As yet the myths of the Hopi have not been systematically1 collected, hence our view of the deeper workings of the Hopi mind is a limited one. No observer familiar with the language has lived with the Good People in order to hear from the wrinkled sages2 the tales of beginnings and the explanations of things that must be stored in their minds, if the fragmentary utterances3 that are extant may give indication. A few myths collated4 principally from the writings of Dr. J. Walter Fewkes are given as examples, displaying the range and depth of the imagination of these Indians.[11]
[11] Since writing this Rev5. H. R. Voth has published a valuable collection of folk-tales and myths. Field Mus. Pub. 96.
In the early days when the world was young, many monsters, most of whom were hostile to man, roamed the earth or infested6 the sky, and particularly harassed7 the Hopi. These monsters were gigantic in size and possessed8 special weapons of tremendous power to assist them in their supernatural craft. Long the people groaned9 under the ravages10 of the [180] monsters, and the time and manner of their deliverance they delight to recount in many weird11 stories during the winter nights by their flickering12 fires of pi?on wood.
In the earth lived the Spider Woman, ancient of days, full of wisdom, and having a tender regard for her people, the Hopi. Born to her from a light-ray and a drop of rain were the Twins; one, the son of light, was the little war-god called the Youth; the other was Echo, the son of the cloud.
The Youth became the savior of the people; his heroic deeds of the old times in slaying14 the monsters cause him still to be held in reverence15 by the Hopi and remembered in their ceremonies.
The conquests of the Twins gave rise to many strange adventures. The transformation16 of the man-eagle by the Twins is a favorite legend of the Hopi.
In the above, in the heart of the sky, lived the Man-Eagle. On the people of the whole earth he swooped17 down, carrying aloft women and maidens19 to his house, where after four days he devoured20 them. The Youth, journeying to the San Francisco Mountains, met at the foot-hills the Pi?on maids dressed in mantles22 of pi?on bark and grass, and here likewise he met the Spider Woman and the Mole24. “You have come,” said they in greeting; “sit down; whence go you?” Then said the Youth, “Man-Eagle has carried away my bride and I seek to bring her back.” “I will aid you,” said the Spider Woman.
[181] She bade the Pi?on maids to gather pi?on gum, wash it, and make a garment in exact imitation of the flint arrow head armor which rendered Man-Eagle invulnerable. So did they, and the Spider Woman gave it, with charm flour, to the Youth. As a spider, then, so small as to be invisible, she perched on the right ear of the Youth that she might whisper advice. Mole led the way to the top of the mountains, but the Pi?on maids remained behind.
When they reached the summit, Eagle swooped down; they got on his back and he soared aloft with them till he was tired. Hawk25 came close by, and on his back he carried them still higher in the sky. When he was weary, Gray Hawk took them and mounted to the heavens with them till he could go no farther, and Red Hawk received the burden; thus, for an immense distance, upward they flew, until the adventurers reached a chasm26 in the sky through which the Youth, Spider Woman, and Mole passed, and saw the great white house in which Man-Eagle lived.
The ladder which led into the house had for rungs sharp flint knives. The Spider Woman advised the Youth, before mounting the ladder, to gather a handful of sumach berries and give them to Lizard27, who received them with thanks, chewed them and gave him back the cud. The Youth rubbed the sharp rungs with the chewed berries and they became dull at once, and he was able to climb the ladder without cutting himself. When he entered the house of Man-Eagle [182] he saw hanging the monster’s flint arrow head armor, on a peg28 in a recess29, and he at once exchanged it for the false armor the Pi?on maids had given him. In another recess he saw Man-Eagle and his lost wife. He called out to her that he had come to rescue her from the monster, and she replied that she was glad, but that he could not do so, as no one ever left the place alive. The Youth replied, “Have no fear; you will soon be mine again.”
The Spider Woman’s charm was so powerful that the Man-Eagle did not hear what was said, but he soon awoke, and put on the imitation flint armor without detecting the fraud. He then for the first time became aware of the Youth’s presence, and demanded what he wished. “I have come to take my wife home,” answered the hero. Man-Eagle said, “We must gamble to decide that, and if you lose I shall slay13 you,” to which the Youth agreed. Man-Eagle brought out a huge pipe, larger than a man’s head, and having filled it with tobacco, gave it to the hero, saying, “You must smoke this entirely30 out, and if you become dizzy or nauseated31, you lose.” So the Youth lit the pipe and smoked, but exhaled32 nothing. He kept the pipe aglow33 and swallowed all the smoke and felt no ill effect, for he passed it through his body into an underground passageway that Mole had dug. Man-Eagle was amazed and asked what had become of the smoke. The Youth, going to the door, showed him great clouds of dense34 smoke issuing from [183] the four cardinal35 points, and the monster saw that he had lost.
But Man-Eagle tried a second time with the hero. He brought two deer-antlers, saying, “We will each choose one, and he who fails to break the one he chooses loses.” The antler which he laid down on the northwest side was a real antler, but that on the southeast was an imitation made of brittle36 wood. Spider Woman prompted the Youth to demand the first choice, but Man-Eagle refused him that right. After the youth had insisted four times, Man-Eagle yielded, and the hero chose the brittle antler and tore its prongs asunder37, but Man-Eagle could not break the real antler, and thus lost a second time.
