River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1883-09-13
The WOOing of Montezuma.
Santa Fe. On. NJ Correspondence of Kansas
City Times.

ates the history as well as religion of the
Indian. 1t is a drama, lyrical repre-
sentation Of important events in the his
tory of a rude and uncultivated people
that have no better means of perpetual
ting their deeds than through tradition
airy recitals and common folk lore.
Zuni Cushing tells me the cochita
dance has 125 different representations.
The movement is grand, and it requires
lays of preparation. Not 50-perhaps
not dozen-white men have ever seen
It danced. The Indians will not repeat
| it except at stated Intervals, for the rea-
son that it is apart and the most COM
memorative part, of important
religious ceremonies. Cushing him
self, though he is war chief,
and recently admitted to the sa-
cred order of the Row, could not induce
the Zunis to repeat this dance in pubic
at the Tertio-Millennial anniversary.
| Through the officers of the association
he offered the Indians 100 silver dollars
if they would dance the cochita, but
they persistently refused. There are
| many dances common to all the tribes,
| but most tribes have dances peculiar to
themselves, and some are more valuable
in the perpetuation OF the history the
religion, the ceremonies, the daily life
| Of the people than all other agencies
combined. SO much for the Indian dance
| in general.
Here | have witnessed a new revela-
ton in the history of this strange people.
| have seen dances different from any
that | have seen during the last % years.
| The one that inpreSse5 me quite as
| much as any other Is the Wooing of
| Montezuma. The characters are Quel-
| larotle,, Monarka, Montezuna, his love
| ly bride, Malinche, enormously and far
! less POLITICALLY printed on the bills
KCegna) the court jester, Tongno; Tau
rus, (the hull,) courtiers, attendants and
| officers. A1onteZu ma, as every lntelH-
gent reader knows. is the savior, the
Socrates, the Confucius of the Mexicans.
! His birth runs back into the
| mystic records Of myth and tradition
| the great MonteZuma, | mean. But
| Montezuma, like all good men and great
gods, loved more fortunately than many
| others-he loved both wisely and well.
| He wooed and won, and experiences
quite as many difficulties in the job as
| the rest ofus. Twas ever thus; women
''coy and hard to please" So found
| the monarch lover in his persistent and
delicate wooing of the reluctant but love-
lv Malinche. The drama dance COM
memorates and represents the valor,
patience and sublime herolsm of the
great lover; the attempts OF the ugly
and cloVnish Taurus to captivate the
fair maiden; the struggles of the court
iers; each for himself, with wooing and
Winsome manners to captivate the charm
ing and beautiful Indian girl. In trial
Of most experts and most sklllful dane
Ill H.
iers. The blusbing and beautiful Mai
niche Yields, and Montezuma is proud
er, happier than when he had conquered
ali surrounding tribes and founded the
great city of Mexico, with it's mag
nihcent gardens, Its wonderful.
plazas, its great mar
ket place, its royal buildings, its foun-
tains and aqueducts, its splendid roads, |
and all these lonely years before the ar
rival of the blood-thirsty and gold |
crazel Spaniard, and before the hen had |
laid the egg that Columbus made to stand |
in the presence of the princes. 1t is, of |
course. a national dance, and dates in
history back into the misty traditions of |
mythical history. The Aztec gods, it is |
said, revealed it to the Pueblo Indians. |
1t took Just one hour and half by my |
watch to render the dance poem. 1t |
was skillfully. maiestically, beautifully |
rendered. The dancers were both Mex |
leans and Pueblo Indians. The number |
performing was u, not including the fair |
Lupeta ArChuletta, representing the |
ovely bride, and the manly Francisco |
1omeZ, personating the monarch lover, |
The great Montezuma. The mother of |
The bride is Pueblo and the father |
Mexican. Our waiting and anxious |
5eaIx not infrequently think their fair |
1ulcineas are long time preparing |
their toilets for extra occasions, but |
Cushing tells me the Zuni are fully eight
days preparing for the cochlti dance.
You see their time is not much more |
valuable than that of our average fash |
onahe young lady. Then too, they are |
very deliberately dressed, paradoxitally |
rs it may seem, when not dressed at all. |
One can be much dressed with very |
light dress, as the Zuni and the fashion |
able lady at the bali each illustrate. The |
Zuni may be naked to the waist and not |
even wear Cinderella slippers, and yet |
days may be spent in ornamenting, dec |
nTating and painting the body and face. |
The w0oing of MOntezuma Is danced by |
Y chiefs. On the occasion retired 10 |
they empha1eally mingled and blended |
the ancient and modern civilization III |
the general features Of the dance. Some |
enterprising clothing merchant had pre- |
SGiliCA lIlCul VII IL II GilSdlt par Vi Btltittt
looms and q vest each. With these still |
retaining the salesman'S card-mark for |
ornament, calico shirt, Navajo or Iu- |
Iii blanket, silk veil worn as a mask, |
Inl brand new cowhide shoes richly or |
namented and highly decorated, the |
dancers were arrayed. They had their |
attendants to arrange their endless |
imoul of ribbons in bright colors, pen
liant from the head and shoulders. |
Their faces were highly painted, though |
masked.
The monarch lover, Montezuma, was
Of course, more gorgeously arrayed. His |
crown was particularly noticeable and
candy. Each dancer carried led silk |
handkerchief, more conspicuous than |
senator Thurman's in each hand, the |
)ne in the right hand having a few |
stones tied up in it, which, with con
slant, regular and mouotonous move
menu, kept rafting time with the music. |
They started from the annex. literally |
dancing time to the music that followed. |
Consisting of the violin and guitar played |
" Mexicans, out to the arena. Here |
h dance was given. Hundreds of peo- |
ole crowded around the low fence that |
.nclosed the arena. Other hundreds |
IN from he roofs of the state house and |
.dioining buildings. The arena was |
spacious and gave full advantage to the |
lancers to do their best. The witches |
md ghosts in the old churchyard |
danced with no more zeal and fury for |
fam O'Shanter than did the Zuni for |
heir large audience. Dancing around |
he may. pole concludes the ceremony.
Each of the II chiefs hold one of the |
long ribbons attached to the pole and |
they dance around the pole until the |
gibbons are thoroughly twisted. Then |
the dancing is reversed and the ribbons |
untwisted. When this was done they |
asked the crowd, through the interpre |
ter, if the pole was we'll twisted and the |
work was we'll done and we all clapped |
our hands and the Zuni's cup of glory |
was full aud running over. [ forgot to
mention that the lovely bride of Monte
yuma, Lupeta Archuletia, the fair Mali
wehe, was dressed in beautiful white
dress, latest style and very expensive.
Her head was highly ornamented. She
wore a pair of new shoes of Teas Nnably
good material. With so much civiliza-
ton tixings old Montezuma would hard
" have recognized his bride. She car
ried the two brilliant silk handkerehieis
in the same way as the men.
KEEPING THEIR END UP.
| How the Great Vests Marvels are
Apt TO Multiply.
As last Tuesdays west-bound train