PARSONS] CEREMONIAL ORGANIZATION 255 



sometimes has particular functions assigned to him.^^ The groups are 

 ever guarded by the war captains, but within the group itself there 

 are two who serve as guards. Neither in theory or practice is there 

 any expression of hereditary principle in the ceremonial organization 

 other than the theory which is barely pertinent that the office of town 

 chief is filled in rotation from the Corn groups in the regular color 

 circuit. 



Group membership proceeds through dedication in infancy (as 

 always in the case of the moieties and of the Com groups) or through 

 self-dedication in later life, generally as a result of a vow in sickness. 

 In the Corn groups the chief may appoint an assistant. 



Women members or assistants perform the particular services for 

 the group which are associated with women — water-fetching, clean- 

 ing, cooldng, hair washing, grinding — i. e., of ritual pigments — spin- 

 ning of cotton thread for prayer feathers. Ritual may attach to 

 these serwes and the women may engage in independent ritual, but 

 because the women do not join in the song ritual they are not thought 

 of as occup>-ing the same ceremonial position as the men. They are 

 economic assistants rather than ceremonial colleagues. 



All the ceremonial offices are lifelong. On joining any group or 

 coming into office a person receives a name. In general, the medi- 

 cine men are referred to as toynin, and the Corn group chiefs and 

 assistants as penin. 



The ceremonial chiefs or groups are as follows: 



1. t'aikabede, people chief, or cacique. We refer to him as town chief. Two 

 women called mafornin do the housework in his ceremonial house. They also 

 "feed the scalps." 



2. kumpa, assistant to t'aikabede and prospective successor; one assistant, 

 kabew'iride. Nos. 1 and 2 might be considered as a single group — that of the 

 t'aikabede and two assistants. 



3. wilawe, war chief, with several assistants. 



4. a'uku'wem, scalp takers. 



5. humaxu, hunt chief; one assistant. 



6. shifun kabede, Black Eyes chief, chief of the moiety of the Winter people, 

 with three assistants. 



7. shure' kabede, chief of the moiety of the Summer people, with two assistants. 



8. te'en, grandfathers; six clown masks, besides the t'aikabede who is their 

 chief; three belong to the Black Eyes, three to the shure'. 



9. chakabede, Hwa or kachina chief; one male assistant; one female assistant. 



10. toe'ka'ade, Town Father, medicine society chief; referred to as tutude, 

 elder sister; one assistant; seven other male members of group and three female. 



11. birka'ade, Laguna Father, medicine society chief; referred to as bachude, 

 younger sister; one assistant, who is also childbirth doctor, with one woman assist- 

 ant; eight other male members, three female. .Among the specialists are piru 

 ka'ade, Rattlesnake Father, intu ka'ade, Ant Father, the fire builder, the thief 

 catcher or detective or seer of lost objects. 



12. Chief of White Corn people; with one assistant; two other male members, 

 and tliree female. 



" See pp. ■mi, 300, 44fi. 