Man-Eagle had two fine, large pine trees growing near his house, and said to the hero, “You choose one of these trees and I will take the other, and whoever plucks one up by the roots shall win.” Now Mole had burrowed38 under one of them and had gnawed39 through all its roots, cutting them off; and had run through his tunnel and was sitting at its mouth, peering through the grass, anxious to see the Youth win. The hero, with the help of his grandmother, chose the tree that Mole had prepared and plucked it up, and threw it over the cliff, but Man-Eagle struggled with the other tree and could not move it, so he was unhappy in his third defeat.
Then Man-Eagle spread a great supply of food on the floor and said to the Youth that he must eat all [184] at one sitting. The Youth sat and ate all the meat, bread, and porridge, emptying one food basin after another, and showed no sign of being satisfied before all was consumed; for Mole had again aided him and dug a large hole below to receive it, and the Youth was a winner the fourth time.
Man-Eagle then made a great wood-pile and directed the Youth to sit upon it, saying he would ignite it and that if he were unharmed he would submit himself to the same test. The Youth took his allotted40 place, and Man-Eagle set fire to the pile of wood at the four cardinal points, and it speedily was ablaze41. The arrow heads of which the flint armor was made were coated with ice, which melted so that water trickled42 down and prevented the Youth from being burnt, and all the wood-pile was consumed, leaving the Youth unharmed.
The monster was filled with wonder and grieved very much when he saw the Youth making another great pile of wood. Still thinking that he wore his fire-proof suit, he mounted the wood-pile, which the Youth lit at the four cardinal points. The fuel blazed up, and as soon as the fire caught the imitation armor of gum, it ignited with a flash and the monster was consumed. At the prompting of the Spider Woman, the Youth approached the ashes, took the charm in his mouth, and spurted43 it over them, when suddenly a handsome man arose. The Spider Woman said to him, “Will you refrain from killing45 people, and will you [185] forsake46 your evil habits?” The Man-Eagle assented47 with a fervent48 promise, and the Youth, rejoicing, ran to his wife, embraced her, and set free all the captive women wives of the Hopi and other peoples, of whom there were many. Eagle and Hawk carried them to the ground on their broad pinions49.
Over the plains and through the mountains roamed the Giant Elk50. Many times larger was he than an ordinary elk, and an enemy to the Hopi, whom he slew51 with his great horns, laughing at their arrows and flint knives.
No one was safe from this roaming monster, enemy to living beings, so the Twins set out to have a trial of strength and skill with him. As it chanced, the Giant Elk was lying down in a beautiful valley, under the aspen trees of the San Francisco Mountains. Near the house of the Youths was this valley, and as they sought to stalk the Giant Elk the Mole met them and said, “Do not encounter him, for he is mighty52 and may kill you; wait here and I will help you.”
The Mole then excavated53 four chambers55 in the earth, one below another, and made the Twins remain in the upper one. He dug a long tunnel and coming up under the Elk, plucked a little soft hair from over his heart, at which the Elk turned his head and looked down, but the Mole said, “Be not angry, I only want a little soft hair to make a bed for my children.” So the Elk allowed him to continue the plucking. But the Mole took away enough fur to leave the skin quite [186] bare over the heart, and expose the Elk to death. He then returned to the Twins and told them what he had done, and they threw bolts of lightning and wounded the Elk, who sprang to his feet and charged fiercely. But the Twins concealed56 themselves in the upper chamber54, and when the Elk tried to gore57 them his horns were not long enough; again he charged, and thrust his horns downward, but the Twins had safely retreated to the second chamber; again he tried to reach them, but they were safe in the third room. They retreated to the fourth chamber, and when the Elk made another attempt he fell dead.
The Chipmunk58 who had witnessed the fight hurried up, and after thanking the Twins said he had come to show them how to cut up the monster’s body, which with his sharp teeth he soon accomplished59. One of the Twins thanked Chipmunk, and, stooping, he dipped the tips of the first two fingers of his right hand in the Elk’s blood and drawing them along the body of the Chipmunk, made on it the marks which he still bears.
This is the story of how the Twins killed Chaveyo, who was a giant of the old times, clad in armor made of flint and seeking always for people to devour21.
One day the Twins went to a great pool near Mt. Taylor, and soon Chaveyo came there likewise; he knelt down and drank four times, emptying the pool. He then arose and smelt60 the Twins and threw his weapon at them, but one of the Twins sprang in [187] the air and as the weapon passed under him he caught it in his hand. Chaveyo then flung his lightning at the hero, but one of the Twins caught this as he had the weapon. The little war-god now flung his weapon at Chaveyo, but it glanced off his flint shirt. Then the Youth threw the lightning, but it only staggered him. After this they threw more lightning at Chaveyo, which knocked him down and killed him outright61.
Another story tells how the Twins visited the sun.
The Twins lived with Spider Woman, their mother, on the west side of Mt. Taylor, and desired to see the home of their father. Spider Woman gave them as a charm a kind of meal, and directed that when they met the guardians62 of the home of the Sun, to chew a little and spurt44 it upon them.
