BUN2EL] PARAPHERNALIA 863 



These are made of lio;ht frames of wood covered with cloth, or of thin 

 slabs of wood, with terraced edges painted on both sides with clouds, 

 rainbows, and similar cosmic symbols. 



Hair is frequently attached to masks, sometimes to simulate human 

 hair (Ca'lako, pi. 27; SaiyaH'a, pi. 21, h; Komokatsik, pi. 35, c). 

 Sometimes it is merely an ornamental fringe to frame the face. In 

 such cases it may be dyed bright red (Kwamuwe, cooled from the 

 Navaho). 



Animal horns are sometimes worn in animal impersonations (Cow 

 Katcina, pi. 49, h; Deer Katcina, pi. 43, a), or the skin of an animal 

 (Bear Katcina, pi. 44, c). The top of the mask is sometimes covered 

 with hair (Bear Katcina, pi. 41, a), sheepskin dyed black, or 

 flowers (Bee Katcina, pi. 43, h). 



"They used to use human hair on masks, e. g., Ca'lako mask. But 

 they foimd that the people whose hair they had cut off would die 

 four daj's after they had done it, so they do not do it any more. 

 Now they use horsehair. They never cut the hair of a live horse to 

 use it on a mask because the horse might die like a real person. So 

 they only cut the hair off dead horses. 



"Sometimes some of the katcmas wear branches of peach trees in 

 their heads, and if any of the fruit drops off' the people pick it up and 

 take it home and put it in their storerooms for good luck." 



Feathers are the katcmas' most conspicuous ornaments. They are 

 attached in great bunches to the crown of the mask at the back, 

 thrust into the ears or suspended from them. They are bound 

 together to form great ruffs around the neck. As a rule the impor- 

 tance of a katcina can be judged by the variety and cjuantity of his 

 feathers. A katcina without feathers is an anomaly, and it is always 

 thought necessary to explain why certain katcinas wear no feathers. 

 (See p. 1048.) All use the downy feather from the breast of the eagle. 

 This is preeminently the feather of the katcinas, the breath of the 

 rain. Even those katcinas who wear no other feathers have downy 

 feathers in their ears.^^ Eagle tail feathers, feathers from the breast 

 and tail of the turkey, owl feathers, and the breast feathers of the 

 yellow macaw are all worn by many difl'ercnt katcinas. "They wear 

 macaw feathers because the macaw lives in the south and the^^ want 

 the macaw to bring the rains of the south. They always like to feel 

 the south wind because the south wind brings rain." Other feathers 

 are worn as insignia of rank or position, or refer to some episode in 

 the m3'th of the katcina. The dowmy feather dyed red is the badge 

 of society membership, the wing feather of the bluejay is the feather 



"In prayer stick lore the downy feather has very special symbolism. It is the "pekwin's feather" 

 (see p. G60). It is used in all offerings to the sun and moon, and after these offerings the supplicant must 

 abstain from animal food. It is also used by the priests during their retreats when they want immediate 

 rain, and then, also, after offering the prayer sticks, the supplicants must abstain from animal food. X 

 downy feather is tied to the hair of novices and until it is removed on the fourth day they must eat no 

 animal food. The soft feather from the breast or back of the turkey, and the duck feather (tum-around 

 feather) are the distinguishing feathers in prayer sticks for the katcinas. 



