■wmxEl ACOMA TO-DAY 31 



and the chamber of the Fire society.-^ There are seven chambers, 

 then, at Acoma called k'aatc. In outward appearance they are alike, 

 rectangular rooms on the ground floor, set in among dwellings. They 

 are said to be similar inside, too, except that in Mauharots there is a 

 tstwai'mttytm (a plank placed over a resonance chamber in the 

 floor). (See fig. 2, p. 73.) I feel that there "should be" sLx 

 kacliina chambers at Acoma instead of five; this would resemble 

 the sLx kivas at Zuni. AMiether the sLx kivas reported by Bandelier 

 and Mindelefi' imply six kachina chambers or not is an important 

 question, the solution of which would be of great moment. 



In the south wall of each k'aatc there is a hole about 8 inches in 

 diameter; it is placed about 20 inches from the ground. Into these 

 holes corn meal is thrown with praj^ers by people who pass through 

 the streets at night. The ladders wliich lean against the kivas are 

 much longer than the ladders of the dwelhngs, and they have a cross- 

 piece at the top which is carved in a shape suggesting arrows or 

 lightning symbols. 



Every person has a Spanish (or American) name, but while the young 

 people know these names, some of the old folks do not. I was buying 

 some pottery from some old women at old Acoma and leaving it there 

 for a day or so when I could take it away. I asked (through an inter- 

 preter) what their names were, and they told me their Indian names. 

 Fearing that I would forget them I asked for their Spanish names. 

 They laughed and seemed slightly embarrassed. They said that 

 they had Spanish names, but that they could not remember what 

 they were. Kinship terms are usually used when conversing with 

 one another, and sometimes the native name, but Spanish or American 

 names are almost never used except when speaking to an American or 

 a Mexican. I knew of two brothers whose last names were quite 

 different; one was Spanish, the other English. I learned that these 

 boys had received their names when they had gone away to school; 

 their teacher named them, not knowing that they were brothers. 



Many of the old people have never been more than a few miles 

 from the reservation. I know of some old men and women who 

 have never been to Albuquerque. Last summer one old lady made 

 her first visit to Albuquerque. I gathered from reports of her behavior 

 there that she was quite overcome by that little city. What seemed 

 to distress her most was her inability to orient herself with reference 

 to the cardinal points; the sun seemed to her to rise in the south. 

 Some people, however, have traveled considerably; these are mostly 

 men. Some of the older men went to Carlisle, one or two were in 

 France with the American Expeditionary Forces, some were at an 

 exposition in San Diego, and others have worked for the Santa Fe 



" At San Felipe and at Saulo Domingo tiie kivas are called tci'kya. 



