New-York tribune., 1884-12-28
NEW PUBLICATIONS.
sFRpENT WORSHIP.

Jcd probably by the exahipio vi -.
flushing In his researches among ,ic Gums
Iourke. Of the Sd United states o"V""S, ""s "o 49,
,nves,ieating tho Moqus of Arizona and has sue
~, -, collectina n great deal of curious iniorina-
a. CONCERNING very ancient aud interesting lco-
,,la There IN reason to believe that the ModuS
bay. underaone few material changes since ''o
,imc of the Spanish conquest, and II IN lui'' p"sSF
ho that they have perpelnated to this daS c"S'o"'
aud usagos which antedate the foundation " 'no
rol,ec aud Chichimeo edInces whose RUNS excite
the admiration of the modern hichro'oe''''
They are a strange people, who having w
t,iNd 10 a certain low stage " olVlhH",""
have been arrested thcrci OF perhaps eNhanS'ou !"
that advance, the capabilities of theil race ihoS
cannot bo called saynge'. for they i've III no"s'''
,ul the soil have arts aud industries possess an
a,aho,o,e reliclon and long.csiahlished social
s,s,cm which indicates in its salient points prog
,ess bevond the savage state They are monog'
onous and cxogamy N the rule among thcn III
the choice of wives. Woman occupies dccihcuiN
elevated position among them. III marriage WV
wife owns all the domestic property. She also mp
,ear. Ia exercise the peculiar right of putting away
her I'M hand NJ pleasure. though II does not sccm
that he has the Same right of divorcing her
. The female children receivca thorough edncat'oh
40 far as II goes They arc taught to SPIN weave
bakc. cook, and make their own clothes. They
men sco,n 10 be constant and kind husbands. They
uye IA llif-honses OF the familiar kind. 1hey arc
20 some extent Socialists, having no hxcd iahn
,enutc rhcy store up grain against famine sea
,ons cach family having its separate gfanary onlY
nossessofy right to land IL rccognized ana his Is
,o,litlo,ei npon actual tilage They have Hooks
of shecp fruit orchards and cotnnclds lhcy use
no less than Thirty Varieties OF fasinaceoh' iQoQ
iheit cookery Is vctt pooi. e'recih'ly then
neth6as 81 dtcs5he iheat. lhey nave beside sheep,
.aAta aNd aonkets soriN edWs ANA hoiscs ANA
.cNt, K, b8pa ehleRSHs ana thteets. slitet inohet
4 ihAf 8At tHtfchtt. lhet ttanhactnl'
taAilFs aHa Brales B8ttSft " tuthst ~.
.ep8f tlna a8Hiss,le iNfititthts e'n'h
aSa blspkfi5 iAsY Wake r8 etMHiriifs btt
ifgaV pRFehaae if8m thef HelRhb8fs: ih'8 hts
tayAieQAs R ms e&lfeWs, {NSiiatiNr HNh '''tf',
but 10 peaeeable lhai 'fNe( NAte NV ,Nsf
lnoWn % epgase ~ h9sllilles FllN NiN'es " NV
ans since the daie Qf Austrian 0eenpal4h lNp
choice of their dweingpaces and the fhaFaele'
Of their houses indeed testify to their love OF peace
Captain Bourke says: The villages or pueblos OF
the Moauls are seven in number, each bult upon
The crest of a precpIce of sandstone, lmpTeghaoio
10 any assault to be expected from aoorls'na'
foes.n
The chief object of Captain Bourke in visiting
these Indians was to witness the snakc-dahce'
which is held every two years. La carving ou' ihiS
purpose he was successful, and he gives a iuil ac
count of the ceremonial The snakes chlshy en-
ployed are ratleSn lkes. These are caught ana put
in haas some days before the celebration. Then
they are released the floor of one oil the eSWds,
or sacred public buildings aud ere there "herded
by certain venerable Moquis who keep them from
getting away or biting anybody. In the suake-
dance n certain number of the dancers carry the
snakes in their mouths, which they previously MI
with n kind of paste, as is Thought 10 pre-
vent any injury to the snakes from the
pressure Of their teeth. Every snake-pearer
ia accompanied by snakeless comrade'
who engages the snakes attention by strOklng OF
tickling its head with an elge-feathered wand OF
fan. Ii is SAID that the loquls are rarely Di''eh,
though they handle The snakes very iearlessiy ana
freely. The snake.dance Is performed around
sacred lodge or tepec, in winch some tr.ce ol Ioth
stone and tree worship appears ltere Is also
svmboIcal shrinking of the snakes and tho
or,und with a sacred neal. Aftcr the dance the
snakes aIe taken by the young men down 10 the
mesa and there released to tha four corners ol lle
earth The docity of the reptiles Is remai haple'
butCaptaIn Bourko cOudno ascertain whether OF
not they had been drugged.
