544 INTRODUCTION TO ZUNI CEREMONIALISM [eth. ann. 47 



it is too much to expect him to remain continent during his wife's 

 ceremonies also. Here, again, the problem is to catch tlie girl young 

 enough. Women are initiated into medicine societies on an equal 

 basis and as frequently as men. They participate in the dances of 

 the society, but they are debarred from holding office. They fre- 

 quently practice medicine and are "given" children for their society, 

 but they must call upon male members for assistance in cures and 

 to perform many of the initiation rites over their children. Women 

 never possess the ultimate medical power, that of calling the bear, 

 and do not usually possess esoteric songs. However, their knowledge 

 of actual therapeutics is often greater than that of men. Most 

 societies have "mothers" who brew their medicines and jealously 

 guard the secrets of the treatment of medicinal herbs. 



Some women who are well endowed mentally exert a good deal of 

 influence indirectly upon religious affairs. Although their activities 

 may be restricted, knowledge is not taboo to them. There are women 

 who know prayers and rituals better than their men folks and some 

 men customarily consult their wives, mothers or sisters on matters 

 of sacerdotal procedure. In the Onawa priesthood the member ^vith 

 the best verbal memoiy is a young woman, not especially intelligent 

 in other respects. However, she has an aggressive, managing mother 

 who, although not herself a member of the priesthood, is the head of 

 the priestly household, and contrives to run her brothers and children. 

 Several other women have a reputation for their knowledge of esoteric 

 lore. One, in particular, is reputed to be the only person who knows 

 the prayers, songs and secret rituals of Anahoho, one of the katcinas 

 coming at the initiation ceremony. 



Women are less active in religion than men, but their activitj^ is 

 not essentially different in land. The richness of ceremonial tends to 

 mask the fact that in any but a superficial sense, religious activity is 

 limited in scope. 



The religious life of an individual is exclusively a series of partici- 

 pations m group rituals. No avenue is left open for individual ap- 

 proach to the supernatural. All over North America individual 

 mystical experience is prized. On the plains such experience is 

 valued since it provides one with a guardian in tJie supernatural 

 world, or furnishes supernatural sanction for some special exploit. 

 Among the Pima of the Southwest, the experience itself is regarded 

 as the highest value in hfe. In Zuni the religious hfe is a highly 

 developed system of teclmiques for producing rain and furthering 

 the growth of crops. Certain socially valuable attitudes and modes of 

 behavior are regarded as more favorable to tliis purpose, and much 

 esthetic joy and enhancement of life are achieved through them. 

 But these subjective values are secondary and merely incidental to 

 the primary purposes of religious participation, which is an objective 

 social good. 



