504 INTRODUCTION TO ZUNI CEREMONIALISM [eth. ann.47 



must sleep very little, if at all. The food and sex taboos observed at 

 this period have already been mentioned. There are also special 

 taboos relating to death by violence, by lightning, or away from home. 

 There are no strictly reUgious taboos upon pregnant or menstruating 

 women. There are, of course, many taboos that belong to the realm 

 of folklore rather than that of reUgion. 



To all of the foregoing proliibitions, as well as others not men- 

 tioned, the Zunis apply the word teckwi, but it is obvious that they 

 embrace many different attitudes towai'd the tabooed object or action. 

 There are the taboos relating to death and mourning, sacred objects, 

 places, and rites. In all these cases the proliibition rises out of the 

 mingling of fear and reverence in the attitude toward the sacred. 

 Fear is the predominant feeling actuating the rites for the dead, 

 and the fear of the dead is extended to those intimately associated 

 with him in Ufe. Hence, the widow is untouchable during the period 

 when the maUce of the dead is active. Those who have killed an 

 enemy in warfare are similarly threatened, since they have cut off a 

 man before his time. In the taboos against touching sacred objects 

 and trespassing on sacred places the feeUng of fear is less apparent but 

 none the less present, for sacred things are dangerous in proportion 

 to their power. Wliereas death is feared as the result of violating 

 taboos of mourning, in the case of other violations the fear is vague 

 and general, and the results of infringements are less clearly foreseen. 



On the other hand, there are a number of personal restraints which 

 are forms of abstinence rather than taboos. To tliis class belong the 

 sex proliibitions, the prohibitions on certain lands of foods at certain 

 times, and the restrictions upon the activities of persons participating 

 in ceremonies. The general purpose of all these restrictions is with- 

 drawal. That they are not primarily purificatory is shown by the 

 fact that in many cases they follow rather than precede the approach 

 to the gods; as, for instance, the sexual taboos following the planting 

 of prayer sticks. A man approacliing the gods with a request cuts 

 himself off from the world in order that he may concentrate all his 

 thoughts upon wresting his desire from the supernatural. For this 

 purpose all distracting activities are denied Mm. 



Relations with women are forbidden, also trading, quarreling, 

 moving about. The fullest expression of tliis spirit is the retreat wliich 

 forms the basis of all important ceremonies. The retreat is practiced 

 by many ceremonial groups, but the more important retreats are 

 those of the priesthoods who "go in" in turn dming the summer, and 

 those of the medicine societies at the mnter solstice and at initiations. 

 The katcina priests hold retreats before the public ceremonies of the 

 Ca'lako. Retreats are always practiced by groups. The individual 

 retreat is not found at Zuni. A retreat always is preceded by the 

 making of prayer sticks. In the evening these are made into Ra- 



