Identifier: annualreportofbu219smit (find matches)
Title: Annual report of the Bureau of American Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution
Year: 1895 (1890s)
Authors: Smithsonian Institution. Bureau of American Ethnology
Subjects: Smithsonian Institution. Bureau of American Ethnology Ethnology Indians
Publisher: Washington : U. S. Govt. Print. Off.
Contributing Library: Boston Public Library
Digitizing Sponsor: Kahle/Austin Foundation and Omidyar Network

View Book Page: Book Viewer
About This Book: Catalog Entry
View All Images: All Images From Book
Click here to view book online to see this illustration in context in a browseable online version of this book.

Text Appearing Before Image:
nce of a Snaketiponi or badge of chieftaincy is to lie noted. Walpi. on the Eastmesa, is the only Hopi village that has a Snake tiponi. Considerable time was spent before the snake washing began in get-ting the reptiles out of the four canteens in which they were keptwhen not moving about freely in the kiva. These canteens are ofbaked claj similar to those in which the women cany water on theirbacks to the pueblos fromthe springs at the liase of the mesa. Ahole is punched in the middle of the convex side, and Ixith this andthe opening at the neck are closed with corncobs. The reptiles weretransferred with difficidty from these vessels to cloth bags, and were laidon the floor near the fireplace. A considerable quantity of sand wasbrought into the room and spread on the floor on one side of thekiva. A board was placed on a stone seat along the edge of thissand, down the middle of the kiva. and upon this board the Snakepriests seated themselves, facing the sanded floor. They were closely
Text Appearing After Image:
THE SNAKE-WASHING AT MISHONGNOVI 971 crowded together, eompletely surroundino- the sand, .save on one side,which was formed by the kiva wall (see figure 42). Three boys—novices—stood behind the line of seated priests, and if any of the rep-tiles escaped between the men while being released, they werepromptly captured and returned to the sand by the lads. The ))odies of all the participants were naked and were stained redwith iron oxide, and each man wore a small red feather in his hair.Before taking their seats they hung bandoliers over their shouldersand tied one to the ladder pole. One of their number tied a whitebuckskin over his arm, and added other paraphernalia chiiracteristic

Note About Images