486

THE CONGRESS OF WOMEN.

meeting on the opposite side, they hold the cedar twig in the left hand and shoot at the enemy, each arrow piercing a scalp. The arrows are not removed, the scalp being placed under the toga over the region of the heart, the feathered end of the shaft touching the chin. The tiny vases of water and gourds are transported in the blanket, where it is held around the waist.

In the meantime the warriors and officers of the Ant Society gather in a circle near the victor, each warrior depositing a plume offering at some ant-hill before join­ing the group. They enjoy a social smoke and chat until the arrival of the sun priest, priest of the west, and priest of the bow, when all join in a ceremonial smoke. The priest of the bow now selects tw r o youths to stand on the mounds and clasp one another’s left hands over the excavation. The victor and elder brother, stepping on the crossed yucca fronds, pass up the line of meal and under the clasped hands, each carrying a scalp. As soon as they pass under the scalps are received by the custo­dian and vice, who lay them on the ground a short distance southwest of the mounds. The priest of the fetich clasps the victor to his breast, while the priest of the north embraces the elder brother. The tw'o then reverse places and are embraced, long prayers being repeated each time by the two priests; they are then embraced by the other five rain priests. The two scalp kickers then place their left arms through the right arms of the victor and elder brother and proceed a short distance north of the group, each couple going to an ant-hill, where they deposit plume wands; the men offer prayers, but the women do not speak, as no woman not past child-bearing period may speak at the house of the ants.

When all the warriors have passed under the hands the populace follow, the equestrians dismounting for the purpose. “ They step over the sacred road of meal to the home of the ants that they may keep their lives when passing about the country or contending with the enemy.”

The rain priests and priest of the fetich are exempt from this feature of the cere­monial, as their place is at home and not amid the danger of travel and war. The scalp kickers start the scalps with the left foot and so keep them in front, the right foot never being used for the purpose; they may not look to the right or to the left, but only straight ahead. The victor and elder brother are next the two kickers, then follow the priest of the bow, the Ant Society, the scalp custodian and his vice, the pamosontka (female aid to the scalp custodian), and then the populace, some on foot, others mounted, making the air ring with rifle and pistol shots and the war- whoop. If this imaginary scalping can produce such frenzy, what must have been the scene when they in reality came back victorious from battle with the hated Navajo!

The procession passes around the village from left to right, coil-fashion, and on reaching the plaza they form concentric circles. The scalp custodian and vice hold the scalps, which are still attached to the cedar twigs, and stand in the center of the circle. The priest of the bow approaches the custodian, who picks off a bit of scalp attaching it to an arrow of the priest, who then passes around the inner circle four times from left to right. The first time he runs his arrow over the ankles of the men and women whom he passes, the second time he draws it above their knees, the third time by the waist, the fourth over the head that their hearts may be pure and know no fear. Each time as he reaches the starting point all present expectorate on cedar bark and carry it around the head four times from left to right, the priest of the bow, instead, waving his arrow held in the right hand. After the fourth time all males give the warwhoop, and the priest shoots the arrow' containing the bit of scalp toward the north—the home of the hated Navajo.

By this time the moon has risen and the scene grows more picturesque. The sun priest, who stands on the south, calls to the populace to “ join in the dance.” It must be appreciated that an enemy destroyed becomes a friend; therefore, the destruction of the enemy so pleases the gods that a reward of rain is made, the scalp ceremonial being a rain festival. The custodian and vicar now attach the scalps to a pole and plant the pole in an excavation previously made for it in the center of the plaza.