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WANDERINGS, PART X

A long time passed, and there were more and more members in the katsina and Kopishtaiya group. Antelope Man gave all of them authority to bring in others to be initiated. They had this authority for, like the chaianyi, they were agents of supernatural power. So Antelope Man would call in different men at different times and tell them secretly what to do. He revealed to them how things were done and asked if they would become members. He would relate everything that had happened, 47 how the people had done wrong, and how they are now imitating the real katsina, who can no longer come in person. Antelope Man would advise the initiate not to take this lightly, not to mock, but to believe. He told them the men who represented

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the katsina had power and had the right to kill any person who joked about them or mocked them. He told them they should not tell anyone not initiated that so-and-so is a katsina. Thus many men came and wished to become members of the katsina group.

A long time passed and many children grew up. Men who wished to become katsina were brought into kiva to learn from those who were already members. They were instructed in making masks, prayer sticks, songs, and prayers. The men who came in would select someone to teach them. Usually relatives would instruct relatives. Country Chief would take sacred corn meal and go to a member of the society, 48 bringing one or two boys whom he wished to initiate, saying to the member he selected to reach them, "I have brought you a son (or sons) (giving name and clan). You are to be their father. You are to teach them the secrets of your society and you are to help them make their masks and see that they make no serious mistakes." Country Chief again asked the chaianyi to give life to the new masks that were made, which was done as before. Everything followed the same course except that new members were initiated out in the country where they put on their masks, by the member chosen to do the initiating. (The initiator hits the initiate hard four times on the back. After the new member is struck he is supposed to yell like a katsina. In this way a man is initiated into the society for life. New members are given the same privileges as old members.)

Country Chief saw there was too much work in distributing the gifts so he thought of calling on the Koshari. He asked two chaianyi to represent Koshari. He gave them tobacco and corn meal, asking them to represent Koshari, telling them, "You are to give cigarettes to whomever you wish to select to be Koshari." So the chaianyi took the cigarettes that were given them by Country Chief to trap some men. They went from man to man, saying, "Maybe you would like a smoke?" Instead of giving a smoke to the man who accepted, the chaianyi trapped him. They caught two men in this way and notified Country Chief that these two men were to be initiated.

When Country Chief was ready for these two men, he told the chaianyi to bring them. Country Chief and the chaianyi told them what to do to represent Koshari. The men did not like it and tried to back out. But they were told, "You have been caught by the sacred tobacco and unless you go on with this, you will be haunted by the Koshari whose spirit was in the smoke." So the men thought it best to go on with it. The katsina were to come the next day, so the two young men were brought before Country Chief, who had told the chaianyi to tell the young men to come down into the kiva head first. (That is why they talk backward.) The men did this as best

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they could. Country Chief had previously prepared medicine which he set before them. He had already worked with the songs and prayers. The chaianyi sang the songs which they had prepared. Each time when a certain part in the song was reached, some of the medicine was sprinkled over the two initiates. After the songs, the chaianyi took the two men and (before they started singing they had taken off all their clothes) painted their faces with white clay and with black circles around their eyes and mouths and then their bodies with black horizontal stripes. Their hair was tied standing up in two bunches, just like the real Koshari. These bunches of hair represented the clouds. The chaianyi had skinned two small birds called shuti [Canyon wren] and had left the hearts in. These had been dried and were fetishes. They also prepared two other birds called shpati (mocking birds), which were hung about their neck as a necklace. This fetish was to give them power to talk fast and chatter and mimic like the mocking bird. In this way the two men were initiated.

They were to be heads of the Koshari. They were to initiate each his eldest son and anyone who wished to become a member. The chaianyi told them they were to represent the real Koshari, who had the habit of going wherever they pleased, and they would be allowed to go even in the most sacred places. "You will also have the power of a chaianyi. Even if the chaianyi has made medicine, you can go in and take it without permission and go out and cure anyone you wish with it." (Nowadays the Koshari will sometimes go to the medicine bowl, suck up some of the medicine, and administer it to the patient through his mouth.) The chaianyi told the men they were to know no sadness and were to know no pain even if hurt. They were to know no sickness. (If someone in a household is unhappy or sick frequently they prefer to call on a Koshari rather than on a medicine man.)

The chaianyi also made one honani for the two of them; all others later could use it. It was passed to the one first initiated as he was to be head of the Koshari. This ceremony took all night. By this time Gomaiowish had come bringing the message that the Koshari were Coming. When they heard him in the plaza, the Koshari rushed out and climbed up on the housetop yelling. When they saw Gomaiowish, they jumped down and were the first to meet him. They asked him, "Maybe you want something here?" Gomaiowish said, "I want Antelope Man and Country Chief." "Well, we will get them." The Koshari found Antelope Man and Country Chief, and told them that someone wanted to see them and to wait in the plaza. Country Chief and Antelope Man now met Gomaiowish and went on with their ritual, while the Koshari stood around making jokes. As was the custom, County Chief told the message Gomaiowish had brought, by

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crying it up the street. The Koshari came behind mocking him, twisting his statements, and reversing the meaning.

Then the katsina came and the Koshari rushed out ahead of everyone to meet them. On meeting them they asked if they were the katsina. They said yes, so the Koshari began sprinkling corn meal and leading them to the pueblo. Everything followed in the usual way, but this time there was a larger group of dancers. The Koshari acted as interpreters for the katsina to the people. The katsina used sign language that the Koshari understood. (Now they are not so secret and speak to them.) The katsina never speak. The Koshari took the presents from the katsina and distributed them to the people, so the people would not see the katsina too closely. They danced all day. Toward the last dance (the day went as before) the katsina were to throw up gifts. The Koshari saw the people were crowding up too near the katsina so they thought of making a boundary line that the people were not to cross and they told the people that was their trap. If any stepped over the line they would take him and make him a Koshari. In this way they kept the people back. This line was made of ashes. They were always very careful to destroy the line after each dance. All went well, the sun was setting and the customary ceremony of praying took place, and the katsina left. The dancers went out to the hiding place and unmasked with the same ceremonies as before and returned the masks to the kiva.

This is the way the katsina are still represented in the pueblo.


Footnotes

63:47 The cacique (Antelope chief) at Acorns today tells initiates into the katsina organization "everything about the katsina" (White, 1932, pp. 74-75).

64:48 There are five katsina dance groups at Acoma. There is no "Kachina society" as at Zuñi.


Next: Wanderings, Part XI