Page 171 - TheHopiIndians

MESA FOLK OF HOPILAND 163
when the celebrants, holding gaily painted slabs of
wood in each hand, march into the plaza and form a
horseshoe figure with the opening toward the east.
From the kiva now come two women dressed as men,
having bows and arrows in their hands. As they ad
vance they throw before them a package of corn husks
and shoot their arrows at it, the act representing light
ning striking and fertilizing the fields. Thus they ad
vance by stages to the circle of dancers and throw the
bundle in their midst, shooting at it, then shooting
two arrows in the air they return to the kiva. In a
few minutes they appear again, carrying trays of
dumplings of sweet corn meal which they toss one by
one to the eager spectators. Then the circle of dancers
disperse, but again and again throughout the day, the
distributors return to dispense their offerings. At
sunset, the sand pictures, fetiches, and altar slabs are
removed by Saalako and the Mamzrau is over.
At night there is a serenade by two parties of men,
each party singing loudly as though to drown the
voices of the other. This serenade is said to be in
honor of the women for their pious celebration of the
Mamzrau.6
One of the most complicated ceremonies of the Hopi
is the New Fire, which occurs in November at five of
the pueblos. Every fourth year the ceremony is ex
8 The Mamzrauti : A Tusayan Ceremony, by J. Walter
Fewkes and A. M. Stephen, American Anthropologist, Vol.
5. No. 3, July, 1892.