Thus the first object which the child is made to behold at
the very dawn of its existence is the sun, the great object of their
worship; and long ere the little lips can lisp a prayer it is repeated
for it by the grandmother.
The Zuni are polytheists; yet, while they have a plurality of gods,
many of whom are the spirits of their ancestors, these gods are but
mediums through which to reach their one great father of all--the Sun.
[Plate XX: ZUNI MASKS AND K[=O]-Y[=E]-M[=E]-SHI.
2 P[=A]-OO-T[=I]-WA. 1 K[=O]-Y[=E]-M[=E]-SHI. 3 SAI-[=A]-HLI-A.]
Returning to the house, the paternal grandmother again bathes the
child in yucca suds; then, for the first time, the little one is put
into the cradle. The baby's arms are placed straight by its sides, and
in this position it is so strapped in its cradle that it cannot even
move a hand. These cradles have hood-shaped tops, and over the whole
thick coverings are placed, so that the wonder is the child does not
smother. The cradle is usually deposited in some safe corner, and the
baby is left to sleep or amuse itself with its infantine thoughts. The
cradle is sometimes attached to two ropes to form a swing, and when
the mother becomes conscious of the child's awakening she uncovers its
head at times and the tiny thing casts its eyes around. On the tenth
morning both parents of the child are bathed in suds of yucca, the
whole body of the mother but only the head of the father. This office
is also performed by the paternal grandmother.
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