Eighth Annual Report Part 27

At Tusayan there is no evidence that a church or mission house ever formed part of the villages on the mesa summits. Their plans are complete in themselves, and probably represent closely the first pueblos built on these sites. These summits have been extensively occupied only in comparatively recent times, although one or more small cl.u.s.ters may have been built here at an early date as outlooks over the fields in the valleys below.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Plate CX. Portion of a corral in Pescado.]

It is to be noted that some of the ruins connected traditionally and historically with Tusayan and Cibola differ in no particular from stone pueblos widely scattered over the southwestern plateaus which have been from time to time invested with a halo of romantic antiquity, and regarded as remarkable achievements in civilization by a vanished but once powerful race. These deserted stone houses, occurring in the midst of desert solitudes, appealed strongly to the imaginations of early explorers, and their stimulated fancy connected the remains with Aztecs and other mysterious peoples. That this early implanted bias has caused the invention of many ingenious theories concerning the origin and disappearance of the builders of the ancient pueblos, is amply attested in the conclusions reached by many of the writers on this subject.

In connection with the architectural examination of some of these remains many traditions have been obtained from the present tribes, clearly indicating that some of the village ruins, and even cliff dwellings, have been built and occupied by ancestors of the present Pueblo Indians, sometimes at a date well within the historic period.

The migrations of the Tusayan clans, as described in the legends collected by Mr. Stephen, were slow and tedious. While they pursued their wanderings and awaited the favorable omens of the G.o.ds they halted many times and planted. They speak traditionally of stopping at certain places on their routes during a certain number of plantings, always building the characteristic stone pueblos and then again taking up the march.

When these Indians are questioned as to whence they came, their replies are various and conflicting; but this is due to the fact that the members of one clan came, after a long series of wanderings, from the north, for instance, while those of other gentes may have come last from the east. The tribe to-day seems to be made up of a collection or a confederacy of many enfeebled remnants of independent phratries and groups once more numerous and powerful. Some clans traditionally referred to as having been important are now represented by few survivors, and bid fair soon to become extinct. So the members of each phratry have their own store of traditions, relating to the wanderings of their own ancestors, which differ from those of other clans, and refer to villages successively built and occupied by them. In the case of others of the pueblos, the occupation of cliff dwellings and cave lodges is known to have occurred within historic times.

Both architectural and traditional evidence are in accord in establishing a continuity of descent from the ancient Pueblos to those of the present day. Many of the communities are now made up of the more or less scattered but interrelated remnants of gentes which in former times occupied villages, the remains of which are to-day looked upon as the early homes of Aztec colonies, etc.

The adaptation, of this architecture to the peculiar environment indicates that it has long been practiced under the same conditions that now prevail. Nearly all of the ancient pueblos were built of the sandstone found in natural quarries at the bases of hundreds of cliffs throughout these table-lands. This stone readily breaks into small pieces of regular form, suitable for use in the simple masonry of the pueblos without receiving any artificial treatment. The walls themselves give an exaggerated idea of finish, owing to the care and neatness with which the component stones are placed. Some of the ill.u.s.trations in the last chapter, from photographs, show clearly that the material of the walls was much ruder than the appearance of the finished masonry would suggest, and that this finish depended on the careful selection and arrangement of the fragments. This is even more noticeable in the Chaco ruins, in which the walls were wrought to a high degrees of surface finish. The core of the wall was laid up with the larger and more irregular stones, and was afterwards brought to a smooth face by carefully filling in and c.h.i.n.king the joints with smaller stones and fragments, sometimes not more than a quarter of an inch thick; this method is still roughly followed by both Tusayan and Cibolan builders.

Although many details of construction and arrangement display remarkable adaptation to the physical character of the country, yet the influence of such environment would not alone suffice to produce this architectural type. In order to develop the results found, another element was necessary. This element was the necessity for defense. The pueblo population was probably subjected to the more or less continuous influence of this defensive motive throughout the period of their occupation of this territory. A strong independent race of people, who had to fear no invasion by stronger foes, would necessarily have been influenced more by the physical environment and would have progressed further in the art of building, but the motive for building rectangular rooms--the initial point of departure in the development of pueblo architecture--would not have been brought into action. The crowding of many habitations upon a small cliff ledge or other restricted site, resulting in the rectangular form of rooms, was most likely due to the conditions imposed by this necessity for defense.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Plate CXI. Zui eagle-cage.]

