The grinding of the paint began at daylight, and just at sunrise the
artists commenced their work. When any mistake occurred, which was very
seldom, it was obliterated by sifting the ground color over it. Each
artist endeavored to finish his special design first, and there was
considerable betting as to who would succeed. The rapidity with which
these paints are handled is quite remarkable, particularly as most of the
lines are drawn entirely by the eye. After the completion of the painting,
each figure being three and a half feet long, corn pollen was sprinkled
over the whole by the song priest. (See illustration, Pl. CXXIII.)
The corn stalk in the picture signifies the main subsistence of life; the
square base and triangle are clouds, and the three white lines at the base
of the corn stalk denote the roots of the corn. The figures of this
picture are each 3-1/2 feet in length. These are the Zenichi (people of
the white rock with a red streak through it) and their wives. Their homes
are high in the canyon wall. The black parallelogram to the west of the
painting designates a red streak in the rock in which are their homes. The
delicate white lines indicate their houses, which are in the interior or
depths of the rock, and can not be seen from the surface. This canyon wall
is located north of the Ute Mountain. These people of the rocks move in
the air like birds. The red portion of the bodies of the Zenichi denote
red corn; the black portion black clouds. The red half of the face
represents also the red corn; the blue of the bodies of the others denote
vegetation in general, and the yellow, pollen of all vegetation. The
zigzag lines of the bodies is lightning; the black lines around the head,
zigzagged with white, are cloud baskets that hold red corn, which is
stacked in pyramidal form and capped with three eagle plumes. There are
five feathers of the red and black shafted flicker (_Colapteo cafer_) on
either side of the head. A lightning bow is held in the left hand, the
right holds a rattle ornamented with feathers. The females carry in their
hands decorated baskets and sprigs of piñon, and they wear white leggings
and beaded moccasins. The Zenichi never dance. These gods are also called
Zaadoljaii, meaning rough mouth, or anything that protrudes roughly from
the mouth. (The mouth and eyes of these gods protrude.) The rainbow
goddess is represented at the north and south end of the painting. The
corn stalk has two ears of corn, while the original stalk had 12 ears. Two
of these ears the gods gave to the younger brother of the Tolchini when
they commanded him to return to the Navajo and instruct them how to
represent the gods in sand painting and in masks. The four corner figures
will be recognized as the Naashiddi (hunchback, or mountain sheep).
[Illustration]
During the ceremony Hasjelti, dressed in black velvet ornamented with
silver, and Hostjoboard, with her nude body painted white and with silk
scarf around the loins caught on with silver belt, left the lodge to
gather the children upon the mesa for the purpose of initiating them; but
the children had already been summoned by men who rode over the mesa on
horseback, visiting every hogan to see that all the children were brought
for initiation. A buffalo robe was spread at the end of the avenue which
extended from the medicine lodge some three hundred yards. The head of the
robe was to the east; at the end of the robe blankets were spread in a
kind of semicircle. Most of the children were accompanied by their
mothers. The boys were stripped of their clothing and sat upon the buffalo
robe. The head of the line being to the north, they all faced east with
their feet stretched out. Their arms hung by their sides and their heads
were bent forward. The girls sat in line upon the blanket in company with
their mothers and the mothers of the boys. It is entirely a matter of
choice whether or not a mother accompanies her child or takes any part in
the ceremony. The girls also sat like the boys, their heads bent forward.
Their heads were bent down that they might not look upon the gods until
they had been initiated. Up to this time they were supposed never to have
had a close view of the masks or to have inspected anything pertaining to
their religious ceremonies. The children ranged from five to ten years of
age. At this particular ceremony nine boys and six girls were initiated.
