Frank Hamilton Cushing

“ True, there are many beings in Zuñi Mythology godlike in attributes, anthropomorphic, monstrous, and elemental, which are known as the "Finishers or makers of the paths of life," while the most superior of all is called the "Holder of the paths (of our lives) ," Hâ′-no-o-na wí-la-po-na. Not only these gods, but all supernatural beings, men, animals, plants, and many objects in nature, are regarded as personal existences, and are included in the one term á-hâ-i, from á, the plural particle signifying "all," and hâ-i, being or life,="Life," "the Beings." ”

“ Moreover, the roar or cry of a beast of prey is accounted its Sá-wa-ni-k'ia, or magic medicine of destruction, which, heard by the game animals, is fatal to them, because it charms their senses, as does the breath their hearts. Since the mountain lion, for example, lives by the blood ("life fluid") and flesh of the game animals, and by these alone, he is endowed not only with the above powers, but with peculiar powers in the senses of sight and smell. ”

“ The successful hunter is typical of possession, since the products of his chase yield him food, apparel, ornament, and distinction. It is therefore argued with strange logic that, even though one may not be a hunter, there must exist a connection between the possessions of the hunter and the possessions of that one, and that principally through the fetiches. A man therefore counts it the greatest of good fortune when he happens to find either a natural or artificial object resembling one of the animals of prey. ”

“ PREY GOD FETICHES
THE DRYING OF THE WORLD.
In the days when all was new, men lived in the four caverns of the lower regions (Á-wi-tën té-huthl-na-kwïn=the "Four Wombs of the World") . In the lowermost one of these men first came to know of their existence. It was dark, and as men increased they began to crowd one another and were very unhappy. Wise men came into existence among them, whose children supplicated them that they should obtain deliverance from such a condition of life. ”

“ For instance, the Mountain Lion is not only master of the North, which takes precedence over [Pg 31] all the other "ancient sacred spaces" (Té-thlä-shi-na-we) or regions, but is also the master of all the other Prey gods, if not of all other terrestrial animals. Notwithstanding the fact that the Coyote, in the Order of the Hunt (the Coyote society or the Sá-ni-a-k'ia-kwe) , is given for traditional reasons higher sacred rank than the Mountain Lion, he is, as a Prey Being, one degree lower, being god of the West, which follows the North, in order of importance. ”

“ Before following the trail of an enemy, on rinding his camp, or on overtaking and destroying him, many ceremonials are performed, many prayers are uttered, much the same as those described relative to the chase, save that they are more elaborate and more irrelevant to the subject in hand. As with the Hunter, so with the Warrior, the fetich is fed on the life-blood of the slain. ”

“ The sight gladdened and strengthened him; but alas! the Elk kept his distance as he turned again toward the hiding-place of his brother animals. On and on the Sha'-la-k'o followed him, until he came to the edge of a great cañon, and peering over the brink discovered the hiding-place of all the game animals of the world.
"Aha! so here you all are," said he. "I'll hasten back to my father, Pá-u-ti-wa,* who hungers for flesh, alas! and grows weak." And like the wind the Shá'-la-k'o returned to Kó-thlu-ël-lon-ne. ”

“ It is supposed that the breath of the god, breathed in temporarily by the hunter, and breathed outward toward the heart of the pursued animal, will overcome the latter and stiffen his limbs, so that he will fall an easy prey; and that the low roar, as of the beast of prey, will enter his consciousness and frighten him so as to conceal from him the knowledge of any approach. ”

“ It naturally follows from the Zuñi's philosophy of life, that his worship, while directed to the more mysterious and remote powers of nature, or, as he regards them, existences, should relate more especially to the animals; that, in fact, the animals, as more nearly related to himself than are these existences, more nearly related to these existences than to himself, should be frequently made to serve as mediators between them and him. ”

“ The prey gods, through their relationship to Pó-shai-aŋ-k'ia, as "Makers of the Paths of Life," are given high rank among the gods. With this belief, their fetiches are held "as in captivity" by the priests of the various medicine orders, and greatly venerated by them as mediators between themselves and the animals they represent. ”

