110 INDIANS OF THE SOUTHWEST. 
natural beings, who during the period when their dances 
are held, are believed to visit the Hopi. When this 
season is over, they withdraw to their homes in San 
Francisco Peaks and elsewhere. They are represented 
in the dances by men who are masked and painted to 
correspond to the traditional conception of the appear- 
ance of each kachina. Small wooden images, carved, 
Snake and Antelope Priests. 
(Photo by Howard McCormick.) 
painted, and decorated with feathers are also used to 
represent them. These dolls, after the Niman kachina 
is held, are given to the children to play with. 
Ceremonies in which the kachinas appear are of two 
kinds. The full ceremonies, which are the first held, 
have in addition to the public performances, several 
days devoted to secret rites in the kivas, where altars 
are made. The abbreviated kachinas, which come late 
in the spring, have only the dances in the plazas. In 
these dances, the men who represent the kachinas wear, 
