cils. The office of head chief is not hereditary, though the present incumbent succeeded his father. He is elected by the village chiefs.
The present head chief is Antonio Azul (pl. II, a), known among his people as Uva-aʼtûka, Spread Leg, from a peculiarity in his gait; also as Ma’vĭt Ka’wutam, Puma Shield, and by other names less elegant. The calendar records are silent upon this, and as to the date of his accession, reference to it in contemporary literature has been seen. He became chief before 1864, as Poston mentions in his report as special commissioner in that year that Antonio had just had his commission revoked for bad conduct.[1]
Antonio's father had been the preceding head chief. He was known as Culo Azul, also as Ti’ahiatam, Urine. His predecessor was Rsân’talĭ Viʼakam, who was killed by Apaches before Kâmâl tkâk, who is probably 75 years old, was born. His predecessor was named O’sĭvf, Joseph. No recollection of any earlier chief remains. In the Rudo Ensayo Tavanimó is named as the chief about the year 1757,[2] and it is possible that he was the predecessor of O’sĭvf.
The decrees of the councils are announced from a house top by the village crier, who is selected because of possessing the loudest and clearest voice. There are sometimes two of these officials in a village.
In each village there was also a "ceremony talker," or master of ceremonies, whose duty it was to arrange and control the details of the festivals and general ceremonies not especially provided for by the religious fraternities.
At the command of each council was a messenger who might be sent to summon those required by that body.
Any man of acknowledged courage might, with the approval of his fraternity (the information obtained at this point was somewhat vague—perhaps "neighbors" or "the community" is the better term), organize a war party. He was then called Tcunyĭm or Tcuʼyĭnyĭm, Smoker, or War Speaker. His name and authority ended upon returning from the campaign.
It is important to note that the tribe acted as a unit against the Apaches. With their compact territory and well-developed agriculture they might well have easily developed yet further their division of labor and established a warrior class. Then, with their increasing numbers under the stimulus of material well-being, they might have easily extended their power. No neighboring tribes except the Apaches and Papagos surpassed them in numbers; the former were without resources, the latter were related and friendly. The advantages of confederation had been learned from more than half a century's experience with the Maricopas, a tribe of alien speech and blood.
