In the story of Ah-ahn-he-eat-toe-pahk Mahkai we are introduced to
the Indian faith in dreams and to more witchcraft. We come, too,
to the national sport of rabbit-hunting, with its picturesqueness
and excitement.
In the transaction between Seevalick and the boy we have a reappearance
of the world-wide belief that there is a connection between the wind
and the human soul.
The strange quality of savage humor, labored, sometimes gruesome,
and often tragic, appears in the latter part of the tale.
It is noticeable that they buried the old man, but no mention is made
of burying the woman who was shot. The Pimas of old time buried their
dead in a sitting posture, neck and knees tied together with ropes,
four to six feet under ground, and covered the grave with logs and
thorn-brush to keep away wolves. The interment was usually at night,
with chants, but without other ceremony. Then, immediately after,
the house of the deceased was burned, and all personal effects
destroyed, even food; the horses and cattle being killed and eaten
by the mourners, excepting such as the deceased might have given to
his heirs. After the prescribed time of mourning (one month for a
child or distant relative, six months or a year for husband or wife)
the name of the dead was never more mentioned and everything about
him treated as forgotten.
The Maricopas burn their dead.
It is noticeable, too, that no one appears to have punished the slayer
for his murderous practical jokes. Indeed, while the Awawtam appear
to have been people of exceptionally good character, it also appears
that they seldom punished any crimes except by a sort of boycott or
pressure of public disapproval.