XXVIII ANNUAL REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR 



On this expedition he examined also numerous important 

 ruins, many of which were perfectly preserved. One, situated 

 on a mesa 30 miles south of San Juan, proved to be unin- 

 terruptedly over 3 miles in length, an example, doubtless, of 

 successive occupation and abandonment. 



The results obtained by Mr. Cushing's explorations in Zuni, 

 where he still remains, have been worthy of the industry and 

 ability, the courage and self-denial, with which they have been 

 prosecuted. Impoi-tant facts of the most varied character have 

 been brought to light, many of them substantiated or illus- 

 trated by objects discovered and transmitted. Copious notes 

 on the several branches of study have been made by him, and 

 on some of them he has commenced to write treatises, which 

 he has withheld from publication only to insure their complete- 

 ness and accuracy. The paper now presented, on Zuni Fe- 

 tiches, is a specimen of the novel and curious information which 

 his researches furnish. 



The philosophy of the Zunis is an admirable example of that 

 stage in savagery where a transition is shown from zootheism 

 into physitheism, with survivals of hekastotheism. In this 

 stage fetichism is the chief religious means of obtaining success 

 and protection. The fetiches most valued by the Zunis are 

 natural concretions or eroded rock-forms, having an obvious 

 or fancied resemblance to certain animals, or objects of that 

 nature in which the evident original resemblance has been 

 heightened by artificial means. It is supposed that these fe- 

 tiches are actual petrifactions of the animals represented ' by 

 them, which retain their vital forces for certain magic powers 

 and religious purposes. This belief is explained in a remarka- 

 ble epic, metrical and sometimes rhythmical, and filled with 

 archaic expressions, which is in part translated by Mr. Gushing 



A noticeable ])oint in the paper is the elaborate and system- 

 atized relationships shown among and between the animals, 

 the animal gods, and other supernatural beings having animal 

 or combined animal and human personalities. This consti- 

 tutes a theistic society with an elaborate hierarchy and regu- 

 lated domains, powers, and obligations. Such minuteness in 

 multiformity, as well as the precision of the beliefs and cere- 



