986 . ZTJNI KATCINAS [eth. ann. 47 



he''mokatsik' 



CUsually called Ahe'a from her call) 

 (Plate 28, 6) 



Costume. — On her head she wears a wig of white goat's hair. The 

 mask is a regular face mask with the long chin and nose fastened on. 

 The face is painted all white with red spots like Komokiitsik'. 



" She is not so well dressed as the picture would indicate. She has 

 no nice pitone, and no nice white moccasins, but only the short 

 moccasins of buckskin. Long ago she did not wear the cotton 

 underdress. She used to wear the embroidered Zufli dress (black 

 with blue embroideiy), but now she wears a Hopi dress." 



She carries spruce in both hands to make the world green. 



Ceremonies. — She comes for the initiation. vShe comes in in the 

 evening with Kolowisi and goes into hekiapawa kiva with Kolowisi 

 and the black Salimopiya. In the morning she dances in the west 

 plaza and suckles Kolowisi. 



"She may come in with any dance, because she comes to bring long 

 life, because no one wants to die young. She is always funny when 

 she comes. She always says, "Ahe'a, " and sighs. Sometimes when 

 she is dancing ^\^th Hilili she gets the songs mixed and dances out of 

 step. Then the Hilili get angry and strike her and knock her down. 

 But she never gets angry when her children knoclc her down, and if 

 anyone gets angry easily we always tell them 'Ahea never gets 

 angry the way you do.' Everyone likes to see her come. " 



Myth. — Hemokatsik' is the great-great-grandmotherof thekatcinas. 

 Over in the sacred lake the younger ones call her "older sister."'^ 

 She is the great-grandmother of the little ones like Hehe'a and Nawico. 

 She is the only one there who grows old. All the others are young. 

 But here at Itiwana the people used to die when they were young, 

 so they sent in one very old katcina that the people of Itiwana might 

 live to old age. That is why she comes. 



Long ago they were having an initiation at Itiwana and over in the 

 Sacred Lake the Salunobiya and Kolowisi and the two Mulaktakia 

 were ready to come. When Kolowisi was dressed with his fur and 

 feathers, then Hemokatsik said, "I am not going to let my child go 

 alone." Hemokatsik cooks and bakes for Pautiwa and Saiyataca 

 and Ca'lako and all the head men there. They never let her come to 

 Itiwana, and so she just stays there and cooks for them. She is very 

 poor looking, she has no pretty dress and her hair is all tangled, and so 

 they never want her to come. vStill she wants to come. So this time 



*2 ikilaci, older sister. I was informed this is correct Zuni usage, but Kroeber does not record the terra. 

 Ikina is the man*s term for younger sister. Ikilaci is, therefore, "old little sister, " and is a semihumorous 

 term similar in feeling tone to a diminutive. 



