The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-03-15
HOW THE ZUNI BOY
GETS HIS NAME
BY H. IRVING KING.

When a little boy among the Zuni
of festivity for the whole village and
everybody enjoys himself except-the
boy. He has a hard time of it.
The zunis are a curious people who
live in a village, or pueblo, of that
name situated in New Mexico. Until
he gets to be four years old the little
Zuni boy is known as baby boy"
little boy" older boy" ETC.; but
when he is initiated into the "Kolko
mysteries" he receives a regular name
which he bears for the rest of his
| life.
The naming takes place once every
| four years and the ceremonies last
several days. First a man with
mask on appears in the village and,
going from house to house, asks if
there are any boys there. If there are,
he asks of the parents, What is your
boys name?"
| If the boy is four years or up
wards and has never been initiated
into the Kokko the parent answers,
| The has no name"
The parents are then told to get the
boy ready for his naming and the
man gathers together the other men
who are to take part in the ceremo-
MES.
There are a number of these and
they all wear hideous masks and are
| strangely decorated and are supposed
to represent the heather gods of the
Zunis. There are six of them who
represent, north, south, east and west,
| and the heavens and the earth.
The Zuni lives in houses of stones
| or adobe (baked clay) and in the viii
lage are six sacred houses called Kivas.
| The entrance to a Kiva is through q
trap door in the roof.
After spending a week in various
| ceremonies in the Kivas one of the ac-
| tors in, this strange performance takes
| stuffed rabbit skin in his hand and
pokes his head up through the trap
door of the Kiva of the north. The rab-
bit has a hollow reed through its body
and the performer calls out through
| it:
Your little grandfather is hungry;
bring him some steWed meat"
Then one of the actors. who calls
himself the Ko-ye-me-shi, goes to the
houses of each of the little boys who
are to be initiated and gives to each
| one a name.
In return the parents give the Ko-
ye-me-shi food which he carries back
to the Kiva. After eating, some of
| the actors rush out into the village
with punches of prickly shrub called
| Spanish bayonet in their hands, and
| people who desire to raise good crops
| that year ask to be whipped with it
| on their bare backs.
All the actors, it must be remember
| ed, wear masks so that no one knows
| who they are and the children think
they are spirits and are afraid, though
| they try not to show it,
| In the evening, the priest of the sun
| Cfor the Zunis are sun worshippers)
| goes to the plaza, or public square. and
| sprinkles there a line of sacred meal.
The men who are to act as godfathers
| of the boys to be initiated, then take
| their little charges on their backs,
| holding them there by blankets which
| they draw tightly around them They
walk along the lines while all the ac-
tors, with punches of Spanish bayonet
in their hands, take a whack at the
| little fellows!
| This hurts numerically, but 1t IL
| seldom that a boy shows any signs of
the suffering he endures. All Indian
/ children are taught that, no matter
how badly they are hurt, they must
not show It, In spite of themselves
tears will flow from the eyes of the
boys as they are whipped along the
| line, out Lney never UlnCn or cry out.
| The godfather then takes his boy to
| the I<iva of the north where the priest
| of the great fire order asks him, WHO
| Is your Kokko?" The man gives the
| boys name and the priest replies,
| Choose your plume"
| The godfather takes feather from
a pile of them which has been pre-
pared and sticks it in his boys scalp
| lock. Then he carries him back to the
1 nj xrshA he
| goes a second whipping.
He clasps his godfather's knees as
| hard as he can and the blanket is
drawn tight around him, while the
| blows of the Spanish bayonet are laid
on good and hard by four players who
take care that there is nothing except
| a single blanket covering the boys
| bare skin.
This is to see that the godfather. in
pity for the boy, does not slip in
| piece of leather under the blanket to
| save the little brown back from the
force of the blows.
| After the child has been whipoed
the second time he is taken to his
| home, where the whole family have a
| great feast.
In the evening the boys are taken by
| their godtathers to one of the Kivas
where they sit around the room on a
| low stone seat. There is a fire in the
| middle of the room and q throne at
one end of 1t on which sits a masked
Indian who calls himself the father
| of the SUM-"
When the other actors enter the
Kiva they come head first through the
hatchway striking on shelving stone
and turning a somersault from which
Trey land on hand and knees and
crawl to their places.
When an actor goes out he stands
back of the fire. turns a somersault
over II, catches the stone and throws
himself out OF the trap door of the
Kiva feet foremost
A priest takes a plumed stick and
going to each boy blows toward him
over the feathers. A man also carries
around the little grandfather"-the
stuffed rabbit-and blows through the
reed upon the little Zuni boy.
Then all go through all sorts Of mo
Gus pocue," among other things bring
| ing In A great snake twelve feet long,
made Of leather, which the little boys
believe n alive.
Finally the boy IA taken home and.
being pretty sore from his whipping
and worn out with fear and excite
ment by this time. he IL inclined 10
wish he had gone through life without