Strips of buckskin or bits of rope are passed
through these U-shaped cavities, and then over the lower pole of the
loom at the bottom of the extended series of warp threads. The latter
can thus be tightened preparatory to the operation of filling in with
the woof. The kiva looms seem to be used mainly for weaving the
dark-blue and black blankets of diagonal and diamond pattern, which form
a staple article of trade with the Zuni and the Rio Grande Pueblos. As
an additional convenience for the practice of weaving, one of the kivas
of Mashongnavi is provided with movable seats. These consist simply of
single stones of suitable size and form. Usually they are 8 or 10 inches
thick, a foot wide, and perhaps 15 or 18 inches long. Besides their use
as seats, these stones are used in connection with the edges of the
stone slabs that cap the permanent benches of the kiva to support
temporarily the upper and lower poles of the blanket loom while the warp
is gradually wound around them. The large stones that are incorporated
into the side of the benches of some of the Mashongnavi kivas have
occasionally round, cup-shaped cavities, of about an inch in diameter,
drilled into them. These holes receive one end of a warp stick, the
other end, being supported in a corresponding hole of the heavy, movable
stone seat. The other warp stick is supported in a similar manner, while
the thread is passed around both in a horizontal direction preparatory
to placing and stretching it in a vertical position for the final
working of the blanket.
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