Matilda Coxe Stevenson

“ There were crowds of hares and they decided to have a great dance. Now and then a hare would leave the group of dancers and stamp upon the coyote, who lay all the time as though he were dead, and during the dance they clapped their hands over their mouths and gave a whoop like the war whoop.
After a time the ka ́wate stepped apart from the group and said, “All of you hares look up, do not hold your heads down, look up to the cloud people while you sing and dance; it is much better to hold your heads up.” ”

“ Thus when driven to extremes, nature asserts itself in the nearest ties of consanguinity and the “clan” becomes secondary. At these times there are no expressions of dissatisfaction and no attempt on the part of the stronger to take advantage of the weaker. The expression of the men changes to a stoical resignation, and the women’s faces grow a shade paler with the thought that in order to nourish their babes they themselves must be nourished. And yet, such is their code of hospitality that food is always offered to guests as long as a morsel remains. ”

“ They believe that the soul or essence of the plumes travels over this road, just as the soul from the body travels from Zuñi to the spirit lake, and in their offerings of food the food itself is not received by the gods, but the spiritual essence of the food. ”

“ The lightning people shoot their arrows to make it rain the harder, the smaller flashes coming from the bows of the children. The thunder people have human forms, with wings of knives, and by flapping these wings they make a great noise, thus frightening the cloud and lightning peoples into working the harder. ”

“ Each boy in turn takes his position to receive his whipping, which is necessary for initiation. The godfather, standing, bends his right knee, which the boy clasps, bowing his head low. The godfather holds the two ends of the blanket and buckskin tightly around the boy, while each of the four Sai-ā-hli-ā in turn give him four strokes across the back with a bunch of the yucca blades. Two of the Kō-yē-mē-shi stand by and count the strokes; the others are in the plaza outside, indulging in their primitive games, which excite much merriment among the large assemblage of people. ”

“ The Society of Warriors has for its director and vicar, like the Zuñi and the other pueblos, the representatives of the mythologic war heroes, who, though small in stature, are invulnerable. “Their hearts are large, for they have the heart of the sun.” ”

“ If the hearts of those sent be pure and good, the clouds will gather and rain will fall, but if evil be in their hearts no rain will fall during the journey and they return with parched lips [pg 544] and blistered skin. The Kōk-kō repeat the prayers for rain with their intercessions to the Yä-tō-tka, the Sun, and by them the plume sticks are sent to the same great god. So constantly are the lesser gods employed in offering plumes to the great god that at night the sacred road (the Galaxy) can be seen filled with feathers, though by day they are invisible. ”

“ Every blanket of value has been traded for nourishment, until the family is reduced to mere tatters for garments. For several years this family has been on the verge of starvation, and the meagerness of food and mental suffering tells the tale in the face of each member of the household, excepting the worthless fellow (who visits about the country, imposing upon his friends) . Even the little ones are more sedate than the other children of the village. ”

“ As the sun left his house, the bird Shu ́ahkai placed himself so as to obscure the light, excepting where it penetrated through the space left by the plucking of the feather from his wing, and the light shone, not only on the wand on the head of the younger sister, but it covered her face, while it barely touched the top of the plumes of the elder; and so the people of the younger sister destroyed those of the elder. The two women stood still while the men fought. The women remained on the mountain top, but the men descended into a grassy park to fight. ”

“ Should a son be desired, the couple repair to the shrine above, and here, at the breast and heart of the "father" rock, prayers and plume sticks are offered that a son may be given them, and that he may have power to conquer his enemies, and that he may become distinguished in the Kōk-kō and other orders, and have power over the field to produce abundant crops. In both cases the sacred meal is sprinkled, and, should the prayer not be answered, there is no doubt that the heart of one or the other was not earnest when the prayer was offered.
The Zuñi child is born amid ceremony. ”

“ The beings pass over the line of meal, entering the fetiches, where they remain until the close of a ceremonial, and then depart over the line.
The secret of the fire was not brought to this world, and the fire society was originated here in this way. The people grew tired of feeding about on grass, like the deer and other animals, and they consulted together as to how fire might be obtained. It was finally decided by the ti ́ämoni that a coyote was the best person to steal the fire from the world below, and he dispatched a messenger for the coyote. ”

“ When a girl reaches puberty she informs her mother, who invites the female members of her clan to her house, where an informal feast is enjoyed. The guests congratulate the girl upon having arrived at the state of womanhood, and they say to her, “As yet you are like a child, but you will soon be united with a companion and you will help to increase your people.” The only male present is the girl’s father. The news, however, soon spreads through the village, and it is not long before offers are made to the mother for the privilege of sexual relations with the girl. ”

“ We pray you to bring to us, and to all peoples, food, good health, and prosperity, and to our animals bring good health and to our fields large crops; and we pray you to ask the cloud people to come to water the earth. ”

“ They constantly dipped their eagle plumes into the medicine water, throwing their arms vehemently about, sprinkling the altar and touching the animal fetiches with their plumes, and then placing the plumes to the mouths, absorbing from them the sacred breath of the animal. The ho ́naaite with bowed head continued his invocations to the cougar of the north, seemingly unconscious of all that was going on about him. ”

“ The guards at the entrance can read all hearts and minds, and they put such spirits into a great fire which burns in the earth below somewhere not far distant from Shipapo. The spirit is burned to death in this fire and can never know anything, as it is entirely destroyed. When ti ́ämonis and ho ́naaites have performed their duties in this world with unwilling hearts, it is known to the mother in the lower world, and when such men enter after death they are made to live apart, and alone, and without nourishment for a certain period of time, depending upon the amount of purification required. ”

“ The boys, following their mother, said, “Mother, the bear is dead.”
The boys remained at home two days completing their arrows. Then Ma ́asewe said to his mother, “Mother, we wish to hunt for deer. Our arrows are good and we must have meat.” “That is good, my children, but listen. Away to the south lives an eagle in a high rock. She has two children. The father also lives there, and these parents are very large, and they eat all the little ones they find.” ”