The Mountain Chant, A Navajo Ceremony Part 6

182. Four sticks pertained to the klicts-bikecan: one was black, with four white deer tracks painted on it; another was blue, with four yellow deer tracks; a third was white, with four black deer tracks; the fourth was yellow, with four blue deer tracks. The Great Serpent said to the Navajo prophet: "There are certain moles who, when they dig in the ground, scatter the earth in a long winding heap like the form of a crawling snake. In such a heap of earth will you bury these kethawns."

(Paragraph 42.)

183. There are two sticks belonging to the kethawn of the lightning G.o.d (in'-bikecan). One is black, with a white zigzag stripe from end to end; the other blue, with a yellow zigzag stripe from end to end.

(Paragraph 43.)

184. The Estsan-igni, or Holy Women, showed the prophet but one kethawn stick. It was painted white and decorated with three pairs of circular bands, red and blue, the blue in each case being next to the body of the painter while he holds the stick in decorating it. This kethawn must be buried at the base of a young spruce tree, with the first blue circle next to the tree. (Paragraph 45.)

185. Pour sticks were shown by the Tcike-cac-natlehi. They were black, sprinkled with specular iron ore to make them shine; decorated with three pairs of bands, red and blue, applied as in the kethawns of the Estsan-igni; and buried under a young pinon, with the first blue band or circle next to the tree. (Paragraph 46.)

186. The two kethawns seen by Dsilyi' Neyani at Big Oaks, the home of the igin-yosini, were both banded at the ends with blue and red and had marks to symbolize the givers. One was white, with two pairs of stripes, red and blue, running lengthwise. The other was yellow, with many stripes of black and yellow running lengthwise. (Paragraph 49.)

187. At Last Mountain, the home of the skunks, two kethawns, evidently intended to symbolize these animals, were shown to the prophet and his divine companions. Both the sticks were black: one had three white longitudinal stripes on one side; the other had three longitudinal rows of white spots, three spots in each row, on one side. (Paragraph 50.)

188. The two sticks shown by the squirrels, Glo'dsilka and Glo'dsiljini, were painted blue, sprinkled with specular iron ore, and surrounded at the ends with red and blue bands. One was to be planted at the base of a pine tree and one at the base of a spruce tree.

189. At Dsilya-icin the porcupines exhibited two kethawns. They were very short, being equal in length to the middle joint of the little finger. One was black and one was blue. Each had red and blue terminal bands and each had a number of white dots on one side to represent porcupine quills. "Bury them," said asani, "under a pinon tree."

(Paragraph 52.)

190. At Qoest four kethawns, rather elaborately decorated, were shown.

Two were half white and half black, the black part having white spots and the white part having black spots on it. The other two were half blue and half yellow, the yellow being spotted with blue and the blue with yellow. There were red and blue rings at the ends. (Paragraph 53.)

191. The Tcike-igni showed their visitors two kethawns, one black and one blue. Each was a span long and was surrounded with three pairs of bands, blue and red, put on in the manner observed in making the kethawns of the Estsan-igni. (Paragraph 184.) To the center of the black kethawn five blue feathers were tied. To the center of the blue kethawn five yellow feathers were fastened. Five black beads were interred with the black stick--one tied to the center, one stuck in the end, and three laid loose in the ground. Five blue turquoise beads were similarly buried with the blue stick. Such kethawns must be buried at the foot of a spruce tree, with the heads towards the mountains of epentsa. By "head" is meant the end held the farther from the body of the painter when the paint is applied, the end having the red band at its extremity. (Paragraph 54.)

ORIGINAL TEXTS AND TRANSLATIONS OF SONGS, &C.

192. The songs of the dsilyidje qacal are very numerous and their recitation is governed by many rules, a few of which only have been discovered by the writer.

193. A list has been recorded of thirteen sets of songs which may properly be sung at night in the medicine lodge, when the ceremonies of the day are done, and in the corral on the last night, when there is no special song in progress pertaining to a particular alili or dance. The list which follows exhibits the order in which these songs may be sung on any particular night. For example, if the singers begin with a song from set III, they cannot follow immediately with a song from sets I or II, but mast select from some of the following sets, as set IV or V.

Again, in each set the songs have a certain order of sequence which must not be reversed. For convenience these will be called

SONGS OF SEQUENCE.

--------+-------------------+------------------------------+----------- Order. | Indian name | English name of set. | Number in | of set. | | each set.

--------+-------------------+------------------------------+----------- I. | Atsatle Bigin | Songs of the First Dancers | 16 II. | Tsints Bigin | Songs of the Great Stick, | 12 | | or Plumed Wand | III. | []epe Bigin | Songs of the Mountain Sheep | 12 IV. | I'n Bigin | Songs of the Lightning | 12 V. | Tsilke-igni | Songs of the Holy Young Men | 12 | Bigin | | VI. | Tcike-cac-natlehi | Songs of Young | 16 | Bigin | Women Who Become Bears | VII. | Dsilyi' Neyani | Songs of Reared Within | 8 | Bigin | the Mountains | VIII. | Tsahagin | Awl songs | 8 IX. | Nahik-gin | Whitening songs | 8 X. | []asani Bigin | Songs of the Porcupines | 7 XI. | Nanise Bigin | Songs of the Plants | 8 XII. | Tsinilc Bigin | Songs of the Exploding Stick | 26 XIII. | Yika-gin | Daylight songs | 16 | + +----------- | Total | 161 --------+--------------------------------------------------+-----------

194. Besides those referred to in the above list, there are more which are appropriate to different acts in the ceremony, such as the songs sung at the obliteration of the pictures, at the building of the corral, at the departure of the akaninili, &c.

