260 ISLETA, NEW MEXICO [eth. ann. 47 



to conduct a ceremony of witch exorcism or finding. The war chief 

 himself has no ceremony. Nor does he ever make prayer sticks or 

 feathers." He is possessed of the cane fetish called tue'funihih, cane 

 prayer stick black old man, which in any ceremony of general curing 

 hes on the altar to be sprinkled, and he is sometimes referred to as 

 tuwilawe, cane war chief. 



The present war chief is Meriliildo Chiwiwa or Leide ("he stays"). 

 He is between 50 and 60 years old. He belongs to the Poplar division 

 of the Blue Corn and to the shure'. 



4. SCALP TAKERS (a'uKU'WEM) 



In English the reference to the three old men who survive from 

 the sometime larger group of scalp takers is "they kill Navaho 

 (teliebnin)." Their function is in connection with the sporadically 

 performed war ceremony when they lead the war party and for four 

 weeks take care of the scalps (pikg'i). At other times they are not 

 concerned with the scalps; nor do they appear to cooperate in any 

 way with the war chief in his guardianship of the towm. 



As already noted, the woman assistants of the to^v^l chief are the 

 regular purveyoi-s of food to the scalps. Men are told to offer them 

 food, and they do, sporadically. Should they do so regularly, once a 

 day, the dead Navaho would show themselves, with a rope around the 

 waist, in the moimtains, or at night in town. At night the scalps are 

 said to be veiy noisy and clamorous. If you are out at night with 

 food they wiU follow you, crying, until you drop crumbs for them. 

 Sometimes passers-by hear them crying inside the kiva, and will say, 

 "Guess a Navaho has been lolled somewhere; they were crying last 

 night." The town chief teUs about the noises they make. 



One of the scalp takers who laiows aU the scalp songs is quoted as 

 saying that if you keep thinking of these songs you always dream of 

 the scalps. ... In one of these songs there is mention of the cliief 

 of flies, poyolade. 



The scalp taker had to remain on his return 12 days outside of 

 town. . . . When they first tanned the scalp they would bite it, 

 making it soft with their teeth as well as hands. The idea of kicking 

 the scalp, as at Zuni, was unfamihar. There appears to be no rain- 

 making association with the scalps, and no reason could be advanced 

 for keeping them. 



The scalp takers, aU of whom are described as 90 years old, are: 

 Chief, Jose Tomas PadUla or Luao (arrow) ; Juan Domingo Lucero or 

 Nafa (feather down); Lorenzo Olgen or Kapeo (tip designed). 



:> In view of the function of prayer stick making and depositing, a highly elaborate function, of the war 

 captains of the Kere^, this statement seems questionable. 



