builds a fireplace and chimney. The former is usually but a small cavity
about a foot square in the corner of the floor. Over this a chimney hood
is constructed, its lower rim being about 3 feet above the floor.
As a rule the house has no eaves, the roof being finished with a stone
coping laid flush with the wall and standing a few inches higher than
the roof to preserve the earth covering from being blown or washed away.
Roof-drains of various materials are also commonly inserted in the
copings, as will be described later.
All the natives, as far as could be ascertained, regard this
single-roomed house as being complete in itself, but they also consider
it the nucleus of the larger structure. When more space is desired, as
when the daughters of the house marry and require room for themselves,
another house is built in front of and adjoining the first one, and a
second story is often added to the original house. The same ceremony is
observed in building the ground story in front, but there is no ceremony
for the second and additional stories.
[Illustration: Plate XLVII. Hawikuh, view.]
Anawita (war-chief of Sichumovi) describes the house in Walpi in which
he was born as having had five rooms on the ground floor, and as being
four stories high, but it was terraced both in front and rear, his
sisters and their families occupying the rear portion. The fourth story
consisted of a single room and had terraces on two opposite sides. This
old house is now very dilapidated, and the greater portion of the walls
have been carried away. There is no prescribed position for
communicating doorways, but the outer doors are usually placed in the
lee walls to avoid the prevailing southwest winds.
[Illustration: Fig. 19. A Tusayan wood rack.]
Formerly on the approach of cold weather, and to some extent the custom
still exists, people withdrew from the upper stories to the kikoli
rooms, where they huddled together to keep warm. Economy in the
consumption of fuel also prompted this expedient; but these ground-floor
rooms forming the first terrace, as a rule having no external doorways,
and entered from without by means of a roof hatchway provided with a
ladder, are ordinarily used only for purposes of storage. Even their
roofs are largely utilized for the temporary storage of many household
articles, and in the autumn, after the harvests have been gathered, the
terraces and copings are often covered with drying peaches, and the
peculiar long strips into which pumpkins and squashes have been cut to
facilitate their desiccation for winter use. Among other things the
household supply of wood is sometimes piled up at one end of this
terrace, but more commonly the natives have so many other uses for this
space that the sticks of fuel are piled up on a rude projecting skeleton
of poles, supported on one side by two upright forked sticks set into
the ground, and on the other resting upon the stone coping of the wall,
as illustrated in Fig. 19. At other times poles are laid across a
re-entering angle of a house and used as a wood rack, without any
support from the ground. At the autumn season not only is the available
space of the first terrace fully utilized, but every projecting beam or
stick is covered with strings of drying meat or squashes, and many long
poles are extended between convenient points to do temporary duty as
additional drying racks. There was in all cases at least one fireplace
on the inside in the upper stories, but the cooking was done on the
terraces, usually at the end of the first or kikoli roof. This is still
a general custom, and the end of the first terrace is usually walled up
and roofed, and is called tupubi. Tuma is the name of the flat
baking-stone used in the houses, but the flat stone used for baking at
the kisi in the field is called tupubi.
Kikoli is the name of the ground story of the house, which has no
opening in the outer wall.
The term for the terraced roofs is ihpobi, and is applied to all of
them; but the tupatca ihpobi, or third terrace, is the place of general
resort, and is regarded as a common loitering place, no one claiming
distinct ownership. This is suggestive of an early communal dwelling,
but nothing definite can now be ascertained on this point. In this
connection it may also be noted that the eldest sister’s house is
regarded as their home by her younger brothers and her nieces and
nephews.
Aside from the tupubi, there are numerous small rooms especially
constructed for baking the thin, paper-like bread called piki. These are
usually not more than from 5 to 7 feet high, with interior dimensions
not larger than 7 feet by 10, and they are called tumcokobi, the place
of the flat stone, tuma being the name of the stone itself, and tcok
describing its flat position. Many of the ground-floor rooms in the
dwelling houses are also devoted to this use.
The terms above are those more commonly used in referring to the houses
and their leading features. A more exhaustive vocabulary of
architectural terms, comprising those especially applied to the various
constructional features of the kivas or ceremonial rooms, and to the
“kisis,” or temporary brush shelters for field use, will be found near
the end of this paper.
The only trace of a traditional village plan, or arrangement of
contiguous houses, is found in a meager mention in some of the
traditions, that rows of houses were built to inclose the kiva, and to
form an appropriate place for the public dances and processions of
masked dancers. No definite ground plan, however, is ascribed to these
traditional court-inclosing houses, although at one period in the
evolution of this defensive type of architecture they must have partaken
somewhat of the symmetrical grouping found on the Rio Chaco and
elsewhere.
LOCALIZATION OF GENTES.
In the older and more symmetrical examples there was doubtless some
effort to distribute the various gentes, or at least the phratries,
in definite quarters of the village, as stated traditionally. At the
present day, however, there is but little trace of such localization. In
the case of Oraibi, the largest of the Tusayan villages, Mr. Stephen has
with great care and patience ascertained the distribution of the various
gentes in the village, as recorded on the accompanying skeleton plan
(Pl. XXXVII). An examination of the diagram in connection with the
appended list of the families occupying Oraibi will at once show that,
however clearly defined may have been the quarters of various gentes in
the traditional village, the greatest confusion prevails at the present
time. The families numerically most important, such as the Reed, Coyote,
Lizard, and Badger, are represented in all of the larger house clusters.
[Illustration: Plate XLVIII. Adobe church at Hawikuh.]
_Families occupying Oraibi._
[See house plan--house numbers in blue.]
1. Kokop................winwuh...................Burrowing owl.
2. Pikyas...............nyumuh...................Young corn plant.
3. Bakab................winwuh...................Reed (_Phragmites
communis_).
4. Tuwa.................winwuh...................Sand.
5. Tdap.................nyumuh...................Jack rabbit.
6. Honan................winwuh...................Badger.
7. Isn..................winwuh...................Coyote.
8. See 3.........................................Reed.
9. Kukuto...............winwuh...................Lizard.
10. Honan................nyumuh...................Bear.
11. Honau.........................................Bear.
12. See 3.........................................Reed.
13. See 7.........................................Coyote.
14. Tcuin.........................................Rattlesnake.
15. Awat..........................................Bow.
16. Kokuan........................................Spider.
17. See 9.........................................Lizard.
18. See 3.........................................Reed.
19. See 1.........................................Burrowing owl.
20. See 1.........................................Burrowing owl.
21. See 5.........................................Rabbit.
22. See 9.........................................Lizard.
23. See 9.........................................Lizard.
23½. See 9........................................Lizard.
24. See 2.........................................Young corn.
25. Gyazro...............nyumuh...................Paroquet.
26. See 2.........................................Young corn.
27. Kwah.................nyumuh...................Eagle.
28. See 7.........................................Coyote.
29. See 27........................................Eagle.
30. See 9.........................................Lizard.
31. See 9.........................................Lizard.
32. See 7.........................................Coyote.
33. See 7.........................................Coyote.
34. See 2.........................................Young corn.
35. See 6.........................................Badger.
36. See 16........................................Spider.
37. Batun................winwuh...................Squash.
38. See 15........................................Bow.
39. See 15........................................Bow.
40. See 1.........................................Burrowing owl.
41. See 1.........................................Burrowing owl.
42. See 6.........................................Badger.
43. Tdawuh...............winwuh...................Sun.
44. See 1.........................................Burrowing owl.
45. See 25........................................Paroquet.
46. See 1.........................................Burrowing owl.
47. See 1.........................................Burrowing-owl.
48. See 3.........................................Reed.
49. See 3.........................................Reed.
50. See 3.........................................Reed.
51. See 3.........................................Reed.
52. See 27........................................Eagle.
53. See 25........................................Paroquet.
54. See 1.........................................Burrowing owl.
55. See 5.........................................Rabbit.
56. See 9.........................................Lizard.
57. Pobol................winwuh...................Moth.
58. See 6.........................................Badger.
59. See 5.........................................Rabbit.
60. See 5.........................................Rabbit.
61. See 7.........................................Coyote.
62. See 7.........................................Coyote.
63. Atoko................winwuh...................Crane.
64. See 3.........................................Reed.
65. See 9.........................................Lizard.
66. Keli.................nyumuh...................Hawk.
67. See 7.........................................Coyote.
68. See 43........................................Sun.
69. Kwan.................nyumuh...................Mescal cake.
70. See 27........................................Eagle.
71. See 27........................................Eagle.
72. See 2.........................................Corn.
73. See 6.........................................Badger.
74. See 7.........................................Coyote.
75. See 7.........................................Coyote.
76. See 27........................................Eagle.
77. See 3.........................................Reed.
78. See 3.........................................Reed.
79. See 3.........................................Reed.
80. See 9.........................................Lizard.
81. See 43........................................Sun.
82. See 25........................................Paroquet.
83. See 9.........................................Lizard.
84. See 9.........................................Lizard.
85. See 43........................................Sun.
86. See 3.........................................Reed.
87. See 3.........................................Reed.
88. See 7.........................................Coyote.
89. See 3.........................................Reed.
90. Vacant.
91. See 2.........................................Corn.
92. See 25........................................Paroquet.
93. See 25........................................Paroquet.
94. See 10........................................Bear.
95. See 19........................................Bear.
96. See 4.........................................Sand.
97. See 4.........................................Sand.
98. See 4.........................................Sand.
99. See 3.........................................Reed.
100. See 2........................................Corn.
101. See 2........................................Corn.
102. See 7........................................Coyote.
103. See 7........................................Coyote.
104. See 3........................................Reed.
105. See 3........................................Reed.
106. See 3........................................Reed.
107. See 5........................................Rabbit.
108. See 7........................................Coyote.
109. See 5........................................Rabbit.
110. See 5........................................Rabbit.
111. See 3........................................Reed.
112. See 5........................................Rabbit.
113. Vacant.
114. Vacant.
115. See 3........................................Reed.
116. See 6........................................Badger.
117. See 43.......................................Sun.
118. See 7........................................Coyote.
119. See 43.......................................Sun.
120. See 5........................................Rabbit.
121. See 43.......................................Sun.
122. See 3........................................Reed.
123. See 4........................................Sand.
124. See 4........................................Sand.
125. See 3........................................Reed.
126. See 3........................................Reed.
127. See 43.......................................Sun.
128. See 2........................................Corn.
129. See 9........................................Lizard.
130. See 4........................................Sand.
131. See 4........................................Sand.
132. See 7........................................Coyote.
133. See 9........................................Lizard.
134. See 25.......................................Paroquet.
135. See 25.......................................Paroquet.
136. See 6........................................Badger.
137. See 6........................................Badger.
138. Vacant.
139. See 10.......................................Bear.
140. See 3........................................Reed.
141. See 25.......................................Paroquet.
142. See 25.......................................Paroquet.
143. See 43.......................................Sun.
144. See 5........................................Rabbit.
145. See 15.......................................Bow.
146. Vacant.
147. See 6........................................Badger.
148. Katcin..............nyumuh...................Katcina.
149. See 7........................................Coyote.
150. See 6........................................Badger.
151. See 6........................................Badger.
152. See 6........................................Badger.
153. See 6........................................Badger.
Counting No. 23½, this makes 154 houses; 149 occupied, 5 vacant.
[Illustration: Plate XLIX. Ketchipanan, plan.]
Reed families..... 25 Paroquet families... 10 Eagle families.... 6
Coyote families... 17 Owl families........ 9 Bear families..... 5
Lizard families... 14 Corn families....... 9 Bow families...... 4
Badger families... 13 Sun families........ 9 Spider families... 2
Rabbit families... 11 Sand families....... 8
Snake, Squash, Moth, Crane, Hawk, Mescal cake, Katcina, one each.
No tradition of gentile localization was discovered in Cibola.
Notwithstanding the decided difference in the general arrangements of
rooms in the eastern and western portions of the village, the
architectural evidence does not indicate the construction of the various
portions of the present Zuñi by distinct groups of people.
INTERIOR ARRANGEMENT.
On account of the purpose for which much of the architectural data here
given were originally obtained, viz, for the construction of large scale
models of the pueblos, the material is much more abundant for the
treatment of exterior than of interior details. Still, when the walls
and roof, with all their attendant features, have been fully recorded,
little remains to be described about a pueblo house; for such of its
interior details as do not connect with the external features are of the
simplest character. At the time of the survey of these pueblos no
exhaustive study of the interior of the houses was practicable, but the
illustrations present typical dwelling rooms from both Tusayan and Zuñi.
As a rule the rooms are smaller in Tusayan than at Zuñi.
[Illustration: Fig. 20. Interior ground plan of a Tusayan room.]
[Illustration: Plate L. Ketchipauan.]
The illustration, Fig. 20, shows the ground plan of a second-story room
of Mashongnavi. This room measures 13 by 12½ feet, and is considerably
below the average size of the rooms in these villages. A projecting
buttress or pier in the middle of the east wall divides that end of the
room into two portions. One side is provided with facilities for storage
in the construction of a bench or ledge, used as a shelf, 3 feet high
from the floor; and a small inclosed triangular bin, built directly on
the floor, by fixing a thin slab of stone into the masonry. The whole
construction has been treated with the usual coating of mud, which has
afterwards been whitewashed, with the exception of a 10-inch band that
encircles the whole room at the floor line, occupying the position of a
baseboard. The other side of the dividing pier forms a recess, that is
wholly given up to a series of metates or mealing stones; an
indispensable feature of every pueblo household. It is quite common to
find a series of metates, as in the present instance, filling the entire
available width of a recess or bay, and leaving only so much of its
depth behind the stones as will afford floor space for the kneeling
women who grind the corn. In larger open apartments undivided by
buttress or pier, the metates are usually built in or near one corner.
