VI. PRAYERS AND CHANTS OF THE PRIESTS OF THE 

 MASKED GODS. II 



Prayers and Chants of the Ca'lako Ceremonies 



During the taboo period of the winter solstice ^ ceremoDy the priests 

 select men who are to impersonate the priests of the masked gods 

 during the coming year. They are notified of their appointment, 

 and on the final day of the winter solstice are summoned to Hei"wa 

 kiva to receive their staves of office — the feathered staves which the 

 impersonator of Pautiwa left there the night before. 



The men who are chosen must be known to be above reproach — 

 men of pure heart and kindly disposition, who will not neglect any 

 of the taboos attaching to their office and who will be diligent in their 

 prayers. 



Their duties begin the evening of the day on which they receive 

 their sticks of office. Every day at sunrise they must offer meal to 

 the Sim with prayers for their people. They must go out of the vil- 

 lage toward the east for their prayer. Many Zufiis pray each morn- 

 ing, but on priests and impersonators of the gods this observance is 

 obligatory. Every evening after dark they sacrifice food in the river 

 to the west of the village. 



On their first evenmg followmg their appointment they start their 

 nightly meetings with the trustees of their ritual to learn the long 

 prayers and complicated rites connected with their office. These 

 nightly meetings continue throughout the year until their days are 

 fulfilled in November. The 10 Koyemci meet in the house of their 

 father, the impersonators of the priests of the masked gods — Cula^witsi 

 Sayataca, Hututu, the two Yamuhato meet in the house of the imper- 

 sonator of Sayataca. The little boy Cula'witsi and his ceremonial 

 father are recjuired to attend only the four nights following the plant- 

 ing at the new moon. The Ca'lako unpersonators meet formally 

 only on these four nights each month, but hold mfonnal meetings in 

 between. The first prayer that is learned is the one that accom- 

 panies the monthly ofl'erings of prayer sticks. 



At each full moon all the impersonators plant together at springs 

 in the mountams south of Zuni. 



On these days they gather early in the morning in their ceremonial 

 houses to make their prayer sticks. Long prayers are recited at the 

 conclusion of their work. Then after a feast they leave for the 

 shiines, which lie to the south at a distance of 4 to 8 miles. The 

 prayer sticks are deposited beside the spring in regular order, and 



' See p. 535. 



702 



