![THE KNIFE-FEATHERED MONSTER[God of the Knife Wings]Ä-tchi-a-lä′-to-pá
The Priesthood of the Bow possesses three fetiches, two of which are of the We-ma-á-hâ-i.* The other is sometimes classed with these, sometimes with the higher beings, and may be safely said to form a connecting link between the idolatry proper of the Zuñis and their fetichism. These three beings are, the Mountain Lion, the great White Bear, (Áiŋ-shi k’ó-ha-na—the god of the scalp-taking ceremonials), and the Knife-feathered Monster (Á-tchi-a lä-to-pa).
This curious god is the hero of hundreds of folklore tales, and the tutelary deity of several of the societies of Zuñi. He is represented as possessing a human form, furnished with flint knife-feathered pinions, and tail. His dress consists of the conventional terraced cap (representative of his dwelling-place among the clouds), and the ornaments, badge, and garments of the Kâ′-kâ. His weapons are the Great Flint-Knife of War, the Bow of the Skies (the Rain-bow), and the Arrow of Lightning, and his guardians or warriors are the Great Mountain Lion of the North and that of the Upper regions.
He was doubtless the original War God of the Zuñis, although now secondary, in the order of war, to the two children of the Sun mentioned at the outset.
Anciently he was inimical to man, stealing and carrying away to his city in the skies the women of all nations, until subdued by other gods and men of magic powers. At present he is friendly to them, rather in the sense of an animal whose food temporarily satisfies him than in the beneficent character of most of the gods of Zuñi.
Both the Great White Bear and the Mountain Lion of the War Priesthood are, as well as the Knife-feathered Demon, beings of the skies.
~ excerpted from Zuñi Fetiches, by Frank Hamilton Cushing
* 'Prey Beings' applied alike to the prey animals and their representatives among the gods...the We-ma-á-hâ-i are considered par excellence the gods of the hunt. (Cushing)](http://27.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ktxu8veHS11qar1efo1_400.jpg)
THE KNIFE-FEATHERED MONSTER
[God of the Knife Wings]
Ä-tchi-a-lä′-to-pá
The Priesthood of the Bow possesses three fetiches, two of which are of the We-ma-á-hâ-i.* The other is sometimes classed with these, sometimes with the higher beings, and may be safely said to form a connecting link between the idolatry proper of the Zuñis and their fetichism. These three beings are, the Mountain Lion, the great White Bear, (Áiŋ-shi k’ó-ha-na—the god of the scalp-taking ceremonials), and the Knife-feathered Monster (Á-tchi-a lä-to-pa).
This curious god is the hero of hundreds of folklore tales, and the tutelary deity of several of the societies of Zuñi. He is represented as possessing a human form, furnished with flint knife-feathered pinions, and tail. His dress consists of the conventional terraced cap (representative of his dwelling-place among the clouds), and the ornaments, badge, and garments of the Kâ′-kâ. His weapons are the Great Flint-Knife of War, the Bow of the Skies (the Rain-bow), and the Arrow of Lightning, and his guardians or warriors are the Great Mountain Lion of the North and that of the Upper regions.
He was doubtless the original War God of the Zuñis, although now secondary, in the order of war, to the two children of the Sun mentioned at the outset.
Anciently he was inimical to man, stealing and carrying away to his city in the skies the women of all nations, until subdued by other gods and men of magic powers. At present he is friendly to them, rather in the sense of an animal whose food temporarily satisfies him than in the beneficent character of most of the gods of Zuñi.
Both the Great White Bear and the Mountain Lion of the War Priesthood are, as well as the Knife-feathered Demon, beings of the skies.
~ excerpted from Zuñi Fetiches, by Frank Hamilton Cushing
* 'Prey Beings' applied alike to the prey animals and their representatives among the gods...
the We-ma-á-hâ-i are considered par excellence the gods of the hunt. (Cushing)
