In February comes a ceremony called Powamu with its introductory ceremony called Powalawu. Some expectancy of the coming activities in the fields is in the air and hence, as the name indicates, the ceremony relates to getting ready, preparing the fields, etc. One of the chief features is the sprouting of beans in the kivas and the distribution of the sprouts to various persons. Another is the initiation of youthful candidates, accompanied by severe flogging with yucca switches at the hands of ferocious _Kachinas_. The ceremony lasts nine days and is presided over by the chief of the Powamu fraternity assisted by the _Kachina_ chief. In the kivas various rites are carried on and altars of bright-colored sand are made. The most interesting event is the recital of the myth of the Powamu on which the ceremony is based. This account is given by a costumed priest who represents the _Kachina_ Muyingwa, the god of germs, and relates to the wanderings of certain clans and their arrival in Tusayan. On the ninth and last day bands of different _Kachinas_ roam the village, some furnishing amusement to the people and others bringing terror to naughty children, while still others go about distributing bean sprouts or on various errands. With this ceremony the joyous season of the _Kachinas_ begins. Dr. Fewkes says:[4] The origin of this feast dates from the adventures of a hero of the _Ka-tci-nyu-muh_, "_Ka-tci-nia_ people." The following legend of this people is preserved. While the group of gentes known by this name was on its travels, they halted near the San Francisco Mountains and built houses. During this moon the hero went out to hunt rabbits, and came to a region where there was no snow. There he saw another _Ka-tci-na_ people dancing amidst beautiful gardens. He received melons from them, and carrying them home, told a strange story of a people who inhabited a country where there were flowering plants in midwinter. The hero and a comrade were sent back, and they stayed with these people, returning home, loaded with fruit, during February. They had learned the songs of those with whom they had lived, and taught them in the kib-va of their own people. [4] For an extended study of this ceremony see The Oraibi Powamu Ceremony by H. R. Voth, Publication 61, Field Columbian Museum, Chicago, 1901, and Tusayan Katcinas by Dr. J. Walter Fewkes, 15th Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology. The Great Plumed Serpent who appears in the mythology of many American tribes is the chief actor in the Palulukong ceremony, which is held in March. It is a serpent drama in which the sun also has high honor. The actors are masked, as the ceremony is under the control of the _Kachinas_, who are adept at theatrical performances when represented by the fertile-minded Hopi.