BDNZEL] 



PRAYERS TO THE SUN 



637 



15 When this man}' days, eight days, 



are past, 

 On the ninth day. 

 All together 



We shall reach your appointed time. 

 This many days anxiously waiting 

 20 You shall pass the days. 



I think it is this many days, eight 



days, 

 And then on the ninth day. 

 You will grant that all of us finish 



our roads. 



15 le'si te'wana ha"elelfa te'wanan-e 



te'nalekii ya'ton-e 

 ke'si te'mlamo 



to"na'wan hai'tokwin te"tcina 

 le'si te'wanan a'ntsume'na 

 20 ton te'wanan a"'teK'ana 



hi'ntcol le'si te'wanan ha'elejj^a 



te'wanan'e 

 tenaleka ya'ton-e 

 te'mla ho"na ton a''wona-ya''Ea- 



na'wa. 



Prayer of the Fire Keeper at the Winter Solstice 



The keeper of the New Year fire is appointed by the priests on the 

 ninth day following the pekwin's announcement of the solstice. 

 This is the day on which all people cut prayer sticks. During the 

 day he collects wood from houses in the village and in the evening 

 builds the New Year fire in he"iwa kiva. On this evening the images 

 of the gods of war are taken to the kiva for their all-night ceremony. 

 The fire keeper must be a man of the Badger clan or a child of that 

 clan. He is called tsu'pal-i'lona (the one who has the blood pudding; 

 the fire is his tsu'palon-e, or blood pudding). During the ensuing 

 ten days he must observe continence and eat no meat or other animal 

 food. He sleeps and eats at his own house, but returns to the kiva 

 to tend the fire, which must be kept burning throughout the period. 

 He visits every house in the village to get wood for his fire. 



At sundo^vn on the ninth day of the second period ^ he comes to 

 the kiva. Here pekwiii has made a meal painting and set up an 

 altar. When all the priests have arrived pekwin goes to summon the 

 impersonators of J^a'utiwa and the four Sa'yafia. They come un- 

 masked, their masks having been taken to the kiva earlier in the day. 



At sunset Ci'tsuka and Kwe'lele, gods from the east, enter the vil- 

 lage from the east. They dance for a few minutes on the roof of the 

 kiva and then go in. After brief prayers they go to the house of 

 the Great Fire Society to eat. The masks belong to this society, and 

 the impersonators must be chosen from the Great God order of 

 the society. 



Late at night they are again summoned to the kiva. Here are 

 the priests, the impersonators of Pa'utiwa and the Sa'yaha, men of 

 the Dogwood and Sun clans who dress Pa'utiwa, and singers from 

 He'iwa kiva. With Ci'tsuka and Kwe'lele go the headmen of the 

 Great Fire Society and a group of singers from that society. The 

 two choirs sing alternately and Kwe'lele and Ci'tsuka dance. The 

 fire keeper sits all night beside the fireplace, within a circle of meal 

 across which he must not step. 



