WHITE] CEREMONIES AND CEREMONIALISM 109 



removes them by sucking them out, or in some cases he withdraws 

 them with his eagle plumes. He also "whips disease away" with 

 the plumes. He will treat the patient for four days and nights, if 

 necessary, coming several times during the day and evening to see 

 liim. If at the end of that time the patient's condition is not much 

 improved it is quite likely that another doctor, or an entire society, 

 will be summoned. The doctor is paid for his services in corn meal, 

 flour, or other commodities of value. 



Curing by a society. — A patient may desire to have an entiie society 

 treat him. If he is critically ill the entire society usually comes; if the 

 patient wishes to join the society upon recoveiy the whole group 

 always comes. It happens, however, that a whole society might 

 come with all its paraphernalia and treat a patient who had not 

 e.xpressed his intention of joining. ^^ 



If the patient expresses a desire to join a ciu-ing society he tells 

 his father, naming the society of his choice. The father and other 

 relatives of the patient then make some wasani (feather bunches, 

 q. v.). The father takes one and prays with it, asldng that his 

 child may recover from his illness. Then he places the feather 

 bunch that he has just used in the hands of the sick child, who prays. 

 Then the father takes the wasani to the headman (naicDia) of the 

 society and asks hixn to cure Ms cliild. The headman calls his 

 doctors together, distributes the wasani among them, and tells them 

 about the sick child. They agree upon a time to visit the patient 

 (they go at once if he is critically ill), after which they go out with 

 their feather bunches and pray for theii- success. 



At the time appointed the society comes to the house of the sick 

 person, bringing their paraphemaha with them. A room has been 

 cleared of fm-niture and placed at their disposal. They set up their 

 altar and lay out their paraphernalia.' Each doctor has a ho'nani 

 (corn ear fetish, q. v.) which is laid out in front of the altar. (PI. 1, b.) 

 Then there are medicine bowls, small stone figures of animals, the beast 



•• There is some confusion in tlie uccimnts of two informants on this point. One stated that the doctors 

 would not dress, or rather undress, and paint themselves if the patient did not wish to join. Another 

 stated that the ceremony by the group was the same whether the patient wished to join or not. However, 

 there is this ditlerence between the two situations: If the patient does not wish to join, tlie society is 

 summoned with corn meal; if he does wish to join, the family and relatives of the patient make waBani, 

 which are taken to the headman. 



' I received two pictures of this altar from two informants. The other picture is included in the section 

 Paraphernalia and Ritual (q. v.). These two pictures are quite different in design and structure. It is 

 possible, of course, that neither informant was guilty of misrepresentation. They might have been de- 

 scribing different altars, although each stated that the one he had drawn represented the altars of both 

 the Fire and the Flint societies. (KaBina had a different kind of altar; it was described in the account of 

 the initiation of the war chief.) If, however, either informant is at fault, I am inclined to believe that it is 

 the one who drew the most elaborate picture. .\t .\coma this altar is called yasaicini. Among the east- 

 ern Keres yaBaicini refers to the sand painting which the medicine societies outline on the floor at cures. 

 At Santo Domingo and at San Felipe a wooden slat altar is not used in curing ceremonies. They 

 have one, which they call aitcin, which is used at solstice ceremonies (and perhaps at retreats). 



