Page:Journal of American Folklore vol. 12.djvu/488

 1 40 Journal of American Folk-Lore.

tion of the Walpi New Fire ceremony, and the public dances are con- ducted mainly by two of these, whose actions are of a phallic nature." There are also four sacred rooms or kivas occupied in the ceremony. Every fourth year " these November rites become very elaborate, and are then called Naacnaiya, from the importance of the initiation of novices into the priesthoods at that time." Although the cere- mony is celebrated in five of the Hopi pueblos, " we have not a single fact in regard to the ceremony in any Pueblo except Walpi," and, moreover, "the same obscurity envelops the rite at Zufii, Jemez, and the Rio Grande Pueblos." The Walpi ceremonies, Dr. Fewkes thinks, are, in a general way, "fire worship," but "more specifically sun and germination worship." He also concludes that "the rites described were brought to Walpi by clans which once lived in Gila valley," and suggest a comparative study of the Walpi ceremonies and the New Fire rites of the aborigines of Mexico. The article is a very valuable one and adds much to our knowledge of the details of these rites and ceremonies.

Zapotec. In the "Journal of the Anthropological Institute" (London) for August-November, 1899 (vol. ii. N. S. pp. 29-50), Mr. William Corner writes of " Mitla : An Archaeological Study of the Ancient Ruins and Remains in that Pueblo." The paper, which is illustrated with seven plates and ten figures in the text, deals with " the Tzapoteco remains and ruins at Mitla [Zapotec Lyo-baa] in the State of Oaxaca, Mexico." These " beautiful remains, situated about 300 miles from the city of Mexico, the author regards as "one of the most notable proofs of the prevalence of an almost level advance amongst the other [z. e. than 'Aztec '] Mexican races " (p. 31). Mitla is especially worthy of study, since it is really " a half-way house be- tween Nahuatl and Maya territories." In the discussion on this paper Mr. Maudslay observed that "he would gladly welcome evi- dence that the Toltecs and the Mayas were the same people — a peaceful race who, after spreading over Mexico, were driven by the invading Nahuatls from that country to Central America, where they make still further progress in civilization " (p. 47), and Colonel Church called attention to the fact that the danger of invasion of northern barbarians, so acutely felt in pre-Columbian times, has practically continued (e. g. Yaquis, Apaches, etc.) down to to-day.

CENTRAL AMERICA.

Mayan. In the " American Anthropologist " (vol. ii. pp. 53-62) for January-March, 1900, Prof. Cyrus Thomas discusses " Mayan Time Systems and Time Symbols." The chief object of the paper is to call attention to "the strong similarity, if not absolute identity, of the time systems or calendars of the different Mayan tribes,"

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