The Twins journeyed far to the sunrise where the Sun’s home is entered through a canyon63 in the sky. There Bear, Mountain Lion, Snake, and Canyon Closing keep watch. The sky is solid in this place, and the walls of the entrance are constantly opening and closing, and would crush any unauthorized person who attempted to pass through.
As the Twins approached the ever-fierce watchers, the trail lay along a narrow way; they found it led them to a place on one side of which was the face of a vertical64 cliff, and on the other a precipice65 which sunk sheer to the Below (Underworld). An old man sat there, with his back against the wall and his knees [188] drawn66 up close to his chin. When they attempted to pass, the old man suddenly thrust out his legs, trying to knock the passers over the cliff. But they leaped back and saved themselves, and in reply to a protest the old man said his legs were cramped67 and he simply extended them for relief. Whereupon the hero remembered the charm which he had for the southwest direction, and spurted it upon the old man, forcing the malignant68 old fellow to remain quite still with legs drawn up, until the Twins had passed.
They then went on to the watchers, guardians of the entrance to the Sun’s house, whom they subdued69 in the same manner. They also spurted the charm on the sides of the cliff, so that it ceased its oscillations and remained open until they had passed.
These dangers being past, they entered the Sun’s house and were greeted by the Sun’s wife, who laid them on a bed of mats. Soon Sun came home from his trip through the underworld, saying,
I smell strange children here; when men go away their wives receive the embraces of strangers. Where are the children whom you have?
So she brought the Twins to him, and he put them in a flint oven and made a hot fire. After a while, when he opened the door of the oven, the Twins capered70 out laughing and dancing about his knees, and he knew that they were his sons.[12]
[12] From “The Destruction of the Tusayan Monsters,” by J. Walter Fewkes; Journ. Amer. Folk-Lore, April-June, 1895, pp. 136-137.
[189] Dr. J. Walter Fewkes says:
The Hopi, like many people, look back to a mythic time when they believe their ancestors lived in a “paradise,” a state or place where food (corn) was plenty and rains abundant—a world of perpetual summer and flowers. Their legends recount how, when corn failed or rains ceased, culture heroes have sought this imaginary or ideal ancestral home to learn the “medicine” which blessed this happy land. Each sacerdotal society tells the story of its own hero, who generally brought from that land a bride who transmitted to her son the knowledge of the altars, songs, and prayers which forced the crops to grow and the rains to fall in her native country. To become thoroughly72 conversant73 with the rites74 he marries the maid, since otherwise at his death they would be lost, as knowledge of the “medicine” is transmitted not through his clan75, but to the child of his wife. So the Snake hero brought the Snake maid (Corn-rain girl) from the underworld, the Flute76 hero, her sister, the Little War God the Lakone mana. A Katcina hero, in the old times, on a rabbit hunt, came to a region where there was no snow. There he saw other Katcina people dancing amidst beautiful gardens. He received melons from them and carrying them home told a strange story of a people who inhabited a country where there were flowering plants in midwinter. The hero and a comrade were sent back and they stayed with these people, returning home loaded with fruit during February. They had learned the songs of those with whom they had lived and taught them in the kiva of their own people.[13]
[13] The Journ. Amer. Eth. and Arch., Vol. II, p. 152. The Kachina hero in this story would appear not to have brought a wife from this people.
[190] Most of the migration77 traditions are full of mythic elements which have been incorporated with what has often been found to be veritable history. One of these, recounting the wanderings of certain Southern clans78, is given by Dr. Fewkes.
At the Red House in the south internecine79 wars prevailed, and the two branches of the Patki people separated from the other Hopi and determined80 to return to the fatherland in the north. But these two branches were not on the best of terms, and they traveled northward81 by separate routes, the (later settlers of) Miconinovi holding to the east of the (later settlers of) Walpi.
The Patki traveled north until they came to the Little Colorado River, and built houses on its banks. After living there many years the factional dissensions, which seem to have ever haunted these people, again broke out, and the greater portion of them withdrew still farther north and built villages the ruins of which are still discernable not far from the site of the villages their descendants inhabit at present.
The Squash (Miconinovi) also trended slowly northward, occupying, like all their legendary82 movements, a protracted83 period of indefinite length—years during which they planted and built homes alternating with years of devious84 travel. They grew lax in the observance of festivals, and Muinwu inflicted85 punishment upon them. He caused the water to turn red, and the color of the people also turned red; he then changed the water to blue, and the people changed to a similar color. The Snow katcina appeared and urged them to return to their religion, but they gave no heed86 to him, so he left them and took away corn. [191] Muinwu then sent Palulukon who killed rabbits and poured their blood in the springs and streams, and all the water was changed to blood and the people were stricken with a plague. They now returned to their religious observances, and danced and sang, but none of the deities87 would listen to them.
A horned katcina appeared to the oldest woman and told her that on the following morning the oldest man should go out and procure88 a root, and that she and a young virgin89 of her clan should eat it. After a time she (the old woman) would give birth to a son who would marry the virgin, and their offspring would redeem90 the people. The old woman and the virgin obeyed the katcina, and the former gave birth to a son who had two horns upon his head. The people would not believe that the child was of divine origin; they called it a monster and killed it.
