out his hand far into the air after each stroke.  The dust produced by the rasping, infinitesimal though it be, is powerful in giving health and life.  Now he turns toward the rising Sun, holding out his implements to him; and, quickly rubbing up and down a few times at the lower end of the notched stick, he makes a long stroke from end to end, passing the hand far out from the stick toward the Sun.  By this act, three times performed, he waves Hikuli home.  In the early morning, Hikuli had come from San Ignacio and from Sara-polio, riding on beautiful green doves, to feast with the Tarahumares at the end of the dance, when the people sacrifice food, and eat and drink.  The greatest Hikuli eats with the shaman, who alone is able to see him and his companions.  If Hikuli should not come to the feasts, there would always be on the Tarahumares the breath or stain of sorcery.

Having bestowed his blessings, Hikuli forms himself into a ball, and flies home to his country, accompanied by the owl, who also flies to its shelter at that hour.

The dust produced by the rasping of the shaman in the course of the night is carefully gathered up and kept in a buckskin bag as a powerful remedy for future use.

After the feast everybody has to wash his face and hands, a duty esteemed most important.

Besides hikuli waname ordinarily used, the Tarahumares know and worship the following varieties: 

1.  Mulato (Mammilaria micromeris).—­This is believed to make the eyes large and clear to see sorcerers, to prolong life and to give speed to the runners.

2.  Rosapara.—­This is only a more advanced vegetative stage of the preceding species—­though it looks quite different, being white and spiny.  This, too, must only be touched with very clean hands, in the moral sense, it would seem, as much as in the physical, for only people who are well baptised are allowed to handle it.  It is a good Christian and keeps a sharp eye on the people around it; and when it sees anyone doing some wrong, it gets very angry, and either drives the offender mad or throws him down precipices.  It is therefore very effective in frightening off bad people, especially robbers and Apaches.

3.  Sunami (Mammilaria fissurata).—­It is rare, but it is believed to be even more powerful than waname and is used in the same way as the latter; the drink produced from it is also strongly intoxicating.  Robbers are powerless to steal anything where Sunami calls soldiers to its aid.

4.  Hikuli walula saeliami.—­This is the greatest of all, and the name means “hikuli great authority.”  It is extremely rare among the Tarahumares, and I have not seen any specimen of it, but it was described to me as growing in clusters of from eight to twelve inches in diameter, resembling waname with many young ones around it.  All the other hikuli are his servants.  The reason why so few of these plants are brought to the Tarahumare