Preparations for a great sand painting began at daylight. Sand for the
ground work was carried in in blankets; the fire which had burned through
the previous ceremonies was first removed and all traces of it covered
with sand. As the artists were to begin the painting with the center of
the picture only a portion of the ground color was laid at first, in order
to enable them to work with greater facility. While the ground color was
being laid a man sat on one side of the lodge grinding with a metate and
mixing the colors. A quantity of coals were taken from the exhausted fire
from which to prepare black paint. A small quantity of red sand was mixed
with the charcoal to give it body or weight. The colors used in this sand
painting have all been referred to in the description of the rainbow over
the sweat house. After the central portion of the ground work for the
painting was smoothed off a Jerusalem cross was drawn in black. The eye
usually was the only guide for drawing lines, though on two occasions a
weaving stick was used. As a rule four artists were employed, one
beginning at each point of the cross. Each arm of the cross was completed
by the artist who began the work. For illustration of painting see PL
CXXI.
The black cross-bars in the illustration denote pine logs; the white lines
the froth of the water; the yellow, vegetable debris gathered by the logs;
the blue and red lines, sunbeams. The blue spot in center of cross denotes
water. There are four Hostjobokon with their wives the Hostjoboard; each
couple sit upon one of the cross arms of the logs. These gods carry in
their right hands a rattle, and in their left sprigs of piñon; the wives
or goddesses carry piñon sprigs in both hands; the rattle brings male
rains, and the piñon, carried by the women, female rains; these rains meet
upon the earth, conceive and bring forth all vegetation. Their heads are
ornamented with eagle plumes tied on with cotton cord. (Note: In all cases
the round head denotes male and octangular head female.) The gods have
also a bunch of night-owl feathers and eagle plumes on the left side of
the head; both male and female wear turquois earrings and necklaces of the
same. The larynx is represented by the parallel lines across the blue. A
line of sunlight encircles the head of both males and females. The white
spots on the side of the females' heads represent the ears. The arms of
the goddesses are covered with corn pollen, and long ribbons of fox skins
are attached to the wrists, as shown on painting number one. All wear
beaded moccasins tied on with cotton cord. Their chins are covered with
corn pollen and red sunlight surrounds the body. The skirts only have an
additional line of blue sunlight. Hasjelti is to the east of the painting.
He carries a squirrel skin filled with tobacco. His shirt is white cotton
and very elastic. The leggings are of white deer skin fringed, and the
moccasins are similar to the others. His head is ornamented with an
eagle's tail, and to the tip of each plume there is a fluffy feather from
the breast of the eagle. A bunch of night-owl feathers is on either side
of the eagle tail where it is attached to the head. The horizontal and
perpendicular lines on the face were referred to in the description of the
first sand painting. The projection on the right of the throat is a fox
skin. Hostjoghon's headdress is similar to that of Hasjelti's. Two strips
of beaver skin tipped with six quills of the porcupine are attached to the
right of the throat. The four colored stars on the body are ornaments of
beads. The shirt of this god is invisible; the dark is the dark of the
body. Hostjoghon carries a staff colored black from a charred plant. The
Navajo paint their bodies with the same plant. The top of the staff is
ornamented with a turkey's tail tied to the staff with white cotton cord;
eagle and turkey plumes are alternately attached to the staff with a cord.
The Naaskiddi are to the north and south of the painting; they carry
staffs of lightning ornamented with eagle plumes and sunbeams. Their
bodies are nude except the loin skirt; their leggings and moccasins are
the same as the others. The hunch upon the back is a black cloud, and the
three groups of white lines denote corn and other seeds of vegetation.
Five eagle plumes are attached to the cloud backs (eagles live with the
clouds); the body is surrounded with sunlight; the lines of red and blue
which border the bunch upon the back denote sunbeams penetrating storm
clouds. The black circle zigzagged with white around the head is a cloud
basket filled with corn and seeds of grass. On either side of the head are
five feathers of the red shafted flicker (_Colaptes cafer_); a fox skin is
attached to the right side of the throat; the mountain sheep horns are
tipped with the under tail feathers of the eagle, tied on with cotton
cord. The horns are filled with clouds. The rainbow goddess, upon which
these gods often travel, completes the picture.
[Illustration]
Upon completion of the painting the song-priest, who stood to the east of
it holding in his hand a bag of sacred meal, stepped carefully between the
figures, sprinkling pollen upon the feet and heart of each. He then
sprinkled a thread of pollen up each cheek and down the middle of the face
of the figures, afterwards extending his right hand toward the east. The
face of the encircling rainbow goddess was also sprinkled. The song-priest
placed the sacred wands around the rainbow, commencing on the west side of
the painting, and repeated a prayer, pointing his finger to the head of
each figure. He also placed a small gourd of medicine water in the hands
of the rainbow goddess and laid a small cedar twig on the gourd. The
invalid upon entering the lodge was handed an Apache basket containing
sacred meal, which he sprinkled over the painting and placed the basket
near the feet of the rainbow goddesses; the song-priest and choir sang to
the accompaniment of the rattle. A short time after the entrance of the
invalid Hasjelti appeared, and taking the evergreen from the gourd dipped
it into the medicine water and sprinkled the feet, heart, and heads of the
sand figures, after which the invalid sat in the center of the cross.
Hasjelti gave him a sip of the sacred water from the gourd and returned
the gourd to its place; then he touched the feet, heart, and head of each
figure successively with his right hand, each time touching the
corresponding parts of the body of the invalid. Every time Hasjelti
touched the invalid he gave a weird hoot. After he had been touched with
sands from all the paintings the theurgist, selecting a few live coals
from a small fire which had been kept burning near the door, threw them in
front of the invalid, who still retained his seat in the center of the
painting. The theurgist placed herbs, which he took from a buckskin bag,
on the coals from which a very pleasant aroma arose. An attendant
sprinkled water on the coals and a moment after threw them out of the fire
opening. The song-priest gathered the wands from around the edge of the
painting and four attendants began to erase it by scraping the sands from
the cardinal points to the center. Again the people hurried to take sand
from the hearts, heads, and limbs of the figures to rub upon themselves.
The sands were gathered into a blanket and deposited at the base of a
piñon tree about one hundred yards north of the lodge. A chant closed the
ceremony.