The Sia / (1894 N 11 / 1889-1890 (pages 3-158))

by Matilda Coxe Stevenson

The preparation of the medicine water began with the opening of the seventh stanza. The ya´niᵗsiwittänñi danced before the altar, keeping south of the line of meal, and holding six pebble fetiches in either hand, which he had taken from two small sacks drawn from one of the bear-leg skins. He did not sing, but he kept time with the choir. Extending his right hand toward the altar, he touched the two front ya´ya, and then, placing his hands together, he again extended them, and, drawing closer still to the altar, he dropped a fetich from his right hand into the medicine bowl with a weird cry to the Snake ho´naaite of the north to invoke the cloud ruler of the north to send his people to water the earth; and after raising his hands above his head he again extended them toward the altar, and, leaning forward, dropped a fetich from his left hand into the cloud bowl. This was repeated four times with each bowl, with petitions to the Snake ho´naaites of the north, the west, the south, and the east to intercede with the cloud rulers to send their people to water the earth. Then, taking two large stone knives from before the altar, he struck them together, and, passing from the south of the line of meal to the north, he again brought the knives together. Recrossing the line of meal, he dipped the knives into the bowl of medicine water and sprinkled the altar; then, passing to the north of the line, he dipped the knives into the medicine water and repeated the sprinkling of the altar four times; again, standing south of the line, he dipped the knives into the water, throwing it to the east, and, crossing the line, dipped them into the bowl and repeated the motion to the east, and resumed his seat at the south end of the line of men. The ho´naaite then leaned over the altar, and, dipping his plumes into the medicine bowl, sprinkled the altar four times by striking the plumes on the top with the rattle held in the right hand. The song, which had continued for an hour without cessation, now closed, and the men gathered around the tobacco which lay near the fire-place, and, making cigarettes, returned to their seats and smoked. The boy ignited the fire-stick and held it for the men to light their cigarettes. He passed it first to the man at the north of the line. As each man took the first whiff of his cigarette he blew the smoke toward the altar and waved the cigarette in a circle as he extended it to the altar. After the smoke the song and rattle again resounded through the room, and at the close of a short stanza the man at the north end of the line cried out in a high tone and the women gathered before the altar, and each, taking a pinch of meal from the meal bowl, sprinkled the altar and returned to their seats. The ya´niᵗsiwittänñi lifted the shell of pollen from before the altar, and, passing to the entrance and opening the door, waved his rattle along the line of meal and out of the door. After repeating the waving of the rattle he passed his hand over the line and threw out the pollen from his fingers, as offering to the Snake ho´naaite. Returning to the altar, he stood while the ho´naaite dipped his plumes into the medicine water and sprinkled the altar by striking the plumes with the rattle. After the ya´niᵗsiwittänñi and ho´naaite had returned to the line, the cloud-maker (a member of the Spider Society), who sat at the north end, crossed the line of meal, and, holding his eagle plumes and rattle in his left hand, lifted with his right the reed which lay across the cloud bowl, and, transferring it to his left, he held it and the plumes vertically while he prayed. The vice ho´naaite dipped ashes from the fire-place with his eagle plumes, holding one in either hand, sprinkled the cloud-maker for purification, and threw the remainder of the ashes toward the choir. During his prayer, which continued for eight minutes, the cloud-maker appeared like a statue. At the close of the prayer he dropped into the cloud bowl a quantity of to´chainitiwa (a certain root used by the cult societies to produce suds, symbolic of the clouds), and sprinkled with corn pollen the surface of the water, which was already quite covered with it; then, taking the reed in his right hand and still holding it vertically, he began a regular and rapid movement with the reed, in a short time producing a snowy-white froth, which, under his dextrous manipulation, rapidly rose high above the bowl, and fell from it in cascades to the floor. The bowl stood on a cincture pad of yucca, a circle of meal symbolic of the heart or life of the water having been first made. The reed was never raised from the bowl during the stirring of the water. When the clouds were perfected the song ceased, and the cloud-maker stood the reed in the center of the suds, which now wholly concealed the bowl. He then rose, and, after holding his two eagle plumes in his left hand for a moment, he changed one to the right hand and began dancing before the altar; presently he dipped a quantity of suds from the base of the bowl with his two eagle plumes, and threw them to the north of the altar; again dipping the suds, he threw them to the south; continuing to dance to the music of the rattle and the song, he dipped the suds and threw them to the fire-place; dipping them again, he threw them to the earth, each time with an invocation to the cloud people. As he threw the suds to the earth two of the choir dipped their plumes into the bowl of medicine water and sprinkled the altar by striking the upper sides of the plumes with their rattles. The cloud-maker again dipped up the suds, and, facing east, threw them toward the zenith; he then dipped the suds and deposited them in the center of the basket containing the plume offerings; then waving his eagle plumes from north to south, he continued dancing, raising first one plume and then the other as he pointed them toward the altar. In a moment or two he dipped suds and threw them toward the women on the north side of the room, and dipping them again threw them toward the women of the south side; at the same time the male members reached forward, and, dipping their plumes into the medicine bowl, sprinkled the altar, each time petitioning the cloud people to gather. The cloud-maker then threw suds to the west; again he dipped the suds and threw them to the zenith, then to the altar; a portion was then placed on the front ya´ya; again he danced, for a time extending his eagle plumes and withdrawing them, and dipped the suds and threw them upward and toward the man on the north end of the line; at the same time the ho´naaite dipped his plumes into the medicine bowl and sprinkled the altar as heretofore described; and the cloud-maker dipped the suds, throwing them toward the vice ho´naaite, and, again dipping them, he threw them toward the ya´niᵗsiwittänñi; he then lifted suds and threw them to the west, then to the zenith, never failing to call the cloud people together. The ho´naaite, keeping his position back of the altar, dipped his plumes into the medicine water and sprinkled the members; again the cloud-maker lifted suds and threw them to the zenith; at the same time the second woman at the west end of the line on the north side dipped her wand into the medicine water, with a cry for the cloud people to gather; the cloud-maker then threw the suds to the west and the ho´naaite sprinkled the members with the medicine water, and the cloud-maker placed the suds upon the heads of the white bear and parrot; and stooping he stirred the suds briskly.

