Note 37 — CLASSIFICATION OF KATCINAS

I have elsewhere pointed out that the típoni is called the mother, and this usage seems to hold among the other Pueblos. As a badge of chieftaincy it is carried by the chiefs on certain occasions of initiation and public exhibitions, as can be seen by consulting my memoir of the Snake Ceremonials at Walpi. Címo, the old Flute chief (obit 1893), once made the following remark about his típoni: “This is my mother; the outer wrapping is her garment; the string of shells is her necklace; the feathers typify the birds, and within it are all the desirable seeds. When I go to sleep she watches over me, and when I die one of the feathers will be placed upon my heart, and I hope the típoni will take care of me.” From these words we learn how much the típoni is venerated, and it is not remarkable, considering the benefits which are thought to come from it, that it is designated “the mother.”