They are always so arranged that those who operate them face the middle
of the room. The floor is simply a smoothly plastered dressing of clay
of the same character as the usual external roof covering. It is, in
fact, simply the roof of the room below smoothed and finished with
special care. Such apartments, even in upper stories, are sometimes
carefully paved over the entire surface with large flat slabs of stone.
It is often difficult to procure rectangular slabs of sufficient size
for this purpose, but the irregularities of outline of the large flat
stones are very skillfully interfitted, furnishing, when finished,
a smoothly paved floor easily swept and kept clean.
On the right of the doorway as one enters this house are the fireplace
and chimney, built in the corner of the room. In this case the chimney
hood is of semicircular form, as indicated on the plan. The entire
chimney is illustrated in Fig. 62, which represents the typical curved
form of hood. In the corner of the left as one enters are two ollas, or
water jars, which are always kept filled. On the floor near the water
jars is indicated a jug or canteen, a form of vessel used for bringing
in water from the springs and wells at the foot of the mesa. At Zuñi
water seems to be all brought directly in the ollas, or water jars, in
which it is kept, this canteen form not being in use for the purpose.
The entrance doorway to this house, as indicated on the plan, is set
back or stepped on one side, a type of opening which is quite common in
Tusayan. This form is illustrated in Fig. 84.
This room has three windows, all of very small size, but it has no
interior communication with any other room. In this respect it is
exceptional. Ordinarily rooms communicate with others of the cluster.
Pl. LXXXV shows another typical Tusayan interior in perspective. It
illustrates essentially the same arrangement as does the preceding
example. The room is much larger than the one above described, and it is
divided midway of its length by a similar buttress. This buttress
supports a heavy girder, thus admitting of the use of two tiers of floor
beams to span the whole length of the room. The fireplace and chimney
are similar to those described, as is also the single compartment for
mealing stones. In this case, however, this portion of the room is quite
large, and the row of mealing stones is built at right angles to its
back wall and not parallel with it.
The right-hand portion of the room is provided with a long, straight
pole suspended from the roof beams. This is a common feature in both
Tusayan and Zuñi. The pole is used for the suspension of the household
stock of blankets and other garments. The windows of this house are
small, and two of them, in the right-hand division of the room, have
been roughly sealed up with masonry.
Pl. LXXXVI illustrates a typical Zuñi interior. In this instance the
example happens to be rather larger than the average room. It will be
noticed that this apartment has many features in common with that at
Tusayan last described. The pole upon which blankets are suspended is
here incorporated into the original construction of the house, its two
ends being deeply embedded in the masonry of the wall. The entire floor
is paved with slabs of much more regular form than any used at Tusayan.
The Zuñi have access to building stone which is of a much better grade
than is available in Tusayan.
[Illustration: Plate LI. Stone church at Ketchipauan.]
This room is furnished with long, raised benches of masonry along the
sides, a feature much more common at Zuñi than at Tusayan. Usually such
benches extend along the whole length of a wall, but here the projection
is interrupted on one side by the fireplace and chimney, and on the left
it terminates abruptly near the beginning of a tier of mealing stones,
in order to afford floor space for the women who grind. The metates are
arranged in the usual manner, three in a row, but there is an additional
detached section placed at right angles to the main series. The sill of
the doorway by which this room communicates with an adjoining one is
raised about 18 inches above the floor, and is provided with a rudely
mortised door in a single panel. Alongside is a small hole through which
the occupant can prop the door on the inside of the communicating room.
The subsequent sealing of the small hand-hole with mud effectually
closes the house against intrusion. The unusual height of this door sill
from the floor has necessitated the construction of a small step, which
is built of masonry and covered with a single slab of stone. All the
doors of Zuñi are more or less raised above the ground or floor, though
seldom to the extent shown in the present example. This room has no
external door and can be directly entered only by means of the hatchway
and ladder shown in the drawing. At one time this room was probably
bounded by outer walls and was provided with both door and windows,
though now no evidence of the door remains, and the windows have become
niches in the wall utilized for the reception of the small odds and ends
of a Zuñi household. The chimney of this house will be noticed as
differing materially, both in form and in its position in the room, from
the Tusayan examples. This form is, however, the most common type of
chimney used in Zuñi at the present time, although many examples of the
curved type also occur. It is built about midway of the long wall of the
room. The Tusayan chimneys seldom occupy such a position, but are nearly
always built in corners. The use of a pier or buttress-projection for
the support of a roof girder that is characteristic of Tusayan is not
practiced at Zuñi to any extent. Deer horns have been built into the
wall of the room to answer the purpose of pegs, upon which various
household articles are suspended.
The various features, whose positions in the pueblo dwelling house have
been briefly described above, will each be made the subject of more
exhaustive study in tracing the various modifications of form through
which they have passed. The above outline will furnish a general idea of
the place that these details occupy in the house itself.
KIVAS IN TUSAYAN.
_General use of kivas._--Wherever the remains of pueblo architecture
occur among the plateaus of the southwest there appears in every
important village throughout all changes of form, due to variations of
environment and other causes, the evidence of chambers of exceptional
character. The chambers are distinguishable from the typical dwelling
rooms by their size and position, and, generally, in ancient examples,
by their circular form. This feature of pueblo architecture has survived
to the present time, and is prominent in all modern pueblos that have
come under the writer’s notice, including the villages of Acoma and
Jemez, belonging to the Rio Grande group, as well as in the pueblos
under discussion. In all the pueblos that have been examined, both
ancient and modern, with the exception of those of Tusayan, these
special rooms, used for ceremonial purposes, occupy marginal or
semidetached positions in the house clusters. The latter are wholly
detached from the houses, as may be seen from the ground plans.
_Origin of the name._--Such ceremonial rooms are known usually by the
Spanish term “estufa,” meaning literally a stove, and here used in the
sense of “sweat house,” but the term is misleading, as it more properly
describes the small sweat houses that are used ceremonially by
lodge-building Indians, such as the Navajo. At the suggestion of Major
Powell the Tusayan word for this everpresent feature of pueblo
architecture has been adopted, as being much more appropriate. The word
“kiva,” then, will be understood to designate the ceremonial chamber of
the pueblo building peoples, ancient and modern.
_Antiquity of the kiva._--The widespread occurrence of this feature and
its evident antiquity distinguish it as being especially worthy of
exhaustive study, especially as embodied in its construction maybe found
survivals of early methods of arrangement that have long ago become
extinct in the constantly improving art of housebuilding, but which are
preserved through the well known tendency of the survival of ancient
practice in matters pertaining to the religious observances of a
primitive people. Unfortunately, in the past the Zuñi have been exposed
to the repressive policy of the Spanish authorities, and this has
probably seriously affected the purity of the kiva type. At one time,
when the ceremonial observances of the Zuñi took place in secret for
fear of incurring the wrath of the Spanish priests, the original kivas
must have been wholly abandoned, and though at the present time some of
the kivas of Zuñi occupy marginal positions in the cell clusters, just
as in many ancient examples, it is doubtful whether these rooms
faithfully represent the original type of kiva. There seems to be but
little structural evidence to distinguish the present kivas from
ordinary large Zuñi rooms beyond the special character of the fireplace
and of the entrance trap door, features which will be fully described
later. At Tusayan, on the other hand, we find a distinct and
characteristic structural plan of the kiva, as well as many special
constructive devices. Although the position of the ceremonial room is
here exceptional in its entire separation from the dwelling, this is due
to clearly traceable influences in the immediate orograpic environment,
and the wholly subterranean arrangement of most of the kivas in this
group is also due to the same local causes.
[Illustration: Plate LII. K’iakima, plan.]
_Excavation of the kiva._--The tendency to depress or partly excavate
the ceremonial chamber existed in Zuñi, as in all the ancient pueblo
buildings which have been examined; but the solid rock of the mesa tops
in Tusayan did not admit of the necessary excavation, and the
persistence of this requirement, which, as I shall elsewhere show, has
an important connection with the early types of pueblo building,
compelled the occupants of these rocky sites to locate their kivas at
points where depressions already existed. Such facilities were most
abundant near the margins of the mesas, where in many places large
blocks of sandstone have fallen out from the edge of the surface
stratum, leaving nearly rectangular spaces at the summit of the cliff
wall. The construction of their villages on these rocky promontories
forced the Tusayan builders to sacrifice, to a large extent, the
traditional and customary arrangement of the kivas within the
house-inclosed courts of the pueblo, in order to obtain properly
depressed sites. This accidental effect of the immediate environment
resulted in giving unusual prominence to the sinking of the ceremonial
room below the ground surface, but a certain amount of excavation is
found as a constant accompaniment of this feature throughout the pueblo
region in both ancient and modern villages. Even at Zuñi, where the
kivas appear to retain but few of the specialized features that
distinguish them at Tusayan, the floors are found to be below the
general level of the ground. But at Tusayan the development of this
single requirement has been carried to such an extent that many of the
kivas are wholly subterranean. This is particularly the case with those
that occupy marginal sites on the mesas, such as have been referred to
above. In such instances the broken-out recesses in the upper rocks have
been walled up on the outside, roughly lined with masonry within, and
roofed over in the usual manner. In many cases the depth of these rock
niches is such that the kiva roof when finished does not project above
the general level of the mesa summit, and its earth covering is
indistinguishable from the adjoining surface, except for the presence of
the box-like projection of masonry that surrounds the entrance trap door
and its ladder (see Pl. LXXXVII). Frequently in such cases the surface
of the ground shows no evidence of the outlines or dimensions of the
underlying room. Examples of such subterranean kivas may be seen in the
foreground of the general view of a court in Oraibi (Pl. XXXVIII), and
in the view of the dance rock at Walpi (Pl. XXIV). But such wholly
subterranean arrangement of the ceremonial chamber is by no means
universal even at Tusayan. Even when the kiva was placed within the
village courts or close to the houses, in conformity to the traditional
plan and ancient practice as evidenced in the ruins, naturally depressed
sites were still sought; but such sites as the mesa margin affords were
rarely available at any distance from the rocky rim. The result is that
most of the court kivas are only partly depressed. This is particularly
noticeable in a court kiva in Shumopavi, an illustration of which is
given in Fig. 14.
The mungkiva or principal kiva of Shupaulovi, illustrated in Pl. XXXIII,
is scarcely a foot above the ground level on the side towards the
houses, but its rough walls are exposed to a height of several feet down
on the declivity of the knoll. The view of the stone corrals of
Mashongnavi, shown in Pl. CIX, also illustrates a kiva of the type
described. This chamber is constructed on a sharp slope of the declivity
where a natural depression favored the builders. On the upper side the
roof is even with the ground, but on its outer or southern side the
masonry is exposed to nearly the whole depth of the chamber. At the
north end of Shumopavi, just outside the houses, are two kivas, one of
which is of the semi-subterranean type. The other shows scarcely any
masonry above the ground outside of the box-like entrance way. Pl.
LXXXVIII illustrates these two kivas as seen from the northeast, and
shows their relation to the adjacent houses. The following (Fig. 21)
illustrates the same group from the opposite point of view.
_Access._--The last described semi-subterranean kiva and the similar one
in the court of the village, show a short flight of stone steps on their
eastern side. Entrance to the ceremonial chamber is prevented when
necessary by the removal of the ladder from the outside, or in some
instances by the withdrawal of the rungs, which are loosely inserted
into holes in the side pieces. There is no means of preventing access to
the exposed trap doors, which are nearly on a level with the ground. As
a matter of convenience and to facilitate the entrance into the kiva of
costumed and masked dancers, often encumbered with clumsy paraphernalia,
steps are permanently built into the outside wall of the kiva in direct
contradiction to the ancient principles of construction; that is, in
having no permanent or fixed means of access from the ground to the
first roof. These are the only cases in which stone steps spring
directly from the ground, although they are a very important feature in
Tusayan house architecture above the first story, as may be seen in any
of the general views of the villages. The justification of such an
arrangement in connection with the indefensible kiva roof lies obviously
in the different conditions here found as compared with the dwellings.
[Illustration: Fig. 21. North kivas of Shumopavi, seen from the
southwest.]
The subterranean kiva of the Shumopavi group, above illustrated, is
exceptional as occurring at some distance from the mesa rim. Probably
all such exceptions to the rule are located in natural fissures or
crevices of the sandstone, or where there was some unusual facility for
the excavation of the site to the required depth. The most noteworthy
example of such inner kiva being located with reference to favorable
rock fissures has been already described in discussing the ground plan
of Walpi and its southern court-inclosed kiva (p. 65).
_Masonry._--The exterior masonry of these chambers seems in all cases to
be of ruder construction than that of the dwelling houses. This is
particularly noticeable in the kivas of Walpi on the mesa edge, but is
apparent even in some of the Zuñi examples. One of the kivas of house
No. 1 in Zuñi, near the churchyard, has small openings in its wall that
are rudely framed with stone slabs set in a stone wall of exceptional
roughness. Apparently there has never been any attempt to smooth or
reduce this wall to a finished surface with the usual coating of adobe
mud.
[Illustration: Plate LIII. Site of K’iakima, at base of Tâaaiyalana.]
