The Katcina altars in Hopi worshipFewkes, Jesse Walter
Religion
The Katcina altars in Hopi worship
Fewkes, Jesse Walter
Hopi Indians -- Religion; Hopi mythology
The culmination of Powamu, when we should expect the acme of the
series of rites, occurred on the afternoon of the ninth day (February
21), when the sprouting beans were pulled up, and distributed with
dolls and other presents, and when certain personages of supernatural
character brought significant gifts to the priests. It is the last
event to which I wish especially to call the reader’s attention.
This episode, which seems to me to bring out clearly the aim of
the Powamu ceremony, may be called the advent and departure of
Hahaiwuqti[31] followed by the Eototo and other supernaturals. The
main events of this episode were as follows: The man who personified
the “Old Woman” (Hahaiwuqti) having masked and otherwise arrayed
himself at a shrine[32] outside the pueblo, began to howl vigorously.
Siima the chief of Powamu, made offerings at this shrine and drew on
the ground, with sacred meal, several figures of rain clouds about
20 yards nearer the village. Hahaiwuqti, as if tolled along by this
mystic sign, moved to it and again began to howl. Siima made another
set of rain cloud figures, again about 20 yards nearer the village,
and the howling Hahaiwuqti advanced to the second meal figures.
Halting thus at intervals, and howling as she went, the “Old Woman”
at last stood in the public plaza of Oraibi, and in answer to her
cries people came to her, sprinkled her with pinches of meal and took
objects from the basket she bore.
She then sought the entrance to the kiva in which the priests were
engaged in ceremonial smoking and singing. She stood like a statue
at the hatch, howling as if to announce her coming to the priests
within the room below. They soon responded, and came out of the kiva
headed by Siima with a bowl of medicine and an aspergill, followed by
a second priest with a reed cigarette and a coal of fire, and others
with bags of sacred meal. Hahaiwuqti was asperged, smoked upon and
sprinkled with meal, and presented with a paho accompanied with a
prayer, after which the priests returned to their room and the “Old
Woman” went away to the west. A few minutes later men disguised as
Eototo and Ahul approached the kiva hatch near which some unknown
Katcina had made in meal on the ground a cross and rain cloud. Eototo
rubbed meal on each of the four sides of the kiva hatchway[33]
and poured water into the kiva entrance from the sides, as I have
described in my accounts of the Walpi and Cipaulovi Niman Katcina.
Ahul followed his example, whereupon the priests again emerged from
the kiva and treated these two visitors in the same way they had used
Hahaiwuqti. They received corn in return, after which the visitors
retired, following the “Old Woman.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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