BARRETT— POMO BUILDINGS 



to it and placed them all on one long string. In case it had been deter- 

 mined to present these mourners with a certain definite number of 

 beads, the head captain always supplied enough to cover any defi- 

 ciency after the contributions of the others had been received. A 

 messenger was then sent to inform the mourners that they were to 

 receive this present at a certain time, usually from two to four days 

 hence. The mourners at once set about procuring and preparing food 

 for a feast; the men hunting and fishing, and the women making bread, 

 acorn mush, and other foods. On the appointed day the head captain 

 took the members of the village who were not in mourning to the 

 house of one of the mourners which had been designated as the place 

 of assembly and in front of which a brush sun-shelter, or canopy, had 

 been erected. Here they found the mourners already assembled, and 

 wailing bitterly; the women scratching their faces, as is customary 

 among Porno mourners, until the blood streamed down their cheeks. 

 After a short interval of this mourning, the beads were presented by 

 the head captain to one of the male mourners who had been selected 

 as their spokesman. He passed them to the other male mourners 

 and, in turn, they passed them on to the women mourners. Each 

 woman, as she received this string of beads, rose and danced alone, 

 holding the beads before her. They were finally placed in a beauti- 

 fully woven and decorated basket and set aside for sacrifice to 

 the dead. 



The mourners then brought out the food and the feast was spread, 

 after which the head captain addressed them, saying in substance: 

 "We are going to build a dance house, but we wish to do nothing 

 which will sadden you, who have so recently lost your relatives. We 

 therefore have made you this offering of beads and hope you will not 

 feel too sad." The mourners assented with the expression l 'o! kudl' 

 bae" (£), and their leader said in substance: "There is nothing wrong 

 about building a dance house. We have lost our people, but that is 

 no reason why you should not hold ceremonies and have a good time." 

 The visitors then departed, taking with them any portions of the 

 food which had not been consumed, and they were then at liberty 

 to proceed at once with the building of the dance house. 



The pit was first dug to a depth of from three to six feet and from 

 forty to sixty feet in diameter. The earth was first loosened by means 

 of digging sticks and then thrown out with plate-form and openwork 

 baskets, being piled up on the embankment and later used as a cover- 

 ing for the roof. 



Next the center-pole, the side posts and their stringers were placed, 

 as shown in figure 2. Each of these has its special name, as follows: 



[11] 



