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
When an especial appeal was to be made to Ût´sĕt, the ho´naaite reached
over the altar and took the Navajo ya´ya in his right hand and the
one south of it in his left hand (he had deposited his eagle plumes
by the altar, but he held his rattle). All now stood, the ho´naaite
energetically swaying his body as he waved the ya´ya, holding them
out, then drawing them in as he appealed to Ût´sĕt to instruct the
cloud people to come and water the earth. This petition concluded,
the ho´naaite leaned over the altar, returning the ya´ya to their
places, and the choir took their seats and smoked cigarettes of native
tobacco wrapped in corn husks. In a few moments the song was resumed,
when the woman sprinkled the altar with meal and passing to the west
end of the room she lifted a vase of water, placing it on the line
of meal, not far from the door, keeping time with the song with her
two wands and moving her body up and down by bending her knees, her
feet resting firmly on the floor and over the line of meal; again the
bowl was raised and moved about 2 feet forward, and she repeated the
motion. The bowl was in this way moved five times, the last time being
placed immediately before the basket of offerings. As she placed the
bowl for the last time she waved the wand held in her right hand twice
over the altar, when the song closed only to begin again immediately.
The ya´niᵗsiwittänñi now appeared before the altar, north of the meal
line and danced, holding two eagle plumes in the left hand and rattle
in the right. After a time, transferring the rattle to his left hand,
he lifted a gourd of water from the vase and, holding it for a moment,
waved it before the altar and emptied it into the medicine bowl with an
appeal to the cougar of the north to intercede with the cloud people
that the earth might be watered; another gourdful immediately followed;
he then took the rattle in the right hand and joined in the song, and
danced. A third time he dipped a gourd of water, waved it toward the
west with an exhortation to the bear of the west, and emptied it into
the bowl, following this with another gourdful, when a weird call was
given for the cloud people to come and water the earth. Again he danced
and sang, and after a time a fifth gourdful was lifted and waved toward
the south, with an appeal to the badger of the south, and emptied into
the bowl, when another gourdful followed, and dancing for a moment
he lifted another gourdful and emptied it into the medicine bowl,
imploring the wolf of the east to exhort the cloud people to water the
earth, when another gourdful immediately followed. After dancing for
a time a gourdful was again dipped and waved toward the altar, then
upward, with a call upon the eagle of the heaven to invoke the cloud
people to water the earth, and immediately another gourdful of water
was emptied into the bowl. Again dancing awhile, a gourdful was waved
toward the altar and emptied into the bowl, with a call upon the shrew
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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