g an inclosure in which stands a
log of fossil wood.

The ceremonials at Old Walpi in the New-fire rites are described in my
account[44] of this observance, and from their nature I suspect that
the essential part of this episode is the deposit of offerings at this
shrine. The circuits about the old ruin are regarded as survivals of
the rites which took place in former times at Old Walpi. The ruin was
spoken of in the ceremony as the _Sipapueni_, the abode of the dead who
had become _katcinas_, to whom the prayers said in the circuits were
addressed.

KUeKUeCHOMO

The two conical mounds on the mesa above Sikyatki are often referred
to that ancient pueblo, but from their style of architecture and from
other considerations I am led to connect them with other phratries of
Tusayan. From limited excavations made in these mounds in 1891, I was
led to believe that they were round pueblos, similar to those east of
Tusayan, and that they were temporary habitations, possibly vantage
points, occupied for defense. Plate CVI illustrates their general
appearance, while the rooms of which they are composed are shown in
figure 253. At the place where the mesa narrows between these mounds
and the pueblos to the west, a wall was built from one edge of the
mesa to the other to defend the trail on this side. This wall appears
to have had watch towers or houses at intervals, which are now in
ruins, as shown in figure 254.

[Illustration: BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY

SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. CVI

THE RUINS OF KUeKUeCHOMO]

[Illustration: FIG. 253--Kuekuechomo]

The legends concerning the ancient inhabitants of Kuekuechomo are
conflicting. The late A. M. Stephen stated that tradition ascribes
them to the Coyote and Pikya (Corn) peoples, with whom the denizens of
Sikyatki made friendship, and whom the latter induced to settle there
to protect them from the Walpians. He regarded them as the last
arrivals of the Water-house phratry, while the Coyote people came from
the north at nearly the same time. From his account it would appear
that the twin mounds, Kuekuechomo, were abandoned before the destruction
of Sikyatki. The Coyote people were, I believe, akin to the Kokop or
Firewood phratry, and as the pueblo of Sikyatki was settled by the
latter, it is highly probable that the inhabitants of the two villages
were friendly and naturally combined against the Snake pueblo of
Walpi. I believe, however, there is some doubt that any b