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

by Matilda Coxe Stevenson

ALTAR OF GIANT SOCIETY, PHOTOGRAPHED DURING CEREMONIAL.

The ho´naaite and the ti´ämoni (the latter’s position as ti´ämoni has nothing whatever to do with his relations in the cult societies in which he holds membership) wore white Tusayan cotton breechcloths elaborately embroidered in bright colors; the vicar’s was dark blue and the others white cotton; each man held two eagle plumes and a gourd rattle in the left hand. The woman and little girl wore their ordinary dresses, the high-neck calico gowns being omitted, and they held a turkey wand tipped with fluffy eagle plumes dyed a lemon color, in either hand.

The vicar gave a pinch of meal to the ho´naaite from the pottery meal bowl by the altar, who without rising from his seat sprinkled the altar. The song then opened to the accompaniment of the rattle, which had been transferred to the right hand, the eagle plumes still being held in the left, and keeping time with the rattle. Each stanza closed with a short and rapid shake of the rattle. (The writer noticed in the ceremonials of the cult societies of the Sia the absence of the pottery drum, which is such an important feature with the Zuñi and Tusayan.) With the commencement of the ritual the men from either end of the line moved to the fireplace, and lifting ashes with their plumes, deposited them before the altar and north and south of the meal line, and after dancing and gesticulating for a moment or two they again lifted ashes and sprinkled toward the altar, the under side of the plume held in the left hand being struck with the one held in the right; again lifting ashes one sprinkled to the north and the other to the south, and passing down on either side of the meal line they sprinkled to the west, and crossing they passed up the line and when midway one sprinkled to the north, the other to the south; again dipping ashes they sprinkled to the zenith and with more ashes they sprinkled to the nadir. This sprinkling of the cardinal points was repeated four times, and the men then returned to their seats. The second man from the north end of the line coming forward danced while the others sang to the accompaniment of the rattle, each succeeding stanza following in quick succession, the dancer now and then varying the monotony of the song by calling wildly upon the cloud people to come and water the earth. The woman and child waved their wands to the rhythm of the song; the woman who held a sick infant much of the time occasionally fell asleep, but she was awakened by the vicar who sat near her, passing his eagle plumes over her face. Whenever the infant slept it was laid upon a sheepskin, seemingly unconscious of the noise of the rattle and song.

When an especial appeal was to be made to Ût´sĕt, the ho´naaite reached over the altar and took the Navajo ya´ya in his right hand and the one south of it in his left hand (he had deposited his eagle plumes by the altar, but he held his rattle). All now stood, the ho´naaite energetically swaying his body as he waved the ya´ya, holding them out, then drawing them in as he appealed to Ût´sĕt to instruct the cloud people to come and water the earth. This petition concluded, the ho´naaite leaned over the altar, returning the ya´ya to their places, and the choir took their seats and smoked cigarettes of native tobacco wrapped in corn husks. In a few moments the song was resumed, when the woman sprinkled the altar with meal and passing to the west end of the room she lifted a vase of water, placing it on the line of meal, not far from the door, keeping time with the song with her two wands and moving her body up and down by bending her knees, her feet resting firmly on the floor and over the line of meal; again the bowl was raised and moved about 2 feet forward, and she repeated the motion. The bowl was in this way moved five times, the last time being placed immediately before the basket of offerings. As she placed the bowl for the last time she waved the wand held in her right hand twice over the altar, when the song closed only to begin again immediately. The ya´niᵗsiwittänñi now appeared before the altar, north of the meal line and danced, holding two eagle plumes in the left hand and rattle in the right. After a time, transferring the rattle to his left hand, he lifted a gourd of water from the vase and, holding it for a moment, waved it before the altar and emptied it into the medicine bowl with an appeal to the cougar of the north to intercede with the cloud people that the earth might be watered; another gourdful immediately followed; he then took the rattle in the right hand and joined in the song, and danced. A third time he dipped a gourd of water, waved it toward the west with an exhortation to the bear of the west, and emptied it into the bowl, following this with another gourdful, when a weird call was given for the cloud people to come and water the earth. Again he danced and sang, and after a time a fifth gourdful was lifted and waved toward the south, with an appeal to the badger of the south, and emptied into the bowl, when another gourdful followed, and dancing for a moment he lifted another gourdful and emptied it into the medicine bowl, imploring the wolf of the east to exhort the cloud people to water the earth, when another gourdful immediately followed. After dancing for a time a gourdful was again dipped and waved toward the altar, then upward, with a call upon the eagle of the heaven to invoke the cloud people to water the earth, and immediately another gourdful of water was emptied into the bowl. Again dancing awhile, a gourdful was waved toward the altar and emptied into the bowl, with a call upon the shrew of the earth to implore the cloud people to water the earth, and again a gourdful was emptied into the bowl. The song closed as the last gourd of water was poured into the bowl and the ya´niᵗsiwittänñi resumed his seat. The woman returned the vase to the west end of the room, and taking a small medicine bag from before the altar, she untied it and handed it to the ya´niᵗsiwittänñi. The men and the girl then took similar bags from before the altar, and the song again began in a low tone to the accompaniment of the rattle. Each member, taking a pinch of corn pollen from his medicine bag, threw it upon the altar and into the medicine bowl, giving a peculiar cry, it being an invocation to the cloud people to gather and water the earth, the woman and child not failing to throw in their share of pollen, raising their voices to the highest pitch as they petitioned the cloud people to water the earth. All then proceeded to take meal from the meal bowl before the altar and throw it into the medicine bowl, continuing their entreaties to the cloud people to water the earth. Six times the meal was thrown into the bowl with invocations to the cloud people. They then returned to their seats, having first deposited the medicine bags before the altar.

