The Sia: (1894 N 11 / 1889-1890 (pages 3-158))Stevenson, Matilda Coxe
History
The Sia: (1894 N 11 / 1889-1890 (pages 3-158))
Stevenson, Matilda Coxe
Zia Indians
After each sprinkling a quick shake of the rattle was given. The
ho´naaite then reached over the altar slats, taking a ya´ya in either
hand, and all stood and sang. In a moment the man to the right of the
ho´naaite leaned over the west side of the altar, and, dipping his
plumes in the medicine water, sprinkled the altar; he repeated the
sprinkling four times, and when the two ya´ya were returned to the
altar the ho´naaite dipped his eagle plumes into the medicine water,
and sprinkled the altar by striking them on the top with the rattle
held in the right hand. Each member then sprinkled the altar four
times, with a wild exhortation to the cloud people, all apparently
exhibiting more enthusiasm when sprinkling the altar than at any
other time during the ceremonial. When the song closed two of the
boys proceeded to prepare cigarettes, taking their places before the
fireplace, and, tearing off bits of corn husks of the proper size, they
made them pliable by moistening them with saliva. One boy made his
cigarettes of native tobacco, which he took from an old cloth hanging
on the wall; the other filled his with commercial tobacco. As the boys
made cigarettes they tied them with ribbons of corn husks, simply to
keep them in shape until the smokers were ready. The remaining
native tobacco was returned to the old cloth and put in place upon the
wall. About the time the boys had finished preparing the cigarettes,
the vice-ho´naaite took his seat on his wadded blanket, in front of the
cloud bowl and west of the line of meal. The man at the east end of the
line dipped his eagle plumes into the ashes, holding a plume in either
hand and striking the one held in the left hand on the under side with
the plume held in the right, he sprinkled the head of the vicar, who
was offering a silent prayer, and at the same moment the song opened
to the accompaniment of the rattle. Previous to the vicar leaving the
line, the ho´naaite removed a white fluffy eagle feather from one of
the ya´ya, to which it had been attached with a white cotton cord, and
tied it to the forelock of the vicar, who put into the cloud bowl the
powdered root which was to produce the froth; then dipping the reed
into corn pollen he sprinkled the altar. He placed a pinch of pollen
into the upper end of the reed, and, turning that into the water, he
put a pinch into the other end, and touched the four cardinal points
of the cloud bowl with the corn pollen, and made bubbles by holding
the hollow reed in the center of the bowl and blowing through it. This
operation lasted but a few moments, when he began stirring the water
with the reed, moving it from right to left, and never raising the
lower end to the surface of the water, producing a beautiful egg-like
froth. Not satisfied with its rising high above the bowl, he did not
cease manipulating until the suds had completely covered it, so that
nothing could be seen but a mass of snowy froth; fifteen minutes of
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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