The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1881-09-24
An Indian Snake Dance.

Agency, witnessed recently veritable
Moqui snake dance-and thus describes it:
''The Moquis had a procession divided
into two parts, one of the choristers and
gourd -rattlers, and the other of forty eight
men and children, of whom twenty-four
acted as attendants, tanning the snakes
with eagle feathers The horrible reptiles
we're carried both in the hands and in the
mouth. 1t was loathsome sight to see a
long file of naked men carrying these mon
sters between their teeth and trampling
around a long circle to the accompaniment
of funeral dirge of rattles and monoto-
nous chanting After snake had been
thus carried around the circle, it was de-
posted in sacred lodge of cottonwood
saplings covered with buffalo robe, and
its place taken by another. Thus it was
not hard to calculate the number used,
which was not far from one hundred,
rather over than under, and one-haR the
number were rattlesnakes The process
sion entered through an arcade, marching
four times around great circle embrac
ing both the lodge and the sacred rock,
and then formed in two single ranks the
ehoristers facing the sacred lodge. "High
Priest, as | call him, took , station in
front of the sacred lodge and between it
aud the sacred rock, which latter is grim
looking pile of weather worn sandstone.
twenty or thirty feet high, having slight
resemblance to human head. At the
foot of it is a niche, in which is a piece of
black stone bearing q vague appearance of
the human trunk. At the base of this
idol are many votive offerings to propitiate
the deity to send plentiful rains. As the
procession files around the little plaza the
High Priest sprinkles the ground with
water, using an earthen bowl and eagle
feathers as 4 sprinkler. 4 second medi-
cine man twirls peculiar sling and makes
a noise like the falling of copious showers.
When the two lines are halted, facing each
other, the dancers, who are at first provid-
ed with eagle feathers, wave them gently
downward to right aud left, while the
ehoristers shake their rattles, making a
noise like a rattlesnake, and at the same
time sing low and not unmusical chant.
When this is fnished the high priest holds
the bowl toward the sacred lodge, utters
low bus audible prayer, aud sprinkles the
ground again with water. The singing
and feather moving are repeated, aud the
FIRST scene is over.
Nothing at all horrible has occurred as
yet, bu. no time IS lost before the second
part of the ceremony commences. The
choristers remain in their places with the
High Priest, while the dancers, two by two
and arm in arm, tramp with measured
tread in n long circle embracing the sacred
points already mentioned. Your blood
ehiIls as you see held by the men on the
left snakes Of all kinds, all wriggling aud
writhing, while the right-hand men keep
the reptiles distracted by tanning their
heads with eagle feathers. There is no
discount on this part Of the business.
The snakes are carried in the hand aud in
the mouth, and, as | have already said,
some ofthe rattlesnakes were so large lover
6yc feet) that the dancer could not grasp
the whole diameter in his mouth. As the
procession filed past the squaEs the latter
threw corn meal before them on the ground.
These snakes, when thrown to the earth,
showed themselves to be in most eases ex-
tremely vicious, and struck at any one
coming near. In such an event little
eorn meal was thrown upon them, and the
assistants, running up, famed them with
the eagle feathers until they coiled up, and
then they quickly seized them back Of the
head. After all the snakes had been put
under the buffalo robe covering the sacred
lodge, there was another prayer, and the
scene ended.
"The third scene commenced almost i'm
mediately, and was as follows The snakes
were seized By ones, twos, and half dozens
and thrown into the circle, where they
we're covered over with corn meal. \
signal was given, aud number Of aeet
yeung men grabbed the snakes in hand
fuls, ran at full speed down the almost
vertical paths in the face of the mesa, and
upon reaching its foot let them so free to
the north, the south, the east, and the
west. The young men then came back at
a full run, dashed through the crowd aud
on TO one Of the estafas, where we were
told they had to swallow q potion to in
duee eopious vomiting and to undergo
other treatment to neutrailze any bites
they might have received.
"0f one thing l am assured-the Moqui
medicine men know more about snakes
than any people on the earth, the Asiatie
snake eharmers not excepted. The suck
e-s are not rendered harmless in any way,
but | think from what l have seen that
the principal old men who handle the rep
tiles so earelessly are nareotiZed before the
ceremony commences. | was much aston
ished aud delighted not to be repelled
when | sought to enter their estafa. |
not only entered, but remained until had
made rough sketches and written accurate
descriptions of everything | saw, and
saw much | can never forget In one
corner was sort of altar, which | care
fully sketched, while behind it was loath
some mass of not less than one hundred
snakes of different varieties, carefully
guarded by two old fellows who seemed to
be under the influence of narcotic, |
could not learn what. la front of the al
tar was covered earthenware basin. l
asked permission to withdraw the cover,
and saw that the vessel contained four
large sea shells and liquid of some uu-
known composition, ofwhieh the men who
were to handle the snakes drank freely.
Surrounding the altar was double and
triple line of ancient stone implements,
axes, hammers, war hatchets, adzes, and
others, and in the centre of the estafa, half
a dozen or more of the ancient earthen-
ware pipes no longer used except upon ac-
casions similar to this.
FERRETS.