ANTHROPOLOGICAL RECORDS 2:4 SOUTHERN PAIUTE SHAMANISM BY ISABEL T. KELLY UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA 1939 SOUTHERN PAJUTE SHAMANISM BY ISABEL T. KELLY ANTHROPOLOGICAL RECORDS Vol. 2, No. 4 ANTHROPOLOGICAL RECORDS EDITORS: A. L. KROEBER, R. H. LowlE, R. L. OLSON Volume 2, No. 4, pp. I5 I-'67 Transmitted May 10, I937 Issued November IS, 1939 Price, $.25 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS LONDON, ENGLAND The University of California publications dealing with anthro- pological subjects are now issued in two series. The series in American Archaeology and Ethnology, which was established in 1903, continues unchanged in format, but is restricted to papers in which the interpretative element outweighs the factual or which otherwise are of general interest. The new series, known as Anthropological Records, is issued in photolithography in a larger size. It consists of monographs which are documentary, of record nature, or devoted to the presen- tation primarily of new data. MANUFACTURED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA SOUTHERN PAJUTE SHAMANISM BY ISABEL T. KELLY INTRODUCTION Shamanism is still a vital institution among the Southern Paiute and consequently it is dis- cussed by informants with some reluctance, al- though with less reserve than might be expected from a Basin Shoshonean people.' Although the data below are by no means complete, they are sufficiently full to permit formulation of what appears to be a characteristic Paiute pattern and, at the same time, to bring out certain local specializations. This is best accomplished by a separate treatment of each band. Seven of the original fifteen bands of Southern Paiute are in- cluded here;2 an outline of the shamanistic be- liefs and practices of an eighth, the Chemehuevi, has been published.3 The two most westerly groups-the Chemehuevi and the Las Vegas-are noticeably divergent from the others, probably because of their Yuman and southern Californian contacts. Game shamans, individuals who by virtue of supernatural power control the movements of game animals, are not included in the present paper. In native terminology they are distinguished as dreamers (nono'si) in contrast to regular shamans (puaxanti). They were known to a number of South- ern Paiute groups, at least to those from the Shivwits and Saint George westward, and were par- ticularly well developed among the Las Vegas and Chemehuevi. Informants and interpreters.-Kaibab: Captain George and Sarah Frank, Kaibab Indian Reservation, Moccasin, Arizona; interpreter, Katie Craig. Shivwits: Little Jim, Shivwits Indian Reservation, Santa Clara, Utah; interpreters, Big George and James Yellowjacket. Saint George: Peter Hender- son, Shivwits Indian Reservation; interpreter, James Yellowjacket. Gunlock: Kenu, Shivwits Indian Material for this paper was obtained inci- dental to an ethnogeographic investigation of the Southern Paiute, made when the author was a National Research Council Fellow in the Biologi- cal Sciences. Eleven months, between July, 1932, and June, 1934, were spent in the field. The identity and territorial extent of these fifteen bands have been outlined in AA 36: 548- 560, 1934. 3Kroeber anniversary volume (Bssays in Anthro- pology), published in 1936 by University of Cali- fornia Press. The larger part of the present paper, from the Kaibab to the Moapa, was prepared as part of a typescript anniversary volume pre- sented to R. H. Lowie by his students, in 1933. Material obtained the following year from the Las Vegas band has been added to the original nucleus to form the present study. Reservation; interpreter, James Yellowjacket. Paranigat: Bill China, Moapa Indian Reservation, Moapa, Nevada, with a few additional data from his wife, Maude, now deceased; no interpreter. Moapa: Dave, Moapa Indian Reservation, now de- ceased; interpreter, Grace Henry. Las Vegas: Daisy Smith, Colorado Indian Reservation, Parker, Arizona; interpreter, Stella Smith. Additional material from Tom Painter and Mata'vium (see be- low); interpreters, Kate Paddock and Eliza Sacket, respectively. Mata"vium (known also as Charlie Pete), of Las Vegas, Nevada, is referred to be- low as the joint Las Vegas-Chemehuevi informant. Interpreter, Eliza Sacket. KAIBAB The first group to be considered is the Kaibab, who formerly occupied the area between the south- ern tip of the High Plateaus of Utah and the Grand Canyon. At present the only shaman among them is a Southern Ute, originally from the Henry Mountain district. Upon occasion patients are taken for treatment to the Shivwits Reservation or to the Ute at Richfield or Koosharem (Utah), but in the old days only Kaibab practitioners were employed. It is said that the shaman was "usually an old man, sometimes a young one, but never a young woman." Theoretically women were the equal of men in doctoring, yet in a list of twenty shamans, only two were women.4 One of these, however, seems to have been highly successful. These were: (1) totsiats (gray hair), at Axla'vats (black-ant water), and (2) Tcantuya (slashed forehead), at Kana diuipy (willow carn- yon; Kanab Creek). Male shamans included: (1) Tca xavakitcim (thin waist), at the juncture of North Creek and the Virgin; possibly Cedar band rather than Kaibab. (2) Tcana (bull lizard) and (3) ML'mitana'bi (head bent back), both of S3'vinokwint (cottonwood stream; Short Creek). (4) Waba'napun (alkali man), of Wabats (alkali water). (5) T3mpa'tsjad3ts, a rattlesnake shaman of Pa tspikain (water bubbling up; Moccasin Spring). (6) Yinimu' (bald head), of Tinka"nivats (cave water). (7) Yinlnapuni (bald man), and (8) his son, Takwasy (eagle tail), both of Parwab) (water ?-grass, the district around Alton). (9) Skuttimpaiya (from skump', Chrysothamnus nauseosus), in the White Cliff country, above Johnson Canyon. (10) Tuku'nimpi (wildcat feet), a rattlesnake shaman of Epa (old water; Navajo Well). (11) P3ronapun (walking stick man), of Panwi abats (mud water), at the southwest base of Paunsaugunt Plateau. (12) Tanu'u (bunion) and (13) K3'y3i'bi (one eye), of Paxa'mpats' (cane water, at the north end of Houserock Val- [151] ANTHROPOLOGICAL RECORDS Power came unsought, through dreams, and might be rejected if so desired. Dreams per se were dan- gerous: for to forget them was fatal; and to arouse a dreamer might frighten him to death and bring sickness to the person who disturbed him. A novice dreamed at home, for perhaps a month before trying to practice. Treatment ordinarily took place at night in a circular brush enclosure, in the center of which was a fire. If no improvement was noted after three or four nights, another shaman was engaged. A dangerously ill patient might be treated by two or three doctors in turn in the course of one night. The Kaibab claim not to have killed unsuc- cessful shamans, who were allowed to continue practice "and sometimes they cured." Formerly, payment was not demanded, but, generally, a small gift of seeds or the like was offered. Today the economic aspect is stressed, five dollars a treat- ment being the usual fee. In his dreams, the novice acquired a super-5 natural spirit (utu'xuxuar; Sapir, tut.uyua'), the source of his healing power. This being took the form of a man, woman, or child; but, more frequently, of an animal such as a bear, coyote, wildcat, lion, eagle, and so forth. According to one informant, the spirit was not visible to the dreamer immediately, but he "saw it later, not in a dream, but in the daytime, when alone." Several such spirits might be acquired in the course of a lifetime. They were visible to the shaman only, and although his professional colleagues might know of their identity, the layman ordinarily did not. The tutelary provided the shaman with a song or songs to be used in curing; these became known generally, and persons attending a treatment cus- tomarily joined in the singing. The novice was instructed also in sucking and "dancing." Although each individual supposedly learned "dancing" from his familiar, there was no variation in the sha- man's "step,1' a simple stamping backward and for- ward from the prone body of the patient. Besides ley. (14) Keno (crooked elbow), of Ka'nkwi or Ka'nkwLts (singing water; Houserock Spring). (15) Niwa'r'impl (snow heel, a regular shaman as well as a rattlesnake specialist, of Tuma'ranpaxantS (from the plant timad1, Stanleya), between House- rock Spring and Jacobs Pools. (16) Saitimpy (white spot mouth), who was "not a very good doctor," and (17) his brother, Kwiu'in'impi (crooked feet), both of Paxa'mpiaxantl (from paxa mpl, cane), at the present Kane Ranch. (18) Nada'xwnts1 (tattooed?), of Sina'vats (coy- ote water), a spring at the western base of Kai- bab Plateau. 5Southern Paiute Dictionary, AAAS-P 65: 696, 1931. According to Sapir (MS), a shaman sometimes sang alone and sometimes accompanied. He might give his songs to others, but lost in efficacy if he thus "divided" his power too much. This and succeeding references pertain to Sapir's unpub- lished notes on the Kaibab, the use of which he has very kindly permitted. giving general directions, the guardian spirit imposed individual rules of conduct. Thus, one doctor habitually "danced" with a hand clapped to his ear, presumably at the behest of the super- natural. Probably, too, a cane or staff was pre- scribed by the spirit. No other equipment was men- tioned except white eagle feathers, whose use the informant attributed to recent borrowing from the Ute.5 A shaman smoked, but not with the idea of curing by this means. A shaman asked to treat did not leave his camp before the arrival of his familiar. By pressing the body of the patient with his hands he located the seat of the ailment. Staff in hand, he danced back and forth; he sang, accompanied by the gath- ering; and he sucked, lying on his back with the sick person face dewn upon him, usually across his chest. From the breast or ailing part he removed a small foreign body: a pebble, a length of twine, a piece of meat, a worm, a miniature coyote, or the like. Sapir's informant described a colorless round object "like a glass marble." This he dis- played, then swallowed. Informants say that the actual sucking was always done by the familiar spirit, lodged in the doctor's throat. In extreme illnesses, when the shaman doubted his ability to cure, he inserted his spirit helper into the body of the sick person. Removing the familiar from his own mouth, he held it between his palms and, singing and blowing, put it into the breast of the patient. Here it remained for a day or a night, then left of its own accord. Object intrusion seems to have been the result of shamanistic malice: "it happened at night, like being shot with an arrow." A shaman who diagnosed a case as owing to witchcraft accused a colleague of having instructed his tutelary to shoot the victim with its bow. If the sorcerer admitted his guilt and withdrew the "poison," recovery was ef- fected; otherwise death was inevitable. Sometimes the victim, on the point of death, named the per- son he suspected of having bewitched him. But in- formants maintain that in no case was a sorcerer punished. Soul loss is called muxu'a-uru'xwar) (soul-gone- away). There was disagreement about cause, one attributing it to shamanistic bewitchment, another to the action of fnYpLts (ghost). For treatment, the shaman pressed his hands on the chest of the patient and dispatched his tutelary in search of the missing soul, which was thought to have "gone above." I could not discover whether the medicine- man became unconscious at this time, but it seems unlikely, as trances of any nature are foreign to Southern Paiute shamanism. According to a Shivwits eSapir's informant (MS) told of a shaman who used an eagle-feather fan with which he scattered ashes on his patients. This shaman began his treatment by calling on Wolf, evidently his tute- lary: "Our father, who made heaven and earth." This was, according to the informant, the only time he had ever heard this prayer. 