Page:American Anthropologist NS vol. 1.djvu/314

 fewkes] WINTER SOLSTICE ALTARS A T HANO ' 267

two feet long, parallel with the western wall. While making this ridge he sat between it and the kiva wall. Having patted this sand ridge to the proper height, he removed from their wrapping of coarse cloth, four sticks, each about two feet long. These sticks, dingy with age, were tied in pairs, and were called potiya- saka, " altar ladders." They were inserted in the ridge in pairs, one on each side, and between them was placed in the sand a row of eagle feathers. As these were being put in position by Satele, Anote sang in a low tone, the song continuing as the other parts of the altar were arranged. 1 Anote was frequently obliged to prompt his associate regarding the proper arrangement of the objects on the altar.

Satele next drew a line of prayer-meal before the ridge of sand, and from it, as a base line, made three deep semicircles rep- resenting rain-clouds. These were drawn as simple, elongated outlines, but immediately the chief sprinkled meal on the floor over the space enclosed by them. The curved edges of the three rain-cloud symbols were then rimmed with black sand or pow- dered coal. About twenty short, parallel lines, representing falling rain, were next drawn on the floor with cornmeal, and alternating with them the same number of black lines. Satele then placed upon the rain-cloud symbols, skeleton puma paws, two for each rain-cloud. At the apex of each symbolic cloud a stone fetish of a bear was deposited, and by the side of each an arrow- point or other stone object was laid.

The clay effigy of the Great Snake was next placed back of the rain-cloud symbols, with the head pointing southward. As this effigy lay on the floor, Anote made on it, with meal, repre- sentations of eyes and teeth, then drew two lines of meal about the neck for a necklace, and two other parallel lines about the tail. Black powder was then evenly sprinkled along the back of the effigy.

��1 This is the first time songs have been noted while an altar was being put in place.

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