The Recovery of the Koshare

THE RECOVERY OF THE KOSHARE ^17a

The people were coming up from Shipap. Masewa led them, and after him his brother Oyoyewa. After them came our mother Iareku, the corn fetish. They came up through the doorway of the rainbow and after Iareku all of the Indians of the pueblos came together. Each of them carried an ear of corn and when they came to a great rock where there was a hollow they ground corn for themselves. Half of the people stayed at White House, and half at the Village of the Two Lions.

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At White House the kurena held a dance. When it was over the kurena went back to their home in the east, but the koshare went to the middle of the earth, to Cochiti. They did not go back again to White House and nobody knew where they had gone. The next time they had a dance (in White House) nobody was happy. The koshare were not there to play between the dances. They were unhappy and went to Iareku. She said to them, "Yes, the dance is not right without the koshare. People do not enjoy it unless they are there. Go to the village of Cochiti and you will find the koshare in the middle of this world."

The people started for the village of Cochiti. Masewa led them. As they came close to Cochiti they could hear the clowning of the koshare. They said, "What is that? Is that the koshare?" They went to the north side where they could hear. The masked dancers were dancing in the plaza all by themselves. The chief men of White House went in and the koshare met them. They brought them into the middle of the village where the dance was going on. The koshare were clowning and everybody was happy. When the dance was over, the people and the katcinas and the koshare all went into the room of the Flint Society and they assigned colors to each of the koshare. 18 They gave them a color for each direction and that was the time when the koshare got their colors.

Footnotes

13:17a Informant 2. Notes, pp. 204, 207.