When the children were all in position, Hasjelti, carrying a fawn skin
containing sacred meal, and Hostjoboard, carrying two needles of the
Spanish bayonet, stood in front of the children. The boy at the head of
the line was led out and stood facing the east. Hasjelti, with the sacred
meal, formed a cross on his breast, at the same time giving his peculiar
hoot. Hostjoboard struck him upon the breast, first with the needles held
in her right hand and then with those held in the left. Hasjelti then
turned the boy toward the right until he faced west and made a cross with
meal upon his back, when Hostjoboard struck him twice on the back with the
needles. He was again turned to face the east, when both arms were
extended and brought together. Hasjelti made a cross over the arms and
then over the knees. Each time the boy was crossed with the meal
Hostjoboard struck the spot first with the needles in the right hand and
then with those in the left, after which the boy returned to his seat. The
cross denotes the scalp knot. Most of the boys advanced quite bravely to
receive the chastisement. I noticed but one who seemed very nervous, and
with great difficulty he kept back the tears. The boys' ceremony over, the
gods approached the girls, beginning at the end of the line next to the
boys. Hasjelti marked a line of meal on each side of the foot of the girl,
when Hostjoboard, now holding two ears of yellow corn wrapped with piñon
twigs, placed them to the soles of the girl's feet and Hasjelti drew a
line of meal on each hand; after which Hostjoboard placed the ears of corn
to the palms of the hands, she holding the corn in her palms and pressing
it to the palms of the girl's hands. Hasjelti formed a cross on the breast
with the meal and Hostjoboard pressed the two ears of corn to the breast;
a cross was made on the back and the two ears of corn pressed to the back.
Hasjelti, with his right hand, then drew a line on the girl's left
shoulder, and with his left hand a line on the girl's right shoulder, the
corn being pressed to the shoulders in the manner described. Two lines of
meal were run over the forehead back to the top of the head, and the two
ears of corn pressed to the top of head. The boys were nude but the girls
were gayly dressed in blankets, jewelry, etc. At the close of this
ceremony the representatives of the gods removed their masks and called
upon the children to raise their heads. The amazement depicted upon the
faces of the children when they discovered their own people and not gods
afforded much amusement to the spectators. The masks were laid upon a
blanket and the girls and boys were commanded to look upon them.
Hostjoboard placed her mask upon the face of each boy and girl and woman
in the line, beginning at the north end of the line, giving a hoot each
time the mask was placed upon anyone. Great care was taken that the mask
should be so arranged upon the face that the eyes might look directly
through the eyeholes, for should any blunder occur the sight of at least
one eye would be lost. It is scarcely on before it is removed. After the
masks had been placed on all the faces it was laid beside Hasjelti's. The
man personating Hasjelti sprinkled his mask and then Hostjoboard's with
pollen, and the man personating Hostjoboard sprinkled Hasjelti's mask and
then his own with pollen. The boy to the north end of the line was called
out and from the pollen bag took a pinch of pollen and sprinkled first the
mask of Hasjelti and then Hostioboard's. This was repeated by each boy,
girl, and woman in the line. In approaching the masks they always pass
back of the line around to the north side and then step in front of the
masks. The mask is sprinkled in this wise: A line of pollen is run from
the top of the head down to the mouth; passing around to the right the
line is drawn upward over the left cheek; the hand continues to move
outside of the mask to a point below the right cheek, then up the right
cheek. The younger children's hands were guided by the representatives of
the gods. It would be a great fatality to sprinkle a drop of meal over the
eye holes; the individual committing such an error would become blind at
least in one eye. Great care is also taken that the line is run up the
cheek, for if it was run down not only would vegetation be stunted, but
the lives of the people would become so, as all people and things should
aim upward not downward. The line running down through the center of the
face calls upon the gods above to send down rain upon the earth and health
to all people. Two or three children started through ignorance to run the
meal down one of the cheeks; they were instantly stopped by Hasjelti, but
not until the people looking on had expressed great horror. All in the
line having gone through this ceremony the crowd of spectators sprinkled
the masks in the same manner. I was requested to sprinkle them, and at the
same time was specially instructed to run the lines up the cheeks. This
closed the ceremony of initiation. The boys were then permitted to go
around at will and look at the masks and enter the lodge and view the sand
painting. Hasjelti and Hostjoboard returned to the lodge, carrying their
masks in their hands.
