134 THE ACOMA INDIANS 



medicine man holds the baby out toward him.'^ The medicine man 

 prays. When he finishes he throws the basket of prayer sticks over 

 the edge. Then he rises and approaches the baby. He gathers in 

 his arms all the air he can hold and blows it toward the baby; he 

 gathers air from the four directions, north, west, south, and east. 

 As he blows the air toward him, he speaks the child's name. He is 

 giving the child breath of life. 



The medicine man and his wife return to the house with the baby. 

 As they approach the door the medicine man calls out "K'aiya!" 

 (hello!). The father answers "Haiyeh!" the mother "HehO!" Then 

 the medicine man saj^s, "Baby (mentioning the child's name), this 

 is liis home; here he comes; he is going to live here. May he have 

 long Ufe and all lands of crops, fruits, game, beads, with him. He is 

 coming in." The parents reply, "Let him come in!" Then the 

 medicine man steps aside and allows liis wife, carrying the child, to 

 enter first. The mother stands just inside the door to receive the 

 baby in her arms. The family gathers around. The medicine man 

 takes up the bowl of medicine and pours a little bit into the baby's 

 mouth. Then he gives some to the mother and father and to the 

 relatives. Finally he gives some to liis wdfe to drink and takes some 

 himself. Food is now brought in for the medicine man and his wife 

 and put down in front of the turtle's head. The doctor wafts steam 

 from the food over the altar four times with his eagle plumes. He 

 may take a morsel of food and deposit it near the bowl of medicine. 

 Then they all sit down, a short distance from the sand painting, 

 and eat. After breakfast, the medicine man sweeps up his painting, 

 gathers up his paraphernalia, and goes home with liis wife. 



Before taldng Ms departure, however, the medicine man prays over 

 the baby's cradle and sprinkles it with medicine. The mother has 

 selected an ear of corn which she will tie on the cradle board (at the 

 left side of the baby). This corn is also prayed over and sprinkled. 

 When the doctor has gone the father or mother will shell some of 

 tins corn and put it in a little buckskin bag and tie it on the left of 

 the baby board. The remainder of the ear will be kept until planting 

 time, when it will be planted. A small flint is tied to the cradle 

 board, near the bag of corn. When the child leaves the cradle this 

 fhnt is often himg from a string around liis neck. In former times a 

 father often took a young son to one of the o'pi who would make a 

 small leather wristlet for the left wrist. This was to protect the 

 wrist from the recoil of the bowstring and also to give the child 

 "power." If the child is slow in learning to talk, his parents will 



36 In the origiD myth, latiku, the mother of the Indians, placed all her children in a row, facing east. 

 Their eyes had not yet opened. The sun had not yet made its appearance. While they were facing east 

 she caused the sun to rise. The eyes of the first children opened. That is why the children of Acoma are 

 presented to the sun to-day at birth. 