In Tusayan also some of the kiva walls look as though they had been
built of the first material that came to hand, piled up nearly dry, and
with no attempt at the chinking of joints, that imparts some degree of
finish to the dwelling-house masonry. The inside of these kivas,
however, is usually plastered smoothly, but the interior plastering is
applied on a base of masonry even in the case of the kivas that are
wholly subterranean. It seems to be the Tusayan practice to line all
sides of the kivas with stone masonry, regardless of the completeness
and fitness of the natural cavity. It is impossible, therefore, to
ascertain from the interior of a kiva how much of the work of excavation
is artificial and how much has been done by nature. The lining of
masonry probably holds the plastering of adobe mud much better than the
naked surface of the rock, but the Tusayan builders would hardly resort
to so laborious a device to gain this small advantage. The explanation
of this apparent waste of labor lies in the fact that kivas had been
built of masonry from time immemorial, and that the changed conditions
of the present Tusayan environment have not exerted their influence for
a sufficient length of time to overcome the traditional practice. As
will be seen later, the building of a kiva is accompanied by certain
rites and ceremonies based on the use of masonry walls, additional
testimony of the comparatively recent date of the present subterranean
types.
_Orientation._--In questioning the Tusayan on this subject Mr. Stephen
was told that no attention to the cardinal points was observed in the
plan, although the walls are spoken of according to the direction to
which they most closely approximate. An examination of the village plans
of the preceding chapters, however, will show a remarkable degree of
uniformity in the directions of kivas which can scarcely be due to
accident in rooms built on such widely differing sites. The intention
seems to have been to arrange these ceremonial chambers approximately on
the north and south line, though none of the examples approach the
meridian very closely. Most of them face southeast, though some,
particularly in Walpi, face west of south. In Walpi four of the five
kivas are planned on a southwest and northeast line, following the
general direction of the mesa edge, while the remaining one faces
southeast. The difference in this last case may have been brought about
by exigencies of the site on the mesa edge and the form of the cavity in
which the kiva was built. Again at Hano and Sichumovi (Pls. XVI and
XVIII) on the first mesa this uniformity of direction prevails, but,
as the plans show, the kivas in these two villages are few in number.
The two kivas of Shupaulovi will be seen (Pl. XXX) to have the same
direction, viz, facing southeast. In Shumopavi (Pl. XXXIV) there are
four kivas all facing southeast. In Mashongnavi, however (Pl. XXVI), the
same uniformity does not prevail. Three of the kivas face south of east,
and two others built in the edge of the rocky bench on the south side of
the village face west of south. In the large village of Oraibi there is
remarkable uniformity in the direction of the many kivas, there being a
variation of only a few degrees in direction in the whole number of
thirteen shown on the plan (Pl. XXXVI). But in the case of the large
kiva partly above ground designated as the Coyote kiva, the direction
from which it is entered is the reverse of that of the other kivas.
No explanation is offered that will account for this curious single
exception to the rule. The intention of the builders has evidently been
to make the altar and its attendant structural features conform to a
definite direction, fixed, perhaps, by certain requirements of the
ceremonial, but the irregularity of the general village plan in many
cases resulting from its adaptation to restricted sites, has given rise
to the variations that are seen.
In Zuñi there was an evident purpose to preserve a certain uniformity of
direction in the kiva entrances. In house No. 1 (Pls. LXXVI and LXXVII)
there are two kivas, distinguishable on the plan by the large divided
trap door. The entrance of these both face southeast, and it can readily
be seen that this conformity has been provided intentionally, since the
rooms themselves do not correspond in arrangement. The roof opening is
in one case across the room and in the other it is placed
longitudinally. As has been pointed out above, the general plan of
arranging the kivas is not so readily distinguished in Zuñi as in
Tusayan. Uniformity, so far as it is traceable, is all the more striking
as occurring where there is so much more variation in the directions of
the walls of the houses. Still another confirmation is furnished by the
pueblo of Acoma, situated about 60 miles eastward from Zuñi. Here the
kivas are six in number and the directions of all the examples are found
to vary but a few degrees. These also face east of south.
There are reasons for believing that the use of rectangular kivas is of
later origin in the pueblo system of building than the use of the
circular form of ceremonial chamber that is of such frequent occurrence
among the older ruins. Had strict orientation of the rectangular kiva
prevailed for long periods of time it would undoubtedly have exerted a
strong influence towards the orientation of the entire pueblo clusters
in which the kivas were incorporated; but in the earlier circular form,
the constructional ceremonial devices could occupy definite positions in
relation to the cardinal points at any part of the inner curve of the
wall without necessarily exerting any influence on the directions of
adjoining dwellings.
[Illustration: Plate LIV. Recent wall at K’iakima.]
_The ancient form of kiva._--In none of the ruins examined in the
province of Tusayan have distinct traces of ancient kivas been found,
nor do any of them afford evidence as to the character of the ceremonial
rooms. It is not likely, however, that the present custom of building
these chambers wholly under ground prevailed generally among the earlier
Tusayan villages, as some of the remains do not occupy sites that would
suggest such arrangement. The typical circular kiva characteristic of
most of the ancient pueblos has not been seen within the limits of
Tusayan, although it occurs constantly in the ruins of Canyon de Chelly
which are occasionally referred to in Tusayan tradition as having been
occupied by related peoples. Mr. Stephen, however, found vestiges of
such ancient forms among the debris of fallen walls occupying two small
knolls on the edge of the first mesa, at a point that overlooks the
broken-down ruin of Sikyatki. On the southeast shoulder of one of the
knolls is a fragment of a circular wall which was originally 12 feet in
diameter. It is built of flat stones, from 2 to 4 inches thick, 6 to 8
inches wide, and a foot or more in length, nearly all of which have been
pecked and dressed. Mud mortar has been sparingly used, and the masonry
shows considerable care and skill in execution; the curve of the wall is
fairly true, and the interstices of the masonry are neatly filled in
with smaller fragments, in the manner of some of the best work of the
Canyon de Chelly ruins.
The knoll farther south shows similar traces, and on the southeast slope
is the complete ground plan of a round structure 16½ feet in diameter.
At one point of the curved wall, which is about 22 inches thick, occurs
the characteristic recessed katchinkihu (described later in discussing
the interior of kivas) indicating the use of this chamber for ceremonial
purposes.
Although these remains probably antedate any of the Tusayan ruins
discussed above (Chapter II), they suggest a connection and relationship
between the typical kiva of the older ruins and the radically different
form in use at the present time.
_Native explanations of position._--Notwithstanding the present practice
in the location of kivas, illustrated in the plans, the ideal village
plan is still acknowledged to have had its house-clusters so distributed
as to form inclosed and protected courts, the kivas being located within
these courts or occupying marginal positions in the house-clusters on
the edge of the inclosed areas. But the native explanations of the
traditional plan are vague and contradictory.
In the floor of the typical kiva is a sacred cavity called the sipapuh,
through which comes the beneficent influence of the deities or powers
invoked. According to the accounts of some of the old men the kiva was
constructed to inclose this sacred object, and houses were built on
every side to surround the kiva and form its outer wall. In earlier
times, too, so the priests relate, people were more devout, and the
houses were planned with their terraces fronting upon the court, so that
the women and children and all the people, could be close to the masked
dancers (katchinas) as they issued from the kiva. The spectators filled
the terraces, and sitting there they watched the katchinas dance in the
court, and the women sprinkled meal upon them, while they listened to
their songs. Other old men say the kiva was excavated in imitation of
the original house in the interior of the earth, where the human family
were created, and from which they climbed to the surface of the ground
by means of a ladder, and through just such an opening as the hatchway
of the kiva. Another explanation commonly offered is that they are made
underground because they are thus cooler in summer, and more easily
warmed in winter.
All these factors may have had some influence in the design, but we have
already seen that excavation to the extent here practiced is wholly
exceptional in pueblo building and the unusual development of this
requirement of kiva construction has been due to purely local causes.
In the habitual practice of such an ancient and traditional device, the
Indians have lost all record of the real causes of the perpetuation of
this requirement. At Zuñi, too, a curious explanation is offered for the
partial depression of the kiva floor below the general surrounding
level. Here it is naively explained that the floor is excavated in order
to attain a liberal height for the ceiling within the kiva, this being a
room of great importance. Apparently it does not occur to the Zuñi
architect that the result could be achieved in a more direct and much
less laborious manner by making the walls a foot or so higher at the
time of building the kiva, after the manner in which the same problem is
solved when it is encountered in their ordinary dwelling house
construction. Such explanations, of course, originated long after the
practice became established.
METHODS OF KIVA BUILDING AND RITES.
The external appearance of the kivas of Tusayan has been described and
illustrated; it now remains to examine the general form and method of
construction of these subterranean rooms, and to notice the attendant
rites and ceremonies.
_Typical plans._--All the Tusayan kivas are in the form of a
parallelogram, usually about 25 feet long and half as wide, the ceiling,
which is from 5½ to 8 feet high, being slightly higher in the middle
than at either end. There is no prescribed rule for kiva dimensions, and
seemingly the size of the chamber is determined according to the number
who are to use it, and who assume the labor of its construction. A list
of typical measurements obtained by Mr. Stephen is appended (p. 136).
[Illustration: Plate LV. Matsaki, plan.]
An excavation of the desired dimensions having been made, or an existing
one having been discovered, the person who is to be chief of the kiva
performs the same ceremony as that prescribed for the male head of a
family when the building of a dwelling house is undertaken. He takes a
handful of meal, mixed with piki crumbs, and a little of the crumbled
herb they use as tobacco, and these he sprinkles upon the ground,
beginning on the west side, passing southward, and so around, the
sprinkled line he describes marking the position to be occupied by the
walls. As he thus marks the compass of the kiva, he sings in a droning
tone “Si-ai, a-hai, a-hai, si-ai, a-hai”--no other words but these. The
meaning of these words seems to be unknown, but all the priests agree in
saying that the archaic chant is addressed to the sun, and it is called
Kitdauwi--the House Song. The chief then selects four good-sized stones
of hard texture for corner stones, and at each corner he lays a baho,
previously prepared, sprinkles it with the mixture with which he has
described the line of the walls, and then lays the corner stone upon it.
As he does this, he expresses his hope that the walls “will take good
root hold,” and stand firm and secure.
The men have already quarried or collected a sufficient quantity of
stone, and a wall is built in tolerably regular courses along each side
of the excavation. The stones used are roughly dressed by fracture; they
are irregular in shape, and of a size convenient for one man to handle.
They are laid with only a very little mud mortar, and carried up, if the
ground be level, to within 18 inches of the surface. If the kiva is
built on the edge of the cliff, as at Walpi, the outside wall connects
the sides of the gap, conforming to the line of the cliff. If the
surface is sloping, the level of the roof is obtained by building up one
side of the kiva above the ground to the requisite height as illustrated
in Fig. 21. One end of the “Goat” kiva at Walpi is 5 feet above ground,
the other end being level with the sloping surface. When the ledge on
the precipitous face of the mesa is uneven it is filled in with rough
masonry to obtain a level for the floor, and thus the outside wall of
some of the Walpi kivas is more than 12 feet high, although in the
interior the measurement from floor to ceiling is much less.
Both cottonwood and pine are used for the roof timbers; they are roughly
dressed, and some of them show that an attempt has been made to hew them
with four sides, but none are square. In the roof of the “Goat” kiva,
at Walpi, are four well hewn pine timbers, measuring exactly 6 by 10
inches, which are said to have been taken from the mission house built
near Walpi by the Spanish priests some three centuries ago. The ceiling
plan of the mungkiva of Shupaulovi (Fig. 23) shows that four of these
old Spanish squared beams have been utilized in its construction. One of
these is covered with a rude decoration of gouged grooves and bored
holes, forming a curious line-and-dot ornament. The other kiva of this
village contains a single undecorated square Spanish roof beam. This
beam contrasts very noticeably with the rude round poles of the native
work, one of which, in the case of the kiva last mentioned, is a forked
trunk of a small tree. Some of the Indians say that the timbers were
brought by them from the Shumopavi spring, where the early Spanish
priests had established a mission. According to these accounts, the home
mission was established at Walpi, with another chapel at Shumopavi, and
a third and important one at Awatubi.
One man, Sikapiki by name, stated that the squared and carved beams were
brought from the San Francisco Mountains, more than a hundred miles
away, under the direction of the priests, and that they were carved and
finished prior to transportation. They were intended for the chapel and
cloister, but the latter building was never finished. The roof timbers
were finally distributed among the people of Shumopavi and Shupaulovi.
At Shumopavi one of the kivas, known, as the Nuvwatikyuobi
(The-high-place-of-snow--San Francisco Mountains) kiva, was built only
8 years ago. The main roof timbers are seven in number. Four of them are
hewn with flat sides, 8 by 12 inches to 9 by 13 inches; the other three
are round, the under sides slightly hewn, and they are 12 inches in
diameter. These timbers were brought from the San Francisco Mountains
while the Spaniards were here. The Shumopavi account states that the
people were compelled to drag most of the timbers with ropes, although
oxen were also used in some cases, and that the Spaniards used them to
roof their mission buildings. After the destruction of the mission these
timbers were used in the construction of a dwelling house, which,
falling into ruin, was abandoned and pulled down. Subsequently they were
utilized as described above. In the Teosobi, Jay, the main timbers were
taken out of it many years ago and used in another kiva. The timbers now
in the roof are quite small and are laid in pairs, but they are old and
much decayed. In the Gyarzobi, Paroquet, are six squared timbers from
the Spanish mission buildings, measuring 9 by 13 inches, 8 by 12 inches,
etc. These have the same curious grooved and dotted ornamentation that
occurs on the square beam of Shupaulovi, above described. At the other
end of the kiva are also two unusually perfect round timbers that may
have come from the mission ruin. All of these show marks of fire, and
are in places deeply charred.
