The theurgist carried a bowl of water and pine needles, and an attendant bore a gourd of water, a small vase of powdered herbs, and an Apache basket containing corn meal, buckskin bags, horn of the mountain sheep and a piece of hide cut from between the eyes of the animal. The theurgist and attendant took seats to the right of the entrance of the sweat house west of the medicine lodge. This sweat house was decorated with the rainbow. Over the entrance were, first, two striped blankets, one upon the other, a buckskin, and a piece of white cotton. Hot stones, etc., having been previously placed in the sweat house, the sick man entered. The song-priest and four attendants sang, accompanied by the rattle. At the conclusion of the chant Hasjelti and Hostjoghon appeared as on the previous days. Hasjelti lifted the coverings from the entrance and the invalid came out and sat upon a blanket south of the entrance and bathed both his hands in the bowl containing the pine needles and water; he then drank of it and bathed his feet and legs to the thighs, his arms and shoulders, body and face and head, and then emptied the remainder over his back. Hasjelti manipulated the right leg with the sheep's horn and hide, rubbing the upper part of the leg with the right hand, then the under part with the left; he then rubbed the sides of the leg in the same manner, each time giving a hoot; the arms, chest, head, and face were similarly manipulated. Hostjoghon repeated the hooting every time he changed the position of the hands. Hasjelti, taking the gourd containing the water and corn meal, gave four draughts of it to the invalid, hooting each time the bowl was put to the lips; Hostjoghon did the same. The song and rattle continued. Hasjelti, then put the powdered plants from the small vase to the soles of the feet, knees, palms, breast, back, shoulders, and top of the head of the invalid, hooting each time an application was made; this was repeated by Hostjoghon. The invalid took a sip from the bowl and rubbed the remainder over his body. The song-priest then removed the wands from the base of the sweat house and the coverings from the door; the pine boughs and hot stones were also removed and the invalid preceded the song-priest to the medicine lodge. All the wood of the sweat house was placed in a tree, excepting four small pieces, which were deposited, together with the pine boughs from the interior of the sweat house, in a semicircle formed by the rocks from the sweat house at the base of a piñon tree. A line of meal 2 inches in length running east and west was sprinkled on the apex of the semicircle, and upon this line the black tube was laid. A bit of meal[pg 250] was sprinkled on the tube and a quantity over the pine boughs of this small shrine. Before sprinkling the meal on the top of the medicine tube the attendant waved his hand in a circle from left to right, calling "hooshontko;" meaning: Widespread blessings that come not from spoken words, but come to all, that people may have the blessings of corn pollen, and that tongues may speak with the softness of corn pollen.
SECOND CEREMONY.
A rug was laid in front of the theurgist. Four medicine tubes were placed on the rug, the one to the north end being white; the second one black and red, a white line dividing the two colors; the third one, blue; the fourth, black. The white tube was an offering to Hasjelti; the red, to Zaadoltjaii; the blue, to Hostjoboard; the black, to Naaskiddi, the hunchback. The tubes were filled as before described. These tubes were begun and finished by the same person. (See Pl. CXVI.) When the tubes were finished they were put into corn husks and bits of cotton cloth; tiny pieces of turquois, white shell, abalone, and archaic black beads having first been placed on the husks and cloths. The four turkey plumes with barred tips that lay upon the rug were subsequently placed upon the tubes. These parcels were sprinkled by the song priest with corn pollen, and after closing them he placed them in the hands of the invalid, who sat at the northeast corner of the rug facing east. The song-priest sat before him and said a long prayer, which the invalid repeated. At the close of the prayer an aged attendant received the parcels from the theurgist and placed them to the soles of the feet, palms, etc., of the invalid. They were afterward placed to his mouth and he drew from them a long breath. The old man carried the parcels south over the brow of a hill and deposited them in secluded spots about 4 feet apart, repeating a brief prayer over each one; he then motioned toward the east, south, west, and north, and returned to the lodge. During his absence the choir sang; in the meantime the fire in the lodge was reduced to embers.
THIRD CEREMONY.
About noon a circular bed of sand, some four inches in height and four feet in diameter, was made. Five grains of corn and five pine boughs were laid thereon; four of the grains of corn and four of the boughs were placed to the cardinal points. The fifth and center branch of pine covered most of the circle, its tips pointing to the east. The fifth grain of corn was dropped in the center of the sand bed. (See Pl. CXVII, 1). Four of these pine boughs were cut from the east, south, north, and west sides of one tree. The fifth bough may be taken from any part of the tree. Of the five grains of corn one must be white, one yellow, and one blue, and the other two grains may be of either of these three colors. On this particular occasion there were[pg 251] two blue, two white, and one yellow. These grains were, after the ceremony, dried and ground by the theurgist and placed among his medicines. The boughs and sand absorbed the disease from the invalid, and at the close of the ceremony they were carried to the north and deposited in a shady spot that the sun might not touch and develop the latent disease that had been absorbed by them. The boughs and sand were never afterward to be touched. An Apache basket containing yucca root and water was placed in front of the circle. (See Pl. CXVII 2.) There was a second basket south of it which contained water and a quantity of pine needles sufficiently thick to form a dry surface, and on the top a number of valuable necklaces of coral, turquois, and silver. A square was formed on the edge of the basket with four turkey wands. (See Pl. CXVII 3.) The song-priest with rattle led the choir. The invalid sat to the northeast of the circle; a breechcloth was his only apparel. During the chanting an attendant made suds from the yucca. The basket remained in position; the man stooped over it facing north; his position allowed the sunbeams which came through the fire opening to fall upon the suds. When the basket was a mass of white froth the attendant washed the suds from his hands by pouring a gourd of water over them, after which the song-priest came forward and with corn pollen drew a cross over the suds, which stood firm like the beaten whites of eggs, the arms of the cross pointing to the cardinal points. A circle of the pollen was then made around the edge of the suds. The attendant who prepared the suds touched his right hand to the four points of the pollen lines and in the center and placed it upon the head of the patient who first made a circle embracing the sand and basket and then knelt upon the boughs in the center of the sand.[3] A handful of the suds was afterwards put upon his head. The basket was placed near him and he bathed his head thoroughly; the maker of the suds afterwards assisted him in bathing the entire body with the suds, and pieces of yucca were rubbed upon the body. The chant continued through the ceremony and closed just as the remainder of the suds was emptied by the attendant over the invalid's head. The song priest collected the four wands from the second basket and an attendant gathered the necklaces. A second attendant placed the basket before the invalid who was now sitting in the center of the circle and the first attendant assisted him in bathing the entire body with this mixture; the body was quite covered with the pine needles which had become very soft from soaking. The invalid then returned to his former position at the left of the song priest, and the pine needles and yucca, together with the sands, were carried out and deposited at the base of a piñon tree. The body of the invalid was dried by rubbing with meal.