195. In some cases a number of songs in the same set are nearly alike; the addition or subst.i.tution of one verse, or even of one word, may be the only difference. Such songs usually follow one another in immediate succession; often, on the other hand, we find a great variety in subject and in style.

196. Some songs are self-explanatory or readily understood, but the greater number cannot be comprehended without a full knowledge of the mythology and of the symbolism to which they refer; they merely hint at mythic conceptions. Many contain archaic expressions, for which the shaman can a.s.sign a meaning, but whose etymology cannot now be learned; and some embody obsolete words whose meaning is lost even to the priesthood. There are many vocables known to be meaningless and recited merely to fill out the rhythm or to give a dignified length to the song.

For the same reasons a meaningless syllable is often added or a significant syllable duplicated.

197. Other poetical licenses are taken, such as the omission of a syllable, the change of accent, the subst.i.tution of one vowel for another. The most familiar words are often distorted beyond recognition.

For these various reasons the task of noting and translating these songs is one of considerable difficulty.

198. FIRST SONG OF THE FIRST DANCERS.

[See Transcriber's Supplement at the end of the text, between the Index and the Errata, for alternative spelling.]

Qanie qa yae, qanie qa yae Qanie ie oaye oaye.

1. Qadjinaa qa yae, 2. Kac dsil ilhyili qa yae, 3. 'caltso tsee qa yae, 4. Cija cigelgo qa yae.

Nahi ni ehi oaye, nahi ini ehi oohe.

5. Niqoyastcadje qa yae, 6. Kac dsil coliji qa yae, 7. Kini bitsee qa yae, 8. Cija cigelgo qa yae.

Nahi ni, etc.

9. Qadjinaa qa yae, 10. Kac dsil lits qa yae, 11. Bitselits qa yae, 12. Cija cigelgo qa yae.

Nahi ni, etc.

13. Niqoyastcadje qa yae, 14. Kac dsil lakaie qa yae, 15. A'a'i tsee qa yae, 16. Cija cigelgo qa yae.

Nahi ni, etc.

199. _Translation._--1, 9. Qadjina, "Place-where-they-came-up,"

a locality in the San Juan Mountains where, according to their mythology, the Navajo emerged from the lower world to this. 5, 13.

Niqoyastcadje, another name for Qadjina. 2, 6, 10, 14. Kac, now; dsil, mountain; ilhyili, black; coliji, blue; lits, yellow; lakaie, white.

These verses refer to four mountains surrounding Qadjina, which are designated by colors only to indicate their topographical positions.

3, 7, 11, 15. 'caltso = aca lits, "yellow wing," a large bird of prey; kini, hen hawk; bitselits, "yellow tail," a bird of undetermined species; a'a'i, magpie; tse, a tail; bitse, its tail. 4, 8, 12, 16.

Cija, my treasure; cigel, my desideratum, my ultimatum, the only thing I will accept. When supposed to be said by a G.o.d, as in this song, it means the particular sacrifice which is appropriate to him. In this case probably the feathers spoken of are "cigel" and the mountains "cija."

The refrain "qa yae" is a poetic modification of qaa', it looms up, or sticks up, said of some lofty object visible in the distance, whose base cannot be seen.

200. _Free translation._

Place-whence-they-came-up looms up, Now the black mountain looms up, The tail of the "yellow wing" looms up, My treasure, my sacrifice, loom up.

Land-where-they-moved-out looms up, Now the blue mountain looms up, The tail of the hen-hawk looms up, My treasure, my sacrifice, loom up.

Place-whence-they-came-up looms up, Now the yellow mountain looms up, The tail that is yellow looms up, My treasure, my sacrifice, loom up.

Land-where-they-moved-out looms up, Now the white mountain looms up, The tail of the magpie looms up, My treasure, my sacrifice, loom up.

201. FIRST SONG OF THE MOUNTAIN SHEEP.

1. Yki asizni, 2. Kac Tsilke-igni, 3. Kac katso-yiscani, 4. Tsia baalli, 5. Bija-yeigingo.

6. Kac Tcike igni, 7. Katsoye yiscani, 8. Yki asizni, 9. Tsia baalli, 10. Bija-yeigingo.

202. _Translation._--1, 8. Yki, upon it; asizin, he stands on high.

2, 6. Kac, now; tsilke, young man; tcike, young woman; igni, holy.

3. Katso-yiscan, the great plumed arrow; katsoye yiscan, with the great plumed arrow. 4, 9. Tsia, truly, verily; baalli, an alili, a show, a rite, or implement used in a dance for him. 5, 10. Bija, his treasure, his special property, his peculiar belonging; ye, with, a prefix forming nouns which denote the means; igingo, positively holy or supernatural.

Bija-yeigingo might be translated "charm" or "talisman."

203. _Free translation._

He stands high upon it; Now the Holy Young Man [Young Woman, in second stanza], With the great plumed arrow, Verily his own sacred implement, His treasure, by virtue of which he is truly holy.

204. A reference to the myth, and the description of the ceremonies will probably be sufficient to give the reader an understanding of this song.

This set of songs, it is said, was first sung by the black sheep which stood on the rock as a sign to the Navajo fugitive; hence the name. (See paragraphs 35, 47, 48, 54.)