In continuation of the kiva building process, the tops of the walls are
brought to an approximate level. The main roof timbers are then laid
parallel with the end walls, at irregular distances, but less than 3
feet apart, except near the middle, where a space of about 7 feet is
left between two beams, as there the hatchway is to be built. The ends
of the timbers rest upon the side walls, and as they are placed in
position a small feather, to which a bit of cotton string is tied
(nakwakwoci) is also placed under each. Stout poles, from which the bark
has been stripped, are laid at right angles upon the timbers, with
slight spaces between them. Near the center of the kiva two short
timbers are laid across the two main beams about 5 feet apart; this is
done to preserve a space of 5 by 7 feet for the hatchway, which is made
with walls of stone laid in mud plaster, resting upon the two central
beams and upon the two side pieces. This wall or combing is carried up
so as to be at least 18 inches above the level of the finished roof.
Across the poles, covering the rest of the roof, willows and straight
twigs of any kind are laid close together, and over these is placed a
layer of dry grass arranged in regular rows. Mud is then carefully
spread over the grass to a depth of about 3 inches, and after it has
nearly dried it is again gone over so as to fill up all the cracks.
A layer of dry earth is then spread over all and firmly trodden down,
to render the roof water-tight and bring its surface level with the
surrounding ground, following the same method and order of construction
that prevails in dwelling-house buildings.
[Illustration: Plate LVI. Standing wall at Pinawa.]
Short timbers are placed across the top of the hatchway wall, one end
of which is raised higher than the other, so as to form a slope, and
upon these timbers stone slabs are closely laid for a cover. (See Pl.
LXXXVII.) An open space, usually about 2 by 4½ feet, is preserved, and
this is the only outlet in the structure, serving at once as doorway,
window, and chimney.
The roof being finished, a floor of stone flags is laid; but this is
never in a continuous level, for at one end it is raised as a platform
some 10 or 12 inches high, extending for about a third of the length of
the kiva and terminating in an abrupt step just before coming under the
hatchway, as illustrated in the ground plan of the mungkiva of
Shupaulovi (Fig. 22, and also in Figs. 25 and 27). On the edge of the
platform rests the foot of a long ladder, which leans against the higher
side of the hatchway, and its tapering ends project 10 or 12 feet in the
air. Upon this platform the women and other visitors sit when admitted
to witness any of the ceremonies observed in the kiva. The main floor in
a few of the kivas is composed of roughly hewn planks, but this is a
comparatively recent innovation, and is not generally deemed desirable,
as the movement of the dancers on the wooden floor shakes the fetiches
out of position.
On the lower or main floor a shallow pit of varying dimensions, but
usually about a foot square, is made for a fireplace, and is located
immediately under the opening in the hatchway. The intention in raising
the hatchway above the level of the roof and in elevating the ceiling in
the middle is to prevent the fire from igniting them. The ordinary fuel
used in the kiva is greasewood, and there are always several bundles of
the shrub in its green state suspended on pegs driven in the wall of the
hatchway directly over the fire. This shrub, when green, smolders and
emits a dense, pungent smoke, but when perfectly dry, burns with a
bright, sparkling flame.
Across the end of the kiva on the main floor a ledge of masonry is
built, usually about 2 feet high and 1 foot wide, which serves as a
shelf for the display of fetiches and other paraphernalia during stated
observances (see Fig. 22). A small, niche-like aperture is made in the
middle of this ledge, and is called the katchin kihu (katchina house).
During a festival certain masks are placed in it when not in use by the
dancers. Some of the kivas have low ledges built along one or both sides
for use as seats, and some have none, but all except two or three have
the ledge at the end containing the katchina house.
In the main floor of the kiva there is a cavity about a foot deep and 8
or 10 inches across, which is usually covered with a short, thick slab
of cottonwood, whose upper surface is level with the floor. Through the
middle of this short plank and immediately over the cavity a hole of 2
or 2½ inches in diameter is bored. This hole is tapered, and is
accurately fitted with a movable wooden plug, the top of which is flush
with the surface of the plank. The plank and cavity usually occupy a
position in the main floor near the end of the kiva. This feature is the
sipapuh, the place of the gods, and the most sacred portion of the
ceremonial chamber. Around this spot the fetiches are set during a
festival; it typifies also the first world of the Tusayan genesis and
the opening through which the people first emerged. It is frequently so
spoken of at the present time.
Other little apertures or niches are constructed in the side walls; they
usually open over the main floor of the kiva near the edge of the dais
that forms the second level, that upon which the foot of the ladder
rests. These are now dedicated to any special purpose, but are used as
receptacles for small tools and other ordinary articles. In early days,
however, these niches were used exclusively as receptacles for the
sacred pipes and tobacco and other smaller paraphernalia.
[Illustration: Fig. 22. Ground plan of the chief kiva of Shupaulovi.]
[Illustration: Plate LVII. Halona excavations as seen from Zuñi.]
In order to make clearer the relative positions of the various features
of kiva construction that have been described several typical examples
are here illustrated. The three ground plans given are drawn to scale
and represent kivas of average dimensions. Mr. Stephen has made a series
of typical kiva measurements, which is appended to this section, and
comparison of these with the plans will show the relation of the
examples selected to the usual dimensions of these rooms. Fig. 22 is the
ground plan of the mungkiva, or chief kiva, of Shupaulovi. It will be
observed that the second level of the kiva floor, forming the dais
before referred to, is about 15 inches narrower on each side than the
main floor. The narrowing of this portion of the kiva floor is not
universal and does not seem to be regulated by any rule. Sometimes the
narrowing is carried out on one side only, as in the mungkiva of
Mashongnavi (Fig. 27), sometimes on both, as in the present example, and
in other cases it is absent. In the second kiva of Shupaulovi,
illustrated in Fig. 25, there is only one small jog that has been built
midway along the wall of the upper level and it bears no relation to the
point at which the change of floor level occurs. The ledge, or dais, is
free for the use of spectators, the Indians say, just as the women stand
on the house terraces to witness a dance, and do not step into the
court. The ledge in this case is about a foot above the main floor.
Benches of masonry are built along each side, though, as the plan shows,
they are not of the same length. The bench on the eastern side is about
4 feet shorter than the other, which is cut off by a continuation of the
high bench that contains the katchinkihu beyond the corner of the room.
These side benches are for the use of participants in the ceremonies.
When young men are initiated into the various societies during the
feasts in the fall of the year they occupy the floor of the sacred
division of the kiva, while the old members of the order occupy the
benches along the wall. The higher bench at the end of the room is used
as a shelf for paraphernalia. The hole, or recess, in this bench, whose
position is indicated by the dotted lines on the plan, is the sacred
orifice from which the katchina is said to come, and is called the
katchinkihu. In the floor of the kiva, near the katchinkihu, is the
sipapuh, the cottonwood plug set into a cottonwood slab over a cavity in
the floor. The plan shows how this plank, about 18 inches wide and 6½
feet long, has been incorporated into the paving of the main floor. The
paving is composed of some quite large slabs of sandstone whose
irregular edges have been skillfully fitted to form a smooth and well
finished pavement. The position of the niches that form pipe receptacles
is shown on the plan opposite the fireplace in each side wall. The
position of the foot of the ladder is indicated, the side poles resting
upon the paved surface of the second level about 15 inches from the edge
of the step. Fig. 23 gives a ceiling plan of the same kiva, illustrating
the arrangement of such of the roof beams and sticks as are visible from
inside. The plan shows the position of the four Spanish beams before
referred to, the northernmost being the one that has the line and dot
decoration. The next two beams, laid in contact, are also square and of
Spanish make. The fourth Spanish beam is on the northern edge of the
hatchway dome and supports its wall. The adjoining beam is round and of
native workmanship. The position and dimensions of the large hatchway
projection are here indicated in plan, but the general appearance of
this curious feature of the Tusayan kiva can be better seen from the
interior view (Fig. 24). Various uses are attributed to this domelike
structure, aside from the explanation that it is built at a greater
height in order to lessen the danger of ignition of the roof beams. The
old men say that formerly they smoked and preserved meat in it. Others
say it was used for drying bundles of wood by suspension over the fire
preparatory to use in the fireplace. It is also said to constitute an
upper chamber to facilitate the egress of smoke, and doubtless it aids
in the performance of this good office.
[Illustration: Fig. 23. Ceiling plan of the chief kiva of Shupaulovi.]
[Illustration: Fig. 24. Interior view of a Tusayan kiva.]
[Illustration: Plate LVIII. Fragments of Halona wall.]
The mud plaster that has been applied directly to the stone work of the
interior of this kiva is very much blackened by smoke. From about half
of the wall space the plaster has fallen or scaled off, and the exposed
stonework is much blackened as though the kiva had long been used with
the wall in this uncovered condition.
The fireplace is simply a shallow pit about 18 inches square that is
placed directly under the opening of the combined hatchway and smoke
hole. It is usually situated from 2 to 3 feet from the edge of the
second level of the kiva floor. The paving stones are usually finished
quite neatly and smoothly where their edges enframe the firepit.
[Illustration: Fig. 25. Ground plan of a Shupaulovi kiva.]
[Illustration: Fig. 26. Ceiling plan of a Shupaulovi kiva.]
Figs. 25 and 26 illustrate the ground and ceiling plans of the second
kiva of the same village. In all essential principles of arrangement it
is identical with the preceding example, but minor modifications will be
noticed in several of the features. The bench at the katchina, or
“altar” end of the kiva, has not the height that was seen in the
mungkiva, but is on the same level as the benches of the sides. Here the
sipapuh is at much greater distance than usual from the katchina recess.
It is also quite exceptional in that the plug is let into an orifice in
one of the paving stones, as shown on the plan, instead of into a
cottonwood plank. Some of the paving stones forming the floor of this
kiva are quite regular in shape and of unusual dimensions, one of them
being nearly 5 feet long and 2 feet wide. The gray polish of long
continued use imparts to these stones an appearance of great hardness.
The ceiling plan of this kiva (Fig. 26) shows a single specimen of
Spanish beam at the extreme north end of the roof. It also shows a
forked “viga” or ceiling beam, which is quite unusual.
[Illustration: Fig. 27. Ground plan of the chief kiva of Mashongnavi.]
[Illustration: Plate LIX. The mesa of Tâaaiyalana, from Zuñi.]
This kiva is better plastered than the mungkiva and shows in places
evidences of many successive coats. The general rule of applying the
interior plastering of the kiva on a base of masonry has been violated
in this example. The north end and part of the adjoining sides have been
brought to an even face by filling in the inequalities of the excavation
with reeds which are applied in a vertical position and are held in
place by long, slender, horizontal rods, forming a rude matting or
wattling. The rods are fastened to the rocky wall at favorable points by
means of small prongs of some hard wood, and the whole of the primitive
lathing is then thickly plastered with adobe mud. Mr. Stephen found the
Ponobi kiva of Oraibi treated in the same manner. The walls are lined
with a reed lathing over which mud is plastered. The reed used is the
Bakabi (_Phragmites communis_) whose stalks vary from a quarter of an
inch to three-quarters of an inch in diameter. In this instance the
reeds are also laid vertically, but they are applied to the ordinary
mud-laid kiva wall and not directly to the sides of the natural
excavation. The vertical laths are bound in place by horizontal reeds
laid upon them 1 or 2 feet apart. The horizontal reeds are held in place
by pegs of greasewood driven into the wall at intervals of 1 or 2 feet
and are tied to the pegs with split yucca. These specimens are very
interesting examples of aboriginal lathing and plastering applied to
stone work.
[Illustration: Fig. 28. Interior view of a kiva hatchway in Tusayan.]
The ground plan of the mungkiva of Mashongnavi is illustrated in Fig.
27. In this example the narrowing of the room at the second level of the
floor is on one side. The step by which the upper level is reached from
the main floor is 8 inches high at the east end, rising to 10 inches at
the west end. The south end of the kiva is provided with a small opening
like a loop-hole, furnishing an outlook to the south. The east side of
the main portion of the kiva is not provided with the usual bench. The
portion of the bench at the katchina end of the kiva is on a level with
the west bench and continuous for a couple of feet beyond the northeast
corner along the east wall. The small wall niches are on the west side
and nearer the north end than usual. The arrangement of the katchinkihu
is quite different from that described in the Shupaulovi kivas. The
orifice occurs in the north wall at a height of 3½ feet above the floor,
and 2 feet 3 inches above the top of the bench that extends across this
end of the room. The firepit is somewhat smaller than in the other
examples illustrated. Fig. 28 illustrates the appearance of the kiva
hatchway from within as seen from the north end of the kiva, but the
ladder has been omitted from the drawing to avoid confusion. The ladder
rests against the edge of the coping that caps the dwarf wall on the
near side of the hatchway, its top leaning toward the spectator. The
small smoke-blackened sticks that are used for the suspension of bundles
of greasewood and other fuel in the hatchway are clearly shown. At the
far end of the trapdoor, on the outside, is indicated the mat of reeds
or rushes that is used for closing the openings when necessary. It is
here shown rolled up at the foot of the slope of the hatchway top, its
customary position when not in use. When this mat is used for closing
the kiva opening it is usually held in place by several large stone
slabs laid over it. Fig. 29 illustrates a specimen of the Tusayan kiva
mat.
