Snakes and other reptilian forms were represented by the ancient
potters in the decoration of food bowls, and it is remarkable how
closely some of these correspond in symbolism with conceptions still
current in Tusayan. Of all reptilian monsters the worship of which
forms a prominent element in Hopi ritual, that of the Great Plumed
Snake is perhaps the most important. Effigies of this monster exist in
all the larger Hopi villages, and they are used in at least two great
rites--the _Soyaluña_ in December and the _Palülükonti_ in March, as I
have already described. The symbolic markings and appendages of the
Plumed Snake effigy are distinctive, and are found in all modern
representations of this mystic being. While several pictographs of
snakes are found on Sikyatki pottery, there is not a single instance
in which these modern markings appear; consequently there is
considerable doubt in regard to the identification of many of the
Sikyatki serpents with modern mythologic representatives.
[Illustration: FIG. 266--Plumed serpent]
In questioning the priests in regard to the derivation of the Plumed
Serpent cult in Tusayan, I have found that they declare that this
cultus was brought into Tusayan from a mythic land in the south,
called Palatkwabi, and that the effigies and fetiches pertaining to it
were introduced by the Patki or Water-house people. From good
evidence, I suspect that the arrival of this phratry was comparatively
late in Tusayan history, and it is possible that Sikyatki was
destroyed before their advent, for in all the legends which I have
been able to gather no one ascribes to Sikyatki any clan belonging to
the phratries which are said to have migrated from the far south. I
believe we must look toward the east, whence the ancestors of the
Kokop or Firewood people are reputed to have come, for the origin of
the symbolic markings of the snakes represented on Sikyatki ceramics.
Figures of apodal reptiles, with feathers represented on their heads,
occur in Sikyatki pictography, although there is no resemblance in the
markings of their bodies to those of modern pictures. One of the most
striking of these occurs on the inside of the food basin shown in
plate CXXXII, _a_. It represents a serpent with curved body, the tail
being connected with the head, like an ancient symbol of eternity. The
body (figure 266) is destitute of any distinctive markings, but is
covered with a crosshatching of black lines. The head bears two
triangular markings, which are regarded as feather symbols. The
position of the eyes would seem to indicate that the top of the head
is represented, but this conclusion is not borne out by comparative
studies, for it was often the custom of ancient Tusayan potters, like
other primitive artists, to represent both eyes on one side of the
head.
[Illustration: BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY