the order, proposes to
his kin to build a separate kiva, and that being agreed to, he assumes
the direction of the construction and all the dedicatory and other
ceremonies connected with the undertaking. An instance of this kind
occurred within the last year or two at Oraibi, where the members of the
"Katchina" gentes, who are also members of the religious order of
Katchina, built a spacious kiva for themselves.

The construction of a new kiva is said to be of rare occurrence. On the
other hand, it is common to hear the kiva chief lament the decadence of
its membership. In the "Oak Mound" kiva at Sichumovi there are now but
four members. The young men have married and moved to their wives'
houses in more thriving villages, and the older men have died. The chief
in this case also says that some 2 years ago the agent gave him a stove
and pipe, which he set up in the room to add to its comfort. He now has
grave fears that the stove is an evil innovation, and has exercised a
deleterious influence upon the fortune of his kiva and its members; but
the stove is still retained.

_Significance of structural plan._--The designation of the curious
orifice of the sipapuh as "the place from which the people emerged" in
connection with the peculiar arrangement of the kiva interior with its
change of floor level, suggested to the author that these features might
be regarded as typifying the four worlds of the genesis myth that has
exercised such an influence on Tusayan customs; but no clear data on
this subject were obtained by the writer, nor has Mr. Stephen, who is
specially well equipped for such investigations, discovered that a
definite conception exists concerning the significance of the structural
plan of the kiva. Still, from many suggestive allusions made by the
various kiva chiefs and others, he also has been led to infer that it
typifies the four "houses," or stages, described in their creation
myths. The sipapuh, with its cavity beneath the floor, is certainly
regarded as indicating the place of beginning, the lowest house under
the earth, the abode of Myuingwa, the Creator; the main or lower floor
represents the second stage; and the elevated section of the floor is
made to denote the third stage, where animals were created. Mr. Stephen
observed, at the New Year festivals, that animal fetiches were set in
groups upon this platform. It is also to be noted that the ladder
leading to the surface is invariably made of pine,