[Illustration: Fig. 29. Mat used in closing the entrance of Tusayan
kiva.]
[Illustration: Plate LX. Tâaaiyalana, plan.]
The above kiva plans show that each of the illustrated examples is
provided with four long narrow planks, set in the kiva floor close to
the wall and provided with orifices for the attachment of looms. This
feature is a common accompaniment of kiva construction and pertains to
the use of the ceremonial room as a workshop by the male blanket weavers
of Tusayan. It will be more fully described in the discussion of the
various uses of the kiva.
The essential structural features of the kivas above described are
remarkably similar, though the illustrations of types have been selected
at random. Minor modifications are seen in the positions of many of the
features, but a certain general relation between the various
constructional requirements of the ceremonial room is found to prevail
throughout all the villages.
_Work by women._--After all the above described details have been
provided for, following the completion of the roofs and floors, the
women belonging to the people who are to occupy the kiva continue the
labor of its construction. They go over the interior surface of the
walls, breaking off projections and filling up the interstices with
small stones, and then they smoothly plaster the walls and the inside of
the hatchway with mud, and sometimes whitewash them with a gypsiferous
clay found in the neighborhood. Once every year, at the feast of Powuma
(the fructifying moon), the women give the kiva this same attention.
_Consecration._--When all the work is finished the kiva chief prepares a
baho and “feeds the house,” as it is termed; that is, he thrusts a
little meal, with piki crumbs, over one of the roof timbers, and in the
same place inserts the end of the baho. As he does this he expresses his
hope that the roof may never fall and that sickness and other evils may
never enter the kiva.
It is difficult to elicit intelligent explanation of the theory of the
baho and the prayer ceremonies in either kiva or house construction. The
baho is a prayer token; the petitioner is not satisfied by merely
speaking or singing his prayer, he must have some tangible thing upon
which to transmit it. He regards his prayer as a mysterious, impalpable
portion of his own substance, and hence he seeks to embody it in some
object, which thus becomes consecrated. The baho, which is inserted in
the roof of the kiva, is a piece of willow twig about six inches long,
stripped of its bark and painted. From it hang four small feathers
suspended by short cotton strings tied at equal distances along the
twig. In order to obtain recognition from the powers especially
addressed, different colored feathers and distinct methods of attaching
them to bits of wood and string are resorted to. In the present case
these are addressed to the “chiefs” who control the paths taken by the
people after coming up from the interior of the earth. They are thus
designated:
To the west: Siky´ak oma´uwu Yellow Cloud.
south: Sa´kwa oma´uwu Blue Cloud.
east: Pal´a oma´uwu Red Cloud.
north: Kwetsh oma´uwu White Cloud.
Two separate feathers are also attached to the roof. These are addressed
to the zenith, héyap omáuwu--the invisible space of the above--and to
the nadir, Myuingwa--god of the interior of the earth and maker of the
germ of life. To the four first mentioned the bahos under the corner
stones are also addressed. These feathers are prepared by the kiva chief
in another kiva. He smokes devoutly over them, and as he exhales the
smoke upon them he formulates the prayers to the chiefs or powers, who
not only control the paths or lives of all the people, but also preside
over the six regions of space whence come all the necessaries of life.
The ancients also occupy his thoughts during these devotions; he desires
that all the pleasures they enjoyed while here may come to his people,
and he reciprocally wishes the ancients to partake of all the enjoyments
of the living.
All the labor and ceremonies being completed the women prepare food for
a feast. Friends are invited, and the men dance all night in the kiva to
the accompaniment of their own songs and the beating of a primitive
drum, rejoicing over their new home. The kiva chief then proclaims the
name by which the kiva will be known. This is often merely a term of his
choosing, often without reference to its appropriateness.
_Various uses of kivas._--Allusions occur in some of the traditions,
suggesting that in earlier times one class of kiva was devoted wholly to
the purposes of a ceremonial chamber, and was constantly occupied by a
priest. An altar and fetiches were permanently maintained, and
appropriate groups of these fetiches were displayed from month to month,
as the different priests of the sacred feasts succeeded each other, each
new moon bringing its prescribed feast.
Many of the kivas were built by religious societies, which still hold
their stated observances in them, and in Oraibi several still bear the
names of the societies using them. A society always celebrates in a
particular kiva, but none of these kivas are now preserved exclusively
for religious purposes; they are all places of social resort for the
men, especially during the winter, when they occupy themselves with the
arts common among them. The same kiva thus serves as a temple during a
sacred feast, at other times as a council house for the discussion of
public affairs. It is also used as a workshop by the industrious and as
a lounging place by the idle.
[Illustration: Plate LXI. Standing walls of Tâaaiyalana ruins.]
There are still traces of two classes of kiva, marked by the distinction
that only certain ones contain the sipapuh, and in these the more
important ceremonies are held. It is said that no sipapuh has been made
recently. The prescribed operation is performed by the chief and the
assistant priests or fetich keepers of the society owning the kiva. Some
say the mystic lore pertaining to its preparation is lost and none can
now be made. It is also said that a stone sipapuh was formerly used
instead of the cottonwood plank now commonly seen. The use of stone for
this purpose, however, is nearly obsolete, though the second kiva of
Shupaulovi, illustrated in plan in Fig. 25, contains an example of this
ancient form. In one of the newest kivas of Mashongnavi the plank of the
sipapuh is pierced with a square hole, which is cut with a shoulder, the
shoulder supporting the plug with which the orifice is closed (see Fig.
30). This is a decided innovation on the traditional form, as the
orifice from which the people emerged, which is symbolized in the
sipapuh, is described as being of circular form in all the versions of
the Tusayan genesis myth. The presence of the sipapuh possibly at one
time distinguished such kivas as were considered strictly consecrated to
religious observances from those that were of more general use. At
Tusayan, at the present time, certain societies do not meet in the
ordinary kiva but in an apartment of a dwelling house, each society
having its own exclusive place of meeting. The house so used is called
the house of the “Sister of the eldest brother,” meaning, probably, that
she is the descendant of the founder of the society. This woman’s house
is also called the “house of grandmother,” and in it is preserved the
tiponi and other fetiches of the society. The tiponi is a ceremonial
object about 18 inches long, consisting of feathers set upright around a
small disk of silicified wood, which serves as its base when set upon
the altar. This fetich is also called iso (grandmother), hence the name
given to the house where it is kept. In the house, where the order of
warriors (Kuleataka) meets, the eldest son of the woman who owns it is
the chief of the order. The apartment in which they meet is a low room
on the ground floor, and is entered only by a hatchway and ladder. There
is no sipapuh in this chamber, for the warriors appeal directly to
Cótukinungwa, the heart of the zenith, the sky god. Large figures of
animal fetiches are painted in different colors upon the walls. On the
west wall is the Mountain Lion; on the south, the Bear; on the east, the
Wild Cat, surmounted with a shield inclosing a star; on the north, the
White Wolf; and on the east side of this figure is painted a large disk,
representing the sun. The walls of the chambers of the other societies
are not decorated permanently. Here is, then, really another class of
kiva, although it is not so called by the people on the Walpi mesa. The
ordinary term for the ground story rooms is used, “kikoli,” the house
without any opening in its walls. But on the second mesa, and at Oraibi,
although they sometimes use this term kikoli, they commonly apply the
term “kiva” to the ground story of the dwelling house used as well as to
the underground chambers.
[Illustration: Fig. 30. Rectangular sipapuh in a Mashongnavi kiva.]
It is probable that a class of kivas, not specially consecrated, has
existed from a very early period. The rooms in the dwelling houses have
always been small and dark, and in early times without chimneys. Within
such cramped limits it was inconvenient for the men to practice any of
the arts they knew, especially weaving, which could have been carried on
out of doors, as is done still occasionally, but subject to many
interruptions. It is possible that a class of kivas was designed for
such ordinary purposes, though now one type of room seems to answer all
these various uses. In most of the existing kivas there are planks, in
which stout loops are secured, fixed in the floor close to the wall, for
attaching the lower beam of a primitive vertical loom, and projecting
vigas or beams are inserted into the walls at the time of their
construction as a provision for the attachment of the upper loom poles.
The planks or logs to which is attached the lower part of the loom
appear in some cases to be quite carefully worked. They are often partly
buried in the ground and under the edges of adjacent paving stones in
such a manner as to be held in place very securely against the strain of
the tightly stretched warp while the blanket is being made. The holes
pierced in the upper surface of these logs are very neatly executed in
the manner illustrated in Fig. 31, which shows one of the orifices in
section, together with the adjoining paving stones. The outward
appearance of the device, as seen at short intervals along the length of
the log, is also shown. Strips of buckskin or bits of rope are passed
through these U-shaped cavities, and then over the lower pole of the
loom at the bottom of the extended series of warp threads. The latter
can thus be tightened preparatory to the operation of filling in with
the woof. The kiva looms seem to be used mainly for weaving the
dark-blue and black blankets of diagonal and diamond pattern, which form
a staple article of trade with the Zuni and the Rio Grande Pueblos. As
an additional convenience for the practice of weaving, one of the kivas
of Mashongnavi is provided with movable seats. These consist simply of
single stones of suitable size and form. Usually they are 8 or 10 inches
thick, a foot wide, and perhaps 15 or 18 inches long. Besides their use
as seats, these stones are used in connection with the edges of the
stone slabs that cap the permanent benches of the kiva to support
temporarily the upper and lower poles of the blanket loom while the warp
is gradually wound around them. The large stones that are incorporated
into the side of the benches of some of the Mashongnavi kivas have
occasionally round, cup-shaped cavities, of about an inch in diameter,
drilled into them. These holes receive one end of a warp stick, the
other end, being supported in a corresponding hole of the heavy, movable
stone seat. The other warp stick is supported in a similar manner, while
the thread is passed around both in a horizontal direction preparatory
to placing and stretching it in a vertical position for the final
working of the blanket. A number of these cup-shaped pits are formed
along the side of the stone bench, to provide for various lengths of
warp that may be required. On the opposite side of this same kiva a
number of similar holes or depressions are turned into the mud
plastering of the wall. All these devices are of common occurrence at
other of the Tusayan kivas, and indicate the antiquity of the practice
of using the kivas for such industrial purposes. There is a suggestion
of similar use of the ancient circular kivas in an example in Canyon de
Chelly. At a small cluster of rooms, built partly on a rocky ledge and
partly on adjoining loose earth and rocky debris, a land slide had
carried away half of a circular kiva, exposing a well-defined section of
its floor and the debris within the room. Here the writer found a number
of partly finished sandals of yucca fiber, with the long, unwoven fiber
carefully wrapped about the finished portion of the work, as though the
sandals had been temporarily laid aside until the maker could again work
on them. A number of coils of yucca fiber, similar to that used in the
sandals, and several balls of brown fiber, formed from the inner bark of
the cedar, were found on the floor of the room. The condition of the
ruin and the debris that filled the kiva clearly suggested that these
specimens were in use just where they were found at the time of the
abandonment or destruction of the houses. No traces were seen, however,
of any structural devices like those of Tusayan that would serve as aids
to the weavers, though the weaving of the particular articles comprised
in the collection from this spot would probably not require any cumbrous
apparatus.
[Illustration: Fig. 31. Loom post in kiva at Tusayan.]
[Illustration: Plate LXII. Remains of a reservoir on Tâaaiyalana.]
_Kiva ownership._--The kiva is usually spoken of as being the home of
the organization which maintains it. Different kivas are not used in
common by all the inhabitants. Every man has a membership in some
particular one and he frequents that one only. The same person is often
a member of different societies, which takes him to different kivas, but
that is only on set occasions. There is also much informal visiting
among them, but a man presumes to make a loitering place only of the
kiva in which he holds membership.
In each kiva there is a kiva mungwi (kiva chief), and he controls to a
great extent all matters pertaining to the kiva and its membership. This
office or trust is hereditary and passes from uncle to nephew through
the female line--that is, on the death of a kiva chief the eldest son of
his eldest sister succeeds him.
A kiva may belong either to a society, a group of gentes, or an
individual. If belonging to a society or order, the kiva chief commonly
has inherited his office in the manner indicated from the “eldest
brother” of the society who assumed its construction. But the kiva chief
is not necessarily chief of the society; in fact, usually he is but an
ordinary member. A similar custom of inheritance prevails where the kiva
belongs to a group of gentes, only in that case the kiva chief is
usually chief of the gentile group.
As for those held by individuals, a couple of examples will illustrate
the Tusayan practice. In Hano the chief kiva was originally built by a
group of “Sun” gentes, but about 45 years ago, during an epidemic of
smallpox, all the people who belonged to the kiva died except one man.
The room fell into ruin, its roof timbers were carried off, and it
became filled up with dust and rubbish. The title to it, however, rested
with the old survivor, as all the more direct heirs had died, and he,
when about to die, gave the kiva to Kotshve, a “Snake” man from Walpi,
who married a Tewa (Hano) woman and still lives in Hano. This man
repaired it and renamed it Tokónabi (said to be a Pah-Ute term, meaning
black mountain, but it is the only name the Tusayan have for Navajo
Mountain) because his people (the “Snake”) came from that place. He in
turn gave it to his eldest son, who is therefore kiva mungwi, but the
son says his successor will be the eldest son of his eldest sister. The
membership is composed of men from all the Hano gentes, but not all of
any one gens. In fact, it is not now customary for all the members of a
gens to be members of the same kiva.
