CUSHISG.) 



AMULETS AND CHARMS. 



45 



\^wrmm 



One object, a mere concretion, will have something about it suggest- 

 ing an organ of the human body. (See, for example, Fig. 1.) It will 

 then be regarded as the genital organ of .some ancient being, and will be 

 highly prized, not only as a means of approaching 

 the spirit of the god to whom it is supposed to have 

 once belonged, but also as a valuable aid to the 

 young man in his conquests with the women, to the 

 young woman in her hope to bear male children. 



Again, certain minerals (Fig. 2), or fossils, etc. 

 (Fig. 3), will be regarded as belonging to, or parts 

 of, the gods, yet will be used as medicines ofwar or ^'*^- l— Concretion. 

 the chase, or by means of which water may be produced or crops stim- 

 ulated, to say nothing of their efficacy as cures, or sources of strength, 

 etc. For instance, Fig. 2 is of aragouite, hence referred to the Upper 



regions, and there- 

 fore valuable to 

 give efficacy to the 

 paint with which 



Fig. 2.-Mineral fetich. plume-Sticks of 



rain prayers are decorated ; while Fig. 3, from iis shape, is supposed 

 to represent the relic of the weapon or tooth of a god, and therefore en- 

 dowed with the power of Sa-wa ni-k'ia, and hence is preserved for gen- 

 erations — with an interminable vari- 

 ety of other things — in the Order of 

 the Warriors, as the "protective 

 medicine of war" (Shom-i-ta-k'ia). 

 A little of it, rubbed on a stone and 

 mixed with much water, is a power- ^'"'- ^'--Fossil fetich. 



ful medicine for protection, with which the warrior fails not to anoint 

 his whole body before entering battle. 



These amulets and implements of worship are well illustrated in the 

 National Museum, and the subject merits extensive treatment. The 

 facts connected with them will throw much light upon the mental char- 

 acteristics and beliefs of the Zuuis. At some future time 1 hope to set 

 this matter forth more fully. 



Note. — It is to be regretted that the haste in which this paper was prepared by the 

 author, before his departure for New Mexico, to resume his researches among the 

 Zuuis, made it impossible for him to discuss further this interesting subject. The 

 abundant material in his possession, gained from actual membership in the order or 

 society under discussion, would have rendered this comparatively easy under other 

 circumstances. — Ed. 



