644 



ZUNI RITUAL POETRY 



[ETH. ANN. 47 



You of the forest, 



You of the brush, 



All you who in divine wisdom, 



Stand here quietly, 



Carrying your waters 



You wQl go before 



Thus to Itiwana 



Our roads will go. 



The water filled rooms of your daylight 

 children 



Your road will enter. 



Sitting down quietly, 



After a blessed night 



With us, your children, 



You will come to day. 



To-morrow 



When he who holds our roads. 



Our sun father. 



Coming out to stand at his sacred place 



Passes our roads. 



Then we shall pass one another on our 

 roads. 



The divine ones 



From wherever they abide perma- 

 nently 



Will make their roads come forth. 



They will come. 



And where they sit down quietly 



All of us shall pass one another on our 

 roads. 



For our fathers. 



Our mothers, 



Those who first had being, 



And also for our fathers, 



Rain maker priests. 



Rain maker pekwins. 



Rain maker bow priests 



For their rite 



We shall give our plume wands human 

 form. 



We have given our plume wands human 

 form. 



With the massed cloud wing 



Of the one who is our grandfather, 



The male turkey. 



With eagle's thin cloud wings. 



And with the striped cloud wings 



And massed cloud tails 



Of all the birds of summer; 



And with the flesh of the one who is our 

 mother 



Cotton woman. 



Even a rough cotton thread, 



A soiled cotton thread 



With this four times encircling our plume 

 wands 



And tying it about their bodies. 



We have given our plume wands hu- 

 man form. 



Then also with the flesh of our mother. 



Black paint woman. 



Covering them with flesh, 



We have prepared our plume wands. 



When our plume wands were ready. 



Saying, "Let it be now." 



Taking our plume wands. 



Our plume wands which had been fin- 

 ished, 



Rising, we came out of our house. 



With prayers we made our roads come 

 forth. 



At the place called since the first begin- 

 ning 



Rock wedge,2 



Where our fathers. 



Rain maker priests. 



In their rain-filled inner rooms ' 



Were all gathered together in beauty 



To receive their plume wands. 



There we passed them, on their roads. 



Passing them on their roads 



There we gave our fathers plume 

 wands. 



Our fathers. 



By means of their divine wisdom 



Laid hold of their plume wands. 



On all sides 



They will talk together, touching one 

 another with the plume wands,' 



Yonder at the north encircling ocean 



You will hold discourse together touch- 

 ing each other with them. 



And then also 



Yonder at the west encircling ocean, 



You will hold discourse together. 



Touching one another with them, 



And then also yonder toward the 

 south. 



A shrine in the mountains southwest of Zuni, used by the priests and by personators of the masked 



3 Inside the spring. Springs are the homes of the rain makers. 

 ' The prayer sticks constitute the means of communication. 



