DISC-0107 / ITEM-0061

Ko’tikili initiation and guarded mask knowledge

Zuni initiatory fraternities in Stevenson’s account · Zuni Pueblo, New Mexico, United States

Disclosure date: 1904
Date precision: Year
Disclosure method: Academic research
Extent: Partial
Record review: Reviewed

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Restricted material and access

A historical initiation account with whipping, unveiling of human performers and warnings against disclosure.

Material type: Initiatory rite
Restricted to: Novices admitted with godfathers; access to the mask revelation guarded against intruders
Restriction mechanism: controlled_access, violence_or_threat
Stated reason: A reason for restricting access is not established by the inspected passages
Tradition origins: Not recorded

Recorded practice status

Unknown

Status as of: Not recorded
Status claims: Not recorded

Disclosure dates, source publication dates, tradition origins and dates of practice are separate.

What this disclosure covers

Selected Ko’tikili initiation passages at pp. 102–104, including the mask revelation and secrecy threat.

Year identifies the cited publication, not an established earliest-ever disclosure or present-day practice.

The source

The Zuni Indians: Their Mythology, Esoteric Fraternities, and Ceremonies ↗ (SRC-0117; authenticity: Probable)

Author: Matilda Coxe Stevenson
Original publication: 1904
Linked edition: Not recorded
Format: Report
Provenance: academic_fieldwork → archival_collection
Rights of source work: Public domain
Identifiers: ia:thezueniindians00stevrich
Source content hash: Not recorded

Captured the 918-page report scan and Archive OCR. Read selected printed pp. 102–104, 451–452, 457–458, with p. 104 visually checked. The report title page at PDF p. 7 gives 1904, as does Archive metadata; the Smithsonian repository record instead lists 1905. The discrepancy is retained rather than silently treating the dates as identical.

Twenty-third Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology, 1901–1902, report publication 1904. The author labels the Ko’tikili observation as witnessed in 1891 and the Wood-fraternity initiation as occurring in 1892. Selected passages were inspected, not the entire book. Human performers do not independently settle the religious meaning of the personation.

File or recording · Document

Open artifact / recovery route ↗

Artifact ID: ARTF-0026
Inspection: Partial
Inspected parts: Report title page (PDF p. 7); selected printed pp. 102–104, 451–452, 457–458; p. 104 visually checked
SHA-256: 531d725baa3c6b918ea08f3bf21e6d6eb642a3e1110f9539ce6052d246bf3044
IPFS CID: Not recorded
BitTorrent info-hash: Not recorded

Complete 918-page scan captured after a resumed transfer; size matches the Archive manifest. Selected passages only, not the entire report.

File or recording · Document

Open artifact / recovery route ↗

Artifact ID: ARTF-0030
Inspection: Partial
Inspected parts: Selected Ko’tikili and Wood-fraternity passages; compared with PDF text and selected images
SHA-256: d85019c27257d3c7a1051d31d9defa5ac54a0899771e0abc0ee8860332427771
IPFS CID: Not recorded
BitTorrent info-hash: Not recorded

Archive-provided OCR derivative with transcription errors. Hash identifies these text bytes, not the PDF or original manuscript; full-text capture does not mean full inspection.

Claims about this item

These claims may cite other sources for the same restricted item. Supporting and contradicting evidence remain separate.

CLM-0246 · Content

Stevenson distinguishes earlier involuntary childhood initiation from a later initiation around twelve or thirteen that she calls voluntary.

Claim support: Single source
Record review: Reviewed
Period: Ko’tikili initiation labelled by Stevenson as witnessed in 1891, published 1904
Locators: SRC-0117: p. 102
Sources counted as independent: Not recorded

Supporting sources

The Zuni Indians: Their Mythology, Esoteric Fraternities, and Ceremonies ↗ (SRC-0117; authenticity: Probable)

Contradicting sources: none recorded.

Source labels only: neither the terminology nor age establishes informed consent independently.

SRC-0117: Source authenticity is probable; this is separate from the truth of its assertions.
SRC-0117: No source-level content_hash is recorded; linked artifact hashes may identify excerpts, derivatives or metadata instead.
ARTF-0026: Artifact inspection is partial; use only its recorded inspected portions.
ARTF-0030: Artifact inspection is partial; use only its recorded inspected portions.

CLM-0247 · Content

The described initiation includes yucca whipping, with the novice’s back covered and a godfather assisting.

