S64 ZUNI KATCINAS 



[ETH. ANN. 47 



of the priests. The feather from the shoulder of the eagle belongs 

 to the hunters' society; the red hawk feather to Ciwana-kwe; wing 

 feathers of the eagle, combined with downy feathers and duck 

 feathers, and fastened to small reeds form the "great feather" 

 (lacowan lan-a), the badge of a bow priest, is worn by all warrior 

 impersonations.^' The way it is worn is prognostic. If the tips of 

 the feathers point backward the katcina comes peaceably, but if the 

 tips point forward his intentions are hostile, for this is the way war- 

 riors wear the feather on the warpath. 



The following myth is told to account for the feathers of katcinas. 



Why the Katcinas Wear Eagle Feathers 



Long ago a boy was set up on a cliff by the witches. He was 

 starving to death. For four days he had nothing to eat. 



This boy had a friend, a -wdtch boy, who asked him what he knew. 

 He said, "I do not know anything." So then the witch boy said, "I 

 shall rub you all over with a black ant and then nothing can harm 

 you." He did that and then he took a hoop and jumped through it 

 and turned into a chipmunk. He told the boy to do the same and 

 said it was easy and that he could turn himself back into a person 

 whenever he wanted to. So the boy did it. Then they went up a 

 mountain to hunt. The witch boy went ahead and told him to wait 

 for him while he went to look for birds' nests. Then he turned him- 

 self back into a person and gave the hoop to the other boy and told 

 hull to turn himself back into a person too. Then he turned himself 

 back into a person and the witch boy said, "Now do you want me to 

 teach j'ou how to do it yourself, the way my mother taught me?" 

 The boy said, "No, I am afraid." Then the witch boy went away 

 and told him to wait for him. Then he went away and left him there 

 and the poor boy waited for four days. He had nothing to eat and 

 he cried a great deal. This was at the place Hakwininakwe, where 

 they get black paint for prayer sticks. 



The eagle lived a little ways to the nortn and while he was in his 

 nest he thought he heard something crying a little way to the south. 

 Next morning he went out to hunt. About noon he remembered he 

 had heard something crj^ing in the night and he said, "Oh dear, I 

 wanted to go and see who was there to the south. I heard something 

 crying just like a human person. I wonder who it is, because no one 

 ever conies up here." Then the eagle went to the south and flew 

 around four times and finally he saw the boy sitting in the crack in 

 the rocks, fast asleep. The eagle came down and sat down beside 

 him. He was sitting there in his feathers, waiting. He thought the 

 boy would never wake up. Then he took off his feather dress and he 



''The lacowan lanaof the bow priests is made in the Ant Society house with special prayers. (Cf. also 

 Hopi hurrunkwa.) *'The war chiefs do not have mi'we, but they have the great feather and it is just 

 as sacred." 



