e men present join in the singing under the leadership of the
shaman, who does not himself sing, but only starts each song. The women
never sing at these gatherings, although on other occasions, when they
get together by themselves, they sing very sweetly. It is quite common
to hear a primitive kind of part singing, some piping in a curious
falsetto, others droning a deep bass.

The songs are addressed to each of the cardinal points, because in the
Navaho system different groups of deities are assigned to each of these
points. The Navaho also makes a distinction between heavy rain and light
rain. The heavy rain, such as accompanies thunderstorms, is regarded
as the "male rain," while the gentle showers or "young rains," coming
directly from the house of Estsanatlehi, are regarded as especially
beneficent; but both are deemed necessary to fertilize. A distinction is
also made between "hard possessions," such as turquois and coral beads,
shell ornaments, and all articles made from hard substances, and "soft
possessions," which comprise blankets and all textile substances, skins,
etc. The Navaho prays that his house may cover many of both hard and
soft possessions.

The songs given above are known as the twelve house-songs, although
there are only two songs, each repeated twelve times. These are sung
with many variations by the different _qacal'i_, and while the builders
are preparing for this ceremony they discuss which _qacal'i_ has the
best and most beautiful words before they decide which one to engage.
But the songs are invariably addressed to the deities named,
Qastceyalci, the God of Dawn, and Qastceqo[.g]an, the God of Twilight;
and they always have the same general significance.

After the "twelve songs" are finished many others are sung: to
Estsanatlehi, a benignant Goddess of the West, and to Yol'kai Estsan,
the complementary Goddess of the East; to the sun, the dawn, and the
twilight; to the light and to the darkness; to the six sacred mountains,
and to many other members of a very numerous theogony. Other
song-prayers are chanted directly to malign influences, beseeching them
to remain far off: to _[)i]ntco[ng]gi_, evil in general; to _dakus_,
coughs and lung evils, and to the _b[)i]cakuji_, sorcerers, praying them
not to come near the dwelling. The singing of the songs is so timed that
the last one is delivered just as the first gray streaks of dawn appear,
when the visitors round up their horses and ride h