After this all manner of distressing91 punishments were inflicted upon them, and wherever they halted, the grass immediately withered92 and dried. Their wanderings brought them to the foot of the San Francisco Mountains, where they dwelt for a long time, and at that place the virgin gave birth to a daughter who had a little knob on each side of her forehead. They preserved this child, and when she had grown to be a woman, the horned katcina appeared and announced to her that she would give birth to horned twins, who would bring rain and remove the punishment from their people. This woman was married, and the twins, a boy and a girl, were born; but she concealed their divine origin, fearing they would be destroyed.
The Patun (Squash) now moved to the Little Colorado, where they built houses and met some of the [192] Patki people to whom they related their distresses93. A wise man of the Patki came over to see them, and on seeing the twins at once pronounced them to be the Alosaka. They had no horns up to this time, but as soon as this announcement was made, their horns became visible and the twins then spoke94 to the people and said it had been ordained95 that they were to be unable to help their people until the people themselves discovered who they were. The Patun were so enraged96 to think that the Alosaka had been with them, unknown so many years, that they killed them, and still greater sufferings ensued.
They again repented97, and carved two stone images of the Alosaka which they painted and decked with feathers and sought to propitiate98 the mother. She was full of pity for her people and prayed to the Sky-god to relieve them. A period elapsed in which their troubles were in great measure abated99.
The Patun then sought to join the Patki clans, but the Patki would not permit this, and compelled them to keep east of Awatobi.
Many ruins of phratry and family houses of the Patun people exist on the small watercourses north of the Puerco at various distances eastward100 from the present village of Walpi. The nearest are almost fifteen miles, the farthest about fifty miles.
Their wandering course was now stayed. When they essayed to move farther eastward, a nomadic101 hunting race who occupied that region besought102 them not to advance farther. Their evil notoriety had preceded them, and the nomads103 feared the maleficent influence of their neighborhood. It would seem, however, that instead of hostile demonstrations104 the nomads entered into a treaty with them, offering to pay tribute [193] of venison, roots, and grass-seeds, if they would abstain105 from traversing and blighting106 their land, to which the Patun agreed.
But these unfortunate wretches107 were soon again embroiled108 in factional warfare109 which finally involved all the Hopi, and the stone images of the Alosaka were lost or destroyed. Famine and pestilence110 again decimated them, until finally the Alosaka katcina appeared to them and instructed them to carve two wooden images, but threatening them that if these images should be lost or destroyed, all the people would die.
Many other but widely divergent legends exist regarding the Alosaka, a number of which are associated with the pueblo111 of Awatobi, which was formerly112 one of the most populous113 Hopi towns. At one time this village experienced drought and famine, and Alosaka, from his home in the San Francisco Mountains, observed the trouble of the people. Disguised as a youth he visited Awatobi and became enamored with a maiden18 of that town. Several times he visited her, but no one knew whence he came or whither he went, for his trail no one could follow. The parents of the girl at last discovered that he came on the rainbow, and recognized him as a divine being. The children of this maid were horned beings, or Alosakas, but their identity was not at first recognized.
Like all the cultus heroes, Alosaka is said, in legends, to have been miraculously114 born of a virgin. His father was the Sun, his mother an Earth-goddess, sometimes called a maiden. Like many gods, he traveled on the rainbow; he lived at Tawaki, the house of [194] his father, the Sun, or the San Francisco Mountains.[14]
[14] The Alosaka Cult71 of the Hopi Indians, by J. Walter Fewkes; American Anthropologist115 (N. S.), Vol. I, July, 1899, pp. 535-539.
There is another tradition of the clans that moved from the southward collected by the late A. M. Stephen from no less a personage than Anowita (p. 208), who was chief of the Cloud people. The tradition is as follows:
We did not come direct to this region [Tusayan],—we had no fixed116 intention as to where we should go. We are the Patki nyumu, and we dwelt at Palatkwabi [Red land] where the agave grows high and plentiful117; perhaps it was in the region the Americans call Gila valley, but of that I am not certain. It was far south of here, and a large river flowed past our village, which was large, and the houses were high, and a strange thing happened there.
Our people were not living peaceably at that time, we were quarreling among ourselves, over huts and other things, I have heard, but who can tell what caused their quarrels? There was a famous hunter of our people, and he cut off the tips from the antlers of the deer which he killed and [wore them for a necklace] he always carried them. He lay down in a hollow in the court of the village, as if he had died, but our people doubted this; they thought he was only shamming118 death, yet they covered him up with earth. Next day his extended hand protruded119, the four fingers erect120, and the first day after that one finger disappeared [was doubled up?]; each day a finger disappeared, until on the fourth day his hand was no longer [195] visible and the old people thought that he dug down to the underworld with the horn tips.
On the fifth day water spouted121 up from the hole where his hand had been and it spread over everywhere. On the sixth day, Palulukona [the Serpent Deity122] protruded from this hole and looked around in every direction. All the lower ground was covered and many were drowned, but most of our people had fled to some knolls123 not far from the village and which were not yet submerged.
