940 ZUNI KATCINAS [eth. ann. 47 



woman to come and frighten your children." So he went to the kiva, 

 and he told the people what the woman had said. 



Then the woman went home and told her children that Su'iiki had 

 come into the plaza to take them away. She dressed them and took 

 them to the plaza and waited in the plaza with her children. Finally 

 the Su'uki personator was told by the katcina chief and all the people 

 that it would be a good idea to frighten the children to make them 

 behave. So she came out and danced in the plaza and there was the 

 woman with her two little children. When the dance was over 

 Su'uki looked around all the housetops, and the people waited to see 

 what would happen. Then the Koyemci said to her, "What are you 

 looking for, grandmother?" All she said was, "Su-'yu-ki'." Then 

 the woman said to her children, "She is looking for you because you 

 don't mind me. Here they are," she said to Su'uki. Then Su'uki 

 said, "Bring those little children here and put them in my basket. 

 They do not mind their mother. I want children to behave, and if 

 I find out that they don't obey their mothers and fathers, then I will 

 eat them up. They have fresh meat on them. Fresh meat for my 

 evening meal!" Then the Koyemci said, "We are going home with 

 grandmother. We are going home to our home in the Sacred Lake 

 with grandmother to eat this fresh meat." 



The woman had a strong heart and was not ashamed and she took 

 her two babies and put them in Su'uki's basket, and Su'uki carried 

 them around the plaza four times. The babies were crying terribly. 

 Then she said, "I am going home now. I shall have fresh meat this 

 evening." So she pretended to carry them off. All the people 

 thought that the children must be frightened to death. Some of 

 them said, "That is a good idea. She will brmg them back. She is 

 not really a katcina." The people all thought it was good to frighten 

 the little ones. WTien she had taken them out of the plaza she 

 changed her mind and brought them back and said, "I am bringing 

 you back to your mother. Now you must always mind your mother 

 and not be naughty. If you do not mind your mother I shall come 

 and get you again. I always hear you. I always hear when the 

 yoimg ones talk back to their mothers, and I will surely come and 

 eat any children that are bad." She said this in the plaza and then 

 she set down her basket and the Koyemci took the children out and 

 took them back to their mother. 



That night the children became very sick and on the fourth day 

 they died. Then the people were all talking about it. They said it 

 was not right to allow the katcinas to touch the babies or to carry 

 them around because they are dangerous. They come from the 

 Sacred Lake. They are the dead people, and they are raw. So now 

 when Su'uki comes she does not touch the children any more. She 

 comes and shakes her stick at them. She carries a basket on her 