Claim support: Single source
Record review: Reviewed
Period: Ko’tikili initiation labelled by Stevenson as witnessed in 1891, published 1904
Locators: SRC-0117: p. 103
Sources counted as independent: Not recorded

Supporting sources

The Zuni Indians: Their Mythology, Esoteric Fraternities, and Ceremonies ↗ (SRC-0117; authenticity: Probable)

Contradicting sources: none recorded.

Checked the cited passage. This is an attributed historical text/account, with no independent corroboration or current-practice inference.

SRC-0117: Source authenticity is probable; this is separate from the truth of its assertions.
SRC-0117: No source-level content_hash is recorded; linked artifact hashes may identify excerpts, derivatives or metadata instead.
ARTF-0026: Artifact inspection is partial; use only its recorded inspected portions.
ARTF-0030: Artifact inspection is partial; use only its recorded inspected portions.

CLM-0248 · Content

The boys’ eyes are covered during mask removal while attendants guard against intruders; afterwards the novices see the human performers.

Claim support: Single source
Record review: Reviewed
Period: Ko’tikili initiation labelled by Stevenson as witnessed in 1891, published 1904
Locators: SRC-0117: pp. 103–104
Sources counted as independent: Not recorded

Supporting sources

The Zuni Indians: Their Mythology, Esoteric Fraternities, and Ceremonies ↗ (SRC-0117; authenticity: Probable)

Contradicting sources: none recorded.

Printed p. 104 checked visually. This records performer identity and guarded access, not a finding about the truth of spiritual beliefs.

SRC-0117: Source authenticity is probable; this is separate from the truth of its assertions.
SRC-0117: No source-level content_hash is recorded; linked artifact hashes may identify excerpts, derivatives or metadata instead.
ARTF-0026: Artifact inspection is partial; use only its recorded inspected portions.
ARTF-0030: Artifact inspection is partial; use only its recorded inspected portions.

CLM-0249 · Content

The account reports a threat of beheading with a stone knife if initiates disclose the secrets, especially mask knowledge.

Claim support: Single source
Record review: Reviewed
Period: Ko’tikili initiation labelled by Stevenson as witnessed in 1891, published 1904
Locators: SRC-0117: p. 104
Sources counted as independent: Not recorded

Supporting sources

The Zuni Indians: Their Mythology, Esoteric Fraternities, and Ceremonies ↗ (SRC-0117; authenticity: Probable)

Contradicting sources: none recorded.

A reported threat, not evidence that a beheading occurred. The page image was checked.

SRC-0117: Source authenticity is probable; this is separate from the truth of its assertions.
SRC-0117: No source-level content_hash is recorded; linked artifact hashes may identify excerpts, derivatives or metadata instead.
ARTF-0026: Artifact inspection is partial; use only its recorded inspected portions.
ARTF-0030: Artifact inspection is partial; use only its recorded inspected portions.

CLM-0250 · Content

Each initiate receives a rain-maker’s mask as personal property, with burial after the holder’s death prescribed in the account.

Claim support: Single source
Record review: Reviewed
Period: Ko’tikili initiation labelled by Stevenson as witnessed in 1891, published 1904
Locators: SRC-0117: p. 103
Sources counted as independent: Not recorded

Supporting sources

The Zuni Indians: Their Mythology, Esoteric Fraternities, and Ceremonies ↗ (SRC-0117; authenticity: Probable)

Contradicting sources: none recorded.

Checked the cited passage. This is an attributed historical text/account, with no independent corroboration or current-practice inference.

SRC-0117: Source authenticity is probable; this is separate from the truth of its assertions.
SRC-0117: No source-level content_hash is recorded; linked artifact hashes may identify excerpts, derivatives or metadata instead.
ARTF-0026: Artifact inspection is partial; use only its recorded inspected portions.
ARTF-0030: Artifact inspection is partial; use only its recorded inspected portions.

Evidence qualifications

SRC-0117 · source_authenticity_probable: Source authenticity is probable; this is separate from the truth of its assertions.
SRC-0117 · source_without_content_hash: No source-level content_hash is recorded; linked artifact hashes may identify excerpts, derivatives or metadata instead.
ARTF-0026 · artifact_partial: Artifact inspection is partial; use only its recorded inspected portions.
ARTF-0030 · artifact_partial: Artifact inspection is partial; use only its recorded inspected portions.

Reviewed means checked against a source. It does not establish source authenticity, independent corroboration or present-day practice.

Item notes

Scope basis: Stevenson explicitly reports guarded mask removal and a secrecy threat at pp. 103–104. Her voluntary/involuntary labels are retained as source terminology, not independent consent assessments. A threatened punishment is not an established execution.