PARSONS] FOLK TALES 367 



People went to the chiefs of their Corn groups to ask for prayer 

 feathers (shie') to give her to take down with her. On the fourth 

 morning the war chief called out that everybody who wished might 

 come to the ceremony in the kiva. They had to come barefoot. So 

 they took their feathers into the chiefs of the medicine societies. 

 After all the people came in they began their ceremony, with the girl 

 in front of the altar. First they cleaned up with their feathers. 

 Then they told the people how the girl belonged in Wimda. Then they 

 arrayed her, and gave her the prayer feathers. She had to say good- 

 by to them all. The people were crying because she was going away. 

 The town chief, kumpa, tutude, and the war chief had to take her, 

 all of them ceremonially arrayed; first went tutude, then the town 

 chief, the girl, kumpa, the war chief. So they went, about noon, to the 

 spring. ^\Tien tutude stepped on the log near the spiing it began to 

 sink. Nobody was allowed to come near the spring. So he had to 

 use his "power" to go in close to the spring. 



At last they answered him. He told them he was bringing the girl 

 to offer to them. Then a tree (pawita) rose up, and on the tip of it 

 was sitting the young man. He shone so that he blinded them, all 

 but tutude who was gazing with his power. Then they threw meal 

 toward him and told him what had happened to the girl, and how 

 they were ready now to offer her to him. The young man said all 

 that was true. She had been bom into this world to go back ahve 

 into the other world. After 12 days she would return to this world 

 to live. She would belong to the town chief. She would be his keide 

 (Mother). Then they placed a flat stone from the bank to the tip 

 of the tree, and she walked on it to the yoimg man, holding the 

 prayer feathers. The men on the bank were crying. They returned 

 to the Iviva. After sprinkling meal in the directions and to the 

 keide they told the people of every^thing that had happened. The 

 people were crying. They said, "At the end of 12 days this girl will 

 be back again." These 12 days all the ceremonialists had to fast, 

 and all those who were present niight also fast if they wished to help. 

 At the close of the 12 days they made their ceremony again, before 

 noon, and then they who had taken her went after her. At noon the 

 same tree came up again, and both the young man and the girl were 

 sitting on the tip. She was dressed even more handsomely than before 

 and she was shining enough to blind them. In her arms she carried 

 the keide. The young man laid down the stone, and she stepped 

 back to where the men were standing who gave thanks that she was 

 back ^\ith power. They thanked the yoimg man. He said good-by 

 and went down. They returned to the kiva. The girl was shining 

 so the people could not look at her. They gave her a seat in the line 

 of the Fathers. The chief took the keide from her and showed it to 

 the people. They had a newborn keide to be used by the town chief. 