Another somewhat similar instance occurs in Sichumovi. A kiva, abandoned
for a long time after the smallpox plague, was taken possession of by an
individual, who repaired it and renamed it Kevinyáp tshómo--Oak Mound.
He made his friends its members, but he called the kiva his own. He also
says that his eldest sister’s son will succeed him as chief.
In each village one of the kivas, usually the largest one, is called
(aside from its own special name) mungkiva--chief kiva. It is frequented
by the kimungwi--house or village chief--and the tshaakmungwi--chief
talker, councillor--and in it also the more elaborate ceremonies are
observed.
No women frequent any of the kivas; in fact they never enter them except
to plaster the walls at customary periods, or during the occasion of
certain ceremonies. Yet one at least of the Oraibi kivas was built for
the observances of a society of women, the Mamzrántiki. This and another
female society--Lalénkobáki--exist in all the other villages, and on the
occasion of their festivals the women are given the exclusive use of one
of the kivas.
_Motives for building a kiva._--Only two causes are mentioned for
building a new kiva. Quarrels giving rise to serious dissensions among
the occupants of a kiva are one cause. An instance of this occurred
quite recently at Hano. The conduct of the kiva chief gave rise to
dissensions, and the members opposed to him prepared to build a separate
room of their own. They chose a gap on the side of the mesa cliff, close
to Hano, collected stones for the walls, and brought the roof timbers
from the distant wooded mesas; but when all was ready to lay the
foundation their differences were adjusted and a complete reconciliation
was effected.
[Illustration: Plate LXIII. Kin-tiel, plan (also showing
excavations).]
The other cause assigned is the necessity for additional room when a
gens has outgrown its kiva. When a gens has increased in numbers
sufficiently to warrant its having a second kiva, the chief of the
gentile group, who in this case is also chief of the order, proposes to
his kin to build a separate kiva, and that being agreed to, he assumes
the direction of the construction and all the dedicatory and other
ceremonies connected with the undertaking. An instance of this kind
occurred within the last year or two at Oraibi, where the members of the
“Katchina” gentes, who are also members of the religious order of
Katchina, built a spacious kiva for themselves.
The construction of a new kiva is said to be of rare occurrence. On the
other hand, it is common to hear the kiva chief lament the decadence of
its membership. In the “Oak Mound” kiva at Sichumovi there are now but
four members. The young men have married and moved to their wives’
houses in more thriving villages, and the older men have died. The chief
in this case also says that some 2 years ago the agent gave him a stove
and pipe, which he set up in the room to add to its comfort. He now has
grave fears that the stove is an evil innovation, and has exercised a
deleterious influence upon the fortune of his kiva and its members; but
the stove is still retained.
_Significance of structural plan._--The designation of the curious
orifice of the sipapuh as “the place from which the people emerged” in
connection with the peculiar arrangement of the kiva interior with its
change of floor level, suggested to the author that these features might
be regarded as typifying the four worlds of the genesis myth that has
exercised such an influence on Tusayan customs; but no clear data on
this subject were obtained by the writer, nor has Mr. Stephen, who is
specially well equipped for such investigations, discovered that a
definite conception exists concerning the significance of the structural
plan of the kiva. Still, from many suggestive allusions made by the
various kiva chiefs and others, he also has been led to infer that it
typifies the four “houses,” or stages, described in their creation
myths. The sipapuh, with its cavity beneath the floor, is certainly
regarded as indicating the place of beginning, the lowest house under
the earth, the abode of Myuingwa, the Creator; the main or lower floor
represents the second stage; and the elevated section of the floor is
made to denote the third stage, where animals were created. Mr. Stephen
observed, at the New Year festivals, that animal fetiches were set in
groups upon this platform. It is also to be noted that the ladder
leading to the surface is invariably made of pine, and always rests upon
the platform, never upon the lower floor, and in their traditional
genesis it is stated that the people climbed up from the third house
(stage) by a ladder of pine, and through such an opening as the kiva
hatchway; only most of the stories indicate that the opening was round.
The outer air is the fourth world, or that now occupied.
There are occasional references in the Tusayan traditions to circular
kivas, but these are so confused with fantastic accounts of early mythic
structures that their literal rendition would serve no useful purpose in
the present discussion.
_Typical measurements._--The following list is a record of a number
of measurements of Tusayan kivas collected by Mr. Stephen. The wide
difference between the end measurements of the same kiva are usually
due to the interior offsets that have been noticed on the plans, but
the differences in the lengths of the sides are due to irregularities
of the site. The latter differences are not so marked as the former.
+-----------------+------------------+---------+---------------+
| Width at ends. | Length of sides. |Height at| Height |
| | | center. | at ends. |
+-----------------+------------------+---------+---------------+
| 13 6 -- -- | 24 0 -- -- | 8 6 | -- -- -- -- |
| 12 0 -- -- | 21 9 -- -- | 7 6 | 6 6 -- -- |
| 14 6 14 6 | 24 6 23 3 | 8 0 | 6 6 6 6 |
| 12 2 12 11 | 23 9 23 9 | 7 10 | 6 1 6 0 |
| 12 6 12 6 | 26 0 25 3 | 7 6 | 6 6 6 6 |
| 13 4 12 10 | 26 8 26 7 | 7 10 | 7 0 7 0 |
| 15 0 13 6 | 26 6 24 11 | 7 4 | 6 3 6 2 |
| 12 6 11 5 | 23 7 21 9 | 8 0 | 7 0 7 0 |
| 12 5 13 5 | 22 8 24 1 | 7 3 | 6 1 6 9 |
| 10 6 13 6 | 27 0 27 0 | 8 3 | 6 3 6 2 |
| 13 6 11 6 | 29 9 29 0 | 11 0 | 5 11 -- -- |
| 14 6 -- -- | 28 6 28 6 | 9 8 | 6 0 -- -- |
| 13 2 14 0 | 28 9 29 9 | 8 6 | 7 0 6 4 |
| 15 1 14 0 | 28 6 -- -- | 9 6 | 7 3 6 6 |
| 13 0 12 6 | 28 7 29 6 | -- -- | 7 4 6 3 |
+-----------------+------------------+---------+---------------+
_List of Tusayan kivas._--The following list gives the present names
of all the kivas in use at Tusayan. The mungkiva or chief kiva of the
village is in each case designated:
HANO.
1. Toko´nabi kiva Navajo Mountain.
2. Hano sinte´ kiva Place of the Hano.
Toko´nabi kiva is the mungkiva.
WALPI.
1. Djiva´to kiva Goat.
2. Al kiva A´la, Horn.
3. Naca´b kiva Na´cabi, half-way or central.
4. Picku´ibi kiva Opening oak bud.[5]
Wikwa´lobi kiva Place of the watchers.
5. Mung kiva Mungwi chief.
No. 5 is the mungkiva.
[Footnote 5: These two names are common to the kiva in which the
Snake order meets and in which the indoor ceremonies pertaining to
the Snake-dance are celebrated.]
SICHUMOVI.
1. Bave´ntcomo Water mound.
2. Kwinzaptcomo Oak mound.
Bave´ntcomo is the mungkiva.
MASHONGNAVI.
1. Tcavwu´na kiva A small coiled-ware jar.
2. Hona´n kiva Honani, Badger, a gens.
3. Gy´arzohi kiva Gy´arzo, Paroquet, a gens.
4. Kotcobi kiva High place.
5. Al kiva A´la, Horn.
Teavwu´na kiva is the mungkiva.
SHUPAULOVI.
1. A´tkabi kiva Place below.
2. Kokyangobi kiva Place of spider.
A´tkabi kiva is the mungkiva.
SHUMOPAVI.
1. Nuvwa´tikyuobi High place of snow, San Francisco
Mountain.
2. Al kiva A´la, Horn.
3. Gy´arzobi Gy´arzo, Paroquet, a gens.
4. Tco´sobi Blue Jay, a gens.
Tco´sobi is the mungkiva.
ORAIBI.
1. Tdau kiva Tda´uollauwuh The singers.
2. Ha´wiobi kiva Ha´wi, stair; High stair place.
obi, high place.
3. Ish kiva Isa´uwuh Coyote, a gens.
4. Kwang kiva Kwa´kwanti Religious order.
5. Ma´zrau kiva Ma´mzrauti Female order.
6. Na´cabi kiva Half way or Central place.
7. Sa´kwalen kiva Sa´kwa le´na Blue Flute, a religious order.
8. Po´ngobi kiva Pongo, a circle An order who decorate
themselves with circular
marks on the body.
9. Hano´ kiva Ha´nomuh A fashion of cutting the hair.
10. Motc kiva Mo´mtci The Warriors, an order.
11. Kwita´koli kiva Kwita, ordure; Ordure heap.
ko´li, a heap.
12. Katcin kiva Katcina A gens.
13. Tcu kiva Tcua, a snake Religions order.
Tdau kiva is the mungkiva.
[Illustration: Plate LXIV. North wall of Kin-tiel.]
DETAILS OF TUSAYAN AND CIBOLA CONSTRUCTION.
WALLS.
The complete operation of building a wall has never been observed at
Zuñi by the writer, but a close examination of numerous finished and
some broken-down walls indicates that the methods of construction
adopted are essentially the same as those employed in Tusayan, which,
have been repeatedly observed; with the possible difference, however,
that in the former adobe mud mortar is more liberally used. A singular
feature of pueblo masonry as observed at Tusayan is the very sparing use
of mud in the construction of the walls; in fact, in some instances when
walls are built during the dry season, the larger stones are laid up in
the walls without the use of mud at all, and are allowed to stand in
this condition until the rains come; then the mud mortar is mixed, the
interstices of the walls filled in with it and with chinking stones, and
the inside walls are plastered. But the usual practice is to complete
the house at once, finishing it inside and out with the requisite
mortar. In some instances the outside walls are coated, completely
covering the masonry, but this is not done in many of the houses, as may
be seen by reference to the preceding illustrations of the Tusayan
villages. At Zuñi, on the other hand, a liberal and frequently renewed
coating of mud is applied to the walls. Only one piece of masonry was
seen in the entire village that did not have traces of this coating of
mud, viz, that portion of the second story wall of house No. 2 described
as possibly belonging to the ancient nucleus pueblo of Halona and
illustrated in Pl. LVIII. Even the rough masonry of the kivas is partly
surfaced with this medium, though many jagged stones are still visible.
As a result of this practice it is now in many cases impossible to
determine from mere superficial inspection whether the underlying
masonry has been constructed of stone or of adobe; a difficulty that may
be realized from an examination of the views of Zuñi in Chapter III.
Where the fall of water, such as the discharge from a roof-drain, has
removed the outer coating of mud that covers stonework and adobe alike,
a large proportion of these exposures reveal stone masonry, so that it
is clearly apparent that Zuñi is essentially a stone village. The
extensive use of sun-dried bricks of adobe has grown up within quite
recent times. It is apparent, however, that the Zuñi builders preferred
to use stone; and even at the present time they frequently eke out with
stonework portions of a house when the supply of adobe has fallen short.
An early instance of such supplementary use of stone masonry still
survives in the church building, where the old Spanish adobe has been
repaired and filled in with the typical tabular aboriginal masonry,
consisting of small stones carefully laid, with very little intervening
mortar showing on the face. Such reversion to aboriginal methods
probably took place on every opportunity, though it is remarkable that
the Indians should have been allowed to employ their own methods in this
instance. Although this church building has for many generations
furnished a conspicuous example of typical adobe construction to the
Zuñi, he has never taken the lesson sufficiently to heart to closely
imitate the Spanish methods either in the preparation of the material or
in the manner of its use. The adobe bricks of the church are of large
and uniform size, and the mud from which they were made had a liberal
admixture of straw. This binding material does not appear in Zuñi in any
other example of adobe that has been examined, nor does it seem to have
been utilized in any of the native pueblo work either at this place or
at Tusayan. Where molded adobe bricks have been used by the Zuñi in
housebuilding they have been made from the raw material just as it was
taken from the fields. As a result these bricks have little of the
durability of the Spanish work. Pl. XCVI illustrates an adobe wall of
Zuñi, part of an unroofed house. The old adobe church at Hawikuh (Pl.
XLVIII), abandoned for two centuries, has withstood the wear of time and
weather better than any of the stonework of the surrounding houses. On
the right-hand side of the street that shows in the foreground of Pl.
LXXVIII is an illustration of the construction of a wall with adobe
bricks. This example is very recent, as it has not yet been roofed over.
The top of the wall, however, is temporarily protected by the usual
series of thin sandstone slabs used in the finishing of wall copings.
The very rapid disintegration of native-made adobe walls has brought
about the use in Zuñi of many protective devices, some of which will be
noticed in connection with the discussion of roof drains and wall
copings. Figs. 32 and 33 illustrate a curious employment of pottery
fragments on a mud-plastered wall and on the base of a chimney to
protect the adobe coating against rapid erosion by the rains. These
pieces, usually fragments from large vessels, are embedded in the adobe
with the convex side out, forming an armor of pottery scales well
adapted to resist disintegration, by the elements.
[Illustration: Plate LXV. Standing walls of Kin-tiel.]
