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Show Zuni-56 The katcinas are very intimate and affectionate supernaturals. They like pretty clothes and feathers; they like to sing and dance, and to visit. Above all they like to come to Zuni to dance. Bunzel's work describes the roles Pautiwa and the many other Zuni Kachinas, their relationship to the living world, as well as the relationship of the afterworld to the living world. Pautiwa, as chief of the masked gods, is "a truly magnificent person. His prestige is enormous. He possesses in unlimited measure the three most admired qualities-beauty, dignity, and kindliness." 57 Bunzel also describes the role of the Komosona and the Kiva leaders at Zuni, the offerings made at Kolhu/walatwa and the substances gathered there for use at Zuni. She shows that the intricate relationship between Kolhu/walatwa and the Zuni people is clearly central to the culture. While a Zuni impersonates a Kachina he becomes a living supernatural being, with life in both worlds. 58 Matilda Coxe Stevenson described the origin of Zuni Kachina masks. After the Zuni mothers' children had been transformed into water creatures, they became the Council of the Gods in Kolhu/walatwa. The Father of the Koyemshi decided the new Council of the Gods should not appear out of Kolhu/walatwa without masks, and he then created masks by touching his finger to the saliva in his mouth and 56. Ibid., p. 845. 57. Bunzel, Ruth "Introduction to Zuni Ceremonialism," Forty-seventh Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology, 1929-1930; Smithsonian Institution; Washington, D. C; 1932; pp. 521-522. Also see pp. 482-483 for other pertinent details on Kolhu/walatwa. 58. Bunzel, "Zuni Katcinas," p£. cit., especially pp. 848, 875-876, 1023, and 1068. - 41 - |