Thoneh he obtained as much satisfaction on the
subiect of the snakc-dance as his eyes could give
him. his subsequent efforts 10 elicit an explanation
Of i, from the Moqms was failure, aud Therefore
most novel aud trly exnsperaing subject serpent
,yorehip Tho practical ntiiity of the methods
followed bv antlrOpOlogisis. Or perhaps the infol-
ubllity of the problem, ~ stTkingy iluhlihi'n lh
The confusion worse conionndcd which has ioa"li'd
from the study of ophiolnlry. The modern mylhol-
ogists sometimes refer to thclf picdecethpihin iiH
line of research ~ the speculative school, bui cc
tnnly the coniccuros of Tylcr Lnbboek dubri'
nqta Mucf Cos, etc, are ~ nll eH7cniihlh ~ pure
ly speculative ~ any previous attempts W 'Kp'hW
,lds nlmod worldwide cult and II must be- said Of
tie later gictscs also that they are N one tcspcc
les plausible than the earlier ones. since they oX-
clndc without sufficient warrant all suggestions
Of csoiericgn The cadcavor 10 be practical indeed
often leads TO ahsnrdiics as when Mr. Andrew
Ianr i'm his last work. EXPIRE the opinion that
Tho sole object of all Indian snakc-danccs Is TO test
the bravery of the participants, Captain Bourkc
Ia, seen enough among the Moqnis to render II
aiuthlt their snake dance must originally have
been the culumination OF a regular ntiation into
mystery rs elaborate. and quite possibly as signh
cant anl iu OF symbolism, that of EleuSis II s
nlso certain hat an element of aucesor-worship has
bocnne mixed with the original ceremony and It
NAV be- conlcctufcl that this aduteration Is in part
dnc 10 cohfusioh arising ont OF the totcmisin OF
Tho ttiic m ascHptioh oi thbal origin to SHAKES
or mah-shAkes IS. h0Wctet So toinhion atiohg say
hoo ana scml-civiilci pej1les oi wh5ib the COB
alh8Bs aft dltcfse. that h6 tatdihd-itst thlc
Wii Mt an tiG.ealc& AHd thohPh ihi4 shi4ect ias
Ns9l aiMAay aHShlsSa t8 #tatiiit53. " S.HH8t Be
faiA laat " Naa BgeH satishei8f{ t'tifta HN, t5t
i s,fH M8BaB's iAat ARR s&YiaHat8H }st 8Attta
nv Hiiimals'} rs aeSePtsa
8d9Abi t88sHb Y M lH1si9fii8B ha8lt{HNefA
imputeJ 20 sayages W ihQsq WhQ pee}ed thai lAe
symbolism oi the serpept iu ueoppeeiionWlFh eeFpy,
regeneration and spiritual epergl toFped he ke( l9
all ophiolaiy. IN Salyisn aud Nishnaiylsm thus
symbolism has certainly been deyeiopod " com
palatiyey modern times. In ancient Greece ser