Note 2 — Front matter

I have been interested to discover what proportion of the whole number of Hopi ceremonials have been described, and the results are such as to allay any conceit that we know much about the subject. Without considering the abbreviated ceremonials there are in the ritual 12 which are of nine days duration. There are five variants of this ritual, differing in altars, paraphernalia, and rites, so that we may say there are performed in Tusayan about 60 ceremonials, each nine days long, to be investigated. Of these there are 40 of which we know nothing, save their existence; 15, fragments of which have been described; and 5 which have been fairly well studied. There are about 30 Hopi altars which have never been figured or described, or as far as I know seen by ethnologists. It thus appears that there is plenty of material in this province to occupy the students of primitive ritual for some time to come. An adequate comprehension of the Hopi Katcina ritual requires a consideration of five different modifications of the same altars.