The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1901-12-06
ZUNI MAGIC.
Extraordinary Feat Which White Men
Cannot Explain.

New York Times
Nearly everybody has heard of and Won
dered at the mango-growing trick of the
Hindu. by which he makes a seed sprout
before the astonished eyes of the European
and reach maturity in a very short time.
But few are aware that an equally amaz-
ing feat is regularly performed by the Zuni
Indians on this continent Their medicine
men, at the annual corn festival" do a
stunt of which no satisfactory explana-
ton has ever been advanced. Scientists,
seeing it, have been made. a cowboy
described it, to look like 80 cents.
Preparation is made for this extraor-
binary Zuni performance by spreading a
large square of clean yellowish sand on
the ground before the southern aperture
of the medicine lodge. This sand is care
fully smoothed and packed so as TO present
a firm. level surface.
Around the edges of the sand square
are then drawn, by means of a ceremonial
arrow, figures representing the Great Spirit,
the earth, the sun, the sky and the rain.
There are also the symbols for corn and
for bountiful harvest.
The indentations made by the arrow are
then filled in with pigments, the clouds and
sky with blue, the earth with black, and
the harvest with chrome yellow. The CEN
ter of the square is left vacant. When
completed, this sand painting is a fine
specimen of barbaric art, and is far from
displeasing to civilized eye.
When the hour arrives, the officiating
medicine man takes his seat in the opening
OF the lodge facing the sand square. On his
right and left, extending out around the
square, the chiefs and warriors range them
selves according to rank. When all are in
position, the medicine man fills the cere-
monial pipe with tobacco, lights it, and
blows one puff of smoke to the east, one
10 the west, one to the north, one TO the
south, and two to the heavens. He then
addresses those assembled, recounting the
reIglous history of the tribe, its wander
ings and famine, and the benevolence of
the great spirit in the past. He closes with
a prayer for the continuance of fatherly
care.
Then he takes grain of corn from the
medicine bag at his waist, thrusts the
sacred arrow into the center of the sand
square, withdraws it, drops the grain into
the opening. and carefully smoothes down
the sand. Resuming his seat, all the as
sembled chiefs light their pipes and smoke
in silence.
If the Great Spirit condescends to answer
the prayer of the medicine man, as gener-
ally happens the grain of corn will sprout
and send forth a shoot
After an interval of fifteen or twenty
minutes the sand seems disturbed at the
spot where the corn was buried Soon
slender light green blades of sprouting corn
appear above the surface. The plant rises
naturally and rapidly during the day.
By the next sunrise the silk and tassel
appear: BY noon the ear and stalk have
reached full maturity.
men IIpSAlHS begins. FINALLY the blades
ana husks turn yellow and rattle when
they are shaken by the wind. All this
mind you, has been done in thirty-six
hours.
On the morning of the second dav the
corn growing is complete The medicine
man now addresses the watchers who i'm
company have watched the plant grow,
Tor 1t Is never left alone. With appropriate
ceremonies he symbolizeS the harvest by
stripping the ear of its husks
Inc corn he places in the medicine bag
Tor future ceremonies, while the stalk is
pulled up by the roots and hung over the
watchers is ended and they seek
much-needed rest and food in order to he
ready for the rain dance on the following
day.
Every white man witnessing one of these
ceremonies is deeply mysthed Above all.
he is filled with admiration for the old
medicine man. So natural and mysterious
mas been the process that the spectator
feels at times disposed to believe in the
presence of some supernatural power
Yet every sane person knows that this
performance has nothing unnatural about
1t. No white man. however. has discovered
the secret The absence of stage parapher-
MALTA and the crude mechanical knowledge
of the Zunis add to the mystery of the
whole thing.
Various theories have been advanced in
explanation. One is that some shrewd old
medicine man discovered by accident some
peculiar natural chemical that has the
power OF forcing the growth of a grain of
corn and that this secret has been handed
down from one generation of priests to an
other.
Another favorite explanation is that by
great skill the medicine man is able to hyp-
notize the entire circle of spectators and so
produce the result without apparatus of
any kind save yellow stalk of corn from
the last harvest.
Others say the feat is accomplished bv
elaborate machinery concealed in a pit
But nobody knows exactly.