674-13, 14, 16, 27<BR> Mountain lion fetishes; A-pi-thla shi-wa-ni awa Hâtitäsh ana wéma (TK); Sania Kya Kwe awa Hâtitäsh ana wéma; stone, sinew; 674-13: stone, sinew; l. 3.5 cm., h. 2 cm., w. 1.5 cm.; 674-14: alabaster; l. 7.5 cm., h. 1.8 cm., w. 1.5 cm.; 674-16: stone, sinew; l. 3.8 cm., h. 1.7 cm.; 674-27: stone, fiber; l. 7.2 cm., h. 4 cm., w. 3.2 cm.; ca. 1880.<BR> The mountain lion can be identified by his long tail. Poshai-ankia, the Father of the Medicine Societies, judged mountain lion to be courageous and determined. Therefore he made him the master of the gods of prey, and appointed him as guardian of the north. The color yellow is associated with the north, and preferable these fetishes were carved from yellow limestone. The eyes of 674-14 were formerly inlaid with green turquoise. RMV 674-16 carries a chalcedony arrowhead on its back. RMV 674-27 carries an obsidian arrowhead on its back, secured with vegetal fiber.<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> <BR> <BR> <BR> Een Zuni legende vertelt het verhaal dat in vroegere tijden alle dieren door de goden tijdelijk in steen werden veranderd. De meesten werd echter het leven hergeven. Uit deze mythische periode dateren volgens de Zunis de vreemd gevormde stenen die zij zo nu en dan vinden. Deze stenen hebben de rudimentaire vorm van dieren of herkenbare delen van specifieke dieren en worden beschouwd als de belichaming van de spirituele kracht van die dieren. Deze stenen worden als fetish meegedragen om hun inherente kracht te benutten. De beer staat voor lichaamskracht en gezondheid. De kikvors en andere reptielen voor lang leven. Als dank offert men heilig maïsmeel aan de fetishen, of enkele kostbare stukjes schelp of koraal die met een pees aan de fetish worden vastgemaakt. Een klein aantal dier-fetishen werd van aardewerk gemaakt. De gevonden stenen werden vaak enigszins bewerkt om hun vorm te accentueren. Steensculptuur ontwikkelde zich toen Zunis ten behoeve van een externe blanke markt stenen dierfiguurtjes gingen maken. Daarvoor worden veel verschillende steensoorten gebruikt, vooral soorten met kleurvariatie.