Arizona weekly enterprise., 1890-09-27
THE ZUNIS.
A HIGHLY INTERESTING TRIBE OF
 INDIANS. Their thology-TraditiOnal Origin of the Tribe-The spirit Lake Birth CustOns---E Religious Life of
 the Child.
BY Mss. LnLYE. STEVENSON

e trlDutdly ol lue 1llLle COlOlduO hiNeI. The Zuhi have resided in this region for several centuries. The peculiar geologic and geographic character of the country surrounding them, as well as it's aridity, fu n.shes ample sourc es from which a barbarous people could derive legend ary and mythologic history. A brief reference to these features Is necessary to understand more fully the religious phas- es of Zuni child life.
 Three miles east of the Pueblo of Zuni is a conspicuously beautiful mesa, Of red and white sandstone, yal-lan-ne tcorn mountain) Upon this mesa are the remains of the old village of Zuni. The Zuhi lived during a long period on this mesa, and it was here that Coronado found them in the sixteenth century. Tradition tells that they were driven by a great flood from the site they now oc- cupy, which is in the valley below the'l mesa, and that they resorted to the mesa for protection from the rislug waters. The waters rose to the very summit of the mesa, and to appease 1 the aggressive element a human sacrifice was 1fecessary. A youth and maiden, son and daughter of two priests, were thrown into this ocean. Two great pin nacles, which have been carved from the main mesa bv weathering influences, are looked upon by the Zufi as the actual youth and maiden converted into stone, | and are appealed to as father and mother" Many of the Zuli legends and superstiuons are associated with this mesa, while over its summit are spread the extensive ruins of the long ago desert ed village. There are in many locali ties. around its precipitous sides and walls. shrines and groups of sacred ob iccts which are constantly resorted to by different orders of the tribe. Some of the most interesting of these are the most inaccessible. When easy Of ap proach they are in such secluded spots that stranger might pass without dreaming of the treasures within his reach. On the western side of this mesa are several especially interesting shrines. About half way up the accIlvlty on the west side m exchanging rock forms the base of one of the pinnacles referred to. This rock is literally honeycombed with holes, from one-half to three-fourths of an inch in diameter. l visited the spot in the fall of 1884. with Professors E. B. Tylor and H. N. Moseley of Oxford, England. and Mir. C.. K. Gilbert, of the United States Geological Survey. These gentlemen could not determine whether inc tiny excavations were originally made by human hands or by some other agency. The Indians only answer when questioned was, They belong to the old; they were made by the gods Hun ,ireds of those holes contain bits of cotton and wool from garments. In the side of this rock there are larger spaces, In which miniature vases, filled with sand, are placed. The sand is ground by rubbing stones from the same rock. The vases of sand, and also the fragments ot wool and cotton, are offerings at the feet ot the mother rock. Here, too, can be seen a quantity of frewood heaped as shown in the right.hand corner of the illustration. Each man and woman deposited piece, that he or she might always have plenty of wood for heat and light. Some three bundrAd feet above IS another shrine, directly attached to the father rock, and to the white man difficult of access. Here | found many offerings Of plume sticks (Te-lik-tki-na-we)
 Before entering upon the purely myth ologic phases of Zunl child life VIII present a brief sketch of some ot the Iunl beliefs. There are thirteen secret orders in Zufi. in many of which women and children are coDspicuons, besides the purely mythologic order of the Kok-ko' All boys are initiated into thls order, while but few girls enter 1t. 1t Is op tional with a girl; she must never marry If she joins the kok k0, aud she IS not requested to enter this order until she has arrived at sHch age as to fully m derstand it's grave responsibilities and re- quirements.
 Let us follow the Zuhi tradition of the the ancient time, when these people first came to this world In iouneying 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 An ai-u-ta and Ma-a-se-we, twin brothers, sons of the Sun, who were sent by the Sun to bring these people to his pres ence They reached this world m early morning, and seeing the morning star they rejoiced and sald to the war gods We see your father, of whom you have told us.n No" said the gods, this IS the warrior who comes before our father, and when the sun arose the people fell upon the earth aud bowed their heads ID fear. All their traditions point to the distant land Of their appearance iD this world as being in the far northwest; from there they were accompanied by Ah-ai- IL at and Ma-a-se-we. These little gods oc cnpy. important positions in Zuhi mytf and d'legend. After long journeying, Il yyas decided that the Priest Doctor (ka wa-mo-sa) should send his son and daugh ter in advance to discover some favorable spot .upop which to build village. Ih' youth and the maiden finally ascendeC peak from which to have an extended view of the country. Rest here, m, sister. for you are tired, said the youth 'and f will go alone" From fatigue, thu girl soon sank into slumber, and when thu ,.,,Ab ra4strpa1 ba tvnq irnprnsgp1 will she surpassing loveliness of his sister They remained for a time on this noun fain, and at their union they were trans forhe6-the youth into hideous lookin creature, the Ko-ye-me-shi (Plate xxx, inc maiden into being with snow whit hair. the Ko-mo-ket-si. The Ko-thla-m (harmaphrodite) IS the offspring of thi unnatural union. The youth said to hi sister, We are no longer like our pee ole: VIC will therefore make this mountai our home But it is not well for us to b alone; wait here and ] vii! go and pro pare a place forour others" bescendin the mountain, he swept his foot throug Inc sands in the plains below, and in rnsdiately a river flowed and q lake al poarod, and in the depths of this lak a group of houses, and in the center ( this group a religious assembly house, ( liva. provided with many window through which those not privileged enter the h5a might view the danC within. After he performed this mag deed, he again joined his sister on u fnountain from which they could s' their people approaching. The mou tain has since that time borne tl name of Ko-kok-shi-kok-shi neaniI good.
 The first Of the Ash-shi-wi-wi, or Zui to cross this river were the An-shi-i-qu or Bear gems. When ip the middle of q
 river the children of these gentes we transformed into tortoises, frogs, slak
 ducks. and dragonilies The childr
 thus transformed, while tightly clingi
 to their mothers necks, began to b
 and pinch. The mothers, trembling vi
 fear, let them fall into the river Au-
 u-ta and hfa-a-se-we, missing the ell
 dren, inquired, Where are the lit
 onesf The mothers replied, We VI
 afraid and dropped them into the wate
 The war gods then cried out to the
 mainder of the people, Wait, wait ur
 we speak with you and they told
 women Co the brave and cling tightly
 the children until they crossed the riy
 Obeying the gods commands, they c ried. the Ettle ones over, though tl
 were transformed just as the othe
 Upon reaching the opposite shore, tt
 c.. l,.su