STEVENSON. ] BIRTH CUSTOMS. 545 
Earth to procure cereals for the Ah-shi-wi he designated as the Sii- 
limo bi-ya. Previous to this time the Ah-shi-wi had subsisted on seeds 
of agrass. ‘When the seeds are gathered,” he said, addressing the 
serpent, “you will carry them with water to the Ah-shi-wi and tell 
them what to do with the seeds. I will go in advance and prepare 
them for your coming.” “ But,” said his people, ‘‘ you are our father; 
you must not walk,” and the ten Ko6-yé-mé shi accompanied him, carry- 
ing him on their backs, relieving each other when fatigued. The Kik- 
10 visited the Ah-shi-wi nine days in advance of the Sii-lii-md-bi-ya and 
K6-16-00-wit-si, instructing the people regarding the Kok-ko, how they 
must represent them in the future and hold their ceremonials, and tell- 
ing them that the boys must be made members of the KOk-k6, and that 
this particular ceremony must occur but once in four years. He aiso 
gave to the people the history of himself, how the duck had befriended 
him and led him to the home of his people. 
BIRTH CUSTOMS. 
Having now briefly sketched the mythology relating to the ceremonials 
to be described, I invite your attention to the main subject of the pres- 
ent paper: the Religious Life of the Zuni Child. 
First we will notice the birth customs. 
Zuni child life may be divided into two parts. One I will call the 
practical or domestic; the other, the mythologic or religious. The former 
is fairly exemplified in the habits, customs, games, and experiences of 
our own domestic child life. The other is essentially different; in it are 
involved the ceremonials, legends, and myths which surround the Zuni 
child from its birth. 
Previous to the birth of a child, if a daughter be desired, the husband 
and wife proceed together to the ‘‘ mother” rock, and at her feet make 
offerings and prayers, imploring her to intercede with the great father, 
the Sun, to give to them a daughter, and that this daughter may grow 
to be all thatis good in woman; that she may be endowed with the power 
of weaving beautifully and may be skilled in the potter’s art. Should 
a son be desired, the couple repair to the shrine above, and here, at the 
breast and heart of the “father” rock, prayers and plume sticks are 
offered that a son may be given them, and that he may have power to 
conquer his enemies, and that he may become distinguished in the Kok- 
ko and other orders, and have power over the field to produce abundant 
erops. In both cases the sacred meal is sprinkled, and, should the 
prayer not be answered, there is no doubt that the heart af one or the 
other was not earnest when the prayer was offered. 
The Zuni childis born amid ceremony. Atits birth only the maternal 
grandmother and two female doctors are present. After the bir h of 
the child, the paternal grandmother enters, bearing as offerings to the 
new born babe a large pottery bow] and inside of it a tiny blanket. She 
then prepares warm suds of yucca root in the bowl, in which she bathes 
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