When the old men saw Palulukona they asked him what he wanted, because they knew he had caused this flood; and Palulukona said, “I want you to give me a youth and a maiden.” The elders consulted and then selected the handsomest youth and fairest maid and arrayed them in their finest apparel, the youth with a white kilt and paroquet plume124, and the maid with a fine blue tunic125 and white mantle23. These children wept and besought their parents not to send them to Palulukona, but an old chief said, “You must go; do not be afraid: I will guide you.” And he led them toward the village court and stood at the edge of the water, but sent the children wading126 in toward Palulukona, and when they had reached the center of the court where Palulukona was the deity, the children disappeared. The water then rushed down after them, through a great cavity, and the earth quaked and many houses tumbled down, and from this cavity a great mound127 of dark rock protruded. This rock mound was glossy128 and of all colors; it was beautiful, and, as I have been told, it still remains129 there.
The White Mountain Apache have told me that they know a place in the south where the old houses [196] surround a great rock, and the land in the vicinity is wet and boggy130.
We traveled northward from Palatkwabi and continued to travel just as long as any strength was left in the people,—as long as they had breath. During these journeys we would halt only for one day at a time. Then our chief planted corn in the morning and the dragonfly came and hovered131 over the stalks and by noon the corn was ripe; before sunset it was quite dry and the stalks, fell over, and in whichever way they pointed132, in that direction we traveled.
When anyone became ill, or when children fretted133 and cried, or the young people became homesick the Coiyal Katcina (a youth and a maiden) came and danced before them; then the sick got well, children laughed, and sad ones became cheerful. We would continue to travel until everyone was thoroughly worn out, then we would halt and build houses and plant, remaining perhaps many years. One of these places where we lived is not far from San Carlos, in a valley, and another is on a mesa near a spring called Coyote Water by the Apache.
When we came to the valley of the Little Colorado, south of where Winslow now is, we built houses and lived there; then we crossed to the northern side of the valley and built houses at Homolobi. This was a good place for a time, but a plague of flies came and bit the suckling children, causing many of them to die, so we left there and traveled to Cipa (near Kuma spring). Finally we found the Hopi, some going to each of the villages except Awatobi; none went there.[15]
[15] Cosmos134 Mindeleff, 13th Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology, pp. 188-189.
[197] The figure of a hand with extended fingers is very common, in the vicinity of ruins, as a rock etching, and also is frequently seen daubed on the rocks with colored pigments135 or white clay. These are vestiges136 of a test formerly practiced by the young men who aspired137 for admission to the fraternity of the Calako. The Calako is a trinity of two women and a man from whom the Hopi obtained the first corn, and of whom the following legend is told:
There was neither springs nor streams, although water was so near the surface that it could be found by pulling up a tuft of grass. The people had but little food, however, and they besought Masauwuh to help them, but he could not.
There came a little old man, a dwarf138, who said that he had two sisters who were the wives of Calako, and it might be well to petition them. So they prepared an altar, every man making a paho, and these were set in the ground so as to encircle a sand hillock, for this occurred before houses were known.
Masauwuh’s brother came and told them that when Calako came to the earth’s surface wherever he placed his foot a deep chasm was made, then they brought to the altar a huge rock, on which Calako might stand, and they set it between the two pahos placed for his wives. Then the people got their rattles139 and stood around the altar, each man in front of his own paho; but they stood in silence, for they knew no song with which to invoke141 this strange god. They stood there for a long while, for they were afraid to begin the ceremonies, until a young lad, selecting the largest rattle140, began to shake it and sing. Presently a sound [198] like rushing water was heard, but no water was seen; a sound also like great winds, but the air was perfectly142 still, and it was seen that the rock was pierced with a great hole through the center. The people were frightened and ran away, all save the young lad who had sung the invocation.
The lad soon afterward143 rejoined them, and they saw that his back was cut and bleeding, and covered with splinters of yucca and willow144. The flagellation, he told them, had been administered by Calako, who told him that he must endure this laceration before he could look upon the beings he had invoked145; that only to those who passed through his ordeals146 could Calako become visible; and as the lad had braved the test so well, he should henceforth be chief of the Calako altar. The lad could not describe Calako, but said that his two wives were exceedingly beautiful and arrayed with all manner of fine garments. They wore great headdresses of clouds and every kind of corn which they were to give to the Hopi to plant for food. These were white, red, yellow, blue, black, blue and white speckled, and red and yellow speckled corn, and a seeded grass (kwapi).
The lad returned to the altar and shook his rattle over the hole in the rock and from its interior Calako conversed147 with him and gave him instructions. In accordance with these he gathered all the Hopi youths and brought them to the rock, that Calako might select certain of them to be his priests. The first test was that of putting their hands in the mud and impressing them upon the rock. Only those were chosen as novices148 the imprints149 of whose hands had dried on the instant. The selected youths then moved within the altar and underwent the test of flagellation. Calako lashed150 them with yucca and willow. Those who made [199] no outcry were told to remain in the altar, to abstain from salt and flesh for ten days, when Calako would return and instruct them concerning the rites to be performed when they sought his aid.
