Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1882-04-08

sas said In my lecture here, has been largely
affected by his environments. He lives in q
desert where existence depends upon the
amount of rainfall, and all Of HIS worship is
directed towards securing rain and water. Now
the Zunis believe that the ocean il the origin
or the embracing waters Of the world, Is they
call them-are the birth place Of the clouds. In
their ceremonials, at the summer solstice for
securing the summer rain clouds, they use
water from these oceans, and have from gener
atoms to generations used water from these
oceans to moisten the sacred paint on their
piumed prayer sticks with which they invoke
these clouds. They have been unable for gen.
eratlons to secure any water from the eastern
the traditions handed down In line of priests
It has been great desideratum to secure
further supply Of water from that ocean from
which the first supply was obtained by Indians
taken captive to Mexico 175 or 200 years ago. If
their treasured ocean water failed they think the
most fatal consequences would follow. and they
nave wished to secure water from the eastern
ocean for the sake of making this ceremony
complete. They think that they will be able to
cause clouds to follow this water to their own
desert country. They use now but drop of
ocean water mixed with other less precious
liquid to moisten the sacred paint with which
the stick portion of the plumed prayer sticks is
covered"
BECOMING KA-KA.
So far as the rites that were performed over
me are concerned" continued Mr.. Gushing,
"they consisted Of baptism of the head and a
washing OF the hands In the sea- Then / was
embraced in regular order of rank and presented
to the gods Of the ocean and the gods Of the
waters as son or brother, or according to what
ever relationship the Indian chose to hold me
In. prayer was said over me in token that
became child of the sun, even as the Zunis
This was the first step of the initiatory cere-
monies of the Ka-Ka. It will have to be re-
peated, and l will have to go through the regu-
lar form by-and-by. The highest honor / could
attain is the one have already taken in the Or
der of the bow, but admission into the Ka-Ka is
Of the most advantage to me in my attempt to
obtain these prayers, songs, and rituals"
what is the form OF the ceremony of invok-
ing the clouds?"
The particular sacred vessel that contains the
water is placed, with fresh grass or sea weeds,
before he altar in the presence of the priests Of
the different orders Ceremonies are then per-
formed with the direct object Of invoking the
rain clouds. They hold this water of the ocean
as hostage. They take infinite pains with it.
In bringing it from Boston the chiefs carried it in
their hand. The extra amount which they for
Warded in demijohns they took no special pains
with, fOrit is neither in a cOnsecrated vessel
nor cOnsecrated itself The gourds in which the
sacred water is contained they brought with
them. The cotton strings and fringes on them
are so old that they scarcely hold together This
brief outline shows the Importance they attach
to this water. A more elaborate explanation
would involve an immense amount of additional
material concerning their whole mythology"