152 KELLY: SOUTHERN PAIUTE SHAMANISM informant, a Kaibab doctor actually ran about in the hills in pursuit of the fleeing soul.7 Datura appears to have had no shamanistic associations: "It was taken just for fun. To eat the fruit or drink a tea of the leaves makes a person drunk. He sees all kinds of things-snakes, coyotes, horses-just like a moving picture show." 7The foregoing causes of illness are purely magical and ap such require shamanistic treat- ment. A number of practical remedies may be o$ in- terest. Colds: drank tea of leaves of sanwa'bl (Artemisia tridentata) or of paxwa'nanimpy (Mentha canadensis)-although this usually a bev- erage rather than medicine; or a tea of the roots of pawa ma'animpy-tinab (Cycladenia). Or chewed (roots of ?) Mahonia repens. Coughs: drank tea from leaves of sanwa'b (Artemisia tridentata) or of 3L'tsikwasipy (squirrel tail, an Achillea). Or smoked tobacco (Nicotiana attenuata), mixed with leaves of sig'lmwiap (Salvia carnosa Dougl.) or of tontsaby (Angelica ?). Root of mimip (Da- tura meteloides) sometimes chewed to relieve chronic cough. Fever: leaves of toxo'-awatsip CPentstemon palmeri) pounded and applied externally, also drunk as tea. Headache: slashed forehead to let blood, took emetic (see below). If severe and continuous, shaman might be asked to treat; "he clapped both hands to the patient's head." Tooth- ache: root of paxu'rani(m?)p (probably a Ligusti- cum) said to give relief. Nosebleed: nostril stuffed with soft bark to stop flow..Sore eyes: washed with tea of leaves of sanwa'bl (Artemisia tridentata) or of tobacco (Nicotiana attenuata). Juice of latter, warmed, dropped into eyes. Now- adays said to squeeze milkweed juice into eyes. For granulations, lid turned back and scraped with lizard's tail. Swellings: applied the pounded and soaked roots of pawa' -ma'animpy-thnab (swell- ing-rub-on-roots; Cycladenia), or applied pounded tobacco leaves, to which water added. Root of un- identified plant, t'iwa"baxantip', rubbed on swellings. Boils: the cactus ova'xoby (Echino- cereus coccineus Engelm.) peeled and sticky base applied directly. Fractures: set by any skillful person, wrapped with buckskin between juniper splints. Bites: coyote, dog bites unheard of; bee sting not treated. Measles: body rubbed with crushed leaves of ya'ta'mpy (creosote bush, Larrea glutinosa), to which water added. Usually an external application, but one informant rec- ommended tea of this plant. Latter said to be good for "everything," although recommended ex- plicitly only for measles. According to inform- ants, creosote bush found within Kaibab terri- tory only at Moccasin Spring. Unspecified in- ternal ailments: drank tea of ina pi (Purshea glandulosa Curran). Stomachache: drank tea of whole boiled plant anka'silnti (Gilia aggre- gata). Emetic and laxative usually prescribed, former a tea of leaves of sanwa 'b (Artemisia tridentata) (mixed with salt, according to one informant), or tea of roots and stalk-base of tixu sl taxantip (called also tixu'itcaxantip; t'ikoitc'ixantipY; Wyethia scabra Hook; cathartic as well as emetic). Venereal disease (pipl p): last-mentioned remedy used, as well as tea made from stem-root juncture of anokwLmp, arlkamp1 (Ourcubita foetidissima); venereal complaints usually given shamanistic treatment. "Heart trouble": unknown formerly; now, treated by shaman. Rheumatism: also unknown formerly (?); boiled leaves of ada'dimpipy (Arctostaphylos) said to be effective remedy (taken internally?y. Specialists.-A rattlesnake shaman (toxo'- buaxanti; snake-doctor) was one who dreamed of a rattlesnake and cured bites by virtue of the power so derived. Informants remembered three Kaibab snake shamans, one of whom was also a general practitioner, that is, had an additional tutelary. A snake shaman touched his cane to the breast of a victim, and upon removing it, dis- played a small rattlesnake on the tip. This he deposited on a near-by stone, from which it soon disappeared. With the removal of the snake, the swelling began to subside. The doctor then sucked, not from the bite but from the chest and stomach, either blood or yellow-green matter. This he sometimes swallowed, sometimes spat out.8 This is the only instance of specialization mentioned by Kaibab informants, who denied all shamanistic function save curing. Sapir's inform- ant, Tony Tillohash, however, mentioned a Kaibab doctor who claimed to be able to bring rain. SHIVWITS West of the Kaibab were the Uinkaret, now ex- tinct, and west of them, the Shivwits, who occu- pied Shivwits Plateau, a broad upland stretch be- tween the Hurricane Fault ledge and Grand Wash cliffs.9 Although all the Shivwits material comes from a single informant, it is conflicting in several respects. It was garbled at the outset by an incompetent interpreter, who insisted upon translating spirit, ghost, toul, and supernatural helper as "devil," for whose native equivalent he would admit only inYpLts, the ordinary term for ghost. Later I was able to check most of the data with a somewhat better interpreter, after which they appeared to be reasonably consistent within themselves and with the shamanistic patterns of related Southern Paiute bands. 8The plant paxu'rani(m?)p (Ligusticum?) some- times was applied to snake bite, perhaps only when a shaman was not available. Bits of the root, wrapped in buckskin, were tied to the moc- casin to prevent snake bite-a practice shared by the Cedar band, who used the root of Ligus- ticum pringlei. gThe following shamans are remembered: (1) U'a'tsat1 (sticking out), a "half-Shivwit" (Shivwit-Moapa?), of PaYa tso (head water; Hidden Spring). (2) T'itsikim (bird blind), of IuL ntirinava (pine tree above spring). (3) Sumpa' si (blossom), (4) Wita'tsi (?), and (5) Ta virlwawits (side hill), a Uinkaret woman married to a Shivwits; all of Tinka'nivats (cave water). (6) Kapinwaity, an unmarried Uinkaret living with Shivwit relatives at T;nka'nivats. (7) Tuksats (black legging), of So'vLnokwLntl (cottonwood stream), who had a badger tutelary. (8) Niraxa'nkwe (right hand), originally of Pats (water)., but after marriage a resident of So vL- nokwLnt'. (9) Ka xababuats, who dreamed little and was not a fullfledged shaman, of Kto' ki'mpats (brown earth water). (10) Onto tats, of the spring of the same name. (11) Wiyuts1(awl), a Datura shaman, of Pakwa'navats (jump water). 153 ANTHROPOLOGICAL RECORDS A novice dreamea for about ten nights before considering himself a shaman (pua'xant'). A famil- iar appeared to him from the east; it was usually an animal such as a wildcat, owl, eagle, badger, mountain sheep, porcupine, or coyote. The spirit addressed the sleeper thus: "You like me; you want to become a doctor." At this point the dreamer might either reject or accept the visi- tation. In the latter event the familiar told him, "I want you to cure people." It then pro- ceeded to sing and taught him to suck, dance, and sing. The instruction lasted all night; in the morning the dreamer told his camp-mates of his call. At first the novice received only one song; later, three or four additional ones. In the beginning he sang alone, but as he added to his repertoire he taught his songs to others. Thus my informant, although not a shaman, claimed to remember snatches of a rattlesnake-doctor's cur- ing song. In the course of time a "big" doctor might obtain as many as three tutelary spirits, with songs from each. Nowadays a sick person remains within the dwelling, but formerly he was moved into a cir- cular brush enclosure. Persons came from near-by springs to witness the s6ance and seated them- selves about the fire within the enclosure. The shaman remained at his own camp until he received instructions from his guardian spirit, who came "like the wind" when needed, the shaman being able to follow its progress toward him. Having been directed by the spirit to remove the cause of illness quickly, "before the man died," the doctor placed himself on the ground with the pa- tient face down atop him, and proceeded to suck. My informant seemed not to incline to the belief that the spirit, lodged in the doctor's mouth, did the actual sucking; but of this I am not positive.10 A shaman carried a staff "so as not to tire." One doctor stood white eagle feathers tipped with black in the ground beside a patient, but the Shivwits "did not know much about these feathers." It was a technique used, my informant said, by Saint Thomas (Moapa band) shamans, although I ob- tained no such account from the Moapa. Surpris- ingly enough, it is said that a Shivwits shaman did not smoke during a seance. Sometimes a doctor danced alone, stamping his right foot; sometimes with a volunteer. Singing and dancing continued until midnight or even dawn. Treatment ordinarily lasted two nights, but if there was no improvement, it was continued a third night. If the shaman had to travel some distance, the sick person might die in the interim. Then the doc- tor would say, "I have lost my patient"; but every- one would assure him that he was not to blame. If the patient died, no payment was expected; for a cure there was a gift of arrows, a mountain-sheep l?But compare page 162, where the shaman removes from his mouth what is presumably his guardian spirit. hide, or the like. Once my informant was treated by a native doctor, but did not pay "because he had nothing." To the Shivwits disease is caused by intru- sion, either of a disease object or of a ghost; and perhaps occasionally by soul loss.11 The following account treats of sickness caused by an evil spirit: There is a little man, 3 or 4 inches tall, who lives 'way under the mountain. He is called a xadirop'.12 I have never seen him, but the old people say that he comes around at night and hides in the juniper trees. He has medicines which he makes into a bundle, like a small ball of bark. He tosses this into camp, and if it hits a person, he sickens the next morning. A doctor has to sing and suck the pain from the man's chest. Then he throws the pain away. The old doctors used to tell a person who was trav- eling alone to sleep where the junipers grew thickly. The branches spoiled the aim of a 'xadorop' and caught part of the bad "medi- cine." Ghosts were responsible for two kinds of sickness, object intrusion and ghost intrusion. With the former a "pain" (paka'nkli) entered the victim; with the latter, the ghost itself. The Vain, resembling a small stick covered with light-colored blood," could be sucked out by a shaman. Although invisible to a "common man," it oas exhibited before being held up and blown away. When a ghost invaded a person it descended whistling into the ground, then emerged beneath the victim and entered his body. The following anecdote is illustrative: "Once, when it was snowing on top of the mountain, a man went for rabbits. He caught a few. He made camp in a rock shelter and built a fire under the trees. With his knife in his mouth he began to skin the rabbits. As he cut the skin he heard a noise; it sounded like footsteps. The man stopped and listened. "Then an inYpLts (ghost) woman with a small baby came close to the fire and stopped. The man was frightened and gave her rabbit meat. This she did not roast but ate raw. The man was more frightened. He said, 'I am thirsty. Will you get water for me?' The host answered, 'All right. You mind the baby. I am leaving it here by the fire.' She left. After some time the man put the .1A few practical remedies for minor, non- magical afflictions may be inserted here. Sore eyes: wash made by boiling tava' -namu'ob1 (Euphor- bia albomarginata) or (leaves of) pa'sinipl (Erio- dictyon angustifolium). Sores: rubbed with muru- niby (Atriplex canescens). Internal ailments: sprays of ya'tampi (Larrea glutinosa) boiled and liquid drunk. Unspecified ailment: treated by ex- ternal applications of mua'buipi (Thamnosa mon- tanum); leaves crushed with a stone, mixed with water. 