120 THE ACOMA INDIANS [eih. an.n. 47 



of the hands are swdftly reversed. The palms of the hands slap 

 sniartlr as they pass each other. This causes the object to pass out 

 of the chamber (theoretically each comer of the chamber is open) 

 and on "out of the world." When an object is sucked from the body 

 the doctor spits it out in his hand. He shows it to his patient and to 

 the people near by. Then he rolls it in the pile of ashes before the 

 altar and deposits it in the refuse bowl, or, instead of dipping it in 

 ashes, he may bum it in one of the tallow hghts that burn at the 

 fireplace, and then put it in the refuse bowl. While going about the 

 chamber curing people, the two doctors grimt hke a bear. 



When they have finished they wash theii' hands, gargle their throats, 

 and spit in the refuse bowl. They take up their eagle plumes again 

 and sprinkle two doctors (the end men) seated behind the altar. 

 Then they go to their seats behind the altar while the second couple 

 comes out and repeats the performance of the fust two. All of the 

 doctors take their tiuTi at curing. 



Diu-ing the ceremony the war chief and his lieutenants, who always 

 guard medicine men dm'ing curing ceremonies, come dowTi from the 

 roof where they have been guai'dirig the entrance and are cm'ed by 

 the doctors. 



When all of the doctors have had then- turn at cm'ing naicnia (the 

 headman) comes out in front of the altar. He picks up the rock 

 crystal, the ma'caiyoyo, dips it into the medicine (wawa), and looks 

 thi'ough it. Then he kneels and holds it before the eyes of the 

 doctors, saying "Doa hi hi!" (here, look!). Each medicine man looks 

 thi'Ough the translucent rock. They are looking for witches/" Then all 

 of the doctors come out from behind the altar. The headman rubs the 

 eyes of each one as he comes out, with the macaiyoyo dipped in wawa 

 (medicine). Then naicoia lays the rock down and goes back of the 

 altar. The doctors run and jump about the room. "Maybe they're 

 mad (angrj^)." They cure people. They nia.y grab a person and 

 take him to the fireplace and rub him with a bear paw. They may 

 dip the ma'caiyoyo in the medicine bowl again and rub then- eyes 

 with it again. 



Then some medicine men prepare to leave the chamber. They are 

 going out to ciu-e people who have remained in the houses and to rid 

 the pueblo of any witches who might be lurldng about. They draw 

 the skin of a bear's foreleg on theu- left forearm. They carry a large 

 flint knife in the right hand. One group of doctors (the two society 

 groups, it must be remembered, are ciu-ing at this time, each in its 

 own house) goes about the village, curing people m the houses. The 

 other group goes to the foot of the mesa where liv^estock has been 

 secured in corrals. They "whip disease away" from the horses, 



^ Witches are quite likely to gather around a curiug chamber during a ceremony. They want to injure 

 tlie medicine men. 



