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Show The Zunis believe that the earth is supplied with water by their dead of both sexes and all ages above infancy, and infants soon reach maturity after going to the undermost world whence the Zunis came. The deceased always go first to Ko'thluwala'wa (Dance village), abiding place of the Council of the Gods, and they often return thither to dance in the great dance house. The relationship between rain, Kolhu/walatwa, and Zunis is central to an understanding of the tribe's relationship with their most sacred area, and Stevenson provided an explanation of that relationship. The U wanna mi (rain-makers) pass back and forth through the heavens unseen from below because they are masked by the clouds. They pour rain through the clouds. Smoke attracts clouds and rain, and therefore smoke is an important part of their ceremonial life. 49 The clouds are produced by the breath of the gods and smoke, and, when it is understood that the greater the smoke offering the greater the inducement for the rain-makers to work, it is not surprising that smoking is one of the conspicuous features of the Zuni ritual. There is a time at the summer solstice when the torchbearer sets fire to everything in his way, from Ko'thluwala'wa to Zuni. The greater the smoke offering the heavier the cloud masks will be. Stevenson continued, "the greatest of the Zuni ancestral gods sits in state" in Kolhu/walatwa where the Council of Gods ask him for the water that the Uwannami use to water the earth. Male and female U wanna mi spread rain over the earth "according to the supplications of the Zunis." The Zunis identify the various kinds of clouds and find some meaning in each type. Rain priests, especially, must not offend the Council of the Gods. The Uwannami "do not breathe from the mouth but directly from the heart." 49. Ibid., 21. - 35 - |
