  Case No. 4: This plaque is made of yucca. The green color is unbleached yucca, the white is bleached yucca and the black color is yucca which has been dyed by using black sunflower seeds. The plaque is called Kochaiinpi (White Meal Plaque), and is woven by a prospective bride for use in the wedding procession. It is hung in the newly married couple’s home afterwards, partly to commemorate the occasion. After the wedding the single-file procession proceeds to the new home which has recently been built by the groom. This procession is led by the bride’s mother who carries on her head a large pottery bowl filled with baked beans. The bride follows next. With both hands she carries a large basket tray stacked with the piki bread (a thin wafer of bread—almost like parchment) which she has made from blue corn meal mixed with sweetened siovi ashes and cooked on a hot stone. Next in line are four male relatives of the bridegroom, each holding a corner of a blanket on which rests the “White Meal Plaque.” The plaque filled and running over with the white meal which the bride had ground earlier. Thus, the young couple start their life together with an ample quantity of food. The spiritual connotation of the basket is this: It is believed that at the time of death an individual’s soul stands on the brink of the Maski (or after world; in this case literally the Grand Canyon). The soul steps onto the “White Meal Plaque,” gently soars over the abyss, and safely descends to the bottom. Thus the soul departs to the abiding place of the dead and forever rests in peace. (See |
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