12My informant had not heard that this spirit had a tail. Cf. Gunlock belief, p. 158. 154 KELLY: SOUTHERN PAIUTE SHAMANISM baby in the fire and covered it with hot ashes. He then picked up his rabbits and started for camp. 'It was evening when he reached home. He called the doctors and told them that he had killed a ghost child. 'Help me,' he told them. Three or four doctors went out from camp, wait- ing for the ghost to come. "The ghost woman was far off. She smelled something and knew that her child had been killed. She went into the earth and traveled under the ground. She came out beside the man and entered his body. No one, not even the doctors, saw her. The man sickened right away. All the doctors worked on himfA but they could not help him. He died quickly. But ghost intrusion was curable: "Once I was nearly dead. They 3ent to Tinka'- nivats (cave spring) for Witatsi, who was a doc- tor. I was lying do-wn when he came. As he neared camp he started to sing and dance. He told me there was a ghost in my belly but that he could get it out and that I should be well by morning. By sundown I felt better. He sang and danced all night, and in the morning he left. He took out the ghost and killed it. I could see nothing, as common men do not see ghosts." A shaman knew from his guardian spirit when a ghost had entered a victim. He sucked and, making a noise in his chest, extracted the intruder. The latter was very small, invisible to all except doctors, but could be heard to whistle when with- drawn. The shaman took the ghost from his mouth and carried it away, acting as though he were dragging a heavy load along the ground. Some dis- tance from camp he released the ghost, threaten- ing it with death should it return. Sometimes, in cases of ghost intrusion, the shaman used his staff, thus: "When the doctor thinks that the ghost is un- der the patient, he stands his cane in the ground beside the sick man. This helps to pry loose the ghost. The doctor thinks [asks] that his spirit helper send the cane into the ground so as to raise the man more easily. The cane finds the ghost under the patient, and the spirit helper takes it away. Some doctors kill a ghost by spearing it tothe ground with a wooden knife (wil'ts, awl, dagger). This is a straight stick about 8 inches long, of any kind of hard wood, usually ash." Evil shamans could cause sickness and death through the intrusion of a "medicine" or of a spirit arrow, possibly also through soul loss. But the latter seems to have been the natural harbinger of death as a result of the disease ob- ject rather than the active cause. It is said that most "Shivwits doctors were friendly but that the Moapa people had doctors who wanted to kill." Among the Shivwits a shaman suspected of sorcery was beaten or even murdered by the bereaved rela- tives. A sorcerer dreamed of giving his victim "bad medicine." The result was a slow poison requiring for a cure the same treatment as a ghost-sent disease object. Because this mode of poisoning could be cured, most evil shamans preferred to direct their Iniptts13 to "shoot the victim in the heart with an inipLts arrow." Death ensued immediately, for the soul left too quickly to permit of recapture. Sometimes a person engaged a shaman, without pay, to dispose of an enemy. The shaman, if sus- pected, stood to suffer at the hands of the vic- tim's relatives, but the instigator escaped pun- ishment. It is said that in the old days, when a person died, one of the family-usually a brother, sister, father, or spouse-was selected to accompany the deceased. Either the victim was actually shot, or a shaman was induced to "shoot" him magically. For this service, likewise, a shaman expected no payment because "it was bad." A doctor might be summoned to treat the very person he had bewitched, in which case he felt obliged to refuse. Naturally this directed sus- picion upon him, and if the man died, the sup- posed sorcerer might be shot by the brother of the deceased. A different shaman, with the guid- ance of his spiritual assistant, might be able to cure the victim. The following is an account of such a procedure: "The second doctor sang as he came toward the sick man. He took his iniplts`' from his mouth and held it between his hands. He sang and put it into the sick man. It would not stay. He had to catch it and put it in again. He sang until he was sure that the fnipLts was well in. then he spoke to it, telling it to stay, to look around and find the cause of the sickness, and to cure the sick man. Then the inipLts found the 'medi- cine' in the belly. It took out that medicine and gave it to the bad doctor who had put it there." At death the iniplts (ghost?)15 of a good per- son traveled upward, that of an evil person down- ward, carrying with it the soul (muxuab1). A shaman might be able to prevent the departure of the soul by the insertion of his inYpLts (guar- dian spirit)16 into the body of the patient; or, even after the soul had left, he might be able to restore the "dead" person by overtaking the departing soul. The latter he held between his palms and, pressing his fingertips against the patient's breast, sang until it entered the body. Frequently the soul escaped and had to be recap- 13This is undoubtedly due to the confusion of terms mentioned above. Here iniplts certainly refers to the guardian spirit. Cf. Kaibab, p. 152. 34In this case lnYptts clearly refers to the guardian spirit. 15Here again the term inlpLts is unfortunate; it appears in this instance to refer to ghost. 15Comparable practices from other bands indi- cate that the supernatural spirit is referred to here. 155 ANTHROPOLOGICAL RECORDS tured. Then the shaman asked two laymen to stand one on either side of the patient and shout, "Hi, hi, hi," after which the soul was able to remain. The shaman motioned the bystanders back, while he watched over the patient for a time. When ordinary shamans failed, recourse was had to the Datura doctor, who supposedly possessed stronger power. A prospective Datura shaman17 first drank a liquid in which he had soaked the seeds, after 4hich he gathered those roots of the plant which grew eastward from the stalk. These also he soaked, then drank the fluid from a small basket painted white around the rim. The double dose of seeds and roots was potent, affecting him "like strong whisky.? "He goes off alone. He takes off his clothes and climbs a tree. He yells and shrieks. Later he thinks someone is following him and he calls, 'Here comes that man.'18 This is when he becomes a doctor. He lies down and dreams of Datura. It gives him a song and tells him that he will be- come a doctor." Spciaists.-With the Shivwits comes the first indi ontion o- any considerable specialization in shamanistic function, for besides the Datura shaman, who was really a general practitioner, six kinds of specialists were mentioned: rattle- snake, spider, rock, arrow, weather, and lost- object doctors. But for these specialists the Shivwits appear to have depended almost entirely upon the adjacent Moapa. The rattlesnake shaman dreamed of a snake from which he obtained a curing song; handling the snake; being bitten; and curing himself by press- ing with his hands above the wound, singing, and sucking out a snake. However, he is said not to have sucked in actual practice. If the swelling tended to spread, several men assisted him in pressing above the wound. A rattlesnake shaman named Panku'ts, who lived near Saint Thomas (Mo.apa band), ordinarily ministered to the Shiv- wits. The spider doctor, Tutu'sibi by name, also was from Saint Thomas. He dreamed of a black spider (kwampl) and of curing its bite by sucking and singing. The rock shaman (tYmpi'-puaxant0; timpi', rock) dreamed of climbing steep cliffs. As indi- cated by the name, a rock was the source of his power which, incidentally, was considered "not very strong." Such a shaman treated injuries re- ceived in falls from cliffs, trees, and so forth, by pressing with his hands and only rarely by sucking. One such shaman was mentioned by name, a man called Tcaka'i'S, who, like the specialists mentioned above, was from Saint Thomas. 17Women did not take Datura. Boys sometimes chewed the seeds "for fun," but avoided the roots. 18Presumably this applies to the tutelary and suggests that it had human form, although spoken of in the next line as the plant. The particular function of the arrow doctor (ubu'axanti) was to treat wounds. He dreamed of an arrow which gave him curative powers, saying, "If someone is shot, do not sing; but suck out the blood." Consequently he danced and sucked but had no song. Once during a rabbit hunt my informant was shot accidentally in the ankle. It began to swell, and that evening an arrow shaman sucked blood from the wound and the sole of the foot. Even though an arrow had been poisoned with the dried heart of mountain sheep, a shaman could cure if suimmoned in time. Koi'o'itc1 (Shoshone), of Tuma'ranponkwtnti (green brush [Stanleya]) (stream?) is remembered as an arrow shaman. The weather shaman (unadimpi-puaxa'nti; rain- doctor) dreamed of rain and other weather phe- nomena, including thunder and lightning. When continued rain curtailed economic activities, he announced, "I'll stop the rain; tomorrow will be clear," after which he dreamed of rain and of stopping it. When the ground was parched and food plants were withering, the shaman sang night and day, accompanied at times by the people. He dreamed and told the rain 'We need moisture so that the seeds will grow. During a thunderstorm he directed the lightning to strike far from camp. One Shivwits shaman, Mapi'tcab1 (palm), specialized in locating stolen property, inci- dentally detecting the thief. He concentrated on the quest without singing, while his YnYpLts19 guided him to the place where the goods were con- cealed. SAINT GEORGE Immediately north of the Shivwits were the Saint George, on the lower waters of Santa-Clara Creek and along the Virgin River in the vicinity of Saint George, Utah. This group is now repre- sented by a lone survivor living among the Shiv- wits. The material obtained from him agrees in a general way with the preceding but shows at the same time some rather marked differences. The generic term for shaman is puayanty; a'a'- tim-puayantO is "a good doctor, who cures"; Yiwi'-puayant', an evil shaman "who sings without curing." Doctors of both sexes derived their powers and songs from dreams. A shaman might have several distinct sources of power with a corres- ponding multiplicity of songs. His power (tu'xub'; cf. Kaibab, tut-uyuas, supernatural helper) was "what he saw in his dreams." It wvas thought to reside "far away in the mountains," the strongest and best power being the most remote. Strangely enough, with two specific exceptions mentioned below, my informant failed to associate this power with any form, animal or human, and in- sisted that "only a doctor could tell how his power looked." Treatment took place where most convenient, 19Presumably his spirit helper. 