374 ZUNI CREATION MYTHS. [eth.ahn.13 



therefore choseu to treat it iu its relatiou especially to tlieir so- called 

 dances, particularly to those of the Ka'ka. 



With other primitive peoples as with the Zunis, there seems to be 

 no bent of their minds so strong or pervasive of and influential upon 

 their lives as the dramaturgic tendency. That tendency to suppose that 

 even the phenomena of nature can be controlled and made to act more 

 or less by men, if symbolically they do first what they wish the elements 

 to do, according to the ways iu which, as taught by their mystic loi-e, 

 they suppose these things were done or made to be done by the ances- 

 tral gods of creation time. And this may be seen iu a searching analysis 

 not only of the incidents and symbolisms in folktales a s well as myths 

 of such primitive peoples, but also iu -a study of the moods in which 

 they do the ordinary things of life; as in believing that because a stone 

 often struck wears away faster than wheu first struck it is therefore 

 helpful iu overcoming- its obduracy to strike it — work it — by a jirelinii- 

 nary dramatic and ritualistic striking, whereupon it will work as though 

 already actually worked over, and will be less liable to breakage, etc. 



All this and much more to the same effect will be illustrated in the 

 papers which I have mentioned as designed to follow the ijresent one. 



There remain still a few points in this preliminary paper which must 

 be commented upon — points regarding my own hand in the work chiefly. 

 I use very freely such terms as "religious," "sacred," "priest," and 

 "god," not because they always express exactly the native meaning, 

 but for the reason that they do so more approximately than any other 

 terms I could select. The fearful and mysterious, the magical and 

 occult, all these and many other elements are usually included in 

 the primitive man's religion, and hence terms like " sacred" must be 

 given a less restricted value than they have in our speech or culture. 



Again, while the Zufii word shiioani, "priest," literally signifies 

 guardian and possessor, as well as maker or keeper of the flesh, or seed 

 of life of the Zuiiis, it must not be supposed to represent a medicine- 

 man, shaman, or sorcerer — for all of which there are specific differenti- 

 ated terms in the Zuiii tongue. Those who bear that title are also 

 divided into four classes, but among all these the functions of possess- 

 ing a shrine, being ritualists, performing before the altars, and leading 

 as well as ordering all organized sacerdotal ceremonials, is common. 

 Therefore the simxile term "priest," in the Pagan rather than in the 

 Christian sense, is the best and truest that can be found. 



Frequently I have occasion to reproduce portions of songs or rituals, 

 or, again, words of the Uanami or "Beloved Gods." In the originals 

 these are almost always in faultless blank verse meter, and are often 

 even grandly poetic. I do not hesitate either to reproduce as nearly as 

 possible their form, or to tax to the uttermost my grower of expression 

 in rendering the meanings of them where I quote, clear and effective 

 and in intelligible English. Yet in doing this T do not have to depart 

 very far from "scientific" accuracy, even in the linguistic sense. 



