At last, on the evening of the nineteenth day, comes the paternal
grandmother, who, by custom, is the mistress of ceremonies, a fact
which seems a little strange, for though the child takes its descent
from the mother, the father's people name the baby and conduct the
ceremony. The grandmother sees to the fire and attends to the stew of
mutton with shelled corn, called _nukwibi_, and the sweet corn
pudding, called _pigame_, cooking for the feast in the morning. While
she is bustling about, boiling a tea of juniper twigs, placing a few
stones in the fire to heat for use in the morning, and pounding
soaproot, the relatives are bringing plaques of basket-work heaped
with fine meal as presents to the new-born. These the mother receives
with the woman's words of thanks, _eskwali_--the men's word being _kwa
kwi_--and invites the guests to partake of food. It is late when the
relatives depart, and the mother busies herself with getting ready the
return presents, adding, perhaps, with a generous hand, more than was
given, while the object of all this preparation is sleeping oblivious,
hidden beneath his blanket.
At the first glint of dawn the godmother arises, renews the fire, and
draws with fine meal four short parallel lines on the walls, floor,
and ceiling of the room, and on the lines on the floor puts a prayer
feather tied to a cotton string, and above that places a bowl of amole
suds. The mother kneels by the bowl, her long black hair falling in
the foam, and the godmother dips an ear of corn in the suds four times
and touches each time the head of the mother with the end, then bathes
her head. Perhaps others of the guests who have come early for the
ceremony use the suds in turn with an idea of getting some imaginary
benefit; the practical benefit of cleanliness is obtained at any rate.
The mother's arms and legs are bathed in the juniper tea; the heated
stones placed in a cracked bowl and some of the tea thrown over them,
form an impromptu sweat bath, while she stands, wrapped in a blanket,
over the steam. This finishes the part of the ceremony designed for
purification.
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.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account