A Study of Pueblo Architecture: Tusayan and Cibola: Eighth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, 1886-1887, Government Printing Office, Washington, 1891, pages 3-228Mindeleff, Cosmos
History
A Study of Pueblo Architecture: Tusayan and Cibola: Eighth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, 1886-1887, Government Printing Office, Washington, 1891, pages 3-228
Mindeleff, Cosmos
Pueblo Indians -- Antiquities; Pueblo architecture
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.
[Illustration: Plate LXIII. Kin-tiel, plan (also showing
excavations).]
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.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account