156 KELLY: SOUTHERN PAIUTE SHAMANISM either within the dwelling or in the open. If the seance were at night it lasted until sun-up; if in the daytime, a few minutes only. Medicine-men smoked, but not to assist in curing. They carried an eagle-tail feather of undetermined function. Anything at hand served as payment; but such was expected only for a cure. Shamans suspected of malpractice were killed. When summoned, a shaman did not await the arri- val of his "power," but proceeded at once to the side of his patient. He began to sing, accompanied by the onlookers, and to dance, "tramping back and forth." Meanwhile the power had posted itself on a near-by hill, from which vantage point it supervised the treatment. At its direction the shaman lay beneath the patient and sucked, then danced and sang with the extracted "pain" (paka - nk'ii) in his closed fist. The low fire within the circle of onlookers was then made to flare. The shaman exhibited the disease-object in his open palm, low down, close to the blaze. It was so small that only one or two of the eager specta- tors claimed to be able to detect it. Following this display, he stretched his arm toward the east as he sang, then opened his hand to show that the object had disappeared. Sometimes, when a patient was extremely ill, the shaman inserted his supernatural power, similar to Kaibab prac- tice. A tiny male spirit (na' 'yadarop'), invisible to all but medicine men, was responsible for much sickness. This spirit, an evil shaman, or a ghost (in4pLts) might steal a man's soul. "A good doc- tor could look into the patient's heart 20 and see whether the soul were missing. By singing all night he might be able to retrieve it and avert death. The shaman did not become unconscious at any time during the procedure. When he attributed soul theft to bewitchment, he sent for the doctor he considered guilty and, pointing his staff at him, obtained a confession. He then held the re- turned soul between his palms and replaced it in the body of the victim. Ordinarily it refused to stay and, reaching a hand into space, he retrieved it a second time. Not until after the third res- toration was the soul content to remain. A good shaman likewise was able to restore a soul stolen by a ghost. It is said that ghosts were intent upon killing people and could cause still another kind of sickness; the latter by in- trusion, not of a material object, but of the ghost itself. Bloating resulted, and death usually occurred within the day. If a doctor were near by he was summoned hastily, and by singing and sucking might be able to remove the intruder. Nothing was visible, but as the ghost escaped, it was heard to whistle. No effort was made to destroy the malevo- lent ghost. The first suggestion of an association between Datura (m3mu pi) and shamanism appears among the Saint George band. The Kaibab deny any such rela- 2?The soul (mugu'ab') is translated as heart; heart, the organ, is called piu'py. tionship, but it is reasonably prominent among certain Paiute bands to the west. My Saint George informant had heard that a person desirous of be- coming a shaman might drink an infusion of Datura root in order to obtain the necessary dreams. Only men, he thought, did this; a woman would have choked to death. But Datura-taking did not always make one a shaman. At an early age my informant had been persuaded by his companions to drink a tea of the roots. "Everything looked different." He saw people passing; he saw men with burden baskets, and a man setting up a rabbit net. It took him two nights and a day to recover; he did not become a shaman after this experience because he received no power. Men occasionally ate Datura seeds "when no one was watching; they walked all the time and acted as though drunk." Specialists.--The victim of a snake bite was moved into a separate camp, to be treated by a rattlesnake shaman (toyo'a-buaxanti) who had re- ceived his curing song from a snake. The doctor arrested the swelling by pressing above the wound, and from it removed with his hands a wriggling snake several inches long. This he held up for inspection, then tossed it away with his cane (por). He did not suck the wound or cause it to discharge. A second specialist seems to have been recog- nized by the Saint George band, a man or woman who through dreaming of babies had power to assist in difficult confinement cases. For a normal delivery no shaman was required. Although among the Kaibab a doctor sang, either inside or outside the par- turition hut, there were no birth specialists. Saint George shamans neither located lost ob- jects nor controlled the weather. From his Shiv- wits wife my informant had heard of persons who dreamed of rain and could produce it by singing; but this, he said, was foreign to his people. Bruises and injuries received in falls were not treated by a shaman, but the person was placed upon a "hot bed." GUNLOCK While the lower waters of Santa Clara Creek were held by the Saint George people, the upper drainage was occupied by another band, conveniently designated as Gunlock, from the Mormon settlement of that name. The one survivor of this group was born near Gunlock, of Moapa parents, and now lives among the Shivwits. He himself is an active shaman and incidentally regarded as a malevolent one.21 I took pains not to press him upon the sub- ject, and the brief account below was given un- grudgingly. As its resemblances are with the Saint George rather than the Moapa material, the data evidently have not been warped seriously by the informant's Moapa affiliations. 2'Several times he has been brought from the Shivwits to the Moapa Reservation to admit and retract his sorcery; in fact, "this is the only way he has ever cured." 157 ANTHROPOLOGICAL RECORDS "Some doctors did not know much and had little power. Men and women were equally good; young women and middle-aged men were best but young men were good also. A doctor carried a cane tied at the top with eagle-tail feathers."' Power and songs were obtained in dreams from a diminutive supernatural helper (tu'xub1) in human form. Such spirits came from far to the east, the best ones from due east. When a shaman sang over a patient his familiar came to assist, communicating with him "like a telephone." The "pain" was sucked out by the doctor, exhibited, then taken by the supernatural helper, who put it in a small bag and buried it at a distance. Sickness was caused by male spirits (a' 'xada- rapl) about 2 feet tall and having long tails. Formerly they were plentiful but are no longer to be found. They used to walk about at night shoot- ing people who talked too much." The intrusive body thus projected into the victim was a green, red, or white needle-shaped object, which could be removed by sucking. At this point a reference, unfortunately obscure, was made to a sickness caused by Coyote. This was in some way associated with a' 'xadarapl sickness, but no material disease object Nas said to be visible. As with the Saint George band, the Gunlock be- lieved that a ghost might enter the body of a per- son, causing bloating and a speedy death unless thwarted by a good shaman. If the ghost were sucked out, the supernatural helper dispatched it with a wooden knife. When a person was very ill, his soul left the body: "When the sick man lies down his heart [soul] umps out. Then the doctor sends his tu'xubi [spirit helper] to fetch it. The doctor holds the heart between his palms and blows it into the sick man. It will not stay. The doctor must keep catching and replacing it. Sometimes when it re- fuses to stay the doctor puts his tu'xubi in the sick man. It stays there overnight, and in the morning the man is better. When a person dies, his soul goes to a high mountain to the east." Datura (m3mupy) was taken by some to induce dreams. The seeds were not used, but a root grow- ing due east was selected and soaked in water. The liquid was drunk in the early morning to ob- tain "good dreams" in which a familiar spirit in human form taught the novice to suck while lying beneath a patient. However, the power of a sha- man dependent upon Datura was said to be short- lived. Specialists. -Weather shamans were lacking among the Gunlock, but there was a rattlesnake specialist who derived his power in dreams from a snake. Able to cause as well as to cure bites, such a shaman was feared and treated with such deference that even his peremptory demands for food were met. PARANIGAT West of the Gunlock were the Panaca, for whom I have no shamanistic data. West of them, and ad- joining the Moapa on the northwest, lived the Paranigat, centering in Paranigat Valley, Nevada, whose sparse remnants now live among the Moapa. A prospective shaman (puayanti) might begin to dream in early youth. When confident of his ability, he announced his calling and was given an opportunity to test his power (mutsu'nim) by treating someone. A person who dreamed but did not desire shamanistic office arose early in the morning and, holding his hands to his mouth, blew away the spirit which had come to him. Thereafter he was not molested. The guardian spirits (tugu'bi) acquired in dreams (nono's i) were either human or animal. They "stayed some place in the mountains; many of them lived toward the east." Doctors might have several, each specializing in a different kind of treatment. Only regular shamans had gen- uine tutelary spirits, among which my informant did not include the rattlesnake and arrow dreamed of by the respective specialists. The basis of his distinction is not clear. Sometimes the tutelary spirit turned against a shaman, possibly for violating instructions. The spirit not only caused him to sicken, but also refused aid, depriving him of ability to cure. A shaman also lost his power through contact with menstrual blood. Women shamans avoided doctoring during their periods; but normally their curing power was as strong as their male confreres'. The Paranigat shaman smoked, but "not to cure." His cane (paulboron, doctor-cane) was made from a length of serviceberry, knobbed on the end, which he heated, straightened, and decorated with feathers. Magical powers were ascribed to this staff, which "was a doctor itself. It stood up and talked, but only the doctor could hear it. It was put on top or underneath a patient to take the sickness away." Some, but not all, shamans shook white tail feathers of an eagle over a pa- tient as though sprinkling him. These feathers, carefully kept in a container, were seen only when in use. A few doctors wore belts decorated vvith eagle down, but these are said to have been purely ornamental. A shaman went directly to the patient and be- gan to sing in order to summon his supernatural assistant. The latter sang as it approached, and the doctor re eated the song. But sometimes the familiar was wild" and did not come promptly. Then the shaman had to travel in search of his patron and bring it to camp pressed between his palms. The doctor was little more than a passive agent in curing. Not only did the spirit diagnose the case and pronounce whether it was curable, but "it told the doctor what to do and what to say". and did the actual sucking for him. In sucking, 158 KELLY: SOUTHERN PAIUTE SHAMANISM the Paranigat adhered to the usual Southern Paiute position, with the shaman on the ground beneath the patient. The Paranigat shared another common Southern Paiute practice, that of blowing the familiar into the breast of an unusually sick patient. The spirit remained there overnight, gathered together all the illness and in the morning de- parted of its own accord, accompanied by the as- sembled "sickness." "Sickness (aWyadiwipi) was