104 INDIANS OF THE SOUTHWEST. 
Sia Rain Ceremony. Mrs. Stevenson who witnessed 
several of the ceremonies of the Sia has given a full 
description of the rain ceremony of the snake order. 
Prayer sticks notched and colored were prepared for 
offering. An altar with a dry painting representing 
clouds by terraced semicircles was made. On it were 
placed several fetishes and a clan or society emblem 
called yaya which is a perfectly kerneled ear of corn 
entirely covered with feathers. 
The ceremony proper begins with the strewing of a 
line of corn meal from the altar to the door over which 
as a road the spirits of the gods are supposed to travel 
and temporarily enter the fetishes. There is much 
singing, dancing, and praying, mostly by individuals 
rather than in concert. In a bowl of water to which 
ground yucca roots have been added a suds is made 
which represents clouds. Pollen is sprinkled into this 
bowl and the foam is scattered over the altar. 
By means of songs and prayers the gods who dwell 
in six sacred springs are invoked that they may incite 
the cloud people to action. By each of these springs 
there is supposed to be a hollow tree through which 
the cloud people carry the water up to the clouds. 
These clouds are but huge masks behind which the 
cloud people climb and from which they sprinkle the 
earth. The thunders are also invoked. They are 
thought to be beings with tails and wings of obsidian 
which clash and make the noise and incite the cloud 
beings to greater activity. 
When the ceremony is finished the sand painting is 
obliterated and the prayer sticks carried to a near-by 
shrine where they are left for the deities. The notches 
upon these sticks and the painted designs are supposed 
to convey the message, the attached feathers being 
given in payment for the favor besought. | 
