May io, 1906] 



NA TURE 



31 



are impressed, on the one hand, by the intellectual 

 power displayed in the construction, and, on the other, 

 by the sharply defined belief fundamental to the cere- 

 mony. " 



Miss Fletcher gives the music and exact transla- 

 tion of the songs, with a native explanation of their 

 meaning. The ritual objects are illustrated by sevcr.al 

 coloured plates. This sympathetic interpretation of an 

 an(i<nt ritual deserves the careful study of those 

 interested in comparative religion or in the beginnings 

 of literary expression. 



Mr. J. N. B. Hewitt gives the first part of a careful 

 study of Iroquoian cosmology; three texts, with literal 

 and free translations, are given of Onondaga, Mohawk, 

 and Seneca variants. .A fact of great importance in 

 these texts is that man-beings were in Iroquoian 

 thought the primal beings ; they belonged to a rather 

 vague class of which man was the characteristic type. 

 Beast gods appear later. In the development of 



: Kur.ilius in ceremonial dress. A Kurahus is the 

 director of the Hako Ceremony ; the name means an old 

 man who is venerated for his knowledge and experience. 



Iroquoian thought animals, plants, rocks, and streams, 

 having human or other effective attributes or properties 

 in a paramount measure, were regarded as the con- 

 trollers of those attributes or properties, which could 

 be made available by orenda or magic power. Thus 

 began the reign of beast gods, tree gods, and their 

 kind, but the native term usually translated into 

 English as " god " really signifies " disposer " or 

 "controller," and each received worship and prayers. 

 In a profusely and beautifully illustrated memoir 

 of over six hundred pages Mrs. Matilda Coxe 

 Stevenson has given us an elaborate account of the 

 mythology, esoteric fraternities, and the ceremonies 

 of the Zunis, as well as brief sketches describing the 

 everyday life, arts, and customs of the people. It is 



NO. 1906, VOL. 74] 



obvious that it would be very difficult to give any- 

 thing like an adequate account of this storehouse of 

 data. The ceremonies are described with that com- 

 mendable wealth of detail which characterises the 

 work done by the best American students, and the 

 book is a worthy extension of earlier studies of the 

 Zufii by the lamented Gushing and by Dr. J. W. 

 Fewkes. The Pueblo Indians are the most interest- 

 ing of North -American aborigines, owing to the effects 

 the wonderful desert-land has upon the social con- 

 dition of the people, and to the intricate and symbolic 

 ritual they have evolved, which also may in a real 

 sense be said to be a direct result of their environ- 

 ment. It is therefore with great satisfaction that we 

 welcome additions to the already voluminous literature 

 concerning these charming people. Mrs. Stevenson 

 says : — 



" The philosophy of the Indian, as of man wher- 



FlG. 2. — Hopi Katcinas drawn by native artists. Panwii is repre- 

 sented by the two top figures. The figure Tiwenu carries a 

 tablet on the head and a pine branch in each hand. The 

 Kwewii picture has a well-drawn wolf's head with projecting, 

 mouth. The kilt is made of horse-hair stained red. 



ever found, is the result of his desire and his efforts 

 to understand the mysteries of nature. These 

 children of the human family are highly imaginative. 

 The soul of the Zufii expands with adoration toward 

 the supreme mysterious power that controls air 

 things, and toward the gods, whose forms are 

 visible in the heavens above, in the earth beneath^ 

 and in the waters under the earth, who are only less 

 mighty than the supreme power, and who bless the 

 good and punish the wicked." 



She admits it is yet to be determined what_ part 

 clanship played in the dawn of the ritualistic life of 

 the Zuni. 



