RAIN CEREMONIAL OF THE GIANT SOCIETY.
About noon the ho´naaite, who was nude except the breechcloth, left his seat by the fireside in the ceremonial chamber, where his vicar had been assisting him during the morning in cutting willows and preparing hä´chamoni, and proceeded to make a sand painting in the east end of the room, and when this was completed he erected the slat altar ([Pl. xviii] a). During the preparation of the sand painting (b) the vicar remained at his post at work upon the hä´chamoni. When the two female members, a woman and a little girl some 8 years of age, arrived, the ho´naaite took from the wall nine shabby-looking sacks, handing one to each person present, reserving two for himself and laying the remaining four to one side to be claimed by the other members of the medicine order of the society. These sacks contained the ya´ya, one of which, it is claimed, was captured from the Navajo by a former ho´naaite of this society, and this fetich is as precious as the others for the reason that it also represents Ût´sĕt, the mother of all Indians.
The five ya´ya were placed in line in front of the altar and on the sand-painting, and a miniature bow and arrow were laid before four of them, the captive one having none. Bear-leg skins with the claws were piled on either side of the altar, and upon these were laid necklaces of bears’ claws, each necklace having a reed whistle suspended midway, two fluffy eagle plumes, tipped with black, being attached to the end of the whistle. The medicine bowl was posted before the five ya´ya, the stone fetiches arranged about the sand painting, and the cloud bowl in front of the whole. The woman brought a triple cupped paint stone near the altar and ground a black pigment, yellow ocher, and an impure malachite; these powders were mixed with water, and the woman and girl painted the hä´chamoni, the child being quite as dextrous as her elder, and equally interested.
While the hä´chamoni were being colored the ho´naaite was busy assorting plumes. He first laid thirteen turkey plumes separately upon the floor, forming two lines; upon each plume he laid a fluffy eagle feather, and then added successively to each group a plume from each of the birds of the cardinal points, turkey plumes being used instead of chapparal cocks’. A low weird chant was sung while the ho´naaite and his vicar tied each pile of plumes together with native cotton cord, the ho´naaite waving each group, as he completed it, in a circle from left to right before his face. The woman at the same time made four rings of yucca, 1¼ inches in diameter, some two dozen yucca needles having been wrapped in a hank and laid in a bowl of water. The child brought the hank from the farther end of the room to the woman, who, taking a needle of the yucca, wound it four times around her thumb and index finger; then wrapping this with an extra thread of yucca formed the ring. When the four rings were completed the child took them to the paint stone, which the woman had removed to the far end of the room, and dipped them into the yellow paint and laid them by the woman, who tied three of the piles of plumes together and afterwards handed the rings to the ho´naaite, who added to each ring a plume from the wing of a humming bird. These rings were offerings to the cloud children emblematic of the wheels upon which they ride over ti´nia.
In attaching the plume offerings to the hä´chamoni, the latter are held between the large and second toes of the right foot of the men and woman. There were ten hä´chamoni to bear messages to the cloud rulers of the cardinal points—Ho´chänni, high ruler of the cloud people of the world, Sûs´sĭstinnako, Ût´sĕt, and the sun, the extra bunches of plumes being tied pendent to those already attached to the hä´chamoni for Sûs´sĭstinnako, Ût´sĕt, and the sun.
The ho´naaite placed the hä´chamoni and rings in a flat basket and set it before the altar in front of the cloud bowl, and posted a stuffed parrot upon the central slat of the altar. At this time the other official members appeared, and, unwrapping their ya´ya, handed them to the ho´naaite, who stood them before the altar ([Pl. xix]). The woman then brought a vase of water and gourd from the far end of the room, and the ho´naaite emptied four gourdfuls into the medicine bowl and then sprinkled corn pollen upon the water, and, dipping his two eagle plumes into the bowl, he sprinkled the altar and offerings. He did not speak a word, but took his seat by the fire and began smoking, awaiting the hour for the evening ceremonial. The ho´naaite and vicar had their meals served in the ceremonial chamber, and after eating, the remainder of the basket of bread and bowl of meat was placed before the altar.
The night ceremony opened with the ho´naaite ([Pl. xx]) and his vicar dipping their plumes into the medicine water and sprinkling the altar and the food which had been placed before it; the ho´naaite then, sitting in front and to the north side of the altar, repeated a long prayer, supplicating Mo´kaitc, Cougar of the North, to intercede with the cloud people of the north to water the earth that the crops might grow; Ko´hai, the Bear, to intercede with the cloud people of the west to water the earth that the crops might grow; a similar invocation was made to the Tuo´pe, Badger of the South, Ka´kanna, Wolf of the East, Tiä´mi, Eagle of the Heaven, and Mai´tubo, Shrew of the Earth. The vicar then gathered a bit of bread from the basket and of meat from the bowl and handed it to the ho´naaite, who left the house with the food in his left hand, holding his eagle plumes in his right; he cast the food to the animal Ko´pĭshtaia of the cardinal points, begging that they would intercede with the cloud people to come and water the earth; then, returning to the ceremonial chamber, he stooped before the altar and to the south side of the line of meal and prayed to the Ko´pĭshtaia, closing with these words: “I have offered you food, our food, that you may eat, and I pray you to exhort the Ko´pĭshtaia of ti´nia [referring to the cloud people] to come and water the earth.” The male members of the society each smoked a cigarette, and afterward the bowl of stew and basket of bread were deposited in the center of the room, and all gathered around and ate. The men then sat on either side of the room and again indulged in a smoke, the woman and girl sitting on the north side near the west end. After the cigarettes were finished the vicar drew a fresh line of meal from the altar to the door situated on the south side and near the west end, and the members formed in line back of the altar. (An explanation of the drawing of the line of meal and the relative positions of the line of men back of the altar has already been given, and is applicable to the rain ceremonials of all the cult societies.) The woman took her seat on the north side of the room, near the altar, the little girl sitting opposite to her on the south side.
Bureau of Ethnology.
Eleventh Annual Report. Plate. XIX
