_January 29_—This was called the first ceremonial day of the Powámuh.
About 11 oclock last night the Natácka donned their masks in the
Álkiva, and the man who took the part of Hahaíwüqti, the mother of
the Natáckas, put on her disguise and took her long juniper bough.
Háhawe went up the ladder, standing on it with his shoulders just above
the hatchway, while the mother of the monsters stood at the foot of
the same in the room. Assuming a hollow falsetto voice, in which the
mother of the Natáckas always speaks, she announced that she was ready
to visit the children. Háhawe shouted his replies to her in a voice
audible through the pueblo that the children were all asleep and that
she had better put off her visit to them until the morning. A dialogue,
the real object of which was to announce to the children that the
Natáckas had arrived, was maintained for five minutes, and Háhawe then
went down the ladder; the Natáckas and Hahaíwüqti took off their masks
and all laid down to sleep.
About 4.20 p. m. the Tewa personification of Hahaíwüqti, accompanied
by one Natácka, came to Walpi and went to Kókyanwü′qti’s and Kele’s
houses, giving to the little girls a few seeds and a snare of yucca
shred. They dressed the Walpi Hahaíwüqti, Natáckas, and Soyókmana in
the Álkiva at 4.25 p. m. Hahaíwüqti carried, besides a whitened gourd
ladle, a basket (póota) containing two ears of corn, and two boiled
hoyíani, some squash seeds, and a small bundle of sticks, of which she
gave one to each little girl, who will later redeem it by presenting
Hahaíwüqti with some hótomni. She gave each little boy, who will also
redeem it with some kinds of game, a shred of yucca looped to a stick
at the butt end (a rude snare). Natácka and Náamû wore cloth shirts,
trousers and buckskin leggings, and two buckskins hung as loose mantles
over their shoulders. The former carried a tortoise-shell rattle on his
right leg, and had a bow and arrows in his left hand and an arrow in
the right. Soyókmana had the hair smeared with white clay. She wore a
loose mantle and whistled as Natácka hooted. Hahaíwüqti wore a fox-skin
around the neck. The hands of all were whitened. Soyókmana wore a
hideous black mask and was dressed in dilapidated clothing. She had a
large knife in her left hand and a crook in her right (plates CV and
CVI).
The Natácka helmets had turkey-tail feathers[64] closely radiating
vertically at the crown, and they wore a cloth shirt and trousers, with
belt with silver disks. Each had buckskin leggings and wore a fox-skin
around the base of the mask; two large buckskins hung as mantles over
the right shoulder. He carried a bow and arrows[65] in the left hand
and with his right hand he received the food and placed it in the
tozrúki[66] slung over his right shoulder. Soyókmana was personified
by a lad of 12 years, wearing a woman’s blanket (kwáca) and a buckskin
mantle. He had a nakwákwoci, stained red, tied to the scalp lock.
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