Ceremonial of Hasjelti Dailjis and Mythical Sand Painting of the Navajo Indians | Page 9

the legs extended and arms falling by his sides. A chant was sung
by the song priest, and in a few minutes Naiyenesgony and
Tobaidischinni appeared. Naiyenesgony drew his stone knife in front of
the invalid over the forehead to the feet, then down the right side and
down the back and down the left side. He then began to remove the
pine. As each wreath was taken off the clusters were partly separated
with the stone knife. Tobaidischinni assisted Naiyenesgony by holding
the wreaths while they were being cut.
When all the evergreen had been removed the personators of the gods

exclaimed, "Now, my people, we have killed all enemies!" and
immediately left the lodge. The song priest placed a small wreath of the
pine on the sick man's head, and holding in his left hand a bunch of
eagle plumes, and in his right hand a rattle, he sang the ten songs and
prayers, assisted by the choir, that were given by Naiyenesgony and
Tobaidischinni to the Navajo to bring health and good fortune. After
the pine-bough wreaths had been separated the bits of yucca-strings
were picked up by the attendant and handed to Naiyenesgony, who held
them over the sick man's head, after which the bits were again divided
with the knife. After the ten songs and prayers had been chanted the
invalid left the rug and sat a little to the northeast, of it, with his knees
drawn up. The song priest placed two live coals in front of the invalid
and sprinkled chopped herbs on the coals, the fumes of which the
invalid inhaled. The pines were carried off and placed in the shade of a
pine tree, that the disease might not leave the pine and return to the
invalid.(2)

FOURTH CEREMONY.
The personators of Hasjelti and Hostjoghon adorned themselves for the
ceremony. Hasjelti wore ordinary clothing and a red scarf, with a silver
belt around the waist. Hostjoghon's body was painted white, and he
wore a red woolen scarf around the loins, caught on with a silver belt.
A rug, composed of a blanket and a piece of white cotton, was spread
in front of the song priest, and the masks of Hasjelti and Hostjoghon
placed thereon. (See Pl. CXV, 4,5,6.)
Upon the completion of the toilets of the personators of the gods they
hurried from the lodge, bearing their masks with them, when an
attendant made a cavity immediately in front of the rug 4 inches in
diameter, and the song priest sprinkled a circle of meal around the
cavity. The invalid entered the lodge and stood on the rug and removed
all of his clothing except the breech cloth. He then took his seat facing
east, with knees drawn up. A mask of the Hostjobokon, which had been
laid upon the rug, was drawn over the invalid's head. Hasjelti and
Hostjoghon appeared at this juncture bearing a pine bough some 5 feet

in height. An attendant made gestures over the sick man, holding in his
right hand a pinch of sacred meal, which was afterward placed in the
cavity. Hasjelti waved the pine bough five times around the invalid and
planted it in the cavity, where it was held in place by the gods. Then
bending its top, the attendant attached it to the mask over the invalid's
head by a buckskin string which was fastened to the mask. The song
priest and choir all the while sang a weird chant. The gods raised the
bough, gave their peculiar hoots, and disappeared from the lodge,
carrying with them the pine bough with the mask attached to it. In a
few minutes they came back with the mask. After the chant the
song-priest placed meal on the soles of the invalid's feet, knees, palms,
breast, back, shoulders, and head, and then put some in the cavity, after
which the cavity was filled with earth. Two coals were laid in front of
the invalid, and upon these the song priest placed finely broken herbs;
an attendant sprinkled water on the herbs, and the invalid inhaled the
fumes. The cotton cloth was removed from the blanket rug, and the
invalid stepped upon the rug and put on his clothing. When the mask
was removed from the invalid's head it drew all fever with it.
[Illustration]

FOURTH DAY.

FIRST CEREMONY.
The theurgist carried a bowl of water and pine needles, and an attendant
bore a gourd of water, a small vase of powdered herbs, and an Apache
basket containing corn meal, buckskin bags, horn of the mountain
sheep and a piece of hide cut from between the eyes of the animal. The
theurgist and attendant took seats to the right of the entrance of the
sweat house west of the medicine lodge. This sweat