Page 134 - TheHopiIndians

126 MESA FOLK OP HOPILAND

takes place in the kivas, where usually all the weaving
is done by the man, and with jollity and many a story
the task is soon finished. The spun cotton is handed
over to the bridegroom as a contribution from the
village, to be paid for, like everything else Hopi, by a
sumptuous feast which has been prepared by the
women for the spinners. Perhaps ten sagebrush-fed
sheep and goats, tough beyond reason, are being
softened in a stew, consisting mainly of corn ; stacks
of paper bread have been baked ; various other dishes
have been concocted, and all is ready when the crier
calls in the hungry multitude. They fall to, like the
genius of famine, without knives and forks, but with
activ though not over-clean digits, at the start.
When they are through, there is little left for the
gaunt, half-starved dogs that scent the savors of the
feast outside the door. If one desires to see the Hopi
at his happiest he must find him squatted on the floor
before an ample and well-spread feast.
With the spun cotton serious work begins for the
bridegroom and his male relatives lasting several
weeks. A large white blanket five by six feet and one
four and a half by five feet must b*- woven, and a
reed mat made in which the blankets are to be rolled.
A white sash with long fringe, and a pair of moccasins,
each having half a deerskin for leggings, like those
worn by the women of the Rio Grande pueblos, com
plete the costume. The blankets must have elaborate
tassels at the four corners. Shortly before sunrise