Bureau of Ethnology.

Eleventh Annual Report. Plate. XV

ALTAR OF SNAKE SOCIETY.

The ti´ämoni lighted a cigarette from a coal at the fireplace and handed it to the cloud-maker, who stood the reed in the center of the suds before receiving the cigarette; he blew the first few whiffs over the suds and then smoked a moment or two and laid about one-third of the cigarette by the side of the cloud bowl. The song, which had continued almost incessantly for three hours, now ceased, and the cloud-maker returned to his seat in the line. The ti´ämoni sat by the fire and smoked, several joining him for a short time; but all soon returned to their seats in the line and continued their smoke.

At the beginning of the succeeding song the two women at the east end of the south line danced before the altar and sprinkled it by striking the wand held in the left hand on the top with the one held in the right. One of the women was frequently debarred taking part in the ceremony owing to the attention required by her infant, who was at times fretful.

Two women from the east end of the north line joined in the dance, and then a third woman from the south line; three of the women formed in line running north and south; an aged woman at the west end of the south line danced, but did not leave her place at the end of the line. She pulled the young boy who sat near her forward, telling him to dance. The dancers faced first the east, then the west, sprinkling the altar whenever they reversed, invoking the cloud people to gather. The boy was beautifully graceful, but the women were clumsy; one of them attempted to force out the man at the north end; failing in this, a second woman tried with better success, and the man joined in the dance; this little byplay amused the women. The ho´naaite sprinkled the young man, who in turn sprinkled the ho´naaite. Before the close of the dance the aged woman at the west end of the south line joined the group of dancers and pulled the young man about, telling him to dance well and with animation. At 1:30 a.m. the women sprinkled the altar and returned to their seats, but the man and boy continued to dance and sprinkle the altar at intervals. The vicar placed the basket of plume offerings on the line of meal, and collecting suds from the base of the cloud bowl deposited them in the center of the basket of plumes; and all the members dipped their plumes into the medicine water and sprinkled the altar; the man facing south and the boy north, then sprinkled toward the respective points, and passing down on either side of the meal line they sprinkled eastward, and crossing the line of meal the man sprinkled to the north and the boy to the south, and they returned to the altar and danced for a time, the man remaining north of the line and the boy south. The sprinkling of the cardinal points was repeated four times.

The dancers having taken their seats in the line the ya´niᵗsiwittänñi removed the bowl of medicine water and placed it before the basket of plume offerings; then stooping, he took one of the ya´ya in his left hand and with the right administered the medicine water from an abalone shell to the women first, the infant in the mother’s arms receiving its portion; then to the boy and men. After each draft the hi´shämi and wands were touched to the ya´ya and the sacred breath drawn from them; the ho´naaite was the last to be served by the ya´niᵗsiwittänñi, who in turn received the medicine water from the ho´naaite, who held the ya´ya while officiating. The ya´niᵗsiwittänñi then left the chamber, carrying the ya´ya in his left hand and bowl of medicine water with both hands. When outside the house he sprinkled the six cardinal points, the water being taken into the mouth and thrown out between the teeth.

The ho´naaite lifting the basket of plume offerings stooped north of the meal line and the ti´ämoni and the younger member of the snake division stooped south of the line of meal. The necklaces of bears’ claws had been removed and all but the ho´naaite’s laid on a pile of bear-leg skins, he depositing his on the snake fetich at the north side of the altar. The two young men put on their moccasins and wrapped around them their blankets which had served as seats during the ceremonial before advancing to meet the ho´naaite, who, while the three held the basket repeated a long litany, responded to by the two young men. The women laughed and talked, paying little attention to this prayer. At the conclusion the ho´naaite gave a bundle of hä´chamoni to the ti´ämoni and a similar one to his companion; he then gave a cluster of plume offerings to the ti´ämoni and the remainder of the feathers to the companion. The offerings were received in the blanket thrown over the left arm; and each of the young men taking a pinch of shell mixture left the chamber to deposit them at the shrines of the Ko´pĭshtaia with prayers to the Snake ho´naaites: “I send you hä´chamoni and pay you hĕr´rotume, Ta´waka, maic´kûriwapai, I-´ᵗsa-ti-en (turkis and shell offerings) Ûpĕr-we (the different foods) that you may be pleased and have all things to eat and wear. I pay you these that you will beseech the cloud rulers to send their people to water the earth that she may be fruitful and give to all people abundance of all food.”