Calako and his two wives appeared at the appointed time, and after many ceremonials gave to each of the initiated151 five grains of each of the different kinds of corn. The Hopi women had been instructed to place baskets woven of grass at the foot of the rock, and in these Calako’s wives placed the seeds of squashes, melons, beans, and all the other vegetables which the Hopi have since possessed. Calako and his wives, after announcing that they would again return, took off their masks and garments, and laying them on the rock disappeared within it.
Some time after this, when the initiated were assembled in the altar, the Great Plumed152 Snake appeared to them and said that Calako could not return unless one of them was brave enough to take the mask and garments down into the hole and give it to him. They were all afraid, but the oldest man of the Hopi took them down and was deputed to return and represent Calako.
Shortly afterward Masauwuh stole the paraphernalia153 and with his two brothers masqueraded as Calako and his wives. This led the Hopi into great trouble, and they incurred154 the wrath155 of Muiyinwuh, who withered all their grain and corn. One of the Hopi finally discovered that the supposed Calako carried a cedar156 bough157 in his hand, when it should have been willow; then they knew it was Masauwuh who had been misleading them. The boy hero one day found Masauwuh asleep, and so regained158 possession of the mask, Muiyinwuh then withdrew his punishments and sent Palulukon (The Plumed Snake) to tell the Hopi that [200] Calako would never return to them, but that the boy hero should wear his mask and represent him, and his festival should be celebrated159 when they had a proper number of novices to be initiated.
The celebration occurs in the modern Hopi pueblos160 in the Powamu ceremony, where the representative of Calako flogs the children. Calako’s picture is found on the Powamu altars of several of the villages of the Hopi.
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1 systematically | |
adv.有系统地 | |
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n.圣人( sage的名词复数 );智者;哲人;鼠尾草(可用作调料) | |
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3 utterances | |
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v.发动机旋转,加快速度 | |
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6 infested | |
adj.为患的,大批滋生的(常与with搭配)v.害虫、野兽大批出没于( infest的过去式和过去分词 );遍布于 | |
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7 harassed | |
adj. 疲倦的,厌烦的 动词harass的过去式和过去分词 | |
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8 possessed | |
adj.疯狂的;拥有的,占有的 | |
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9 groaned | |
v.呻吟( groan的过去式和过去分词 );发牢骚;抱怨;受苦 | |
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10 ravages | |
劫掠后的残迹,破坏的结果,毁坏后的残迹 | |
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11 weird | |
adj.古怪的,离奇的;怪诞的,神秘而可怕的 | |
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12 flickering | |
adj.闪烁的,摇曳的,一闪一闪的 | |
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13 slay | |
v.杀死,宰杀,杀戮 | |
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14 slaying | |
杀戮。 | |
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15 reverence | |
n.敬畏,尊敬,尊严;Reverence:对某些基督教神职人员的尊称;v.尊敬,敬畏,崇敬 | |
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16 transformation | |
n.变化;改造;转变 | |
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17 swooped | |
俯冲,猛冲( swoop的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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18 maiden | |
n.少女,处女;adj.未婚的,纯洁的,无经验的 | |
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19 maidens | |
处女( maiden的名词复数 ); 少女; 未婚女子; (板球运动)未得分的一轮投球 | |
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20 devoured | |
吞没( devour的过去式和过去分词 ); 耗尽; 津津有味地看; 狼吞虎咽地吃光 | |
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21 devour | |
v.吞没;贪婪地注视或谛听,贪读;使着迷 | |
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22 mantles | |
vt.&vi.覆盖(mantle的第三人称单数形式) | |
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23 mantle | |
n.斗篷,覆罩之物,罩子;v.罩住,覆盖,脸红 | |
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24 mole | |
n.胎块;痣;克分子 | |
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25 hawk | |
n.鹰,骗子;鹰派成员 | |
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26 chasm | |
n.深坑,断层,裂口,大分岐,利害冲突 | |
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27 lizard | |
n.蜥蜴,壁虎 | |
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28 peg | |
n.木栓,木钉;vt.用木钉钉,用短桩固定 | |
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29 recess | |
n.短期休息,壁凹(墙上装架子,柜子等凹处) | |
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30 entirely | |
ad.全部地,完整地;完全地,彻底地 | |
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31 nauseated | |
adj.作呕的,厌恶的v.使恶心,作呕( nauseate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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32 exhaled | |
v.呼出,发散出( exhale的过去式和过去分词 );吐出(肺中的空气、烟等),呼气 | |
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33 aglow | |
adj.发亮的;发红的;adv.发亮地 | |
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34 dense | |
a.密集的,稠密的,浓密的;密度大的 | |
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35 cardinal | |
n.(天主教的)红衣主教;adj.首要的,基本的 | |
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36 brittle | |
adj.易碎的;脆弱的;冷淡的;(声音)尖利的 | |
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37 asunder | |
adj.分离的,化为碎片 | |
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38 burrowed | |
v.挖掘(洞穴),挖洞( burrow的过去式和过去分词 );翻寻 | |
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39 gnawed | |
咬( gnaw的过去式和过去分词 ); (长时间) 折磨某人; (使)苦恼; (长时间)危害某事物 | |
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40 allotted | |
分配,拨给,摊派( allot的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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41 ablaze | |
adj.着火的,燃烧的;闪耀的,灯火辉煌的 | |
