CULIN ] BALL RACE: ZUNI 689 
time, he inhales, as he thinks, the spirit of the tik-wa, and thanks it for being 
so good to him. He then runs to his home, and, if he finds a woman awaiting 
him, hands the stick to her, who breathes on it twice, and he then does the same. 
Returning it to the woman, she places it in a basket which she has ready for it; 
and the next day one of the racers wraps it up with some sacred meal in a 
corn-husk and deposits it about 6 inches below the surface of the ground in an 
arroyo, where it will be washed away by the rains. Meanwhile the winners 
have claimed their stakes, and, should another estufa have a set of men to put 
up, the winners of the first race must compete with them until all have had a 
chance, and the great Zuni races are over for that year. 
Mrs Matilda Coxe Stevenson “ says: 
There are but two exclusively religious games of tikwawe played annually. 
In one, members of the kiwitsiwe (chambers dedicated to anthropomorphic 
worship) play. and in the other the clans take part. Both of these races are 
for rains to water the earth that the crops may grow. They take place some 
days previous to corn planting, which usually occurs from the 10th to the 15th 
day of May. 
Other games of tikwawe may occur at any time when not forbidden by the 
retreat of the Ah’shiwanni for rain. 
Tikwaneé race of the Kiwitsiwe: The Ah’pi‘'liishiwanni (Bow priesthood), or 
warriors, convene at the full moon of April and remain in session throughout 
the night. On the following morning they prepare télikyiniwe (prayer- 
plumes). These offerings to the Gods of War are deposited at noon the same 
day at a shrine north of the village. This shrine is on the ground supposed to 
have been occupied as the home of the Gods of War during their stay at 
Itiwanna (the site of the present Zuni). The other prayer-plumes are made into 
five ‘kaétchiwe (singular, tk4étchiné) or groups of télikyinawe bound together 
at the base. The sticks of four groups are colored black, and are offerings to 
the deceased members of the Ah’prUiishiwanni. The tkaétchiwe are deposited 
at midnight on the four sides of the village by such members of the Ah’pi‘'liishi- 
yanni as may be designated by the elder brother Bow-priest, or director of the 
organization, in excavations carefully concealed by stone ledges, set in plaster, 
which extend along the exterior of houses, furnishing seats for those who 
like to sit out in the balmy afternoon of a New Mexican winter or to enjoy the 
cool breezes after sunset in summer time. These ledges are identical with 
those before many other Zuni dwellings. The depositors of the plumes know 
just which slab to remove in order to have access to the depository. The fifth 
group consists of two télikyinawe, one of which is dotted with the various 
colors for the zenith, the other is black to represent the nadir. These are 
offerings to the Si’limobia, certain warrior gods of the zenith and the nadir. 
This group is planted in an excavation, also concealed by a slab seat, on the 
west side of Siadtéwita, or sacred dance plaza. After the placing of the 
télikyinawe the Ah’pf‘‘liishiwanni continue their songs and ceremonies in the 
ceremonial chamber until sunrise, and soon afterward the elder brother Bow- 
priest announces from a house-top that the people of the kiwitsiwe will run in 
four days. 
The director of each kiwitsina (plural kiwitsiwe) gives formal notice to his 
people.’ and the young men who wish to take part in the race appear at the 
“Zuni Games. American Anthropologist, n. s., v. 5, p. 469, 1903. 
» very male receives involuntary and voluntary initiation into the K6tikili, a fraternity 
associated with anthropomorphic worship, becoming allied with one of the six kiwitsiwe 
24 erH—O05 m——44 
