Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-01-13
SNAKF-DANCE.
A Horrible Sse1fgiOus Rite of the Soqui
Indians.

tnAil&uS.
The MOqui InAians have peculiar
dance, known as she "Snake-Dance," O
which the Albuquerque Journal gives the
following descTiI tiODs
ssThis dance is religious rite, and only
occurs at long intervals. Eight days be-
fore the time for the dance the men go out
to hunt for the snakes. They take with
them the sacred meal-meal which Is
chanted over, and over whieh the sacred
rods are waved-and the sacred rod, a
stick about five feet long, with fork at
the end. They take every snake which
they find. When they find one they raise
the stick over him; and they watch their
chance, and, when the snake starts to
run, with the speed of the lightning s
fash they seize him behind the head and
carry him to the pueblo, where they put
him into a place called an estufu,
which is hole in the ground about ten
feet deep, eight feet wide, and fifteen feet
long, and which Is covered all over, eX-
cept a round hole In the centre. They
enter the estutu by ladder. As soon as
the snake is left in the estufu, they go out
and hunt for more snakes, when the same
thing is repeated. One-half of the estufu
is raised about one foot higher than the
other, and in this end the snakes are kept
by the snake-herders; in the other is the
altar, which is about six feet square,
painted on the floor in different colOrs,
around which are hundreds of huge SER
penis painted, and at one end OF which is
the snake-gOd, a horrible clay image.
Around the altar, at equal intervals, are
the rain-stakes, thirty-three in number
round stakes one inch in diameter and
eighteen inches long. When one brings
in a snake he goes to the altar, breathes
over one of these rain-stakes, and calls ON
the snake-gOd to bing rain. Should none
come in their own name before noon of the
eighth day, tho thirty three oldest VI
the tribe take the rain-stakes, 90 half
mile to the east, and in. the name of their
squaws implore the rain-gOd to send rain;
and each one digs a hole, lays ia his rain
stake, puts i'll a little sacred meal and
burieS them, and returns at precisely
high noon of the eighth day. All who
have not found any snakes bury their sa-
cred rods with little sacred meal and
return to the pueblo, where all must be
by l O'Clock, where they will wash their
hair with the soap plant, after which all
go the men only into another large estu-
fu, where they go through a series of
chants and singing, and inyOcatiOns TO. an
other god, which is set up at the end OF
the eStufu. After this they drink decOc-
ton prepared from herbs and roots. and
which sometimes makes them very sick.
and which they think will protect them
from the venom Of the snakes should any
bite them, but which will not protect
them, as those who are bitten die. Mean
while the snake-herder is collecting the
snakes, which he says number several
hundred, into sacks; the Tattlesnakes are
put into Duckskin sacks, the others into
common sacks.
The dance ground is a smooth piece of
ground about sixteen feet in diameter. in
the centre of which is the sacred rock: on
one side is the snake-shade, place about
four feet square, with walls on three side
about four feet high, and a curtain hung
in front, in front of which is a fiat
board or stick. At given signal
eighteen men from the second
estutu quickly ascend the ladder
and rush to the dance ground. The snake
herders bring out the snakes and empty
them into the snake-shade, where they
are kept by the herders with sticks The
eighteen men rush three times around the
sacred rock, stopping each time in front
of the snake-shade, and stamping three
times on the board or timber in front oil the
snake-Shade. Eighteen old women and
eighteen maldens form circle around the
outside of the dance-ring, each with dish
of the sacred meal, eighteen other men
rush, each with stick two feet long, on
the end of which are three sacred feathers
tied; they wave them above the snake
loud, kissing sound like the Kissing of IA
serpent. The first eighteen men then form
a line, the right resting close to the snake
shade; the other eighteen form in front of
them; the curtain is quickly drawn aside:
the herder stirs up the snakes with his
stick; all the women shout. The first
man, with the speed of lightning, seIZes a
handful of snakes and grabs them with his
mouth; man the opposite to him seizes him
around the waist with one arm; with the
other hand he waves the stick and teatn-
erS in the face of the snakes to attract
them. The man with his mouth full of
snakes rushes madly around the ring,
supported by the other one as partner
who is waving the stuck and feathers ali
the time. AS he passes the women. each
one throws the sacred meal on the snakes.
Meanwhile each man is seiZing a handful
of snakes and putting them III his mouth
1t all being done in a moment, each. one
having b S partner with the feathers. and
all rushing around; the snakes writhing
in cOntOrtiOns, the rattlesnakes rafting,
the cOpperhead and bull snakes kissing;
the women shouting and throwing sacred
meal; the whole forming one OF the most
revolving and unearthly sounds and sights
that man ever beheld. They rush
around the ring three times, when the
snakes are dumped by the sacred rock.
He says he saw one man with five snakes
in his mouth, one of which was rattle
snake four feet long. One rattleSnake
caughtOne Ofthe men by the neck; h s part
ner selzedi it by the head and picked it back.
Another caught a man by the side of the
head and could hardly be jerked back. If
the snakes are not all taken out of the
snake-shade, another lot go through the
same thing until all the snakes are carried
three times around the ring.
At the conclusion of the dance the
eighteen maidens form a ring with the
sacred meal about six feet in diameter;
the eighteen old women form two lines
across the ring at right angles with the
sacred meal; every man who can get one
catches snake, throws il into the ring,
and herders keep them there until the sun
is just out OF sight, when every man again
PUSHES into the ring, seizeS a snake, and
all run as fast as they can towards the
four points of the compass for half mile,
when they are prOpped up and let go, and
all return to the dancing ground, where
they wave the sacred rod over the men
who are bitten, chant, and invoke the
snake-gOd to save them. And so ends this
trightful and horrible Orgie. OF course
those who are bitten die; but the only
wonder is that so few are bitten, as many
of the snakes are rattlesnakes.
Emperor wilhelm at the Opera.