Page:The Pima Indians.pdf/261

256 Near the summit of one of the lava-formed Santan hills is a small cave in which the Hohokam placed sacrifices. A number of articles were discovered there a quarter of a century ago and sent to some eastern museum. Since that time the Pimas deposited the body of a child and some other things in the cave, which were secured by an Arizona collector in 1901. The cave is known as Vaʼrsa Vâʼ-âk, Basket Lying, because it contained a basket such as the Pimas use for their medicine paraphernalia. It was discovered by two Pima warriors, who were serving their sixteen-day period of lustration for having killed Apaches. The basket contained sinew from the legs of deer, and sticks, which the finders assumed to be for the same purpose as those with which they were scratching their own heads at the time.

When a medicine-man dies his paraphernalia, if not transmitted to his descendants, may be placed in an olla and hidden under a heap of stones in the hills. He may also sacrifice a part of his stock in a similar way during his lifetime. The property of warriors is sometimes similarly cached.

Such places were formerly respected by the tribe, but they are now robbed with impunity to get "relics" to sell. A man at Pe-eʼpûtciltkʼ informed the author's interpreter, José Lewis, of the location of one of these caches in the low hills south of Casa Blanca. We found that a number of concretions, crystals, shells, a bird carved from stone, and a war club had been deposited in an olla with a bowl turned over it, rendering it water-tight. The whole had been hidden under a heap of stones at the summit of a spur of the hill about 4 miles from the villages.



There are three classes of medicine-men among the Pimas. Those who treat disease by pretended magic are known as Siʼatcokam, Examining Physicians. As many women as men belong to this order, to which entrance is gained chiefly through heredity. This is the most powerful class in the community, though its members pay for their privileges at imminent risk. How great this risk is may be seen from the calendar records, page 38. The Siʼatcokam were more numerous than the other classes. Those who have power over the crops, the weather, and the wars are called Makai, Magicians. Only one or two women were ever admitted to this order among the Pimas. There were usually about five Makai in each village. These two classes were the true rulers of the tribe, as their influence was much greater than that of the chiefs. Their combined strength was for years turned against the missionary, Rev. C.H. Cook, but their influence is now fast waning and several medicine-men have become avowed Christians. From these converts information was obtained that in all probability could not have otherwise been secured.