PARSONS] CALENDAK 331 



society chiefs. At the back of the altar stand lightning sticks 

 (upinide) of "leather" (?). A stone club (k'oata) lies on the altar. 

 And a rainbow is represented. Otherwise the altar with its kitii or 

 terrace design in meal is like the altars of the medicine societies. 



At this time the special paraphernaha (see fig. 3) of the town 

 chief is in use. He wears his ritual moccasins, called samkoap 

 (?, koap, moccasins) made all of buckskin, no cowhide, and made by 

 kumpa; also over his right shoulder his ritual bandoleer or perhaps 

 bow, since it is called naw'iri, of cotton string and feathers and long 

 buckskin pouch wTapped with cotton wool and feathers and contain- 

 ing " every thing he uses." This object "came up with them." (See 

 p. 368.) In the hair of the towTi chief are lawashie', feathers painted 

 the colore of the directions, plus red. These prayer hair feathers the 

 towTi chief makes for himself. 



As outsiders do not attend the rain ceremony until the twelfth or 

 last night, our informant could tell httle or nothing of the ritual. 

 In it figure in some way what is called water gram (pako'), the roimd, 

 shiny, whitish deposits left in an arroyo after flood. 



At noon of the twelfth day the chiefs of the medicine societies go 

 out and are believed to go and clean the springs,*' going long distances, 

 "by their power," and returning within the hour. In a drought there 

 is also ritual alongside the river. 



This night, the twelfth or last, people may attend the ceremony. 

 Women rarely come, however, as they are too much afraid of the 

 lightning and thunder which appear. Pregnant women would never 

 go. The medicine society chiefs are painted with the white zigzags 

 of lightning. . . . (The rhombus for calling thunder and the hghtning 

 stick frame are not in use at Isleta as elsewhere, "because hghtning 

 and thunder come themselves." Do you not hear thunder, and see 

 lightning spurting aroimd the room?) The town chief and the chief 

 of the Town Fathers go out to the middle of the plaza where they 

 sink down into the earth to ask Waeide for rain. And this night it 

 will surely rain. In the morning the people will go out fi'oni their 

 houses and sprinkle meal and give thanks for the rain. 



In a later reference to this ceremony our informant placed the date 

 as from May 25 to June 5,** approximately, and referred to the ranch- 

 ing communities as taking some initiative about holding the ceremony. 

 The rooster race was also mentioned as engaged in at this time. 



A ceremony for the rain people (lechi t'ainin) was also referred to 

 as occurring in Apiil, either before or after the races. The war chief 

 asks the town chief for the ceremony, and he, in turn, the medicine 

 chiefs who observe a two days outside fast and a two days retreat, 

 and who go to Foapienai (Banana Mountain) through their power. 



" Compare Davis, 393. In this boiling up spring of Laguna there was a " devil." 

 *• Compari' nimie for May. p. 288. 