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42 trickled | |
v.滴( trickle的过去式和过去分词 );淌;使)慢慢走;缓慢移动 | |
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43 spurted | |
(液体,火焰等)喷出,(使)涌出( spurt的过去式和过去分词 ); (短暂地)加速前进,冲刺 | |
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44 spurt | |
v.喷出;突然进发;突然兴隆 | |
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45 killing | |
n.巨额利润;突然赚大钱,发大财 | |
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46 forsake | |
vt.遗弃,抛弃;舍弃,放弃 | |
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47 assented | |
同意,赞成( assent的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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48 fervent | |
adj.热的,热烈的,热情的 | |
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49 pinions | |
v.抓住[捆住](双臂)( pinion的第三人称单数 ) | |
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50 elk | |
n.麋鹿 | |
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51 slew | |
v.(使)旋转;n.大量,许多 | |
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52 mighty | |
adj.强有力的;巨大的 | |
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53 excavated | |
v.挖掘( excavate的过去式和过去分词 );开凿;挖出;发掘 | |
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54 chamber | |
n.房间,寝室;会议厅;议院;会所 | |
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55 chambers | |
n.房间( chamber的名词复数 );(议会的)议院;卧室;会议厅 | |
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56 concealed | |
a.隐藏的,隐蔽的 | |
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57 gore | |
n.凝血,血污;v.(动物)用角撞伤,用牙刺破;缝以补裆;顶 | |
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58 chipmunk | |
n.花栗鼠 | |
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59 accomplished | |
adj.有才艺的;有造诣的;达到了的 | |
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60 smelt | |
v.熔解,熔炼;n.银白鱼,胡瓜鱼 | |
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61 outright | |
adv.坦率地;彻底地;立即;adj.无疑的;彻底的 | |
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62 guardians | |
监护人( guardian的名词复数 ); 保护者,维护者 | |
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63 canyon | |
n.峡谷,溪谷 | |
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64 vertical | |
adj.垂直的,顶点的,纵向的;n.垂直物,垂直的位置 | |
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65 precipice | |
n.悬崖,危急的处境 | |
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66 drawn | |
v.拖,拉,拔出;adj.憔悴的,紧张的 | |
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67 cramped | |
a.狭窄的 | |
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68 malignant | |
adj.恶性的,致命的;恶意的,恶毒的 | |
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69 subdued | |
adj. 屈服的,柔和的,减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词 | |
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70 capered | |
v.跳跃,雀跃( caper的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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71 cult | |
n.异教,邪教;时尚,狂热的崇拜 | |
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72 thoroughly | |
adv.完全地,彻底地,十足地 | |
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73 conversant | |
adj.亲近的,有交情的,熟悉的 | |
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74 rites | |
仪式,典礼( rite的名词复数 ) | |
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75 clan | |
n.氏族,部落,宗族,家族,宗派 | |
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76 flute | |
n.长笛;v.吹笛 | |
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77 migration | |
n.迁移,移居,(鸟类等的)迁徙 | |
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78 clans | |
宗族( clan的名词复数 ); 氏族; 庞大的家族; 宗派 | |
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79 internecine | |
adj.两败俱伤的 | |
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80 determined | |
adj.坚定的;有决心的 | |
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81 northward | |
adv.向北;n.北方的地区 | |
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82 legendary | |
adj.传奇(中)的,闻名遐迩的;n.传奇(文学) | |
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83 protracted | |
adj.拖延的;延长的v.拖延“protract”的过去式和过去分词 | |
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84 devious | |
adj.不坦率的,狡猾的;迂回的,曲折的 | |
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85 inflicted | |
把…强加给,使承受,遭受( inflict的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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86 heed | |
v.注意,留意;n.注意,留心 | |
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87 deities | |
n.神,女神( deity的名词复数 );神祗;神灵;神明 | |
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88 procure | |
vt.获得,取得,促成;vi.拉皮条 | |
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89 virgin | |
n.处女,未婚女子;adj.未经使用的;未经开发的 | |
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90 redeem | |
v.买回,赎回,挽回,恢复,履行(诺言等) | |
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91 distressing | |
a.使人痛苦的 | |
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92 withered | |
adj. 枯萎的,干瘪的,(人身体的部分器官)因病萎缩的或未发育良好的 动词wither的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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93 distresses | |
n.悲痛( distress的名词复数 );痛苦;贫困;危险 | |
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94 spoke | |
n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说 | |
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95 ordained | |
v.任命(某人)为牧师( ordain的过去式和过去分词 );授予(某人)圣职;(上帝、法律等)命令;判定 | |
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96 enraged | |
使暴怒( enrage的过去式和过去分词 ); 歜; 激愤 | |
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97 repented | |
对(自己的所为)感到懊悔或忏悔( repent的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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98 propitiate | |
v.慰解,劝解 | |
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99 abated | |
减少( abate的过去式和过去分词 ); 减去; 降价; 撤消(诉讼) | |
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100 eastward | |
adv.向东;adj.向东的;n.东方,东部 | |