flying around every- where and might get into a person";22 then it was sucked from the breast in the form of a pebble or small animal. Frequently, however, illness was attributed to the intrusion of a ghost instead of a material disease object. If treated promptly, the ghost could be sucked out, after which it was taken to the east by the tutelary spirit and sometimes killed. An extracted ghost was not ex- hibited like a concrete disease object, for that would have jeopardized the shaman's power. Formerly the Paranigat killed shamans who failed to cure. An evilly disposed doctor (titsi'- puaYant:) could make a person ill merely by con- centrating. Another shaman, after tracing the source of the malevolent influence through sing- ing, sent one or two men to fetch the sorcerer. The latter he accused, saying, "This is your muyu'abb [translated as mind] working on this man; take it back." After repeated denials, the offender admitted his guilt and, 'weeping, with- drew the evil influence. A malevolent shaman was able to make a man's soul (muyu'aby) leave, resulting in the victim's unconsciousness. A second shaman, by means of singing, determined the direction taken by the soul and, if it were not too distant, was able to overtake it. Death caused the soul to turn black, but by fondling it, a shaman could restore life and its original red color. The revivified soul was inserted in the breast by the usual method, from between the palms of the minister- ing doctor. The patient then revived, but as noise was thought to frighten a soul, he was obliged to remain quiet the following day lest the soul escape a second time. Even then, it could be restored by a shaman. Some "strong doctors" might foretell sickness; but prophecy apparently was limited to disease visitation. Datura (momipy), not being plentiful in Para- nigat country, was obtained chiefly from the neighboring Moapa. A person who took Datura was not considered a shaman. He neither dreamed nor cured, but was able to locate lost objects. After he had taken a tea of Datura, he was watched closely, because drinking water would have caused death. The Datura "told" him the location of the missing article and augmented his sight so that he could see the object clearly. My informant has heard that Datura could be 2""Evidently the equivalent of nay 'adaroph, the evil spirit of the Saint George, Gunlock, and Shivwits bands; but by the Paranigat it was not personified. used in some way to kill an enemy, but was not sure of the exact procedure. He had always avoided the plant because it was a bad habit." Specialists.-All kinds of venomous bites were treated by the rattlesnake shaman (t3xwa-buaxatlti), who obtained his curing song from a snake. He pre- served the "teeth" which he sucked from the vic- tim in order, it was thought, to return them to the snake. My informant remembered several such shamans, one of whom was an old man named Paru' - avLtcnap'. There were no "rock shamans," although a person who could climb to eagle nests "had some kind of power which he dreamed." The arrow shaman (ubuaxanti) dreamed of an ar- row, and treated by singing and sucking. Tne weather shaman (pa'buaxantP, water doctor; ua' dTmpuaxanti, rain doctor) dreamed of rain and thunder. When the Paranigat were in the mountains gathering pine nuts and were short of water, they appealed to the weather shaman. He warned them to take refuge in a cave; then he sang, causing clouds to gather and rain to fall. My informant remembered one such ocoasion: "We were thirsty and asked an old weather doc- tor to make rain. He held his bow and arrows [said to have been part of his povser] in his hand and ointed to a small cloud. He sang something like this: 'Timpi'kadid3 uabi wvitu'a; umpa'nitug noyu'kwaigig; TYmpi kadid, uabi wita, umpa'ni- tug noyu'kwaigig.'23 He was asking the clouds to move into the valley. The rain came. There waS so much that everything washed away, even the pine nuts that were in baskets. The people asked him to stop the rain, so he said, 'That is enough.' He held up his arms and blew; then it cleared." MOAPA South of the Paranigat and west of the Shiv- wits were the Moapa, in the desert country drained by the Muddy River and the lower Virgin. Concerning their shamanistic customs I have rela- tively little material because my informant con- sidered himself something of a doctor, although not generally recognized as such, and spoke with noticeable restraint.24 23 Timpi'kadid, Rock-knoll} the name of the mountain; uab'i, valley; witu a, come in; umpa'- nitug, slow; noyu kwaigYg, move. 2 Today the Moapa have one shaman of fair reputation, Charlie Chemehuevi, and several sup- posed sorcerers, among whom are Xaka ntakwLt (large buttocks) and a woman, Koru (meaningless). Of the latter, who is ostracized by her people, a Vegas acquaintance remarked, "She has had bad luck with herself but it really is not her fault. Most of her relatives have died. When the people tried to make her confess she would pre- tend that she felt sick and would go off alone." Two shamans of an older generation are remem- bered, both of whom lived just below the junc- tion of Moapa Creek and Meadow Valley wash. These were: Ta muntsup' (slender toes), below "the Nar- rows," near Wells Siding; and Aiya iyaxobl (tur- tle copulate), called also Tiw; axob (earth copu- late), near the site of present Wiser Ranch. Sev- eral shamanistic specialists will be named later. 159 ANTHROPOLOGICAL RECORDS A novice dreamed repeatedly of an animal with which he straggled until he overcame it. This animal gave him his power and taught him to sing, dance, and suck. If he did not want to become a shaman, he could reject his dream by arising be- fore dawn and blowing (presumably the spirit) toward the sunrise. Although never rattlesnake shamans, women doctors were generally on a par with men. They were not banned from practice dur- ing menstruation. A shaman (pu'axanti) alternately smoked and sang while treating.25 To strengthen his power and aid his spirit helper, he wore on his back or hung, either from his belt or his staff, a thong of mountain-sheep hide wrapped with white down from eagle tail feathers. The patient lay on top of him, with his chest in contact with the doc- tor's lips. The shaman sucked first "over the heart, looking all through the sick person," and extracted blood or a small insect. Besides object intrusion, the Moapa people be- lieved that a ghost might enter the body. This was incurable: muscular contraction and death followed inevitably. Although I have no details, there was evidently some notion of soul loss, for the spirit assistant is said to have caught a fleeing soul, which the shaman, from between his palms, re- stored to the patient's chest. A cure warranted the payment of a mountain- sheep hide. Shamans who failed consistently might be asked to discontinue practice, while those suspected of sorcery might be killed.26 If a doc- tor admired a person's possessions and the obrner refused for a third time to relinquish them, the shaman would make him ill. My informant refused to commit himself as to how this was accomplished. A disinterested doctor sang over the bewitched person and accused the sorcerer. If the latter admitted his guilt, there was a chance of recov- ery. Sometimes the removal of an insect effected a cure, indicating that shamanistic "poisoning" was at least sometimes a matter of intrusion. Shortly before the Mormons came into the Muddy Valley (ca. 1860) there had been a serious epidem- 25 One or two practical remedies were noted for the Moapa. Colds: Thamnosa stems steeped and the liquid drunk. The leaves, chewed or made into a tea, effective as a laxative. Fractures: set "by anyone" and tied between splints. Stomachache: a brew of Mormon tea or of the leaves or roots of creosote bush. After the (post-white) introduc- tion of cottonwood tree, its bark was made into a tea for stomachache. 2 The Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, 1875:337, states that the Moapa killed a shaman who lost three successive cases. It notes also that medicine men "practice the most, hideous incantations over the sick; frequently also burning the sufferer in the most inhuman manner." The latter part of the statement is not clear, but probably refers to cautery. ic.27 It was attributed to an evil shaman, angered because a dog had eaten the caterpillars he had spread (presumably to dry). The complaint, charac- terized by diarrhea and passage of blood, started at the camps near the p resent Wiser Ranch (just below Glendale, Nevada), and spread down the val- ley as far as Saint Thomas. There were so many deaths that instead of receiving regular burial, the corpses were dumped into a near-by gully. The family of my informant was visiting near Wiser Ranch and left hastily for the hills. My inform- ant's brother died; he himself, then a small child had a light case but recovered without medicine or treatment. The shaman who was considered responsible was put to death: "The doctor who sent the sickness came from Bunkerville (Nevada) to Saint Thomas to treat his grandchild, who was sick. An Indian traveled up and down the valley, telling the people that this man had come. One night when he was singing over his grandchild, many people gathered and hid in the brush around the camp. The doctor heard them sneaking around and said, "Why is this country so full of rats?" Before daybreak the moon set, and it was dark. Then someone shot an arrow. It hit the doctor but did not make a bad wound. Now the doctor became angry and said that he would kill too. His wife and daughter tried to hold him but he broke away and fought. He ran after some of the people. A man who was coming toward the camp hid in the brush and shot the doctor as he ran past." A man or woman might become a Datura (momipy) shaman by chewing "a root that grew toward the sunrise.' The individual addressed the root, asking for good dreams and saying that he wanted to become a doctor. A person seldom tampered with Datura unless aeeking a vision. My interpreter remembered having seen an old Moapa woman grind Datura roots and feed them to her subnormal niece in a peach pie. She did this twice, talking to the roots and asking that they give the girl a sound mind. Specialists.-There were several rattlesnake shamans (kwia'b-puaxanti) in the vicinity of Saint Thomas: Mantsu'n (stiff-jointed), the best of them; RLnkin (Lincoln); and Tso'oikan (beads). Panku'ts, mentioned by the Shivwits, was unknown to my Moapa informant. A snake shaman sang, and from the wound sucked a snake which could be heard to rattle. If his treatment were not successful, a spider shaman (muka'm-puaxantO) might be called to attempt a cure. From the bite he sucked blood and spat it into his hand. Dreaming of a spider gave power to treat all venomous bites-spider, 27 Spier (Havasupai Ethnography, AMNH-AP 29: 238, 1928) notes a similar epidemic among Hava- supai children about 1856. Cited hereafter: Spier, Havasupai. 