362-148<BR> Eagle fetish; white sandstone, pigment, chalcedony, cotton; l. 9.2 cm., w. 4 cm., h. 4 cm.; ca. 1880.<BR> Ten Kate discussed this fetish with Cushing and jotted down the following notes: "The fetish represents the god of the upper world, and therefore is shaped like an eagle. The Indians believe that it is alive, with a beating heart and an active consciousness. They direct prayers to its spirit, and they offer food to the heart. The prayers are pleas by the owner, a priest from the Order of the Bow, for protection against enemies, especially against being ambushed. That is why the arrowhead, the sáwanikia or magic medicine of war, tied to the back, to indicate that only the 'faulty or wanting' side (the back) of the warrior requires protection, 'because nobody has eyes or arms and hands on his back.' However, 'the warrior does not need to ask for protection for the side where he has his face and hands.' The arrowhead or stone knife, on the back of the fetish is meant to stop or deflect the enemies' arrows." Later Ten Kate published these notes partially in the Revue d'Ethnographie (1884:163; also: 1890; cf. Cushing 1893).<BR> It is likely that Ten Kate collected this fetish from a member of the Bow priesthood himself, as he met several members, but an acquisition through Cushing is also possible. Ten Kate's Native nomenclature for the fetishes is mostly in accordance with Cushing's, although the Dutch anthropologist notes additional terminology in some cases. According to Cushing (1883) this red eagle of the southern skies is called K'iä'-k'iä-li-á-ho-na.<BR> Zuni fetishes were carved from a variety of stones, and often painted with the correct directional color. The arrowhead tied to fetishes, in this case made from chalcedony and tied with native cotton cord, can have several meanings: it can be a protective device to keep the fetish safe from physical harm and witchcraft, and it can be an expression of a gift of prayer to the fetish.<BR> 362-148; 674-11 through 30 Fetishes of the Priesthood of the Bow<BR> Predatory gods and their pendant predatory animals, both referred to as Wé-ma-á-hâ-i (Prey Beings), play a major role in Zuni cosmology. Their powers are encapsulated in "fetishes", amulets providing supernatural protection and support for their owners. According to Zuni tradition, Sun Father sent his two children to the newly created earth where the people were being killed by predatory animals. Using lightning emanating from their shields, the children turned the animals into stone. However, they retained the power of the animals within the stone but turned it around, becoming beneficial for the people.<BR> Also in mythological time, Poshai-ankia, the Father of the Medicine Societies, established order among the predatory animals, assigning them to guard the six cardinal directions. These guardians were called Apithlan shiwani, Bow Priests, and they mediate between Poshai-ankia and the people. In addition to the main guardians, each of these have "younger brothers" in all other directions who serve as protectors of the hunt.<BR> Zunis frequently found stones resembling an animal, and assumed these to have the protective powers as related in mythology. Their shapes were often abstract, but increasingly such stones were carved to bring out the shape of the animal more clearly. Members of religious societies left their fetishes often collectively in charge of a keeper, who stored them in special containers of basketry or pottery. The fetishes were used individually as well as collectively, in the latter case during certain ceremonies, as the Council of the Fetishes around the time of the winter solstice, or the midwinter tribal hunts. In these rituals prayer is directed towards the powers residing in the fetishes, and blessings requested, not in the least success in the hunt. The keepers ritually feed the fetishes in their custody, to ascertain their wellbeing.<BR> In the 1940s when whites began showing an interest in acquiring fetishes in return for goods or cash, stone animal effigies were being carved from any stone, regardless of shape. Both abstract and naturalistic types have been carved by Zuni craftsmen since then in increasing numbers, resulting in a major cottage industry (Cushing 1883; Kirk 1943; Ostler and Nahohai 1989; Rodee and Ostler 1990:15-23).<BR> (Hovens 2008-09) <BR>