BuszELj PREPARATION OF DANCES 889 



the kiva has the full quota of officers, cany the message. The usual 

 time for delivering messages of this kind is at the time of the evening 

 meal when the men are almost sure to be at their homes. That 

 evening, after the women and children have retired, the men convene. 

 The kiva cliief announces that the time has come for them to dance, 

 and tells them what dance he has chosen, asking, "What do j'ou think 

 of it?" The men reply, "Veiy well," and the rehearsal proceeds. 



The first matter is learning the songs. Certain dances have tradi- 

 tional songs, e. g., the Drum Tcakwena imported from Lagima, and 

 preserving its songs in the Keresan tongue;" Kana'kwe, whose songs 

 are in a foreign tongue which Mrs. Stevenson believes to be Keresan; 

 Hemuci'kwe, who sing only three short songs which are traditional, 

 but in the Zufli tongue; and Hilili, with songs in a foreign tongue, 

 possibly Hopi. For other dances new songs are or should be com- 

 posed each time the dance is performed. Generally new words are 

 set to traditional airs, but sometimes innovations are introduced into 

 the melodic frame. The songs are made by any man with a talent 

 for poetry and music. He need not be a member of the Idva that is 

 giving the dance, but may be in\-ited to do this. The words of the 

 songs are part of the katcina characterization. Towa Tcakwena, for 

 example, always "talks sharply." His songs sometimes are homilies 

 to the young. (Seep. 1018.) After Ca'lako he always has one song 

 calling the Koyemci by name, with comments, usually of an uncom- 

 plimentary' character. They have other songs also in which other 

 members of the community have their pecadillos held up for public 

 ridicide. Men are twitted for the infidelity of their wives, and any 

 error in ritual will be seized upon. For example, "I am Towa 

 Tcakwena, and I go about all over to see the world. I came out 



from the Village of the Masked Gods and came to . Here 



they were having an initiation. They were putting a child into the 

 Ciwana-kwe Society. There my mothers of the Dogwood clan gave 

 their child a drink. . . ."^ MaheUnaca has similar songs. "The 

 Raw People are dangerous. They are wise. But even the Raw 

 People are afraid of the Bear girl. 'WTien she showed her claws in 

 the plaza, even the Raw People ran away." The allusion is to a 

 girl of the Bear clan who chose the spectacular moment of the Yaya 

 dance to humble her successful rival in love. The jilted maiden lived 

 in a house on the plaza and when she saw her rival dancing in the 

 plaza she and a cousin rushed from the house, dragged the girl from 

 the circle of dancers and beat her up in proper Zuiii fashion. At Zuni 

 only women indulge in fist fights as a method of settling rivalries in 



w Stevenson, p. 218. 



" The song is paraphrased. The text was not recorded and not all the words were audible to the writer. 

 The allusion was to two women who knew no better than to give a drink of water to their " child " during 

 his initiation, thus violating his sacredness. Ue must cot touch food or water during the ceremonies. 



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