"Immediately after this event, Há-ha-we filled one of the small-stemmed pipes lying near the fireplace with native tobacco, and after lighting it puffed smoke on the altar. He passed the pipe to Wí-ki, holding it near the floor, bowl foremost, as he did so, and exchanging the customary terms of relationship. Wí-ki then blew dense clouds of smoke over the two tí-po-nis and on the sand picture. Há-ha-we, meanwhile, lit a second pipe, and passed it to Kó-pe-li, the Snake chief, who enjoyed it in silence, indiscriminately puffing smoke on the altar, to the cardinal points, and in other directions. Kó-pe-li later gave his pipe to Ká-kap-ti, who sat at his right, and Wí-ki passed his to Na-syuñ-'we-ve, who, after smoking, handed the pipe to Kwá-a, who in turn passed it to Ká-tci, by whom it was given to Há-ha-we. Ká-tci, the last priest to receive it before it was returned to the pipe-lighter, smoked for a long time, and repeatedly puffed clouds of smoke upon the sand picture. Meanwhile Ká-kap-ti had handed his pipe to Há-ha-we, both exchanging terms of relationship and carefully observing the accompanying ceremonial etiquette. Há-ha-we, as was his unvarying custom, carefully cleaned the two pipes, and laid them on the floor by the side of the fireplace."
The form of pipe used in the above ceremony is typical of ancient Pueblo pipes, several of which were found at Sikyatki. One of these, much smaller than the ó-mow-ûh pipe, was made of lava, and bore evidence of use before burial. It is evident, however, that these straight pipes were not always smoked as above described. The most interesting pipes found at Sikyatki were more elongated than that above mentioned and were made of clay. Their forms are shown in [plate clxxiii], b, c, d, f. One of these (b) is very smooth, almost glazed, and enlarged into two lateral wings near the mouth end, which is perforated with a small hole. The cavity at the opposite end is large enough to hold sufficient for a good smoke, and shows evidence of former use. The whole median region of the exterior is formed by a collar incised with lines, as if formerly wrapped with fiber. In some of the modern ceremonials, as that of the Bear-Puma dramatization in the Snake dance, a reed cigarette is used, ancient forms of which have been found in sacrificial caves, and there seems no doubt that this pipe is simply a clay form of those reeds. The markings on the collar would by this interpretation indicate the former existence of a small fabric wrapped about it. The two pipes shown, in [plate clxxiii], b, f, are tubular in shape,[160] highly polished, and on one of them (f) we see scratches representing the same feature as the collar of b, and probably made with the same intent.
The fragment of a pipe shown in [plate clxxiii], d, is interesting in the same connection. The end of this pipe is broken, but the stem is intact, and on two sides of the bowl there are elevations covered with crosshatching. The pipe is of clay and has a rough external surface.
It is improbable that these pipes were always smoked as the wu-kó-tco-ño of the Snake ceremony, but the smaller end was placed to the mouth, and smoke taken into the mouth and exhaled. It is customary in ceremonials now practiced, to wind a wisp of yucca about the stem of a short pipe, that it may not become too hot to hold in the hand. This may be a possible explanation[161] of the scratches on the sides of the ancient tube pipes from Sikyatki.
PRAYER-STICKS
One of the most important objects made in the secret ceremonials of the modern Pueblos is sacrificial in nature, and is called a paho or "water wood," which is used as an offering to the gods ([figure 357]). These pahos are made of a prescribed wood, of length determined by tradition, and to them are tied appendages of symbolic meaning. They are consecrated by songs, about an altar, upon which they are laid, and afterward deposited in certain shrines by a special courier.
Fig. 357—Mortuary prayer-stick (natural size)
In modern times the forms of these pahos differ very greatly, the shape depending on the society which makes them, the god addressed, and the purpose for which they are used, as understood by the initiated. Among many other uses they are sometimes mortuary in character, and are deposited in the graves of chiefs, as offerings either to the God of Death, or to other deities, to whom they may be presented by the shade or breath body of the deceased. This use of pahos is of ancient origin in Tusayan, as shown by the excavations at Sikyatki, where they were found in mortuary bowls or vases deposited by the relatives or surviving members of the sacerdotal societies to which the deceased had belonged.