to the underworld.

It is said that this lake is located in the. sand hills north of Alamosa, Colorado. How important the kiva was to the Indians of Tyuonyi! Sipapu represented the place of creation and to them it was important in no small way. The cacique of each one of the big

tribal kivas, both Squash and Turquoise, was a direct, representative of the Earth Mother or "Earth Old Woman." But the dweller at Tyuonyi had forgotten something. He, did not realize how tremendously heavy the roof of his big kiva was. He did notEMRTC know that the small pine timbers, the splittings, brush, grass, mud-and dirt would cause the big pine

vigas to bend and sag and crack in the middle. It is a question wheth

• er or not the roof fell in during some important ceremony. The situation had to be remedi
• ed at any rate. Pine poles, nine or ten inches in diameter were cut so they would support the weight of t
• he roof. Six holes were dug in the kiva floor, two under each of the big vigas. Flat rocks w
• ere put in the bottoms of the holes and the ends of the six timbers were inserted and swung into p

lace under the big girders, and driven with heavy rocks into an upright position. The big vigas might have sagged a little-but the ro

of never fell after this time. Flat ston

es were driven tight around the bottoms of the support posts and the holes in which they rested were packed solid with mud and rocks to keep the timbers from slipping." And this was how the prehistoric Indian at Tyuonyi built his ceremonial chambers in which women were not allowed unless requested by the men. There* might have been more than one

roof put on this kiva. The first one could have been laid during the latter part of the fifteenth century. It could have fallen and then been rebuilt. Archae