About an hour after the ceremony of the initiation of the children a large
buffalo robe was spread on the avenue with his head to the east, around
which a circle of some hundred feet in diameter was formed by horsemen and
pedestrians who gathered, eager to witness the outdoot ceremony. The
theurgist and invalid were seated outside of the lodge, south of the
entrance. The dieties personated in this occasion were the gods Hasjelti
and Taadotjaii, and the goddess Tebahdi. Haskjelti wore black velvet and
silver ornaments, with red silk scarf around the waist. Taadotjaii was
nude, his body being painted a reddish color. The limbs and body were
zigzagged with white, representing lightning and downy breast feathers of
the eagle, and in his right hand a gourd rattle devoid of ornamentation.
Yebahdi wore the ordinary squaw's dress and moccasins, with many silver
ornaments, and a large blanket around her shoulders touching the ground.
Hasjelti approached dancing, and sprinkled meal over the buffalo robe, and
the invalid stood upon the robe. Hasjelti, followed by Zaadoltjaii, again
entered the circle and sprinkled meal upon the robe. The goddess Yebahdi
following, stood within the circle some 20 feet from the robe on the east
side and facing west. Hasjelti, amidst hoots and anties, sprinkled meal
upon the invalid, throwing both his hands upward. Immediately Zaadoltjaii,
with arrow in the left hand and rattle int he right, threw both hands up
over the invalid amidst hoots and antics. They then passed to Yebahdi, who
holds with both hands a basket containing the two yellow ears of corn
wrapped with pine twigs that were used in the children's ceremony, and
indulged in similar antics over the goddess. As each representative of the
gods threw up his hands she raised her basket high above and in front of
her head. Hasjelti, together with Zaadoltjaii and Yebahdi, then passed
around within the circle to the other three points of the compass. At each
point Yebahdi took her position about 20 feet from the buffalo robe, when
Hasjelti and Zaadoltjhaii repeated their performance over the invalid and
then over Yebahdi each time she elevated the basket. The invalid then
entered the lodge, followed by the representatives of the gods, who were
careful to remove their masks before going in. The invalid sat on the
cornstalk in the center of the sand painting, facing east. Zaadoltjaii
stepped upon the painting, and taking the little medicine gourd from the
hands of the rainbow goddess, dipped the cedar twig into the medicine
water and sprinkled the painting, beginning at the south side. Zaadoltjaii
gave the invalid a draft from the gourd, and waving the gourd from left to
right formed a circle, amidst the wildest cries. He gave three more drafts
to the invalid, each time waving the gourd around the invalid with a wave
toward the east. He then placed the palm of his hand over the feet of all
the figures, beginning with the figure at the south end, west side;
running up that line he began with the figure on the north end east side,
running down that line; he then placed his hands to the soles of the feet
of the invalid, hooting twice; then the heart of the invalid was touched
in the same manner with the palm of the right hand, the left hand being
placed to his back. The body was pressed in this way four times amid loud
cries. This was repeated upon the invalid. After touching each figure of
the painting, the right hand was placed to the forehead of the invalid and
the left hand to the back of the head, and the head pressed in this way on
all sides. The song-priest put live coals before the invalid and upon them
sprinkled tobacco and water, the fumes of which the invalid inhaled. An
attendant then threw the coals out of the fire opening, and the
song-priest gathered the twelve turkey wands from around the painting
while the inmates of the lodge hastened forward to press their hands upon
what remained of the figures, then drawing a breath from their hands, they
pressed them upon their bodies that they might be cured of any
infirmities, moral or physical, after which four men gathered at the
points of the compass and swept the sand to the center of the painting,
and placing it in a blanket deposited it a short distance from the lodge.