[Illustration: Fig. 32. A Zuñi chimney, showing pottery fragments
embedded in its adobe base.]
[Illustration: Fig. 33. A Zuñi oven with pottery scales embedded in
its surface.]
The introduction of the use of adobe in Zuñi should probably be
attributed to foreign influence, but the position of the village in the
open plain at a distance of several miles from the nearest outcrop of
suitable building stone naturally led the builders to use stone more
sparingly when an available substitute was found close at hand. The thin
slabs of stone, which had to be brought from a great distance, came to
be used only for the more exposed portions of buildings, such as copings
on walls and borders around roof openings. Still, the pueblo builders
never attained to a full appreciation of the advantages and requirements
of this medium as compared with stone. The adobe walls are built only as
thick as is absolutely necessary, few of them being more than a foot in
thickness. The walls are thus, in proportion, to height and weight,
sustained, thinner than the crude brick construction of other peoples,
and require protection and constant repairs to insure durability. As to
thickness, they are evidently modeled directly after the walls of stone
masonry, which had already, in both Tusayan and Cibola, been pushed to
the limit of thinness. In fact, since the date of the survey of Zuñi, on
which the published plan is based, the walls of several rooms over the
court passageway in the house, illustrated in Pl. LXXXII, have entirely
fallen in, demonstrating the insufficiency of the thin walls to sustain
the weight of several stories.
The climate of the pueblo region is not wholly suited to the employment
of adobe construction, as it is there practiced. For several months in
the year (the rainy season) scarcely a day passes without violent storms
which play havoc with the earth-covered houses, necessitating constant
vigilance and frequent repairs on the part of the occupants.
Though the practice of mud-coating all walls has in Cibola undoubtedly
led to greater carelessness and a less rigid adherence to ancient
methods of construction, the stone masonry may still be seen to retain
some of the peculiarities that characterize ancient examples. Features
of this class are still more apparent at Tusayan, and notwithstanding
the rudeness of much of the modern stone masonry of this province, the
fact that the builders are familiar with the superior methods of the
ancient builders, is clearly shown in the masonry of the present
villages.
[Illustration: Plate LXVI. Kinna-Zinde.]
Perhaps the most noteworthy characteristic of pueblo masonry, and one
which is more or less present in both ancient and modern examples, is
the use of small chinking stones for bringing the masonry to an even
face after the larger stones forming the body of the wall have been laid
in place. This method of construction has, in the case of some of the
best built ancient pueblos, such as those on the Chaco in New Mexico,
resulted in the production of marvelously finished stone walls, in which
the mosaic-like bits are so closely laid as to show none but the finest
joints on the face of the wall with but little trace of mortar. The
chinking wedges necessarily varied greatly in dimensions to suit the
sizes of the interstices between the larger stones of the wall. The use
of stone in this manner no doubt suggested the banded walls that form so
striking a feature in some of the Chaco houses. This arrangement was
likely to be brought about by the occurrence in the cliffs of seams of
stone of two degrees of thickness, suggesting to the builders the use of
stones of similar thickness in continuous bands. The ornamental effect
of this device was originally an accidental result of adopting the most
convenient method of using the material at hand. Though the masonry of
the modern pueblos does not afford examples of distinct bands, the
introduction of the small chinking spalls often follows horizontal lines
of considerable length. Even in mud-plastered Zuñi, many outcrops of
these thin, tabular wedges protrude from the partly eroded mudcoating of
a wall and indicate the presence of this kind of stone masonry. An
example is illustrated in Fig. 34, a tower-like projection at the
northeast corner of house No. 2.
[Illustration: Fig. 34. Stone wedges of Zuñi masonry exposed in
rain-washed wall.]
[Illustration: Fig. 35. An unplastered house wall in Ojo Caliente.]
[Illustration: Plate LXVII. Nutria, plan.]
In the Tusayan house illustrated in Pl. LXXXIV, the construction of
which was observed at Oraibi, the interstices between the large stones
that formed the body of the wall, containing but small quantities of mud
mortar, were filled in or plugged with small fragments of stone, which,
after being partly embedded in the mud of the joint, were driven in with
unhafted stone hammers, producing a fairly even face of masonry,
afterward gone over with mud plastering of the consistency of modeling
clay, applied a handful at a time. Piled up on the ground near the new
house at convenient points for the builders may be seen examples of the
larger wall stones, indicating the marked tabular character of the
pueblo masons’ material. The narrow edges of similar stones are visible
in the unplastered portions of the house wall, which also illustrates
the relative proportion of chinking stones. This latter, however, is a
variable feature. Pl. XV affords a clear illustration of the proportion
of these small stones in the old masonry of Payupki; while in Pl. XI,
illustrating a portion of the outer wall of the Fire House, the tablets
are fewer in number and thinner, their use predominating in the
horizontal joints, as in the best of the old examples, but not to the
same extent. Fig. 35 illustrates the inner face of an unplastered wall
of a small house at Ojo Caliente, in which the modern method of using
the chinking stones is shown. This example bears a strong resemblance to
the Payupki masonry illustrated in Pl. XV in the irregularity with which
the chinking stones are distributed in the joints of the wall. The same
room affords an illustration of a cellar-like feature having the
appearance of an intentional excavation to attain a depth for this room
corresponding to the adjoining floor level, but this effect is due
simply to a clever adaptation of the house wall to an existing ledge of
sandstone. The latter has had scarcely any artificial treatment beyond
the partial smoothing of the rock in a few places and the cutting out of
a small niche from the rocky wall. This niche occupies about the same
position in this room that it does in the ordinary pueblo house. It is
remarkable that the pueblo builders did not to a greater extent utilize
their skill in working stone in the preparation of some of the irregular
rocky sites that they have at times occupied for the more convenient
reception of their wall foundations; but in nearly all such cases the
buildings have been modified to suit the ground. An example of this
practice is illustrated in Pl. XXIII, from the west side of Walpi. In
some of the ancient examples the labor required to so prepare the sites
would not have exceeded that expended on the massive masonry composed of
numberless small stones. Many of the older works testify to the
remarkable patience and industry of the builders in amassing and
carefully adjusting vast quantities of building materials, and the
modern Indians of Tusayan and Cibola have inherited much of this ancient
spirit; yet this industry was rarely diverted to the excavation of room
or village sites, except in the case of the kivas, in which special
motives led to the practice. In some of the Chaco pueblos, as now seen,
the floors of outer marginal rooms seem to be depressed below the
general level of the surrounding soil; but it is now difficult to
determine whether such was the original arrangement, as much sand and
soil have drifted against the outer walls, raising the surface. In none
of the pueblos within the limits of the provinces under discussion has
there been found any evidence of the existence of underground cellars;
the rooms that answer such purpose are built on the level of the ground.
At Tusayan the ancient practice of using the ground-floor rooms for
storage still prevails. In these are kept the dried fruit, vegetables,
and meats that constitute the principal winter food of the Tusayan.
Throughout Tusayan the walls of the first terrace rooms are not finished
with as much care as those above that face the open courts. A quite
smoothly finished coat of adobe is often seen in the upper stories, but
is much more rarely applied to the rough masonry of the ground-floor
rooms. At Zuñi no such difference of treatment is to be seen, a result
of the recent departure from their original defensive use. At the
present day most of the rooms that are built on the ground have external
doors, often of large size, and are regarded by the Zuñi as preferable
to the upper terraces as homes. This indicates that the idea of
convenience has already largely overcome the traditional defensive
requirements of pueblo arrangement. The general finish and quality of
the masonry, too, does not vary noticeably in different portions of the
village. An occasional wall may be seen in which underlying stones may
be traced through the thin adobe covering, as in one of the walls of the
court illustrated in Pl. LXXXII, but most of the walls have a fairly
smooth finish. The occasional examples of rougher masonry do not seem to
be confined to any particular portion of the village. At Tusayan, on the
other hand, there is a noticeable difference in the extent to which the
finishing coat of adobe has been used in the masonry. The villages of
the first mesa, whose occupants have come in frequent contact with the
eastern pueblo Indians and with outsiders generally, show the effect in
the adoption of several devices still unknown to their western
neighbors, as is shown in the discussion of the distribution of roof
openings in these villages, pp. 201-208. The builders of the first mesa
seem also to have imitated their eastern brethren in the free use of the
adobe coating over their masonry, while at the villages of the middle
mesa, and particularly at Oraibi, the practice has been comparatively
rare, imparting an appearance of ruggedness and antiquity to the
architecture.
The stonework of this village, perhaps approaches the ancient types more
closely than that of the others, some of the walls being noticeable for
the frequent use of long bond stones. The execution of the masonry at
the corners of some of the houses enforces this resemblance and
indicates a knowledge of the principles of good construction in the
proper alternation of the long stones. A comparison with the Kin-tiel
masonry (Pl. LXXXIX) will show this resemblance. As a rule in pueblo
masonry an upper house wall was supported along its whole length by a
wall of a lower story, but occasional exceptions occur in both ancient
and modern work, where the builders have dared to trust the weight of
upper walls to wooden beams or girders, supported along part of their
length by buttresses from the walls at their ends or by large, clumsy
pieces of masonry, as was seen in the house of Sichumovi. In an upper
story of Walpi also, partitions occur that are not built immediately
over the lower walls, but on large beams supported on masonry piers.
In the much higher terraces of Zuñi, the strength of many of the inner
ground walls must be seriously taxed to withstand the superincumbent
weight, as such walls are doubtless of only the average thickness and
strength of ground walls. The dense clustering of this village has
certainly in some instances thrown the weight of two, three, or even
four additional, stories upon walls in which no provision was made for
the unusual strain. The few supporting walls that were accessible to
inspection did not indicate any provision in their thickness for the
support of additional weight; in fact, the builders of the original
walls could have no knowledge of their future requirements in this
respect. In the pueblos of the Chaco upper partition walls were, in a
few instances, supported directly on double girders, two posts of 12 or
14 inches in diameter placed side by side, without reinforcement by
stone piers or buttresses, the room below being left wholly
unobstructed. This construction was practicable for the careful builders
of the Chaco, but an attempt by the Tusayan to achieve the same result
would probably end in disaster. It was quite common among the ancient
builders to divide the ground or storage floor into smaller rooms than
the floor above, still preserving the vertical alignment of the walls.
[Illustration: Plate LXVIII. Nutria, view.]
The finish of pueblo masonry rarely went far beyond the two leading
forms, to which attention has been called, the free use of adobe on the
one hand and the banded arrangement of ancient masonry on the other.
These types appear to present development along divergent lines. The
banded feature doubtless reached such a point of development in the
Chaco pueblos that its decorative value began to be appreciated, for it
is apparent that its elaboration has extended far beyond the
requirements of mere utility. This point would never have been reached
had the practice prevailed of covering the walls with a coating of mud.
The cruder examples of banded construction, however--those that still
kept well within constructional expediency--were doubtless covered with
a coating of plaster where they occurred inside of the rooms. At Tusayan
and Cibola, on the other hand, the tendency has been rather to elaborate
the plastic element of the masonry. The nearly universal use of adobe is
undoubtedly largely responsible for the more slovenly methods of
building now in vogue, as it effectually conceals careless construction.
It is not to be expected that walls would be carefully constructed of
banded stonework when they were to be subsequently covered with mud. The
elaboration of the use of adobe and its employment as a periodical
coating for the dwellings, probably developed gradually into the use of
a whitewash for the house walls, resulting finally in crude attempts at
wall decoration.
Many of the interiors in Zuñi are washed with a coating of white, clayey
gypsum, used in the form of a solution made by dissolving in hot water
the lumps of the raw material, found in many localities. The mixture is
applied to the walls while hot, and is spread by means of a rude
glove-like sack, made of sheep or goat skin, with the hair side out.
With this primitive brush the Zuñi housewives succeed in laying on a
smooth and uniform coating over the plaster. An example of this class of
work was observed in a room of house No. 2. It is difficult to determine
to what extent this idea is aboriginal; as now employed it has doubtless
been affected by the methods of the neighboring Spanish population,
among whom the practice of white-coating the adobe houses inside and out
is quite common. Several traces of whitewashing have been found among
the cliff-dwellings of Canyon de Chelly, notably at the ruin known as
Casa Blanca, but as some of these ruins contained evidences of
post-Spanish occupation, the occurrence there of the whitewash does not
necessarily imply any great antiquity for the practice.
External use of this material is much rarer, particularly in Zuñi, where
only a few walls of upper stories are whitened. Where it is not
protected from the rains by an overhanging coping or other feature, the
finish is not durable. Occasionally where a doorway or other opening has
been repaired the evidences of patchwork are obliterated by a
surrounding band of fresh plastering, varying in width from 4 inches to
a foot or more. Usually this band is laid on as a thick wash of adobe,
but in some instances a decorative effect is attained by using white.
It is curious to find that at Tusayan the decorative treatment of the
finishing wash has been carried farther than at Zuñi. The use of a
darker band of color about the base of a whitewashed room has already
been noticed in the description of a Tusayan interior. On many of the
outer walls of upper stories the whitewash has been stopped within a
foot of the coping, the unwhitened portion of the walls at the top
having the effect of a frieze. In a second story house of Mashongnavi,
that had been carefully whitewashed, additional decorative effect was
produced by tinting a broad band about the base of the wall with an
application of bright pinkish clay, which was also carried around the
doorway as an enframing band, as in the case of the Zuñi door above
described. The angles on each side, at the junction of the broad base
band with the narrower doorway border, were filled in with a design of
alternating pink and white squares. This doorway is illustrated in Fig.
