Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-01-26

and the dancers are painted and ar
irayed for the ceremonial dances.
The social unit of Pueblo society fs
not the family, but the clan. The hus.
band and wife must be Of different
clans. and the children belong to the
clan Of the woman; that Is, descent Is
through the female instead Of the male
Woman's rights are a reality in the
Pueblo world. The woman Is owner of
the house and # everything in it. es-
band. and she has full power to evict
him If his conduct is unsatisfactory
The man cultivates the soil. and he
owns the fields. but when the crops
have been brought home his wife has
an equal voice in the disposition OF
them.
The homo life Of the Pueblos seems
to be singularly peaceful and well
Home Life Peaceful tusal fidelity
and Well Managed. and the Pueblo
has been a monogamist ever since the
white man has known him. Children
are neither spoiled nor cowed. and all
family relations are founded upon re-
spect for seniority. The younger chill
dren must obey the elder. and the aged
are held in respect and veneration by
all.
The only domestic creature which
the Pueblo had when the white man
found him was the turkey, and that he
kept more for feathers than for food.
Now, however, he owns horses, cattle,
sheep, goats and burros. Practically
every male Pueblo owns and rides
horse. while nearly every family pos
sesses farm wagon, and the "princi-
pales" and officials often ride in bug
g1es. Sheep have taken the place Of
cotton, which was cultivated by the
prehistoric Pueblo, but the modern In
dian is not very successful shepherd.
Neither do his herds amount to much.
Agriculture always has been and stiIl
remains his forte. He has made excel
lent use of wheat and fruit, which were
brought to him by the white man, and
In some Of the pueblos, notably Isleta,
has learned to make wine.
contact with civilization has tended to
make of the Pueblo more and more a
farmer. and has caused him to abandon,
or nearly so, many o. his native crafts.
AT the time Of the conquest he knew how
to spin and weave, make baskets, and an
excellent grade of pottery Today he no
longer weaves blankets, but instead earns
the money wherewith to buy one from a
store, or from the Navajos, to whom he
taught the business. In the busy agri-
cultural pueblo OF Isleta little pottery is
made now. although most of the pueblos
still practice this craft because of the
commercial demand for the product
The Pueblo is born trader. In pre-
historic times he dealt in buffalo hides,
salt, paint and cotton mantles, and trad
ed with Apache. Comanche, Navajo and
them. Today he is familiar figure at
many railroad station in the south
west, where he sells fruit, pottery and all
manner Of trinkets and ornaments.
Inc Pueblos have an elaborate system
OF folk songs and folk stories. The lat
ter contain a great deal of humor, and
consist chiefly in tales of adventure in
which animals talk and plan. the coyote
always trfumphing by his shrewdness,
IKE "Bre'r Rabbit" in the Uncle Remus
The songs are chanted at work, and in
the evening by groups of young men that
gather in the
Pueblos Have Songs streets of the
for Every Occasion. tha As wora ana o ~
their daily occupations. In fact, the
Pueblo seems to have song for every
occasion. Some of the songs are merely
rhythmical chants, but others are poems
of genuine beauty.
The Pueblo religion calls for numerous
ceremonial dances and foot races. In
these the Indian is deeply in earnest. and
yet he has a great deal of fun. In the
early part Of August every year the In
dams Of the Santo Domingo pueblo hold
a harvest dance that is usually witnessed
by large number Of Caucasian specta-
tors. The Indians treat the visitors with
respect, and allow their housetops to be
utilized for a grandstand, but they Sc
riously object to cameras.