ZUÑI FETICHES.

ZUÑI PHILOSOPHY.

The Á-shi-wi, or Zuñis, believe that the sun, moon, and stars, the sky, earth, and sea—in all their phenomena and elements—as well as all inanimate objects, plants, animals, and humans, belong to one great system of all-conscious and interrelated life. In this system, degrees of relationship seem to be determined largely, if not entirely, by degrees of resemblance. Man is the starting point of this system; he is the most finished organism, yet also the lowest because he is the most dependent and least mysterious.

An organism—whether real or imaginary—is believed to be related to man and mortal in direct proportion to how much it resembles him. Conversely, the more mysterious an entity is, the more it is considered removed from man, more advanced, powerful, and immortal. Consequently, animals are considered more closely related to man than are the gods because they are mortal and possess physical organs and functions similar to his. However, animals are also considered closer to the gods than man is, because animals are more mysterious, possessing specific instincts and powers that man does not naturally have. Furthermore, natural elements and phenomena are considered more closely related to the higher gods than are animals because they are more mysterious, powerful, and immortal.

Because of this—and due to the confusion between subjective and objective reality—any natural element or phenomenon believed to possess a personal existence is endowed with a personality similar to the animal whose behavior it most resembles. For instance, lightning is often given the form of a serpent (with or without an arrow-pointed tongue) because its path across the sky is serpentine, and its strike is instantaneous and destructive. Yet, it is called Wí-lo-lo-a-ne, a word derived not from the name of the snake, but from its most obvious trait: its gliding, zigzag motion. For this reason, the serpent is considered more closely related to lightning than to man.