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101 nomadic | |
adj.流浪的;游牧的 | |
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102 besought | |
v.恳求,乞求(某事物)( beseech的过去式和过去分词 );(beseech的过去式与过去分词) | |
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103 nomads | |
n.游牧部落的一员( nomad的名词复数 );流浪者;游牧生活;流浪生活 | |
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104 demonstrations | |
证明( demonstration的名词复数 ); 表明; 表达; 游行示威 | |
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105 abstain | |
v.自制,戒绝,弃权,避免 | |
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106 blighting | |
使凋萎( blight的现在分词 ); 使颓丧; 损害; 妨害 | |
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107 wretches | |
n.不幸的人( wretch的名词复数 );可怜的人;恶棍;坏蛋 | |
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108 embroiled | |
adj.卷入的;纠缠不清的 | |
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109 warfare | |
n.战争(状态);斗争;冲突 | |
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110 pestilence | |
n.瘟疫 | |
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111 pueblo | |
n.(美国西南部或墨西哥等)印第安人的村庄 | |
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112 formerly | |
adv.从前,以前 | |
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113 populous | |
adj.人口稠密的,人口众多的 | |
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114 miraculously | |
ad.奇迹般地 | |
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115 anthropologist | |
n.人类学家,人类学者 | |
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116 fixed | |
adj.固定的,不变的,准备好的;(计算机)固定的 | |
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117 plentiful | |
adj.富裕的,丰富的 | |
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118 shamming | |
假装,冒充( sham的现在分词 ) | |
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119 protruded | |
v.(使某物)伸出,(使某物)突出( protrude的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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120 erect | |
n./v.树立,建立,使竖立;adj.直立的,垂直的 | |
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121 spouted | |
adj.装有嘴的v.(指液体)喷出( spout的过去式和过去分词 );滔滔不绝地讲;喋喋不休地说;喷水 | |
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122 deity | |
n.神,神性;被奉若神明的人(或物) | |
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123 knolls | |
n.小圆丘,小土墩( knoll的名词复数 ) | |
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124 plume | |
n.羽毛;v.整理羽毛,骚首弄姿,用羽毛装饰 | |
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125 tunic | |
n.束腰外衣 | |
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126 wading | |
(从水、泥等)蹚,走过,跋( wade的现在分词 ) | |
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127 mound | |
n.土墩,堤,小山;v.筑堤,用土堆防卫 | |
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128 glossy | |
adj.平滑的;有光泽的 | |
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129 remains | |
n.剩余物,残留物;遗体,遗迹 | |
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130 boggy | |
adj.沼泽多的 | |
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131 hovered | |
鸟( hover的过去式和过去分词 ); 靠近(某事物); (人)徘徊; 犹豫 | |
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132 pointed | |
adj.尖的,直截了当的 | |
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133 fretted | |
焦躁的,附有弦马的,腐蚀的 | |
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134 cosmos | |
n.宇宙;秩序,和谐 | |
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135 pigments | |
n.(粉状)颜料( pigment的名词复数 );天然色素 | |
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136 vestiges | |
残余部分( vestige的名词复数 ); 遗迹; 痕迹; 毫不 | |
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137 aspired | |
v.渴望,追求( aspire的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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138 dwarf | |
n.矮子,侏儒,矮小的动植物;vt.使…矮小 | |
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139 rattles | |
(使)发出格格的响声, (使)作嘎嘎声( rattle的第三人称单数 ); 喋喋不休地说话; 迅速而嘎嘎作响地移动,堕下或走动; 使紧张,使恐惧 | |
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140 rattle | |
v.飞奔,碰响;激怒;n.碰撞声;拨浪鼓 | |
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141 invoke | |
v.求助于(神、法律);恳求,乞求 | |
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142 perfectly | |
adv.完美地,无可非议地,彻底地 | |
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143 afterward | |
adv.后来;以后 | |
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144 willow | |
n.柳树 | |
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145 invoked | |
v.援引( invoke的过去式和过去分词 );行使(权利等);祈求救助;恳求 | |
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146 ordeals | |
n.严峻的考验,苦难的经历( ordeal的名词复数 ) | |
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147 conversed | |
v.交谈,谈话( converse的过去式 ) | |
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148 novices | |
n.新手( novice的名词复数 );初学修士(或修女);(修会等的)初学生;尚未赢过大赛的赛马 | |
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149 imprints | |
n.压印( imprint的名词复数 );痕迹;持久影响 | |
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150 lashed | |
adj.具睫毛的v.鞭打( lash的过去式和过去分词 );煽动;紧系;怒斥 | |
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151 initiated | |
n. 创始人 adj. 新加入的 vt. 开始,创始,启蒙,介绍加入 | |
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152 plumed | |
饰有羽毛的 | |
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153 paraphernalia | |
n.装备;随身用品 | |
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154 incurred | |
[医]招致的,遭受的; incur的过去式 | |
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155 wrath | |
n.愤怒,愤慨,暴怒 | |
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156 cedar | |
n.雪松,香柏(木) | |
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157 bough | |
n.大树枝,主枝 | |
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158 regained | |
复得( regain的过去式和过去分词 ); 赢回; 重回; 复至某地 | |
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159 celebrated | |
adj.有名的,声誉卓著的 | |
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160 pueblos | |
n.印第安人村庄( pueblo的名词复数 ) | |
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