160 KELLY: SOUTHERN PAIUTE SHAMANISM insect, scorpion, and, upon occasion, snake. Mantsu'n and Rlnkin were spider as well as snake shamans; Tuhu'sibT, who was mentioned by the Shivwits, was not considered a shaman by my Moapa informant. *The rock doctor (timpi'-buxant1) dreamed of rocks and of scaling heights. He had a song and "strong power" for climbing, which he displayed by mounting cliffs to eagle eyries to remove the young birds. This was his sole function, for which the nest owners paid him. Bruises and like inju- ries were treated by a regular shaman. It will be remembered that the Shivwits rock doctor treated injuries received in falls; he may also have been employed by eagle nest owners, but I was not told of this. My Moapa informant did not recognize as such the Saint Thomas arrow doctor mentioned by the Shivwits. He could, in fact, recall no such sha- man among his own people and thought that they sent to the Las Vegas band for a practitioner of this sort. The arrow shaman (u'buaxant!) dreamed of an arrow. He danced and sang but did not suck. If dancing did not cure, he whipped the patient with an arrow as he sang over him. The Moapa had no weather shamans and no weath- er control. LAS VEGAS The Las Vegas adjoined the Moapa on the south- west. They centered in Las Vegas Valley, Nevada, and extended westward into California to the very borders of Death Valley and southward to include the Old Dad and Providence ranges. Among them, shamans (puaxantl) were of either sex, but women shamans were considered almost without exception malevolent.28 A berdache dreamed of changing his sex, but my informant did not know if one ever became a shaman. A prospective medicine-man began to dream when a child. If the calling were agreeable he told no one of his dreams; but if he wished to reject it he related his dream experiences abroad, after which they ceased. Curing powers were not exhib- ited until adulthood. Some sought shamanistic dreams in the famous Gypsum Cave, near Las Vegas. They first made an offering, usually tobacco, to the resident spirit, then remained throughout the night. The present shaman, Iua'rinkov (rain-face, because as a child his face was dirty; John Stump) thus obtained dreams. He is, however, a malevolent shaman, depending upon coyote for his power. A cave on a small mountain just north of Indian Springs was famous for its mirages, but had no shamanistic potency. If a shaman lost (presumably forgot) his dreams he died; a jealous colleague might wish" this misfortune upon him. Although an aging practi- 28A woman shaman did not treat during menstru- ation, but a male shaman was free to practice during his wife's periods. tioner did not will his power to anyone, his guar- dian spirit and songs passed of their own accord to a younger member of the same family, by which means the same tutelary spirit and songs continued within a family from generation to generation. More de- tailed data on this situation will be found in the published Chemehuevi account. This transfer is ex- ceedingly interesting for it really amounts to in- heritance, the first suggestion of such a tendency among the Southern Paiute. Although this may have escaped me among the bands treated previously, I rather doubt it, especially in view of several defi- nite statements that noninheritance prevailed. Among the two westerly groups of Paiute this may well be a reflection of Mohave influence. All guardian spirits came from the northeast, either close at hand or far distant. Apparently one near by was not undesirable, as among the Cheme- huevi, but was on the contrary advantageous be- cause more accessible in case of emergency. The identity of the guardian spirit seems to have been of peculiar significance in Vegas shamanism. Cer- tain spirits, to be mentioned later, always made for malignant shamans. Only the two or three indi- viduals who had Kaini'mpavLts (mountain-spirit) for a familiar "could see all kinds of sickness." Among these was a Moapa woman, Ka'ibarigits (moun- tain-gather), who married into the Vegas band. She cured illness when others failed, depending for her power on mountain spirit and bat, both of which are said to have cured successfully in the legends. Another woman, who lived at Aka'vapi (a spring just northwest of Las Vegas) had a good and powerful spirit aide, Xutsi'mamapits (ocean- woman). Tco'pi (meaningless), the brother of the above-mentioned Iua'rinkov, also has the last- mentioned tutelary but has never attempted to cure. Ata'pituk (crow-buttocks) was one of the most suc- cessful shamans, with mountain-sheep and chuck- walla familiars. When summoned, a shaman "sat thinking" (i.e., concentrating) until his guardian spirit directed him to proceed. Sometimes it warned that his ef- forts would be fruitless; but if the response were favorable he proceeded to the camp of the patient, singing en route. Once there, he circled the house, in either direction, then entered and was feasted. Following this he "sat around thinking" and conferring with his tutelary. Treatment began late in the evening. The patient was placed with his head to the east, inside the house if the weather were chilly, outside in a brush enclosure if it were warm. Many spectators assembled. Seated, the shaman sang songs which re- corded the travels of his guardian spirit from a distant place, presumably its homeland.. After two or three songs, the shaman rose and danced back and forth (first toward the east, then toward the west) on either side of the patient. He held his cane, which was considered the property of the spirit aide and capable of speech. At the conclu- sion of the dance he stuck the cane deeply in the ground at the patient's head, where it remained 161 ANTHROPOLOGICAL RECORDS until the next treatment. Other than the staff no paraphernalia were used. Most shamans smoked while traveling and after dancing because it was "restful." One or two, however, are said to have blown smoke first on the patient, then toward the east "to take the sickness away." Not all shamans smoked, and when one did, he did not ask others to join him, as in the published Chemehuevi ac- count. Following the dance, the patient was placed atoW the shaman so the latter "could look through him and diagnose.29 The medicine-man sang "hard- er and harder," denouncing the sorcerer (Tbh - buaxant1, evil-doctor) he considered responsible and urging him to admit his guilt. Formerly those who refused to confess were killed. Toward morning the guardian spirit arrived and was met by the shaman some distance from camp. The spirit was not displayed; this would have been "showing off" and would have brought ill luck in curing. Holding the spirit tightly between his palms, the shaman blew it into the seat of the pain. Then, lying once more beneath the patient, his lips on the ailing part, he sucked out the tutelary, together with the "pain." From this it is clear that the Vegas cannot share the notion that the spirit, while in the shaman's throat, does the sucking. The spirit was told to carry away the "pain, after which the latter was tossed toward the east. Generic and diffused pain is called payanyi; acute, localized pain, wYni (from winipi, arrow point). It is the latter, in the form of a mate- rial arrow point, which is sucked out by the sha- man. Sometimes when a sorcerer persistently re- fused to confess, he was confronted with the ar- row point. Ordinarily, however, the "pain" was not displayed. This, too, would have been "show- ing off" and would have made other practitioners jealous. If an accused shaman were not at hand to con- fess, the illness always terminated fatally. To retract his evil forces, the accused danced, then sucked out the "pain" he had inflicted. There ap- pears to be a logical inconsistency here, as this procedure is said to follow the sucking by the curing doctor, who presumably removed the disease object previously. Sometimes an accused woman shaman used eagle feathers to extract the poison." Starting at the feet of the prone patient, she brushed him with the feathers, thus directing the malignant essence toward the head. Such a perform- ance, however, would not restore the individual, and a shaman who directed an accused sorcerer to 29A shaman did not froth saliva, but at some unspecified time he stroked the patient's body. Further, at an unspecified time, he inquired concerning the patient's recent dreams, which he then interpreted. Some dreams augured good. Thus if a young person dreamed of being old and white- haired, it was a sign of longevity, and if one dreamed of witnessing a battle without partici- pating, one would go through life without in- jury. This was not exclusively a warrior's dream. follow this routine was parading his powers to no good end. Usually a cure was effected in one night, but a serious illness required two nights. If there was no improvement after the second treatment, another shaman was asked to try his skill. Payment preceded treatment but was returned unless a cure was effected. "Anything they had" was acceptable, usually eagle feathers, mountain sheep or deer hides, perhaps a bone awl. Nowadays $20 the night is considered more or less standard fee if the doctor has any distance to travel; if close at hand he may charge as little as $5. Informants repeatedly held evil shamans respon- sible for the depletion of the population. Thus, "Long ago there were many Indians and few doctors; now there are few Indians and many doctors." All serious sickness, it would seem, was attributed to bewitchment.30 Contagious magic (masu'tfk), de- scribed in some detail in the published account for the Chemehuevi, my Vegas informant declared to be a KTima'nu (Cahuilla, or perhaps Southern Californian Shoshone generally) and Iu'ta (Bea- ver Paiute [?], Pavant Ute [?]) practice. It was not used, she thought, by either the Las Vegas or the Chemehuevi. The "follow-doctor" described by the Chemehuevi, also was denied by the Vegas in- formant, according to whom a victim had to be ac- tually at hand for sorcery to be effective. How- ever, the Chemehuevi mentioned by name a Vegas man (of Cottonwood Island) as a sorcerer of this type; and the Vegas say that a shaman might in- flict illness on a person just departing on a journey, after which the victim would die at some distant place. Data on soul loss are meager. My informant-at first declared it to be unknown, but said later 30Casual ailments were treated with practical remedies. Infants and sick persons bathed with water containing pounded leaves of paiab (Hymenoc- lea salsola T. & G.). Sores: washed with tea of siguwiip' (Salvia carnosa Dougl.) or with water containing dried, pulverized leaves of same plant. Cuts: tobacco leaves chewed and juice dropped into deep cut, which was then covered with tobacco leaves. Sore eyes: bathed with brew of Hymenatherum pentachaetum D.C. Unspecified internal disorders: drank tea of root of Phace- lia palmeri Wats; tutu'pi (Mormorn tea, Ephedra viridis Cov.); whole plant kutsa r'lmpl (Erio- dictyon angustifolium Nutt.); whole plant wa'ateyowLmpl (Heliotropium carassavicum L.); Thamnosma montana T. & F. Stomachache (and headache): tea of pa kwitupip (Porophyllum gra- cile Benth.). Emetics included naka br'inan'imp (Krameria grayi Rose & Painter) and tobacco. Use of latter as emetic believed to be practice in- trusive from PanumLnts (Kawaiisu). To ground to- bacco was added water, Mormon tea, and a soft white stone (called tina'bi). Made into a paste and placed in center of circle of ai12iag persons. Each of latter dipped finger into mess, taking small taste. Vomiting followed shortly. "Heart trouble": sprays of ka'ninkwap (Garrya mcllis Greene) boiled and liquid drunk. Rheumatism and like pains: treated by cautery. Administered by any experienced person using the root (called pika'xadarimpl) of plant named nayu'tsonanimp (doubtfully identified as a Croton). 