36. Farther north, on the same terrace, the jamb of a whitewashed
doorway was decorated with the design shown on the right hand side of
Fig. 36, executed also in pink clay. This design closely resembles a
pattern that is commonly embroidered upon the large white “kachina,” or
ceremonial blankets. It is not known whether the device is here regarded
as having any special significance. The pink clay in which these designs
have been executed has in Sichumovi been used for the coating of an
entire house front.
[Illustration: Fig. 36. Wall decorations in Mashongnavi executed in
pink on a white ground].
In addition to the above-mentioned uses of stone and earth in the
masonry of house walls, the pueblo builders have employed both these
materials in a more primitive manner in building the walls of corrals
and gardens, and for other purposes. The small terraced gardens of Zuñi,
located on the borders of the village on the southwest and southeast
sides, close to the river bank, are each surrounded by walls 2½ or 3
feet high, of very light construction, the average thickness not
exceeding 6 or 8 inches. These rude walls are built of small,
irregularly rounded lumps of adobe, formed by hand, and coarsely
plastered with mud. When the crops are gathered in the fall the walls
are broken down in places to facilitate access to the inclosures, so
that they require repairing at each planting season. Aside from this
they are so frail as to require frequent repairs throughout the period
of their use. This method of building walls was adopted because it was
the readiest and least laborious means of inclosing the required space.
The character of these garden walls is illustrated in Pl. XC, and their
construction with rough lumps of crude adobe shows also the contrast
between the weak appearance of this work and the more substantial effect
of the masonry of the adjoining unfinished house. At the Cibolan farming
pueblos inclosing walls were usually made of stone, as were also those
of Tusayan. Pl. LXX indicates the manner in which the material has been
used in the corrals of Pescado, located within the village. The stone
walls are used in combination with stakes, such as are employed at the
main pueblo.
[Illustration: Plate LXIX. Pescado, plan.]
Small inclosed gardens, like those of Zuñi, occur at several points in
Tusayan. The thin walls are made of dry masonry, quite as rude in
character as those inclosing the Zuñi gardens. The smaller clusters are
usually located in the midst of large areas of broken stone that has
fallen from the mesa above. In the foreground of Pl. XXII may be seen a
number of examples of such work. Pl. XCI illustrates a group of corrals
at Oraibi whose walls are laid up without the use of mud mortar.
Where exceptionally large blocks of stone are available they have been
utilized in an upright position, and occur at greater or less intervals
along the thin walls of dry masonry. An example of this use was seen in
a garden wall on the west side of Walpi, where the stones had been set
on end in the yielding surface of a sandy slope among the foothills.
A similar arrangement, occurring close to the houses at Ojo Caliente,
is illustrated in Pl. XCII. Large, upright slabs of stone have been used
by the pueblo builders in many ways, sometimes incorporated into the
architecture of the houses, and again in detached positions at some
distance from the villages. Pls. XCIII and XCIV, drawn from the
photographs of Mr. W. H. Jackson, afford illustrations of this usage in
the ancient ruins of Montezuma Canyon. In the first of these cases the
stones were utilized, apparently, in house masonry. Among the ruins in
the valley of the San Juan and its tributaries, as described by Messrs.
W. H. Holmes and W. H. Jackson, varied arrangements of upright slabs of
stone are of frequent occurrence. The rows of stones are sometimes
arranged in squares, sometimes in circles, and occasionally are
incorporated into the walls of ordinary masonry, as in the example
illustrated. Isolated slabs are also met with among the ruins. At
K’iakima, at a point near the margin of the ruin, occurs a series of
very large, upright slabs, which occupy the positions of headstones to a
number of small inclosures, thought to be mortuary, outlined upon the
ground. These have been already described in connection with the ground
plan of this village.
The employment of upright slabs of stone to mark graves probably
prevailed to some extent in ancient practice, but other uses suggest
themselves. Occupying a conspicuous point in the village of Kin-tiel
(Pl. LXIII) is an upright slab of sandstone which seems to stand in its
original position undisturbed, though the walls of the adjoining rooms
are in ruins. A similar feature was seen at Peñasco Blanco, on the east
side of the village and a short distance without the inclosing wall.
Both these rude pillars are, in character and in position, very similar
to an upright stone of known use at Zuñi. A hundred and fifty feet from
this pueblo is a large upright block of sandstone, which is said to be
used as a datum point in the observations of the sun made by a priest of
Zuñi for the regulation of the time for planting and harvesting, for
determining the new year, and for fixing the dates of certain other
ceremonial observances. By the aid of such devices as the native priests
have at their command they are enabled to fix the date of the winter
solstice with a fair degree of accuracy. Such rude determination of time
was probably an aboriginal invention, and may have furnished the motive
in other cases for placing stone pillars in such unusual positions. The
explanation of the governor of Zuñi for a sun symbol seen on an upright
stone at Matsaki has been given in the description of that place. Single
slabs are also used, as seen in the easternmost room group of
Tâaaiyalana, and in the southwestern cluster on the same mesa, in the
building of shrines for the deposit of plume sticks and other ceremonial
objects.
An unusual employment of small stones in an upright position occurs at
Zuñi. The inclosing wall of the church yard, still used as a burial
place, is provided at intervals along its top with upright pieces of
stone set into the joints of a regular coping course that caps the wall.
This feature may have some connection with the idea of vertical grave
stones, noted at K’iakima. It is difficult to surmise what practical
purpose could have been subserved by these small upright stones.
Notwithstanding the use of large stones for special purposes the pueblo
builders rarely appreciated the advantages that might be obtained by the
proper use of such material. Pueblo masonry is essentially made up of
small, often minute, constructional units. This restriction doubtless
resulted in a higher degree of mural finish than would otherwise have
been attained, but it also imposes certain limitations upon their
architectural achievement. Some of these are noted in the discussion of
openings and of other details of construction.
Pl. XLV, an illustration of a Mormon mill building at Moen-kopi, already
referred to in the description of that village, is introduced for the
purpose of comparing the methods adopted by the natives and by the
whites in the treatment of the same class of material. Perhaps the most
noteworthy contrast is seen in the sills and lintels of the openings.
ROOFS AND FLOORS.
In the pueblo system of building, roof and floor is one; for all the
floors, except such as are formed immediately on the surface of the
ground, are at the same time the roofs and ceilings of lower rooms. The
pueblo plan of to-day readily admits of additions at any time and almost
at any point of the basal construction. The addition of rooms above
converts a roof into the floor of the new room, so that there can be no
distinction in method of construction between floors and roofs, except
the floors are occasionally covered with a complete paving of thin stone
slabs, a device that in external roofs is confined to the copings that
cap the walls and enframe openings.
[Illustration: Plate LXX. Court view of Pescado, showing corrals.]
[Illustration: Fig. 37. Diagram of Zuñi roof construction.]
The methods of roofing their houses practiced by the pueblo builders
varied but little, and followed the general order of construction that
has been outlined in describing Tusayan house building. The diagram,
shown in Fig. 37, an isometric projection illustrating roof
construction, is taken from a Zuñi example, the building of which was
observed by the writer. The roof is built by first a series of principal
beams or rafters. These are usually straight, round poles of 6 or 8
inches in diameter, with all bark and projecting knots removed. Squared
beams are of very rare occurrence; the only ones seen were those of the
Tusayan kivas, of Spanish manufacture. In recently constructed houses
the principal beams are often of large size and are very neatly squared
off at the ends. Similar square ended beams of large size are met with
in the ancient work of the Chaco pueblos, but there the enormous labor
involved in producing the result with only the aid of stone implements
is in keeping with the highly finished character of the masonry and the
general massiveness of the construction. The same treatment was adopted
in Kin-tiel, as may be seen in Pl. XCV, which illustrates a beam resting
upon a ledge or offset of the inner walls. The recent introduction of
improved mechanical aids has exerted a strong influence on the character
of the construction in greatly facilitating execution. The use of the
American ax made it a much easier task to cut large timbers, and the
introduction of the “burro” and ox greatly facilitated their
transportation. In the case of the modern pueblos, such as Zuñi, the
dwelling rooms that were built by families so poor as not to have these
aids would to some extent indicate the fact by their more primitive
construction, and particularly by their small size, in this respect more
closely resembling the rooms of the ancient pueblos. As a result the
poorer classes would be more likely to perpetuate primitive devices,
through the necessity for practicing methods that to the wealthier
members of the tribe were becoming a matter of tradition only. In such a
sedentary tribe as the present Zuñi, these differences of wealth and
station are more marked than one would expect to find among a people
practicing a style of architecture so evidently influenced by the
communal principle, and the architecture of to-day shows the effect of
such distinctions. In the house of the governor of Zuñi a new room has
been recently built, in which the second series of the roof, that
applied over the principal beams, consisted of pine shakes or shingles,
and these supported the final earth covering without any intervening
material. In the typical arrangement, however, illustrated in the
figure, the first series, or principal beams, are covered by another
series of small poles, about an inch and a half or two inches in
diameter, at right angles to the first, and usually laid quite close
together. The ends of these small poles are partially embedded in the
masonry of the walls. In an example of the more careful and laborious
work of the ancient builders seen at Peñasco Blanco, on the Chaco, the
principal beams were covered with narrow boards, from 2 to 4 inches wide
and about 1 inch thick, over which was put the usual covering of earth.
The boards had the appearance of having been split out with wedges, the
edges and faces having the characteristic fibrous appearance of torn or
split wood. At Zuñi an instance occurs where split poles have been used
for the second series of a roof extending through the whole thickness of
the wall and projecting outside, as is commonly the case with the first
series. A similar arrangement was seen in a ruined tower in the vicinity
of Fort Wingate, New Mexico. In the typical roof construction
illustrated the second series is covered with small twigs or brush,
laid in close contact and at right angles to the underlying series, or
parallel with the main beams. Pl. XCVI, illustrating an unroofed adobe
house in Zuñi, shows several bundles of this material on an adjoining
roof. This series is in turn covered with a layer of grass and small
brush, again at right angles, which prepares the frame for the reception
of the final earth covering, this latter being the fifth application to
the roof. In the example illustrated the entire earth covering of the
roof was finished in a single application of the material. It has been
seen that at Tusayan a layer of moistened earth is applied, followed by
a thicker layer of the dry soil.
In ancient construction, the method of arranging the material varied
somewhat. In some cases series 3 was very carefully constructed of
straight willow wands laid side by side in contact. This gave a very
neat appearance to the ceiling within the room. Examples were seen in
Canyon de Chelly, at Mummy Cave, and at Hungo Pavie and Pueblo Bonito on
the Chaco.
[Illustration: Plate LXXI. Pescado houses.]
Again examples occur where series 2 is composed of 2-inch poles in
contact and the joints are chinked on the upper side with small stones
to prevent the earth from sifting through. This arrangement was seen in
a small cluster on the canyon bottom on the de Chelly.
The small size of available roofing rafters has at Tusayan brought about
a construction of clumsy piers of masonry in a few of the larger rooms,
which support the ends of two sets of main girders, and these in turn
carry series 1, or the main ceiling beams of the roof. The girders are
generally double, an arrangement that has been often employed in ancient
times, as many examples occur among the ruins. The purpose of such
arrangement may have been to admit of the abutment of the ends of series
1, when the members of the latter were laid in contact. In the absence
of squared beams, which seem never to have been used in the old work,
this abutment could only be securely accomplished by the use of double
girders, as suggested in the following diagram, Fig. 38.
[Illustration: Fig. 38. Showing abutment of smaller roof beams over
round girders.]
The final roof covering, composed of clay, is usually laid on very
carefully and firmly, and, when the surface is unbroken, answers fairly
well as a watershed. A slight slope or fall is given to the roof. This
roof subserves every purpose of a front yard to the rooms that open upon
it, and seems to be used exactly like the ground itself. Sheepskins are
stretched and pegged out upon it for tanning or drying, and the
characteristic Zuñi dome-shaped oven is frequently built upon it. In
Zuñi generally upper rooms are provided only with a mud floor, although
occasionally the method of paving with large thin slabs of stone is
adopted. These are often somewhat irregular in form, the object being to
have them as large as possible, so that considerable ingenuity is often
displayed in selecting the pieces and in joining the irregular edges.
This arrangement, similar to that of the kiva floors of Tusayan, is
occasionally met with in the kivas.
In making excavations at Kin-tiel, the floor of the ground room in which
the circular door illustrated in Pl. C, was found was paved with large,
irregular fragments of stone, the thickness of which did not average
more than an inch. Its floor, whose paving was all in place, was strewn
with broken, irregular fragments similar in character, which must have
been used as the flooring of an upper chamber.
WALL COPINGS AND ROOF DRAINS.
In the construction of the typical pueblo house the walls are carried up
to the height of the roof surface, and are then capped with a continuous
protecting coping of thin flat stones, laid in close contact, their
outer edges flush with the face of the wall. This arrangement is still
the prevailing one at Tusayan, though there is an occasional example of
the projecting coping that practically forms a cornice. This latter is
the more usual form at Zuñi, though in the farming pueblos of Cibola it
does not occur with any greater frequency than at Tusayan. The flush
coping is in Tusayan made of the thinnest and most uniform specimens of
building stone available, but these are not nearly so well adapted to
the purpose as those found in the vicinity of Zuñi.