Zuni Shalako Kachina

Shalako is a Zuni ceremony occurring during the first week of December. The participants have been practicing all year to perform their duties, seven new houses have been built to welcome the Shalakos (the Giant Couriers of the Rainmakers) and the Longhorns (Rain Gods of the North), and an enormous amount of food is prepared for both residents and visitors. Shalako brings the old year to a close and welcomes the new year, and asks for rain, the propagation of plants and animals, and the health and well being of its participants. It is also a reenactment of various important tribal myths.