118 



THE ACOMA INDIANS 



At about 8 o'clock on the evening of the ceremony the war chief 

 goes through the village summonmg the people to the curmg chambers. 

 Everyone has bathed for the occasion. The pueblo is divided into 

 two groups; one goes to the chamber of the Fire Society, the other to 

 the Flint Society's house (the Flint Society uses the head estufa, 

 Mauharots, unless it is othei-wise occupied). Some of the people do 

 not go to the ciuing chambers (there would not be room for them all); 

 so they remain in their houses, keeping them brightly lighted all night. 

 The people throng into the curing chambers, men, women, and 

 children. The men wear only a breechcloth. They wear a blanket 

 when they enter, but they remove it and fold it up to sit on. The 

 women wear a simple dress. (There is a side room for the women 

 with young babies.) Two medicine men stand at the foot of the 

 ladder. They lead the people to seats with their eagle plumes. 

 Some people come early in order to get the best seats, which are the 

 places against the wall. (This allows them to lean back and rest; 

 the others have to sit bolt upright throughout the night.) 



As the people enter the chamber (tig. 3) the medicine men are sitting 

 behind their altar, singing. (All of their para- 

 phernalia is laid out in front of the altar. ) They 

 have their hair tied up in front with a corn 

 husk. Two turkey feathers are worn at each 

 temple. They wear a small breechcloth, sup- 

 ported by a woven belt (such as are worn around 

 the waist by women). They have vertical white 

 stripes painted on their bodies. The women 

 members paint their faces with ya'k'atca (reddish 

 browTi) with a bit of stcamu'n (black) over it. 

 Seated near the west end of the altar are two 

 cloud men (henatititc; henati is cloud). They 

 were appointed by the headman of the society at the time the date for 

 the ceremony was set. Their business is to make cigarettes during 

 the ceremony. They come early and set to work. As they finish a 

 cigarette they lay it down in front of them mitil someone calls for it. 

 When, during the ceremony, a doctor has finished dancing or curing, 

 one of the cloud men lights a cigarette and hands it to hun. If anyone 

 in the chamber wants to smoke during the ceremony he must ask one 

 of the cloud men for a cigarette. 



When the chamber is fiUed a medicine woman brings in a jar of 

 water and a gourd dipper. The head man begins to fill the medicme 

 bowls. Sis gourdfuls are dipped for the cardinal points (including 

 zenith and nadir). Then the bowl is filled. The other medicine 

 bowl is filled in the same way. Then the doctors put herb medicines 

 into the bowls, taking them from their little buckskin bags. The 

 headman puts his medicine in first. 



Figure 3.— Diagram of 

 curing chamber. M = 

 medicinemen. + + = 

 their iarriko. • • = 

 medicine bowls. F = 

 fireplace. 



