J. Walter Fewkes opens his 1899 monograph with a methodological caveat: an epidemic cut short his planned survey of all East Mesa Winter Solstice ceremonies, limiting his observations to a few Hano altars. This constraint shapes the text's character—it is less a comprehensive report than a fragmentary, precise record of what he could document before withdrawing. Fewkes writes as a salvage ethnographer, noting that Hano's Tanoan inhabitants still spoke their own language and preserved distinct customs, unlike earlier Tanoan arrivals who had merged into Hopi society. The monograph thus captures a moment of cultural persistence, with the author explicitly comparing Hano's situation to that of the Patki people before their assimilation.

Procedural Precision and the Role of the Priest

Fewkes describes the altar-making process with methodical attention to sequence and gesture. The priest Pocine scrapes powder from a soft white stone into a vase, naming the act sowiyauma—"rabbits emerge"—and expresses a wish for stones of other colors corresponding to cardinal points. Objects are first distributed on a meal picture without order, then rearranged. Pocine climbs the kiva ladder to reflect sunlight onto the altar using an angular piece of glass. A line of meal is drawn from the ladder to the altar "with great care," and four feathers are placed at intervals, each named: sikyatci (yellow-bird), kwahu (eagle or hawk), koyoña (turkey), and pociwû. The absence of singing during this procedure is noted as a difference from the other Hano kiva. These details reveal a ritual governed by exacting rules, where each material and action carries specific meaning.

The Sun-Ladder and Tewa Distinctiveness

A wooden slat notched on both edges, called tawa-saka or "sun-ladder," is set upright behind the altar. Fewkes states he has never seen this object in any Hopi ceremony and suggests it may be characteristic of Tewa altars. Miniature imitations are made on the last day of Tûñtai and deposited at a shrine near Sikyaowatcomo, the early Tewa settlement. The prayer-sticks called "ladders" symbolize the means by which the Sun emerges from his house at sunrise. Fewkes explains that in Hopi and Tewa conception, the Sun grows weary as he withdraws south in winter; these ladders are made to aid his rising. He acknowledges that more light will be shed on their significance when more is known about the Tûñtai altars—a candid admission of the limits of his data.

Objects, Materials, and the Great Serpent Cult

The altar incorporates a heterogeneous collection: botryoidal stones, waterworn pebbles, fetishes, a large green stone, gaming reeds, a turkey humerus, a turkey-bone whistle, and a zigzag wooden framework representing lightning. Four turkey-feathers are inserted along the base of a serpent effigy. Fewkes concludes that the Hano priests possess a knowledge of the Great Serpent cult corresponding to the worship of Palülükoñ. The description emphasizes material specificity—the colors, origins, and arrangements of objects—rather than symbolic interpretation. Fewkes refrains from speculating on meanings he cannot verify, noting that his abrupt departure prevented him from witnessing later rites. The text thus remains a meticulous inventory of what was seen, with inferences clearly flagged.

Fewkes's account rewards readers who attend to its gaps and qualifications. The epidemic that truncated his fieldwork, the missing típoni (badge of office) on the altar, and the unobserved later ceremonies all mark the limits of what can be known from this record. The monograph is best read as a partial snapshot—a careful description of one day's altar-making, with the author's uncertainties left visible. Those interested in comparative Pueblo ritual or the history of ethnographic method will find its procedural detail and cultural distinctions between Hano and Walpi particularly valuable.