70 THE ACOMA INDIANS [eth. ann. 47 



as the Indians at Acoma do. They have a chief, or hotceni, named 

 k'imac". They have fields, they himt, gamble, and dance much as 

 the Acoma people do. (See the various myths which tell about the 

 k'at.sina.) There are some k'atsina women, too. These are usually 

 called k'otcLnako, or yellow woman. But some of them have faces of 

 other colors (it is the face alone that has the distinguishing color); 

 there is one with a white face, g'acinako. According to some of these 

 myths, these women are virgins; they never live with the naale 

 k'atsina. Still, there is the story of Tsictik'atsame (q. v.) which 

 impUes family hfe at Wenimats'; one of the chiefs had a daughter who 

 became the bride of Tsictilv'atsame, who was himself a k'atsina. 



Not all of the k'atsina, however, live at Wenimats'; a goodly 

 number live near Acoma. This, I believe, is due to the very long 

 occupancy of the mesa of old Acoma; eveiy inch of ground near there 

 is veiy familiar to the people, and some of the sites have become 

 associated with myths and legends. Another consideration is the 

 richness of the kachina cult at Acoma and the elaboration it has 

 undergone since it arrived; abundance of kachinas is probably both 

 cause and effect of these special spirits who live at designated spots.'* 



The kachina organization. — With reference to the k'atsina the peo- 

 ple of Acoma are divided into two groups — those who believe that 

 the masked dancers are really gods and those who know full well 

 that they are the men and boys of the village with their heads en- 

 cased in buffalo hide. The first group, of course, is made up of 

 young children. At an early age they see the dancers in the plaza; 

 perhaps one of them, impressive in his mask, costume, paint, and 

 feathera, picks his way through the spectators to give some child a 

 present of fruit, or perhaps a k'atsina oak (baby, or doll, q. v.). 

 They are told that these dancers are great gods from Wenimats' ; they 

 are taught to regard them with awe. 



Then comes the day of awakening; they are initiated into the 

 secrets and mysteries of the k'atsina and the dancers. Boys and 

 girls alike are initiated, but the role played by women in the kachina 

 organization is negligible.'" The women prepare food for the dancers, 

 assist them in their distributions of gifts, etc., but they never wear a 

 mask in a dance even though a k'otcininak'o (a k'atsina woman) be 

 impersonated. The people who have been initiated into the secrets 



" The fact that Acoma is not far from Zuni, where the kachina cult is especially luxuriant, illuminates 

 the situation somewhat. Acoma received the mask cult before the Rio Grande villages did (assuming, 

 of course, that it came from the west, which I believe to be the case) and has received more kachinas than 

 her eastern sisters. 



■* Among the eastern Keres the women are kept in theoretical ignorance of the identity of the masked 

 dancers, with the exception of a few women (called stcti, orinitiated), who assist the masked dancers during 

 ceremonies. 



