Rain God of the North (Saiyatasha, Siatasha, or Sayatasha)

Article

One of the members of the Zuni Council of the Gods, Sayatasha, or Longhorn, wears a mask that bears a long sweeping horn. The horn is evocative of the trailing walls of rain and virga that accompany the monsoonal flows that swing around from the North in the American Southwest, making the horned appearance of Sayatasha one associated with life-giving force and deep appreciation, rather than one of monstrosity.

Photo Credit

 
"Siatasha kachina doll, She-we-na (Zuni) culture, late 19th century,"Museum Expedition 1903, (03.325.4630), Brooklyn Museum, is licensed und CC BY.

Published Works
Dance Hall of the Dead (1973)
Term Type
Cultural Reference
Manuscript Occurrences

 
A04 Dancehall of the Dead (02-04) p. 102

A03 The Boy Who Made Dragonfly (06-08) p. 35

References

 
Curtis, Edward S.
     1907   The North American Indian: Being a Series of Volumes Picturing and Describing the
         Indian of the United States, and Alaska. Seattle: E.S. Curtis

Tedlock, Barbara
     1983   Zuni Sacred Theatre. American Indian Quarterly 7(3): 93-110.

Watts, Linda K.
     1997    Zuni family Ties and Household-Group Values: A Revisionist Cultural Model of Zuni
         Social Organization. Journal of Anthropological Research 53: 17-29.