96 INDIANS OF THE SOUTHWEST. 
thoroughly made up, and the young man has acquired 
some property, the parents are informed of the matter. 
Marriages usually take place in the fall or winter. The 
first step is for the mother of the girl to accompany her 
to the young man’s house with a tray of white corn 
meal. She gives this to the young man’s mother, and 
returns to her home. The girl remains and grinds 
corn for three days. In the morning of the fourth day, 
the relatives of the couple assemble at the bridegroom’s 
house. The two future mothers-in-law prepare two 
large bowls of yucca suds. With one of these the 
mother of the girl washes the boy’s head and the boy’s 
mother does the same for the girl. The other female 
relatives present assist in rinsing the suds from the hair. 
When the washing is finished, the bridal pair take a 
pinch of corn meal and walk silently to the eastern 
side of the mesa. They breathe upon the corn meal, 
throw it toward the rising sun, and utter a short prayer. 
When they have returned to the young man’s house, 
the marriage itself is considered complete although the 
ceremony is not. The girl assists her mother-in-law 
in preparing a breakfast which is eaten by the members 
of both families. After the meal, the father of the 
young man runs out of the house and distributes bolls 
of cotton to the friends and relatives who are expected 
to separate the seeds from the cotton. 
A few days later, the crier announces that the spin- 
ning of the cotton is to take place. The men relatives 
and friends gather in their kivas and spend the day in 
carding and spinning cotton which they bring in the 
evening to the bridegroom’s house where they partake 
of a feast. From the cotton yarn prepared in this way, 
the father of the bridegroom, assisted by the other 
men of the family, weaves two large white robes and a 
white fringed girdle. A pair of moccasins provided 
