Tcakwaina Mana
A number of traditions are extant regarding a warrior maiden who was dressing her hair in whorls above her ears when the pueblo in which she lived was attacked by hostiles. The men, according to these stories, were away when the attack began, and the defense fell upon the women. The girls, with their coiffures half made, seized bows and arrows and rushed to defend the pueblo. The eldest sisters of the Tcakwaina, often called the Tcakwaina maids, are mentioned in this connection, and the artist has pictorially represented this legend.
As shown, the hair on the right side of the head hangs loosely, tied in a bundle near the scalp, but on the left side it has been partly wound over the U-shaped stick[1] customarily used in making the headdress. To complete the coiffure this stick would have been drawn out, leaving the whorl, but, as the story goes, the enemy were upon them before this was possible, and the maids, with hair half dressed, seized the weapons of war, bows, and quivers of arrows, which the picture represents, and rushed to meet the foes.
The remainder of the symbolism on the face of the girl, as the picture shows, resembles that of her brother, save that the eyes are round and not crescentic. Like that of another maid called Hĕhĕĕ, who appears in the Powamû festival, this picture has a small beard below a hideous mouth.
Tcakwaina Yuadta
The picture of the mother of Tcakwaina (yuadta, his mother) has a general resemblance to that of her son and daughter (Tcakwaina mana), as here shown. She weard a black mask, and has a white mouth and red beard. Her eyes are lozenge shaped. Her black blanket is decorated with white crosses. She bears, as a warrior symbol, and eagle feather, stained red, tied to the crown of her head, and carries a rattle in her right hand.
Tcakwaina Taamû
The Tcakwaina uncle has little in common in symbolism with any of the other three; in fact, there is nothing which suggests the sister. The mask is painted green, with a border of red and yellow; the eyes are black, the beak is curved and pointed. The picture has a representation of a squash blossom on each side of the head and variegated feathers on the crown.
- ↑ As the mask is exhibited in the Wikwaliobi kiva at Soyaluña has a crooked stick (gnela) attached to it, it may represent the ancient warrior maid, for a similar article is now used by Hopi girls in making their coiffures.
