<p id=&quot;d0e7017&quot;>The people of Santa Teresa and San Francisco, at certain rain-making feasts, fashion a large locust (<i>chicharra</i>) out of a paste made of ground corn and beans, and place it on the altar. In the morning, after the dancing of the mitote, it is divided among the participants of the feast, each eating his share. This is considered more efficient even than the dancing itself.</p>
<p id=&quot;d0e7022&quot;>It is evident that the religious customs of the ca&ntilde;on of Jesus Maria are on the wane, mainly because the singing shamans are dying out, though curing shamans will remain for centuries yet. As the Indians now [526] have to perform their dances secretly, the growing generation has less inclination and little opportunity to learn them, and the tribe&#39;s ritual and comprehensive songs will gradually become lost.</p>
<p id=&quot;d0e7026&quot;>My shaman friend in San Francisco complained to me that the other shamans did not know the words of the songs well enough. Tayop (Father Sun) and the other gods do not understand them, he said, and therefore these shamans cannot accomplish anything with &quot;los se&ntilde;ores.&quot; It was like sending a badly written letter: &quot;the gentlemen&quot; pass it from one to another, none of them being able to make out its meaning.</p>