One of the most important objects made in the secret ceremonials of
the modern Pueblos is sacrificial in nature, and is called a paho or
"water wood," which is used as an offering to the gods (figure 357).
These pahos are made of a prescribed wood, of length determined by
tradition, and to them are tied appendages of symbolic meaning. They
are consecrated by songs, about an altar, upon which they are laid,
and afterward deposited in certain shrines by a special courier.
[Illustration: FIG. 357--Mortuary prayer-stick (natural size)]
In modern times the forms of these pahos differ very greatly, the
shape depending on the society which makes them, the god addressed,
and the purpose for which they are used, as understood by the
initiated. Among many other uses they are sometimes mortuary in
character, and are deposited in the graves of chiefs, as offerings
either to the God of Death, or to other deities, to whom they may be
presented by the shade or breath body of the deceased. This use of
pahos is of ancient origin in Tusayan, as shown by the excavations at
Sikyatki, where they were found in mortuary bowls or vases deposited
by the relatives or surviving members of the sacerdotal societies to
which the deceased had belonged.
This pre-Spanish custom in Tusayan was discovered in my excavations at
Awatobi, but the prayer-sticks from that place were fragmentary as
compared with the almost perfect pahos from Sikyatki. These pahos are
of many forms;[162] some of them are of considerable size, and the
majority are of distinctive forms (plates CLXXIV-CLXXV). There are
also many fragments, the former shapes of which could not be
determined. When it is considered that these wooden objects with their
neat carvings were fashioned with stone implements, the high character
of the work is very remarkable. They show, in several instances, the
imprint of attached strings and feathers, portions of which still
remain; also, in one instance, fragments of a pine needle. They are
painted with green and black mineral pigments, the former of which had
undoubtedly done much to preserve the soft wood of which they were
manufactured. As at the present day, cottonwood and willow were the
favorite prescribed woods for pahos, and some of the best were made of
pine. The forms of these ancient prayer offerings, as mentioned
hereafter, differ somewhat from those of modern make, although in
certain instances there is a significant resemblance between the two
kinds.
[Illustration: BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY