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CHAPTER XVI.

THE PIMA (Continued).

RELIGION-DEITIES MAGICIANS THE SOUL AND ITS DESTINY - DREAMS-SACRED PLACESSTONES STRIKE HA-AK LYING

IAKSK

PLACE OF THE BAD ONE-PUMA LYING-
MEDICINE MEN-LEGERDEMAIN-CAUSE AND
TREATMENT OF DISEASES.

The report continuing says:

"The Pimas are far less given than their pueblo neighbors to the outward show of religion, such as is seen in the varied and frequent ceremonies of the Hopis and Zunis. On the contrary, they appear to have no other than an occasional 'rain dance,' the navitco, and other ceremonies for the cure of disease. So far as could be ascertained in a comparatively brief sojourn among them, their religion comprised a belief in the supernatural or magic power of animals, and especially in the omnipotence of the Sun. When in mourning, sick, or in need, the Pima addressed his prayers to the Sun in the morning: 'Sun! Kindly help me through the day.' Or at nightfall his petition was raised: 'Darkness! Kindly help me through the night!' The following form of supplication was often employed: 'Sun! There, have mercy on me.' When weary on a journey, the Sun was appealed to, and the first whiff of cigarette smoke was puffed toward him. The disk was not regarded as the 'shield' or 'headdress."

but as the veritable person of the god. He moves unceasingly around the flat earth, going beneath the western rim and passing across below to rise in the east.

"It is Sun that, by means of magic power, kills those who die during the day. It is Night who kills those who die during the hours of darkness. Moon is Sun's wife, but she is not accredited with the power that is given to Darkness. Coyote is the child of Sun and Moon, and figures largely in the myths. His character, by its buffoonery and trickery, much resembles that of the culture heroes of some other tribes.

"At the present time two deities are recognized, TeU wUt MaKai, Earth Magician (medicine-man or doctor), and Si uu, Elder Brother. They live in the east, dividing the controls of the universe between them. The former governs the winds, the rains, etc.; sometimes he is called Tciors, Dios (Spanish). Their names are pronounced when a person sneezes, or, he may simply exclaim 'pity me,' referring tacitly to one or the other of these two deities. There is a puzzling mingling of the old and the new in the myths, though it seems probable that the greater part of them has been of ancient origin with recent adaptation of Earth Doctor and Elder Brother from the Christian religion. Among the Pimas themselves opinion is divided as to whether the myths have been largely adopted from the Papagos.

"At the solstitial point in the northeast lives Tcopiny Makai, Sinking Magician, who also has a 'house' in the northwest. In the southeast lives Vakolif Makai, South Magician, who also

occupies the corresponding point in the southwest. Along the Sun's path are the houses of the four minor gods.

"WUpUki Makai, Lightning Magician, is the southernmost, and when the Sun is in his neighborhood we have lightning that is not accompanied by thunder.

"Toahim Makai, Thunder Magician, causes the thunders that are heard during the second month.

"HUwUlt Makai, Wind Magician, produces the strong winds that blow so continuously in the spring.

"Tatraaki Makai, Foam Magician, causes the river to rise and bear foam upon its waves in the month succeeding the month of wind.

"It is difficult to determine the exact position of Coyote in the Pima pantheon, though he is classed with the leading deities in the myths, and his modern but degenerate descendants are regarded as very wise.

"When a coyote comes by moonlight and sees the shadow of a chicken, he can pounce upon the shadow and so bring down the bird within reach. He has been known to steal a baby from between its sleeping parents, an informant declared. Considering the manner in which the moon is supposed to have originated, it is strange that it should contain the figure of a coyote. No explanation of this belief was found.

"The stars are living beings: Morning Star is the daughter of a magician; her name is Su mas Ho-o, Visible Star. Polaris is the Notwalking Star, but is otherwise not distinguished

from his fellows. Possibly this term has been adopted since the advent of the whites. Once a mule with a pack load of flour was going along in the sky, but he was fractious and not gentle, as is the horse. He bucked off the load of flour, which was spilled all along the trail. A part of it was eaten by Coyote, but some remains to form the Milky Way.'

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THE SOUL AND ITS DESTINY.

"The soul is the center of the breast. It makes us breathe, but it is not the breath. It is not known just what it is like, whether it is white or any other color.

"The views of the Pimas concerning the destiny of the soul varied considerably. Some declared that at death the soul passed into the body of an owl. Should an owl happen to be hooting at the time of a death, it was believed that it was waiting for the soul. Referring to the diet of the owl, dying persons sometimes said: 'I am going to eat rats.' Owl feathers were always given to a dying person. They were kept in a long rectangular box or basket of maguey leaf. If the family had no owl feathers at hand, they sent to the medicine-man, who always kept them. If possible, the feathers were taken from a living bird when collected; the owl might then be set free or killed. If the short, downy feathers of the owl fell upon a person, he would go blind. Even to-day the educated young people are very chary about entering an abandoned building tenanted by an owl.

"By some it is said that after death souls go to the land of the dead in the east. All souls go to Si alik Rsan, Morning Base, or place where the sun rises. The East Land is separated from the land of the living by the chasm called TcU wUt Hi ketany, Earth Crack. When one of the writer's interpreters had gone to school at Hampton, Virginia, her associates said that she had gone to the abode of spirits. All is rejoicing and gladness in that other world. There they will feast and dance, consequently when one dies his best clothing must be put on and his hair must be dressed with care, as is the custom in preparing for an earthly ceremony. No idea of spiritual reward or punishment for conduct in this life exists.

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Again, the souls of the dead are supposed to hang about and perform unpleasant pranks with the living. They are liable to present themselves before the living if they catch the right person alone at night. The ghost never speaks at such times, nor may any but medicine-men speak to him. If one be made sick by thus seeing a ghost, he must have the medicine-man go to the grave of the offending soul and tell it to be quiet, and they always do as they are bid." Old Kisate, of Santan, thought that the soul continued to reside in the body as that was 'its house.' During his youth he had accompanied a medicine-man and a few friends to the grave of a man who had been killed near Picacho, about forty miles southeast of Sacaton. The medicine-man addressed the grave in a long speech, in which he expressed the sorrow and regret of the relatives and friends that the

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