| OCR Text |
Show Christian Missionary Efforts a_t Zuni Noting that Christian missionary efforts at Zuni had been largely unsuccessful, Erna Fergusson, in her book Dancing Gods, remarked!7 4 The Zuni religion is so powerful that its rites go on serenely, too haughty to pay the white man even the doubtful compliment of exclusion. Matilda Coxe Stevenson echoed this comment, saying "It has been said that the Pueblo Indians are attached to the Roman Catholic faith; but such is not the case, at least with the Zunis." She went on to report that the Zunis had decorated their mission wall with images from their own religion. 75 Klara B. Kelley put it most succinctly when she said that all of the approximately 8,000 Zunis believe in traditional Zuni religion, and that the Zunis hold their beliefs "with great intensity." Since Kolhu/walatwa is held sacred by the Acomas as well as the Zunis, 76 she goes on to sayt The number of believers in the sacredness of the "Zuni Heaven" trail may include the entire populations of Zuni and Acoma Pueblos (11,392). In duration and intensity, their beliefs might resemble those surrounding Zuni Salt Lake and the various salt trails. Even if knowledge of this trail and the mythology surrounding it were limited to religious authorities in the two pueblos, the laity believe that the religious authorities are caretakers for the entire population. . . Thus, 74. Fergusson, Erna Dancing Gods, Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1934, p. 67, 86-87. 75. Stevenson, Matilda Coxe "The Zuni Indianst Their Mythology, Esoteric Fraternities, and Ceremonies," Twenty-third Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology, Washington, D. C, GPO, 1904, pp. 14-15. 76. Kelley, Klara B. "Historic Cultural Resources in the San Augustine Coal Area," Preliminary Report for SACA San Augustine Coal Area, Draft, June 1, 1984. - 52 - |
