Ceremonial Life
The Zuni have perhaps the most complex ceremonial life of any of the pueblo groups; a situation that may in part have resulted from population consolidation that followed the Pueblo Reconquest. Zuni ceremonial life is controlled by various societies and organizations, including six esoteric cults, twelve medicine societies, six kiva groups, and twelve priesthoods. Like the Hopi, the Zuni have a Cult of the Katsinan, although this cult does not play as major of a role at Zuni as it does at Hopi. This cult has six groups, each with its own kiva and priests, and all boys are initiated into one of these six groups. The Koyemsi, or Mudheads, are associated with the katsina cult. These sacred clowns display a grotesque appearance and uncouth behavior, as a result of their incestuous brother-sister parentage. Mudheads are said to possess black magic, and are considered both entertaining and dangerous.
The Bow Priests are perhaps the most important of the twelve priesthoods. Traditionally, membership into the Bow Priesthood was limited to those warriors who had taken scalps (although the priesthood continues today without this requirement). The Bow Priests were responsible for protecting the Zuni people against both internal and external threats, and as such, the functioned as the executive arm of the Council of Priests. If an individual was charged with a crime, their guilt or innocence would be determined by the Council of Priests but their punishment would be meted out by the Bow Priests, since the Council of Priests were to remain "pure" of heart and removed from such matters. The Bow Priests worshipped Ahayuda, the twin war gods, and they were responsible for caring for decorating and caring for the carved wooden figures made to represent these gods.
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Warshield of the Zuni Bow Priesthood, 1884 Source - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AZuni_bow_priesthood_Symbolic_War_Shield_EthnM.jpg
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Witchcraft among the Zuni was a serious crime punishable by death—a punishment that would, of course, be meted about by the Bow Priests. In the early 1900s, this situation changed when the federal government cracked down on the witchcraft trials and jailed the bow priests. This resulted in a loss of power for the Council of Priests.
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