“ In like manner, the supernatural beings of man's fancy—the "master existences"—are supposed to be more nearly related to the personalities with which the elements and phenomena of nature are endowed than to either animals or men; because, like those elements and phenomena, and unlike men and animals, they are connected with remote tradition in a manner identical with their supposed existence to-day, and therefore are considered immortal. ”

“ Toward the east escaped the Ó-ho-li, pursued by the Wolf; but with them escaped many other animals; hence not alone in the east are the Ó-ho-li-we found.
Forth in all directions escaped the Jack Rabbits, Cotton Tails, Rats, and Mice; hence over all the earth are they found. Above them in the skies circle the Eagle, the Falcon, and the Ground Owl; yet into the earth escaped many of them, followed by the Prey Mole; hence beneath the earth burrow many. ”

“ This again leads us to the important and interesting conclusion that all beings, whether deistic and supernatural, or animistic and mortal, are regarded as belonging to one system; and that they are likewise believed to be related by blood seems to be indicated by the fact that human beings are spoken of as the "children of men," while all other beings are referred to as "the Fathers," the "All-fathers," and "Our Fathers." ”

“ Now that the surface of the earth was hardened, even the animals of prey, powerful and like the fathers (gods) themselves, would have devoured the children of men; and the Two thought it was not well that they should all be permitted to live, "for," said they, "alike will the children of men and the children of the animals of prey multiply themselves. The animals of prey are provided with talons and teeth; men are but poor, the finished beings of earth, therefore the weaker." ”

“ It is believed that without recourse to these fetiches or to prayers and other inducements toward the game animals, especially the deer tribe, it would be useless to attempt the chase. Untrammeled by the Medicine of the Deer, the powers of the fetiches, or the animals of prey represented, the larger game is unconquerable; and no man, however great his endurance, is accounted able to overtake or to weary them. ”

“ In consequence of this, and through the confusion of the subjective with the objective, any element or phenomenon in nature, which is believed to possess a personal existence, is endowed with a personality analogous to that of the animal whose operations most resemble its manifestation. For instance, lightning is often given the form of a serpent, with or without an arrow-pointed tongue, because its course through the sky is serpentine, its stroke instantaneous and destructive ”

“ Of course it is equally natural, since they are connected with man both in the scale of being and in the power to supply his physical wants more nearly than are the higher gods, that the animals or animal gods should greatly outnumber and even give character to all others. We find that the Fetiches of the Zuñis relate mostly to the animal gods, and principally to the prey gods. ”

“ For during ceremonials, to be described further on, the fetiches of the Eagle are usually suspended, although sometimes, like those of the quadrupeds, they are placed on the floor, as indicated by the pedestal furnished to this specimen. Although of compact white limestone, this fetich is made to represent the blue Eagle by means of turkois eyes and a green stain over the body. A small pink chalcedony arrow-point is attached to the back between the wings by means of a single sinew band passed around the tips of the latter and the tail and under the wings over the shoulders. ”

“ If a hunter be not a member of the orders above mentioned, while he must ask a member to secure a fetich for him, in the manner described, still he is quite as privileged to use it as is the member himself, although his chances for success are not supposed to be so good as those of the proper owner. ”

“ ZUÑI FETICHES. BY FRANK H. CUSHING. ZUÑI PHILOSOPHY.
The Á-shi-wi, or Zuñis, suppose the sun, moon, and stars, the sky, earth, and sea, in all their phenomena and elements; and all inanimate objects, as well as plants, animals, and men, to belong to one great system of all-conscious and interrelated life, in which the degrees of relationship seem to be determined largely, if not wholly, by the degrees of resemblance. In this system of life the starting point is man, the most finished, yet the lowest organism ”

“ And we often see among the rocks the forms of many beings that live no longer, which shows us that all was different in the "days of the new."
Of these petrifactions, which are of course mere concretions or strangely eroded rock-forms, the Zuñis say, "Whomsoever of us may be met with the light of such great good fortune may see (discover, find) them and should treasure them for the sake of the sacred (magic) power which was given them in the days of the new. ”

