104 



INDIANS OF TH?: SOUTHWEST. 



the oullit has been coin})leted, wliich usually takes six 

 or seven weeks, the bride is dressed by her mother-in- 

 law in the moccasins and one of the robes. The 

 other robe, wrapped in a reed mat, she takes in her 

 hands and goes to her mother's house, where her hus- 

 band also appears during the day. They live with the 

 girl's people for some months or until a new home is 

 made ready. 



The preparation of clothing for the bride by the 

 bridegroom or men of his family is evidently an old 

 custom for Castaneda mentions it as being the practice 

 in his day on the Rio Grande. Villagran, who wrote a 

 long poem on the conquest of New Mexico, describes a 

 wedding during which the robes of the pair were tied 

 together. 



When an adult dies, the nearest relatives by blood 

 wash the head, tie a feather offering to the hair so that 

 it will hang over the forehead, wrap the body in a good 

 robe, and carry it to one of the graveyards which are 

 in the valleys near the mesas. The body is buried in 

 a sitting position so that it faces the east. This is 

 done within a few hours after death has occurred. The 

 third night, a bowl containing some food, a prayer- 

 stick offering, and a feather and string offering are 

 carried to the grave. The string is placed so that it 

 points from the grave toward the west. The next 

 morning, the fourth, the soul is supposed to rise from 

 the grave, and proceed in the direction indicated by the 

 string where it enters the '^skeleton house." This is 

 beheved to be situated somewhere near the Canyon 

 of the Colorado. 