Bureau of Ethnology.

Eleventh Annual Report. Plate. XX

HO´-NA-AI-TE OF GIANT SOCIETY.

The ti´ämoni took from a bear-leg skin six small pebble fetiches, handing one to each man, who in turn passed it to the ya´niᵗsiwittänñi. This recipient advanced to the front of the altar and danced to the music of the choir, and waving his left hand over the altar he dropped a fetich into the medicine bowl, at the same time waving the eagle plumes and rattle which he held in his right hand. After dancing awhile he dropped a fetich from his right hand into the medicine water, and, continuing to dance, he let fall the remaining four fetiches alternately from the left and right hand. Each time a fetich was dropped he gave a weird animal-like growl, which was a call upon the prey animals of the cardinal points to exhort the cloud people to gather and water the earth that she might be fruitful. He then returned to his seat, but almost immediately arose and, standing for a moment, advanced to the front of the altar, stirred the medicine water with the eagle plumes he held in the left hand and sprinkled the offerings by striking the plumes on the top with the rattle, held in the right hand. The sprinkling was repeated four times while the cloud people were invoked to water the earth; as the plumes were struck the fourth time the choir stood and sang and the ya´niᵗsiwittänñi again dipped this plumes into the medicine water and sprinkled the altar. The ho´naaite then leaning forward dipped his plumes into the water and sprinkled the altar with a weird call for the cloud people to gather and water the earth that she might be fruitful. Then each member repeated the sprinkling of the altar with a similar prayer, the little girl being quite as enthusiastic as the others, straining her voice to the utmost capacity as she implored the cloud people to gather. The men struck the plumes in their left hands with the rattles held in their right, and the woman and child struck the wand held in the left hand with the one held in the right. Each person repeated the sprinkling of the altar successively six times, with appeals to the animals of the cardinal points. After each sprinkling the sprinkler returned to his place in the line. Thus the choir was at no time deficient in more than one of its number. At the conclusion of the sprinkling a stanza was sung and the altar was again sprinkled six times by each member; in this instance, however, the choir was grouped before the altar, the ho´naaite alone being seated back of it absorbed in song. After the sprinkling the choir returned to the line and joined the ho´naaite in the chant and at its conclusion he sprinkled the altar four times. He did not leave his seat, but leaned forward and dipped his plumes into the medicine water. The ti´ämoni then advanced from the south end of the line and the ya´niᵗsiwittänñi from the north end and sprinkled toward the cardinal points, by passing along the line of meal as heretofore described, the sprinkling being repeated twice. The ti´ämoni returned to his seat and the ya´niᵗsiwittänñi removed the bowl of medicine water, placing it before the fetiches and on the line of meal and stooping with bended knees and holding his two eagle plumes and a ya´ya in his left hand he administered the medicine water to all present, the girl receiving the first draught from an abalone shell. The woman was served next, some being given to the infant she held in her arms, the ho´naaite receiving the last draught. Taking the ya´ya from the ya´niᵗsiwittänñi he drew it to his breast and then returned it to the ya´niᵗsiwittänñi, he receiving it in his left hand and lifting the bowl with both hands he left the house and filling his mouth from the bowl threw the medicine water through his teeth to the cardinal points, and returning placed the bowl and ya´ya in position before the altar.

The ho´naaite gathering the hä´chamoni in his left hand and taking a pinch of meal with his right, stooped before the altar and south of the meal line and offered a silent prayer, and, after sprinkling the altar and hä´chamoni, he divided the offerings, holding a portion in either hand. The ti´ämoni and a companion then stooped north of the line of meal and facing the ho´naaite, clasped his hands with their right hands, holding their eagle plumes in their left and responded to a low litany offered by the ho´naaite, who afterwards drawing a breath from the plumes laid them upon the blankets over their left arms, the two men having wrapped their blankets about them before advancing to the ho´naaite. They then left the ceremonial chamber and walked a long distance through the darkness to deposit the offerings at a shrine of the Ko´pĭshtaia. The remaining members talked in undertones until the return of the absent ones, who, upon entering the chamber, stood before the altar and offered a prayer which was responded to by the ho´naaite. All the members then gathered before the altar and asked that their prayers might be answered. The woman and girl arranged bowls of food in line midway the room and south of the meal line and the feast closed the ceremonial at 2 o’clock. a. m.