666 



ZUNI RITUAL POETRY 



65 That tlie thoughts of my ladder 



descending children 

 May bend to this, 

 That this may be, 

 My fathers. 

 Thus runs the thought of my 



prayer. 

 Thus all my children 

 70 May always he well provided with 



seeds. 

 Desiring this, 



I watch over our daylight fathers. 

 The ones who here have in their 



keeping 

 The rites of our fathers,'" 

 Those who first had being, 

 Our daylight fathers. 

 Who perpetuate the rites \\hich 



they hold in their keeping, 

 The rites of those who first had 



being; 

 SO Sitting down among my daylight 



fathers 

 Watching over my fathers — 

 That one am I. 

 My fathers. 

 You know me well. 

 85 Do not let me be a poor person.^' 



My fathers. 



You who hold the high pjaces, your 



representative am I. 

 I have a bandoleer,'- 

 I have an armlet; '^ 

 90 Becau.se of this 



I am my father's mouth.'* 



All my ladder de.scending children. 

 All of them I hold in my hands, 

 95 May no one fall from my grasp 

 After going but a little ways — 



Those yonder toward the east, 



In all the villages that stand 



against the place of the rising 



sun. 



65 hom le'tsilon pa'ni-nan tca'we 



i'skon tse"mak-t;e'lakwi a'teatun- 



'on a'ka 

 hom a-'tatcu 

 li-'hio hom le'wusu tse"makwi 



a-'naiye 

 hom le'na tca'we 

 70 a'k' i'cette'ma !^o'waconan a'ne'la 



Kana 

 luk' a'ntecemana 

 li''lno yam a-'tatcu 

 tci'miEanapkowa 



ho"na'wan a''tatcu 

 75 ko"lea i'mos i'lap a'te'ona 



leEohanana yam a''tatcu 



tci'miEanapkowa 



ko"lehol i'mos i'lapa''te'ona 

 i''yantelia'na 



te'Eohanan yam a''tatcu 

 80 a-'wan i'mawela 



yam a"'tatcu 



a-'wai yu'patci ho' ho"i 



hom a''tatcu 



hom to'n an'ai'yu'ya'napa 

 85 el kwa'hol te'wuko'liya ho"i 

 te'am-e 



yam a-'tateu 



te'alan i'lapona ya'ntelia'na ho' 

 a'lj.a ho"i. 



ho' yii'tonan i'li 



ho' pa'sikwin i'li 

 90 le'sna te"onaka 



yau a''tatcu 



a''wan ho' a'watin'e. 



Ic' le'tsilon pa'ni'nan yam tca'we 



te'mJa ho' a''yaknaiye. 

 95 kwa ko-w a-'napa. 



yam tcu'waya ei ya'kna pi'ya'na 

 te'ametun'on a'ka 



lehok" te'luwaiyankwin ta"na 



hi'wala- u'la te'mla 



ya'tokwai'inankwin te"tcinan 



•*'• The priests who possess sacred bundles. The bow priests are their messengers and the guardians of 

 their secret rites. 



^1 A person with no ceremonial prerogatives. 



•'^ A bandoleer embroidered with shells and containing hair from the scalps which he has taken since his 

 installation as bow priest. It is a dangerous object which the warrior hangs by the door to protect the 

 house. It is too dangerous to be brought into baclc rooms. Its contaminating influence must be kept 

 especially from seeds and water. 



'i .\n arm band embroidered in shell, part of the warrior's regalia. 



^* The twin deities who led the people out from the underworld are called "the mouth of the sacred 

 bundles" (Ka'eto'we a wan a"watin'e). These individuals, while distinct from the twin gods of war, are 

 not unrelated. See origin myth, p. 549. 