162 KELLY: SOUTHERN PAIUTE SHAMANISM that it would be possible to make the "mind"'1 leave, after which the person "would go crazy and die." Presumably, although not explicitly, this, like other illness, was attributed to an evil shaman. A curing doctor could send his familiar to retrieve the wandering soul. The latter he held between his clasped hands. Then, with thumbs upturned and pressed to his lips, he blew the soul from his hands into the fore- head of the bereaved subject. Evil shamans were responsible for both object and ghost intrusion. With the former, the shaman in his dreams wished ill to an enemy. He could cause him immediate injury by instructing his familiar to shoot him, the arrow point from this shot being later removed by the curing doctor. The Vegas share with the Chemehuevi the unpala- table notion that in his dreams a sorcerer feasts on the flesh of his victim. Evil shamans, particularly (exclusively?) those who had ghosts for guardian spirits, were able to control ghosts, sending them to frighten a vic- tim or to enter his body (unwa'pakakadits, ghost- go-inside). Perhaps "ghost sickness" always in- volved ghost intrusion; my notes are not clear. A curing shaman sang and sucked out the invading ghost, which he blew toward the east. With the usual Vegas avoidance of exhibitionism, the ghost was not displayed. Certain tutelary spirits always were malig- nant: coyote (which is the familiar of Iua'- rinkov, mentioned previously); bear ("this brought bad luck to somebody; it always killed"); birds of prey-hawk, and the like;32 ghosts; common water spirits (pa'inipi, water-ghost); and an- other kind of water spirit (paru'-tutu'xubi; tutu'xubl, guardian spirit), who was "a man with long white hair, long mustache, and webbed feet." 3 Through the last-mentioned familiar, a shaman caused illness by polluting the drinking water. Whirlwind (turu'nier) also was malevolent as a familiar. By concealing himself in such a wind a shaman could approach a victim unnoticed and later escape detection by the doctor. The pronounced censure on "showing off" is not found elsewhere among the Southern Paiute. Most frequently, according to Vegas informants,, "this would make other doctors jealous" and a jealous shaman worked havoc. Although frowned upon, cer- tain shamans indulged in feats of magic; "that was not good; it fooled the people but did not cure." Nevertheless, a certain shaman named Yanpa vinuk (runs-like-mockingbird; John Moss), of Pa'savanti (spring at the south end of Paiute "After the mind [muxuan soul] leaves the body it turns into the soul fnayu'ts, butterfly], which has wings and goes into the air." 32A shaman named Tuta, having Kusav (chicken hawk) for a familiar, sponsored the Ghost Dance among the Vegas. 55This spirit reputedly had been seen twice on the bank of the Colorado; mj interpreter suggested it might be a seal. Range), was famous for his feats of legerdemain. An account of some of these follows: "While this man sang he would pick up some sort of plant, and as he held it in his hand, it flowered and bore fruit. The latter he gave the patient to eat. Sometimes this doctor cured, but rarely. If he performed these tricks he would lose the patient within a few hours. "The same man would suddenly produce the [amnion?] sack of an unborn calf and turn it over and over in front of the fire for everyone to see. He was able, too, to restore life to dead animals-quail, dese-t tortoise, and rab- bits. He picked up the dead body, gave it life, and the animal ran over the hill, out of sight. But always on the far side of the hill it would be found dead. If this man had been able to restore life permanently, his human patients would have lived. "Some doctors would show their spirit helpers to the people; others would form animals and the like to impress the people. But all this was not curing; it was like the tricks of white magi- cians. A doctor who did such things never lasted long; he overdid. For this reason Yanpa'vinuk did not call himself a real doctor. He himself died young; his spirit helper was an eagle." Despite the injunction against parading one's power, certain Vegas shamans vied with the Cahuilla and their neighbors in feats of magic.34 The fol- lowing relates a contest in which the Vegas partic- ipated. "This happened long ago, when WYnYganti [stand- ing] was chief and before the Chemehuevi moved from the desert to the river. The Kima'nu-[Cahuilla] were going to see which doctor had the strongest power. Several went from here: some from Ka'iba [mountain; New York Mountains], from TYmpi'saxwats [stone-blue; Providence Mountains], and from Ma'upa [meaningless; part of Turtle Range]. Two or three, who were not doctors, went from Wiivats [Apocynum-water; Mescal Spring, on Ivanpah Moun- tain]. They all met a certain day at Okwa'i [meaningless; Ivanpah Mountain] and started for the Cahuilla country. Most of the doctors were young and had not tried their power; so they practiced during the trip. The older doctors waited until they had reached the contest. "On the way they hunted desert tortoise and chuckwalla wherever they camped. In the party were two young men who hunted together and shared their food. Between them they had only one chuck- walla, whereas the others had many. One of these boys built a very large fire to roast the one chuck- walla. He heated many stones as though he had much to cook. He threwv the one lizard in the middle of the coals and piled the hot stones over it. over it. "Everyone was lying around the fires, laugh- ing and talking. One asked him, 'Is it cooked 34Such shamanistic contests have been reported for the Cahuilla: Lucile Hooper, The Cahuilla Indians, UC-PAAE 16:336, 1920; and W. D. Strong, Aboriginal Society in Southern California, UC- PAAE 26:168, 1929. 163 ANTHROPOLOGICAL RECORDS yet?' The boy began to dig around the edge of the ashes, although he knew that his one chuckwalla was in the center. He lifted a stone from the edge of the fire and under it were two chuck- walla, each with its tail in the mouth of the other. He lifted all the stones and found two chuckwalla beneath each. He put the food in a large pile and asked the others to share with him. "The boy who did this was young and not yet sure of his power. He dreamed of kusiv' [a bluish-gray hawk, with sharp points on each shoulder], who in the legends roasted but one rabbit and later removed many from the ashes. This boy had the same power as the spirit. "The next evening he tried again, with a des- ert tortoise. And in the fire he found many, in their shells. He tried rabbits next, and other animals. "The evening before the party reached the Cahuilla this boy had his friends build a very large fire. When it burned down he threw him- self on the coals, where they saw him burn to ashes. Then he appeared, walking toward camp and smiling. The people said, 'We shall win; we have a good one (shaman) among us.' "The party arrived the next day. They were the last to come and everyone was waiting. After sundown a fire was built and each doctor showed his powers. Some competed in smoking, making pipe, smoke, and all come out of their toes. Others brought black "stink bugs"' out of their ears and toes. Certain mountain-sheep doctors took pieces of sheep fat or meat from their clothing and threw them on the coals; the pieces looked like fresh kill. "They could not decide who was the winner; the Paiute could equal the tricks of all the others. They sang all night, in turn. Toward morning the boy who had burned himself said, 'Make a hot fire; use mesquite wood.' At day- light the fire turned to red coals. The Paiute boy came close and threw himself in the center. Everyone was surprised. The Cahuilla said, 'What are we doing? We have lost a man!' Then at sun- rise, when there were only ashes left, they saw the doctor who had been burned walk toward them, smiling. "The Cahuilla had fire doctors"" but they said, 'You have beaten us; we cannot do that.' So thig5boy won the prizes; they were a Navaho [Hopi] blanket, breecholout, and two shirts. One shirt was fringed, where it tied on the sides; the other had sleeves. These were expen- sive and were provided by the Cahuilla. "In this contest, besides the Paiute and the Kima'nu [Cahuilla] were: the TDmpi'mukwiats [edge-of-rock; unidentified tribe 'living some- where near the Cahuilla']; the Ka ibaxumpivats 3" There are several references to Cahuilla shamans who handled fire with impunity. Hooper, op. cit., 331, 335, 336; Strong, op. cit., 169, 177. "3 The Vegas and Chemehuevi confuse the Navaho and Hopi, calling the former MukO, Muku, and the latter Paya'wItc, names which are reversed by the easterly Paiute. The Hopi-Navaho confusion is shared by the Mohave (Kroeber, Shoshonean Dia- lects, UC-PAAE 4:107-108, 1907). [Luisefno, who 'lived the other side (i.e., west) of A'iyaka (San Jacinto Mountain) and spoke like the Cahuilla'- their Mexican name said to be 'San' Luisefiol; the Ma'ringiants [Serrano prop- er]; the Pita'ntf [Vanyume Serrano]; and the Kwita'namuant [Gitanemuk (?), who 'spoke both Spanish and Serrano']. There were no Yuma [Kwitca 'an] or Mohave [Aiye't] in the contest." At this point a word may be said of prophecy, which was a nondreaming, nonshamanistic affair, undertaken by a person called muyu'anti (mind, soul), one "with lots of brains." In the even- ing, around the fire, he foretold the future. "This man said that some day our land would be taken away. He named all the mountains and said that we should lose them. He prophesied the coming of the Mormons, whom he called Paru' iyam [said to mean 'fromacross the ocean'] and said that they would own this country. He spoke every evening for one or two years. iHe was a very old man when the Mormons came. Datura was used as a medicine and as an aid in locating lost objects; my informant doubted it was ever the source of shamanistic power. Nor was it considered a cure for mental derangement. Most people, my informant said, were normal, but she remembered two whom she considered "insane." One, who insisted upon going naked, was the son of a woman shaman; "his mother had too much nono'si" (dreaming, i.e., supernatural contact). The other was a very old woman who repeatedly removed her skirt in the presence of others; "but she was able to work." For rheumatism a person secretly obtained a Datura root that grew toward the east. He left a gift in its place, then addressed the root, ask- ing for good luck. Then he pounded the root, mixed it with water, and rubbed it over his body. For finding lost objects a person asked the root for aid, then took (chewed?, drank?) a small portion; to chew it made one thirsty. Under its influence one "would even go into the water" to retrieve lost objects. According to one Cheme- huevi the Vegas had "a special woman who dreamed and found lost objects" without the aid of Da- tura, but this was not mentioned by the Vegas informants. Specialists.