The general outlines of the development of this architecture wherein the ancient builders were stimulated to the best use of the exceptional materials about them, both by the difficult conditions of their semi-desert environment and by constant necessity for protection against their neighbors, can be traced in its various stages of growth from the primitive conical lodge to its culmination in the large communal village of many-storied terraced buildings which we find to have been in use at the time of the Spanish discovery, and which still survives in Zui, perhaps its most striking modern example. Yet the various steps have resulted from a simple and direct use of the material immediately at hand, while methods gradually improved as frequent experiments taught the builders more fully to utilize local facilities. In all cases the material was derived from the nearest available source, and often variations in the quality of the finished work are due to variations in the quality of the stone near by. The results accomplished attest the patient and persistent industry of the ancient builders, but the work does not display great skill in construction or in preparation of material. The same desert environment that furnished such an abundance of material for the ancient builders, also, from its difficult and inhospitable character and the constant variations in the water supply, compelled the frequent employment of this material. This was an important factor in bringing about the attained degree of advancement in the building art. At the present day constant local changes occur in the water sources of these arid table-lands, while the general character of the climate remains unaltered.

The distinguishing characteristics of Pueblo architecture may be regarded as the product of a defensive motive and of an arid environment that furnished an abundance of suitable building material, and at the same time the climatic conditions that compelled its frequent employment.

The decline of the defensive motive within the last few years has greatly affected the more recent architecture. Even after the long practice of the system has rendered it somewhat fixed, comparative security from attack has caused many of the Pueblo Indians to recognize the inconvenience of dwellings grouped in large cl.u.s.ters on sites difficult of access, while the sources of their subsistence are necessarily spa.r.s.ely scattered over large areas. This is noticeable in the building of small, detached houses at a distance from the main villages, the greater convenience to crops, flocks and water outweighing the defensive motive. In Cibola particularly, a marked tendency in this direction has shown itself within a score of years; Ojo Caliente, the newest of the farming pueblos, is perhaps the most striking example within the two provinces. The greater security of the pueblos as the country comes more fully into the hands of Americans, has also resulted in the more careless construction in modern examples as compared with the ancient.

There is no doubt that, as time shall go on, the system of building many-storied cl.u.s.ters of rectangular rooms will gradually be abandoned by these people. In the absence of the defensive motive a more convenient system, employing scattered small houses, located near springs and fields, will gradually take its place, thus returning to a mode of building that probably prevailed in the evolution of the pueblo prior to the cl.u.s.tering of many rooms into large defensive villages. Pl.

Lx.x.xIII ill.u.s.trates a building of the type described located on the outskirts of Zui, across the river from the main pueblo.

The cultural distinctions between the Pueblo Indians and neighboring tribes gradually become less clearly defined as investigation progresses. Mr. Cushings study of the Zui social, political, and religious systems has clearly established their essential ident.i.ty in grade of culture with those of other tribes. In many of the arts, too, such as weaving, ceramics, etc., these people in no degree surpa.s.s many tribes who build ruder dwellings.

In architecture, though, they have progressed far beyond their neighbors; many of the devices employed attest the essentially primitive character of the art, and demonstrate that the apparent distinction in grade of culture is mainly due to the exceptional condition of the environment.

