A kiva may belong either to a society, a group of gentes, or an individual. If belonging to a society or order, the kiva chief commonly has inherited his office in the manner indicated from the “eldest brother” of the society who assumed its construction. But the kiva chief is not necessarily chief of the society; in fact, usually he is but an ordinary member. A similar custom of inheritance prevails where the kiva belongs to a group of gentes, only in that case the kiva chief is usually chief of the gentile group.
As for those held by individuals, a couple of examples will illustrate the Tusayan practice. In Hano the chief kiva was originally built
by a group of “Sun” gentes, but about 45 years ago, during an epidemic of smallpox, all the people who belonged to the kiva died except one man. The room fell into ruin, its roof timbers were carried off, and it became filled up with dust and rubbish. The title to it, however, rested with the old survivor, as all the more direct heirs had died, and he, when about to die, gave the kiva to Kotshve, a “Snake” man from Walpi, who married a Tewa (Hano) woman and still lives in Hano. This man repaired it and renamed it Tokónabi (said to be a Pah-Ute term, meaning black mountain, but it is the only name the Tusayan have for Navajo Mountain) because his people (the “Snake”) came from that place. He in turn gave it to his eldest son, who is therefore kiva mungwi, but the son says his successor will be the eldest son of his eldest sister. The membership is composed of men from all the Hano gentes, but not all of any one gens. In fact, it is not now customary for all the members of a gens to be members of the same kiva.
Another somewhat similar instance occurs in Sichumovi. A kiva, abandoned for a long time after the smallpox plague, was taken possession of by an individual, who repaired it and renamed it Kevinyáp tshómo—Oak Mound. He made his friends its members, but he called the kiva his own. He also says that his eldest sister’s son will succeed him as chief.
In each village one of the kivas, usually the largest one, is called (aside from its own special name) mungkiva—chief kiva. It is frequented by the kimungwi—house or village chief—and the tshaakmungwi—chief talker, councillor—and in it also the more elaborate ceremonies are observed.
No women frequent any of the kivas; in fact they never enter them except to plaster the walls at customary periods, or during the occasion of certain ceremonies. Yet one at least of the Oraibi kivas was built for the observances of a society of women, the Mamzrántiki. This and another female society—Lalénkobáki—exist in all the other villages, and on the occasion of their festivals the women are given the exclusive use of one of the kivas.
[Motives for building a kiva.]—Only two causes are mentioned for building a new kiva. Quarrels giving rise to serious dissensions among the occupants of a kiva are one cause. An instance of this occurred quite recently at Hano. The conduct of the kiva chief gave rise to dissensions, and the members opposed to him prepared to build a separate room of their own. They chose a gap on the side of the mesa cliff, close to Hano, collected stones for the walls, and brought the roof timbers from the distant wooded mesas; but when all was ready to lay the foundation their differences were adjusted and a complete reconciliation was effected.
The other cause assigned is the necessity for additional room when a gens has outgrown its kiva. When a gens has increased in numbers sufficiently to warrant its having a second kiva, the chief of the gentile
group, who in this case is also chief of the order, proposes to his kin to build a separate kiva, and that being agreed to, he assumes the direction of the construction and all the dedicatory and other ceremonies connected with the undertaking. An instance of this kind occurred within the last year or two at Oraibi, where the members of the “Katchina” gentes, who are also members of the religious order of Katchina, built a spacious kiva for themselves.
The construction of a new kiva is said to be of rare occurrence. On the other hand, it is common to hear the kiva chief lament the decadence of its membership. In the “Oak Mound” kiva at Sichumovi there are now but four members. The young men have married and moved to their wives’ houses in more thriving villages, and the older men have died. The chief in this case also says that some 2 years ago the agent gave him a stove and pipe, which he set up in the room to add to its comfort. He now has grave fears that the stove is an evil innovation, and has exercised a deleterious influence upon the fortune of his kiva and its members; but the stove is still retained.