The Religious Life of the Zuñi Child | Page 2

of firewood heaped as shown in
the right-hand corner of the illustration. Each man and woman
deposited a piece, that he or she might always have plenty of wood for
heat and light. Some three hundred feet above is another shrine, directly
attached to the "father" rock, and to the white man difficult of access.
Here I found many offerings of plume sticks (T[=e]
l[=i]k-tk[=i]-n[=a]-we).
Before entering upon the purely mythologic phases of Zuñi child life I
will present a brief sketch of some of the Zuñi beliefs. There are
thirteen secret orders in Zuñi, in many of which women and children

are conspicuous, besides the purely mythologic order of the
K[=o]k-k[=o]. All boys are initiated into this order, while but few girls
enter it. It is optional with a girl; she must never marry if she joins the
K[=o]k-k[=o], and she is not requested to enter this order until she has
arrived at such age as to fully understand its grave responsibilities and
requirements.
Let us follow the Zuñi tradition of the ancient time, when these people
first came to this world. In journeying hither they passed through four
worlds, all in the interior of this, the passageway from darkness into
light being through a large reed. From the inner world they were led by
the two little war gods [=A]h-ai-[=u]-ta and M[=a]-[=a]-s[=e]-we, twin
brothers, sons of the Sun, who were sent by the Sun to bring these
people to his presence. They reached this world in early morning, and
seeing the morning star they rejoiced and said to the war gods: "We see
your father, of whom you have told us." "No," said the gods, "this is the
warrior who comes before our father;" and when the sun arose the
people fell upon the earth and bowed their heads in fear. All their
traditions point to the distant land of their appearance in this world as
being in the far northwest; from, there they were accompanied by
[=A]h-ai-[=u]-ta and M[=a]-[=a]-s[=e]-we. These little gods occupy
important positions in Zuñi myth and legend. After long journeying, it
was decided that the Priest Doctor (K[=a] wi-m[=o] sa) should send his
son and his daughter in advance to discover some favorable spot upon
which to build a village. The youth and the maiden finally ascended a
peak from, which to have an extended view of the country. "Rest here,
my sister, for you are tired," said the youth, "and I will go alone." From
fatigue, the girl soon sank into a slumber, and when the youth returned,
he was impressed with the surpassing loveliness of his sister. They
remained for a time on this mountain, and at their union they were
transformed--the youth into a hideous looking creature, the
K[=o]-y[=e]-m[=e]-shi (Plate XX); the maiden into a being with snow
white hair, the K[=o]-m[=o]-k[)e]t-si. The [t]K[=o]-thl[=a]-ma
(hermaphrodite) is the offspring of this unnatural union. The youth said
to his sister, "We are no longer like our people; we will therefore make
this mountain our home. But it is not well for us to be alone; wait here
and I will go and prepare a place for our others." Descending the

mountain, he swept his foot through the sands in the plains below, and
immediately a river flowed and a lake appeared, and in the depths of
this lake a group of houses, and in the center of this group a religious
assembly house, or kiva, provided with many windows, through which
those not privileged to enter the kiva might view the dance within.
After he performed this magic deed, he again joined his sister on the
mountain, from which they could see their people approaching. The
mountain has since that time borne the name of
K[=o]-k[=o]k-shi--k[=o]k-shi meaning good.
The first of the [=A]h-shi-wi, or Zuñi, to cross this river were the
Än-shi-i-que, or Bear gens; T[=o]-w[=a]-que, Corn gens; and
[t]Ko-[=o]h-l[=o]k-t[=a]-que, Sand Hill Crane gens. When in the
middle of the river the children of these gentes were transformed into
tortoises, frogs, snakes, ducks, and dragonflies. The children thus
transformed, while tightly clinging to their mother's necks, began to
bite and pinch. The mothers, trembling with fear, let them fall into the
river. [=A]h-ai-[=u]-ta and M[=a]-[=a]-s[=e]-we, missing the children,
inquired, "Where are the little ones?" The mothers replied, "We were
afraid and dropped them into the water." The war gods then cried out to
the remainder of the people, "Wait, wait until we speak with you," and
they told the women to be brave and cling tightly to the children until
they crossed the river. Obeying the gods' commands, they carried the
little ones over, though they were transformed just as the others. Upon
reaching the opposite shore, they were again restored to their natural
forms, excepting their hands, which were duck-webbed. These webs
were cut