Errors and Anomalies for Pueblo Architecture:

Unusual letters:

Kon-lo ... Natan Ko[n]-lo ... Nata[n] (small raised n) Winaki W[)i]naki (short i) Epeoka lestabi [)E]peoka lestabi (short e) Kwopkota Koitci Kw[)o]pkota ... K[)o]itci (short o)

Variant Forms, unchanged from original:

nyumu _sometimes hyphenated:_ nyu-mu Mashongnavi Shupaulovi Sichumovi _sometimes written with accent:_ Mashngnavi Shupalovi Sichmovi

Irregularities in Table of Contents:

CHAPTER I.--Traditionary history of Tusayan _t.i.tle in body text reads Traditional..._ Small ruin near Horn House Moen-kopi Taaiyalana ruins Kin-tiel and Kinna-Zinde _t.i.tles in body text:_ Small ruin between Horn House and Bat House Moen-kopi ruins Taaiyalana Kin-tiel

Many phrases are hyphenated in the List of Ill.u.s.trations but not in the captions themselves: chief-kiva, ground-plan, loom-post, roof-beams...

Whatever their motive, the Bears left Antelope Canyon _text reads Cayon_ far off on the Mina (river) near Alavia (Santa F) _text reads Sante F_ The princ.i.p.al building is a long irregular row, similar to _text reads similiar_ All the Tusayan kivas are in the form of a parallelogram _text reads paralellogram_ the second level of the kiva floor, forming the dais before referred to The ledge, or dais, is free for the use of spectators _text reads dias both times, but is spelled dais on its first occurrence (earlier in text)_ these overhanging copings occur princ.i.p.ally on the southern exposures _text reads pric.i.p.ally_ particularly prevalent in Zuni _text reads particulary_ Chapters II and III _text reads Chapter_ usually carved from a single piece of wood _text reads single / single at line break_ somewhat similar in effect to the carving on the Spanish beams _text reads similiar_ the almost inaccessible summit of Taaiyalana mesa _text reads Taiyalana_

Punctuation:

Long ago the Hopituh were few _paragraph (printed as block quote) begins with redundant quotation mark_

CEREMONIAL OF HASJELTI DAILJIS

and

MYTHICAL SAND PAINTING OF THE NAVAJO INDIANS

by

JAMES STEVENSON

CONTENTS

Page.

Introduction 235 Construction of the Medicine Lodge 237 First day 237 Personators of the G.o.ds 237 Second day 239 Description of the sweat houses 239 Sweat houses and masks 242 Preparation of the sacred reeds (cigarette) and prayer sticks 242 Third day 244 First ceremony 244 Second ceremony 245 Third ceremony 247 Fourth ceremony (night) 248 Fourth day 249 First ceremony 249 Second ceremony 250 Third ceremony 250 Fourth ceremony 252 Fifth ceremony 253 Sixth ceremony 253 Foods brought into the lodge 256 Fifth day 257 First ceremony 257 Second ceremony 259 Third ceremony 260 Sixth day 261 Seventh day 263 Eighth day 265 Ninth day 269 First ceremony 269 Second ceremony 270 Song of the Etsethle 272 Prayer to the Etsethle 272 Conclusion--the dance 273 Myths of the Navajo 275 Creation of the sun 275 Hasjelti and Hostjoghon 277 The floating logs 278 Naiyenesgony and Tobaidischinni 279 The Brothers 280 The old man and woman of the first world 284

ILl.u.s.tRATIONS

Page.

Plate CXII. A, Rainbow over eastern sweat house; B, Rainbow over western sweat house 240 CXIII. Blanket rug and medicine tubes 242 CXIV. Blanket rug and medicine tubes 244 CXV. Masks: 1, Naiyenesyong; 2, 3, Tobaidischinne; 4, 5, Hasjelti; 6, Hostjoghon; 7, Hostjobokon; 8, Hostjoboard 246 CXVI. Blanket rug and medicine tubes 248 CXVII. 1, Pine boughs on sand bed; 2, Apache basket containing yucca suds lined with corn pollen; 3, Basket of water surface covered with pine needles 250 CXVIII. Blanket rug and medicine tubes and sticks 252 CXIX. Blanket rug and medicine tube 258 CXX. First sand painting 260 CXXI. Second sand painting 262 CXXII. Third sand painting 264 CXXIII. Fourth sand painting 266

Fig. 115. Exterior lodge 236 116. Interior lodge 237 117. Gaming ring 238 118. Sweat house 240

CEREMONIAL OF HASJELTI DAILJIS AND MYTHICAL SAND PAINTING OF THE NAVAJO INDIANS.

by