WHITE] CEREMONIES AND CEREMONIALISM 69 



"All important occasions must be preceded by, or accompanied 

 ■with, the making and depositing of prayer sticks," might well be 

 taken as a valid generalization of ceremonial procedure. They are 

 made before all masked dances, the solstice ceremonies, at birth, and 

 at death, for all important ceremonial occasions are ultimately 

 concerned with the supernatural world, and prayer sticks are the most 

 formal and satisfactory means of establishing the desired rapport 

 with the spirits. (A section will be devoted to prayer sticks later 

 on.) 



We shall now proceed with descriptions of various ceremonies. By 

 far the most important phase of commimal ceremonialism at Acoma 

 is the personation of the k'atsina by masked dancers." And if one 

 will keep in mind fruitfulness of fields, which imphes abundance of 

 rain (brought by the k'atsina), and the regular sequence of the 

 seasons (the solstices), he will have the conceptual core of the larger 

 part of Acoma ceremonialism. A detaded account of the kachina 

 (k'atsina) cult, then, will be the best preface to the ceremonies which 

 follow. 



The Kachina Cult 



As we have already seen, the k'atsina are spuit rain makers. In 

 appearance they are exactly like the masked dancers. In the old 

 days, when the Acoma people were still hving in the north (see 

 Origin-Migration Myth), the k'atsinaused to come to the village when 

 the people were lonesome or sad and dance for them; this cheered them 

 greatlj'. The k'atsina used to bring gifts, too, such as food of all 

 kinds, buckskins, bows and arrows, beads, etc. ; they taught the people 

 arts and crafts and huntuig. ^\jid after the people began to grow 

 their own food the k'atsma would come to the vUlage when the fields 

 were dry and tliii-sty and dance. Ram always followed. The Indians 

 owe almost everything to the k'atsma. 



But after the great fight between the k'atsina and the people (see 

 myth Guititanic for account of this episode) the spirits refused to come 

 to the village any more. However, they told the Indians that they 

 coidd wear masks and costumes to I'cpresent k'atsina and act as if 

 they were k'atsma. If they did this and honored and respected the 

 k'atsina, then they would come and possess the persons of the masked 

 dancers and all would be well — rain would come. That is why the 

 Acoma people have masked dances to-day, and that is whj the 

 k'atsina are so revered. 



The k'atsina live at a place called Wenimats'; it is "somewhere out 

 west, perhaps near the Zuni Mountains." Thei'e they live very much 



'* I say communal to distinguish one order of ceremonies from tliose of the curing societies, which are^ 

 strictly speaking, the property of these secret societies. 



