Page:American Anthropologist NS vol. 22.djvu/34

 22 AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST [N. s., 22, 1920

a little after dark, one of the best informed old men dresses up as a nawitcu and makes a set speech. At certain places in the speech, all the people howl like dogs or cackle like chickens or imitate any other animal except the coyote and owl.

After this speech the real singing begins. This is done by the m^pinyiu from each village in the regular order, beginning with Achi. The singing continues all night, each village singing its eight songs and repeating as often as necessary. In each group there are two men known as kokcEpa who represent the yellow corn. They wear masks which are painted blue on one side and yellow on the other, much like the masks of the nanawitcu, but with a long nose four inches in length and one small feather on the top of the head. After the vi^pinyiu have finished a song these shout "kuh!"

Just before dawn the m^pinyiu cease singing and take off their clothes and paint themselves in a spotted fashion to represent the multicolored ears of corn, principally blue, red, and white. This is done in order to have plenty of crops. Meanwhile the men who are to bear the representations of the sun and the moon don their regalia and take up their burdens. Just at sunrise everything is finished and as the first rays of the sun appear the image of the sun passes out through the entrance, followed by that of the moon.

A few steps outside the entrance are placed two boys and two girls who perform a sort of a dance without moving their feet from one spot and without singing. The girls carry blue and white ears of dry corn while one boy bears a short stick and the other boy a bow without arrows. These children are known as ha*kiwa*taM and represent the children who were sacrificed to stop the great inundation. Near them are a number of old men in a line with notched sticks resting on baskets ; these are rasped while one old man sings and the children dance. The old men represent the people of that mythical period and the song they sing is supposed to be of that distant age. For a short time the representations of the sun and moon remain before the singing patriarchs and the dancing children and then the tcuiwcftdM come and sprinkle the children with corn-meal. The effigies are then returned to the enclosure.

�� �