896 ZUNI KATCINAS [eth. ann. 47 



repeats a long prayer to the leader of the dancers and to the father 

 of the Koyemci. If he wishes the dance repeated the request is 

 made at this time. Then he sprinkles the line of dancers with meal, 

 taking from some of them their package of seeds, from others twigs 

 or spruce or yucca switches. From the female impersonations he 

 takes their perfect ears of com. If the dance is to be repeated, 

 the Koyemci J^ekwin announces after the dancers have withdrawn 

 from the plaza, "Grandchildren, we shall stay overnight." 



The men remove their masks and costumes in the kiva and go to 

 their houses for their evening meal. If the dance is to be repeated 

 they return to the kiva to sleep. Or if they wish to remain at home 

 their wives must bathe their bodies and next morning they must 

 again wash their hair. When the dance is over, next day the wowe 

 return the masks to their OAvners, with the formula, "May you have 

 corn, may you have sciuash, may you be blessed with light" (!o' 

 miyatu'. to' mola'tu'. !o' fekohanan antiktciatu'). The men re- 

 turn their borrowed clothing and ornaments with a similar blessing. 



PATTERNS OF DANCING AND SINGING 



Dance patterns, like patterns in mask and costume and music, 

 develop along the line of minor variations on a well-established and 

 fairly restricted form. The principal thing about katcina dances, 

 which is probably of great importance historically, is that they are 

 all line dances, in contrast to unmasked dances which are all circle 

 dances. The form, of course, may be modified by the limitations of 

 the space in which the dance is performed. The line of 90 dancers 

 in the grinding ritual fills more than three sides of the plaza and 

 almost surrounds the central group, but there is no circular move- 

 ment, and we must view the formation as a group with a line of 

 dancers behind it. The circle dance is the common type throughout 

 North America, and the fact that it is found in the pueblos in their 

 curing and war dances, but never in their katcina dances, is striking. 



Except in the large plaza, the line of dancers is always formed 

 against a wall. Where there are female impersonations, they occupy 

 the space nearest to the wall, the male line being nearer to the center 

 of the open space. Certain individual female impersonations, how- 

 ever, such as Kola'hmana, Ahe'a, Komokatsik, dance in the male 

 line, near its head. Tcakwena has a female solo dancer who dances 

 out of line in front. ("Front " is used always to mean the open space 

 away from the wall. Indoors it is nearer the audience. Outdoors, 

 of course, the audience occupies the housetops on all sides.) The 

 leaders of the dance occupy the center places in the male line, the 

 kiva chief being the central figure. He gives the signs for the be- 

 ginning of songs and holds the song sequence. The female line, 

 M-hich is always shorter than the male, is massed toward the center. 