-The Vegas had, with one or two minor differences, the already familiar list of shamanistic specialists. Rattlesnake shaman. The Vegas speak of two rattlesnake shamans (kwia'buaxantl), both of whom happen to be women. They are: Na'ntsurigi (a kind of bluebird), of Maxa'vuvant (from maxa'vS, brush; a spring in Pahrump Valley, south of Manse); and Ma'vaiyun (brush-gather), living south of Ivanpah Mountain. A child who refused to bathe was told he would become a snake sha- man; "but there really was nothing to this; it was just to frighten him." Although snake sha- mans had "no real spirit helper," they obtained 164 KELLY: SOUTHERN PAIUTE SHAMANIS1 a ouring song through dreaming; and in their dreams they could turn inanimate objects into snakes. They are said to have been able to cause snakes to bite. These shamans treated any venomous wound-snake, tarantula, or spider. The treatment lasted four or five days and consisted of singing, dancing, and sucking.37 By means of the latter, "poison" was removed from the wound, but never a miniature snake or other visible object. A snake-bite victim always was treated outside the dwelling. Persons took great care not to ap- proach, for unless they had just bathed and were meticulously clean, they would have had a pro- nounced ill effect upon the patient. Neighbors, therefore, remained at their respective camps, within earshot of the shaman's song, and as long as the latter continued they kept time to the music, two or three of them standing in line. Even children participated in this so-called "snake dance" (kwia'uviawinimiga). Rock shaman. The Vegas equivalent of the rock shaman was called tintca'nuant; but "this was nothing, only a person who took young eagles from the nest." My informant doubted that he dreamed or had a song. Nor did he treat falls from cliffs. As a matter of fact, my informant had "heard of only one person who fell from a cliff, and he was a Mo- have; the Paiute used their common sense and did not fall." Arrow shaman. As usual, the arrow shaman (ubu' - axant) treated arrow and gunshot wounds. He dreamed of a song and of curing such injuries. "He sucked the wound and sang. He danced to the head of the patient (who was not oriented) and kicked the sand; then to the foot and again kicked the sand. After this the patient was able to get "Once a man was shot through the breast with a bullet. The doctor sucked it out and threw it to the east. He did not press the body with his hands; only real curing doctors did that.' Horse shaman. With the Vegas comes the first mention of a further specialization, a horse shaman (wa'a'riv-puaxanti), who treated injuries inflicted by horses. These medicine-men dreamed of a horse. They neither sucked nor used a staff; but they had one song, and stroked and blew upon the victim. "Once a man at Cottonwood Island fell from a horse; he was unconscious. A horse doctor was nearly two miles distant hut he knew of the acci- dent. He made sand into a small mound; it became hard, like a rock, from which he knew that no bones were broken. He came to -treat the man. He tapped him with a small stick, after which he be- came conscious. The doctor stroked the man's body, blew upon him, and he recovered." 37The snake shaman used no herbs in treating; but if he were not available, a poultice of the pounded plant taxopui 'bLmp (tax3, snake; Pentste- mon palmeri Gray var. ) was applied. Weather shamans. The Vegas were interested in weather control, but with one notable exception they did not practice it with much success. Usually, they state, they relied upon the efforts of the PanumLnts (Kawaiisu)38 about Mohave sta- tion and northward from there. "The PanumLnts had some sort of thing which they always kept closed, and when they opened it, rain came. I do not know what this looked like. We would ask them to make rain, give them a buckskin, and they would tell us to return home, that it would already be raining there. "To stop rain, the Panumints patted a piece of clay very thin and set it out in the rain to dissolve. Or they gathered rain water from the leaves of plants and drank it; this also stopped the rain." According to one informant Vegas weather shamans (Ywa'dim-puaxantl, rain-doctor) dreamed, sang, and used the bull-roarer (mu'mut) to bring rain; "but they were not very successful." Ac- cording to another: "Only children used the bull-roarer. We told them it would bring rain and thunder and light- ning, but it did not. Rain doctors were dangerous; they could cause lightning to strike people. They dreamed of bringing rain. In dry weather they used their power by smearing black paint around their eyes, by singing, and by wishing for rain." Although the Chemehuevi associate mountain- sheep dreamers with rain, apparently the Vegas do not. They say, however, that the recital of the funeral oration (anpa' -uviCv, talk-song) is attended by wind and a light shower, which cease with the termination of the address. Despite the general lack of success which characterized Vegas weather control, they boast one famous rain shaman, Avena'ry (meaningless), who lived originally at Pa'savant' (spring at the south end of Paiute Range). Most of his life was spent among the Chemehuevi at Wia'nekat (from wiab, clay), a site along the Colorado River, be- tween Fort Mohave and Cottonwood Island (Mohave territory in prewhite days). Several anecdotes concerning this shaman follow: "Avena'ri dreamed for his power. To bring rain he did not sing but used crystals [pi'utov-i which looked like diamonds. These he alone could find at a place that had been struck by light- ning. He seldom sang to bring rain, but instead touched one of the crystals to the surface of a bowl of water. Immediately it began to rain. If 38PanumLnts almost certainly applies to the Kawaiisu rather than to the Gitanemuk or other Serrano (cf. Kroeber, op. cit., 108, 134). A Ute-Chemehuevi group clearly is indicated because the language is said to be intelligible to Paiute. Furthermore, according to Kroeber (p. 111), "From the statements of Garces it would appear that the Iawaiisu held both slopes of the Tehachapi Moun- tains.' 165 ANTHROPOLOGICAL RECORDS he used a large crystal the storm continued many days. "To stop the rain he sang; or he gathered rain water from the leaves of trees and drank it [simi- lar to the reputed Kawaiisu practice]. "Once a party of Mohave were on their way to Mohave station [Kawaiisu] for clamshell beads. They.stopped near the camp of Avena'r'. They taunted him, saying, 'This man cannot bring rain.' But before they left Avena'ri brought a rain so heavy that the country was flooded. There was so much water that the Mohave said, 'Have we not crossed the Colorado River already?' They went on their way but two or three of them were drowned. "When Avena'ri was very old he gave his crys- tals to a young man-named Wari-v:, or Warivi'tsima [meaningless], who was not related to him. He did not want the crystals destroyed and told this young man that he would be able to use them, without dreaming. But to do so he must neither bury nor cremate Avena'ri's body but expose it on some mountain. But that young man was 'crazy'; when Avena'r1 died he burned his body and the crystals. "Only one other doctor used 'crystals for making rain. He lived at Timpi'saxwats 'Providence Moun- tainsj. He could bring rain only in winter, whereas Avena'ri could bring it the year round, although in suimmer it would be only a light shower." CONCLUSION The bands treated in this paper may be consid- ered reasonably representative of the Southern Paiute, even though by count they are Just under half the total number. Of the original fifteen bands, seven are treated here; one, the Cheme- huevi, has been described elsewhere; another, the Uinkaret, is extinct; and among the remaining six I was not able, for lack of time, to investigate shamanistic aspects. The present data should be useful, however, in indicating the general fea- tures of Southern Paiute shamanism and. in gauging the variability among several local units of a single ethnic group. More complete and more in- tensive information naturally would increase the significance of the conclusions, but on the basis of the foregoing material, the outstanding common features of Southern Paiute shamanism may be out- lined as follows: To become shamans, persons of either sex de- rive their power from dreams, which ordinarily come unsolicited. They confer with a familiar spirit, sometimes human, but more frequently ani- mal, from which they receive songs anid instruc- tions for curing. Shamans alone have such guar- dian spirits. With the exception of the Las Vegas and Chemehuevi, neither power, songs, nor shaman- istic off'ice is inherited. Sickness is attributed to intrusion, usually of a material disease object, sometimes of a ghost, or, less commonly, to soul loss. The last of these a shaman cures by the pur- suit and restoration of the wandering soul, whereas the two former he treats by song and sucking. While sucking, he lies on the ground beneath th# d patient. Several bands, but not all, hold the actual sucking to be done by the guardian spirito1 lodged in the shaman's throat. The insertion of the tutelary into the body of the patient is mail tioned by all except the Moapa, where its omis- sion probably is through oversight. Shamans usually smoke, either while treating or after- ward, but generally this is thought not to be curative. Save for the cane or staff, regalia are conspicuously lacking; but the use of eagle feathers appears persistently, if sporadically. All the bands distinguish between the rattle- snake shaman and the general practitioner, and some recognize numerous oither specialists. Bear shamans are unknown. Weather control and the lo- cation of lost objects appear as shamanistic functions in scattered cases but are not empha- sized. On the whole, a broad and bapic similarity evidently underlies the shamanistic fabric of the eight bands, the Kaibab apparently being the least spe3ialized. I suspect this to be actually the case, although it is barely possible that their apparent simplicity results from deficient data, for they were the first, as well as the most reticent, of the bands with which I worked. C The data do seem to show, however, increasing richness and specialization as one proceeds fromi east to west, as is indeed the case with material, arts-agriculture, pottery, and basketry, for example. Paucity of material makes it difficult to place Southern Paiute shamanism with respect to that of either the Great Basin or other adjacent areas. The concept of object intrusion is nearly universal in western North America in contrast - to the relative infrequency of ghost intrusion.3 i Probably the latter is more usual than the recor44 show. It may eventually prove to be a common Greal Basin notion; at least it is reported from the northern4o and southern extremes. Emphasis on the guardian spirit in curing is reminiscent of cer- tain sections of central California, while the idea of soul loss calls to mind southern Califor-: nia. But the closest specific resemblances to the Southern Paiute seem to lie with the Havasupai. There is agreement in general shamanistic tenor' and suggestion of agreement in three particular notions: (a) ghost intrusion; (b) the insertion of the tutelary into the patient; and (c) the be. lief that the spirit does the actual sucking.4 1 This is consonant aith Spier's estimate of Hava- supai culture as Basin-like.*2 59Forrest B. Clements, Primitive Concepts of Disease, UC-PAAE 32:193-194, 1932. 40Lowie (The Northern Shoshone, AMNH-AP 2:228 t 1909) reports ghost intrusion to be the commoneSt cause of sickness among the Northern Shoshone. 4.1Spier, Havasupai, 277, 279, 280, 281. 'Problems Arising from the Cultural Position of the Havasupai, AA 31: 213-222, 1929. I KELLY: SOUTHERN PAIUTE SHAMANISM Southern Paiute shamanism, hovwever, is quite evidently thrown into a form of negative relief when compared with other areas where shamanism and shamanistic functions are definitely elaborate. But the presence of generically fundamental and widespread curing concepts as well as the uncrys- tallized nature of shamanism seem entirely in harmony with the general tone of Basin culture. The difficulty in delimiting Southern Paiute shamanism with respect to surrounding areas is perhaps as significant as any other fact in evalu- ating it as characteristically Basin, since it partakes of the fundamentals and even some of the specific features of adjacent regions. BIBLIOGRAPHICAL ABBREVIATIONS USED AA American Anthropologist. AAAS-P American Academy Arts and Sciences, Proceedings. AMNH-AP American Museum of Natural History, Anthropological Papers. UC-PAAE University of California, Publications in American Archaeology and Ethnology. 167