BCNZEL] ORGANIZATION OF THE KATCINA SOCIETY 879 



The various kiva groups are regarded as related as elder and younger 

 brother, as foUows: When the elder brother group is dancing the 

 younger brother will be invited, through a gift of com meal to the 

 kiva chief, to participate, and will furnish the female impersonations. 

 A man who for one reason or another misses the dance of his own 

 group will participate, if possible, in the dance of the brother group. 



In addition to the six dance groups there are associated with the 

 Katcina Society a laige munber of cult groups which control the great 

 calendrical ceremonies of the katcina priests. It has ah-eady been 

 pointed out that the Zuni distinguish two types of masked imper- 

 sonations, the katcinas, which I have called the dancing katcinas, 

 and the katcina priests. The katcina priests do not come to dance. 

 They never dance outdoors. If they dance at all it is before special 

 groups, and in the kivas to the songs of other choirs. This is not 

 considering dancing in the same sense as the dancing of the Kokokci 

 or other groups who provide their own music.''^ They come to per- 

 form certain priestly functions, to "make the New Year," to reaffirm 

 the gods and bring their blessings, to initiate the children into the 

 mysteries of the katcina cult. They are, indeed, priests wearing 

 masks. They wear ancient masks, permanently associated with a 

 single impersonation, which are tribal and not individual property. 

 The impersonators are chosen either by the council of priests or by 

 special cult groups who are the trustees of their ritual. 



A cult group may be defined as any self-perpetuating body whose 

 chief function is the preservation of an esoteric ritual in coimection 

 with some sacred object. The cult groups of the katcina cult are, 

 therefore, smiilar to priests, although they are not called priests by 

 the Zuni. The group may consist of one man, like the "keeper" ^* 

 of Tcakwena oka, it may consist of three or foui' men, like the "Kaklo 

 people" or the Saiyataca wo'we, or a large group, like the "Pautiwa 

 people." The members of the cult in some cases themselves perform 

 the ritual (Kaklo); in other cases they delegate the performance to 

 others. Firrthermore, the sacred object which forms the central 

 feature of cult activities may be cared for by another group (the 

 mask of Kaklo, which is kept in the house of the katcina pekwin 

 and removed and returned by a group of men of the Corn clan). 

 This intricate type of organization is not confined to masked 

 impersonations. 



The masks used in the impersonations of the katcina priests are 

 ancient and permanent. They are "from the first beginning" 



'■ The exceptions are the Kojemci who mimic in the plaza the dances of other groups and the SSlimopiya 

 and related katcinaswho sometime-s come in the winter dances. But these are not the "real" saUmopiya, 

 i. e., they do not use the ancient masks. 



'" Tcakwena Oka il'ona, from iM, literally to be with, in the double sense of possessing and belonging 

 to an object of ritual (it is used also literally for the possession of property: kwanil-i, to have something, 

 to be wealthy). A man also "has" a society, that is, belongs to a society (tikili). The gods are "those 

 who have the roads" {a'wona'wilona). The word is usually translated by Zunis as "the ones who look 

 after us." 