“ In just so far as an organism, actual or imaginary, resembles his, is it believed to be related to him and correspondingly mortal; in just so far as it is mysterious, is it considered removed from him, further advanced, powerful, and immortal. ”

“ While all the prey gods of the hunt are supposed to have functions differing both from those of the six regions and those of the Priesthood of the Bow, spoken of further on, they are yet referred, like those of the first class, to special divisions of the world. ”

“ In ancient times, while yet all beings belonged to one family, Pó-shai-aŋ-k'ia, the father of our sacred bands, lived with his children (disciples) in the City of the Mists, the middle place (center) of the Medicine societies of the world. There he was guarded on all sides by his six warriors, Á-pi-thlan shí-wa-ni (pí-thlan=bow, shí-wa-ni=priests) , the prey gods; toward the North by the Mountain Lion (Long Tail) ; toward the West by the Bear (Clumsy Foot) ; toward the South by the Badger (Black Mark Face) ; toward the East by the Wolf (Hang Tail) ; above by the Eagle (White Cap) ”

“ Thus it may be seen that all these animals are supposed to possess not only the guardianship of the six regions, but also the mastership, not merely geographic, but of the medicine powers, etc., which are supposed to emanate from them; that they are the mediators between men and Pó-shai-aŋ-ki'a, and conversely, between the latter and men. ”

“ It will then be regarded as the genital organ of some ancient being, and will be highly prized, not only as a means of approaching the spirit of the god to whom it is supposed to have once belonged, but also as a valuable aid to the young man in his conquests with the women, to the young woman in her hope to bear male children. ”

“ To the above descriptions of the supernatural beings of Zuñi Theology should be added the statement that all of these beings are given the forms either of animals, of monsters compounded of man and beast, or of man. The animal gods comprise by far the largest class. ”

“ The hunter then rises, replaces his fetich, and pursues the trail with all possible ardor, until he either strikes the animal down by means of his weapons, or so worries it by long-continued chase that it becomes an easy capture. ”

“ The Sun-father endowed these children with immortal youth, with power even as his own power, and created for them a bow (Á-mi-to-lan-ne,=the Rain Bow) and an arrow (Wí-lo-lo-a-ne,=Lightning) . For them he made also a shield like unto his own, of magic power, and a knife of flint, the great magic war knife (Sá-wa-ni-k'ia ä′-tchi-ë-ne) . The shield (Pí-al-lan-ne) was a mere network of sacred cords (Pí-tsau-pi-wi,=cotton) on a hoop of wood, and to the center of this net-shield was attached the magic knife. ”

“ Similar midnight ceremonials, but briefer, are observed on the occasion of the great midwinter tribal hunts, the times for which are fixed by the Keeper of the Deer Medicine, the master and warrior priests of the Sá-ni-a-k'ia-kwe; and the religious observances accompanying and following which would form one of the most interesting chapters connected with the fetich worship of the Zuñi's. ”

“ It follows likewise that in his inability to differentiate the objective from the subjective, he should establish relationships between natural objects which resemble animals and the animals themselves; that he should even ultimately imitate these animals for the sake of establishing such relationships, using such accidental resemblances as his motives, and thus developing a conventionality in all art connected with his worship. ”

“ The first is evidently a natural fragment, the feet being but slightly indicated by grinding, the mouth by a deep cut straight across the snout, and the eyes by deeply drilled depressions, the deep groove around, the neck being designed merely to receive the necklace. The second, however, is more elaborate, the pointed chin, horizontal tail, and pricked-up ears being distinctly carved, and yet in form the specimen resembles more a weasel than a coyote. ”

“ Plate VII, Fig. 5, represents the fetich, of the many-colored Wolf (Iú-na-wi-ko í-to-pa-nah-na-na) , of the Upper regions. The original is of fine-grained sandstone of a gray color, stained in some places faintly with red and other tints. The mouth, eyes, ear tips, and tail have been touched with black to make them appear more prominent.
Plate VII, Fig. 6, represents the fetich of the black Wolf (Iú-na-wi-ko shí-k'ia-na) , of the Lower regions. ”