EM UGIOK \\i> < EREMONIE8 12") 



assisting him. A kind of altar or earth painting is com- 

 mon. This is usually a small square of fresh earth 

 between the Leader and the fire upon which symbols arc 

 made by dropping dry paint, suggesting the sand paint- 

 ing of the Navajo, but otherwise highly individual in 

 character. In the manipulation of ceremonial objects 

 we often observe four movements, or three feints before 

 anything is done. Again, many objects are not put 

 down directly but moved around in a sunwise direction. 

 All such manipulations are likely to be common to all 

 ceremonies and therefore not distinctive or significant. 



It is not far wrong to say that all these ceremonies 

 are demonstrations of the ritual associated with some 

 bundle or objects and represent the original visions or 

 experiences in which the whole was handed down. The 

 demonstration seems to be ordered on the theory, that, 

 as in the original revelation, the divine element will be 

 present in the objects and appurtenances thereto. 

 The persons participating are rather passive. We have 

 practically no attempts to impersonate and to act out 

 in detail the parts played by supernatural beings. 

 This is shown in the almost entire absence of masks 

 and ceremonial costume. Thus, among the Indians 

 of the North Pacific area, the Pueblos of the Southwest, 

 and the Iroquois of the Woodlands, we find persons 

 in ceremonies dressed and masked to represent the 

 various gods or supernatural creatures and who act out 

 parts of the ritual. Even among the Navajo and the 

 Apache of the Southwest, these costumes play a con- 

 spicuous part. All this is rare in the strictly religious 



