nakwe 559 



the recitation of a stoiy of some great exploit of the Gods of Wnv. 

 At the conclusion of the story the song opens, to the accompaniment 

 of the hide drum, with a low chant, swelling louder and louder as the 

 song continues. Mr Stevenson and the writer linger but a short time 

 here and proceed to the house of the Little Fire fraternity, where a 

 group of men are telling stories and smoking, previous to the conven- 

 ing of the fraternity. One of the men possesses remarkable powers as 

 an orator. His voice is at all times perfectl}^ clear and distinct, though 

 he never raises it above a low tone, and many times drops it to a whis- 

 per. The women sit dozing in their end of the room. At 10 o'clock 

 the group scatters, leaving the main body of the room clear. The 

 floor is sprinkled b}" a man filling his mouth with water and i^iecting 

 it, Chinese fashion, over the floor. 



Then the sixteen members of the Ko'tikili enter in single file and 

 ad\ance toward the altar; turning, the}' face south and dance from 

 west to east, then from east to west, and so on, indulging in curious 

 hoots. Twelve dancers carr}^ gourd rattles in the right hand, while the 

 others carry in the same hand food wrapped in corn husks, to be ofl'ered 

 to the Kok'ko awa (all the anthropic gods). They all carry large 

 bunches of 3 ucca in their left hands, narrow ribbons of yucca encircle 

 their heads, the hair being* parted in the middle, with the usual knot 

 at the back. Dressed deerskins are worn; the limbs are bare, but the 

 feet are covered with moccasins. Each has a tortoise-shell rattle 

 attached to the calf of the right leg immediateh' below the knee. 

 They dance and sing to the accompaniment of the rattles and drum of 

 skin. One of the chief features of this dance is a graceful movement 

 of the gourd rattles, the dancers waving them around their heads from 

 the right in a circle, at the same time delicately and gracefully shak- 

 ing and manipulating them. During the dance the members of the 

 Little Fire fraternity remain quiet spectators. 



At the close of the dance, at midnight, the dancers take seats on the 

 north side of the room, the ledge having been previousl}" covered with 

 skins and lilankets. Each one is supplied with a cigarette, which has 

 been lighted by a meml^er of the Little Fire fraternity, who takes a whifl' 

 before handing it to a dancer. The latter smokes once and returns it 

 to the donor, who takes one whifl' and returns it to the dancer, who 

 continues to smoke it. When the cigarettes are consumed the dancers 

 approach the altar, each taking a pinch of meal from the basket in 

 front of it, sprinkle the altar and pray, and then return to their seats. 

 The a'kwamosi, cariying a bowl of medicine water, passes to the 

 dancers and gives each a drink of the holy water from a shell. He 

 afterward gives a draft to the members of the Little Fire fraternity, 

 including the women and children. When the visiting dancers leave 

 the houses, the men of the fraternity gather before the altar and repeat 



