Weekly commercial herald. (Vicksburg, Miss.) 1884-18??, 1885-12-18
A BARBARIC DANCE.
A STRANGE CEREMONY WITNESSED
IN A MooUl PUEBLO.
A from'scuous Throng of Zlnis, Nava,
JOS and Moqnis--Introduetory Per-
Blood Curdlin; Spec
tacle-" snake Dance"


Covering the housetops and seated uDo,
every available ladder was gathered
pfomlscuous throng: Zunis, from thci
village lar TO the southwark: Nava o.
from their reservation near by: MoGui
from the pueblos on the three other mesas
near TO the one o. which we we're. anC
the dWellers of the town, whose house,
we had been exploring. The costume,
Were quaint and often purely Indian
Dright-red blankets, gathered Gracefully
about well-made forms. being the mos
conspicuous part of the dress. thouch
he children were clothed only in such
garments as nature had provided.
At last when the red hot sun had sunk
nearly to the tops of the blue. hued San
FRANCISCO mountains visible in the dis.
lance across the sca-like plains. the dance
began and the eyes of all present
were fastened upon the little in
closure at oursfeet. First to make their
APP earance were fifteen dancers, who
marched in single file into the square and
then began a rather monotonous walk
around a huge. time carved pillar of stone.
Iheey were hideously painted from head
10 1901 and naked except for a tunic of
reddlsn cloth worn about the waist. Each
man wore a foxskiD dangling down be
hlnG and fastened to his tunic and carried
arattIe made OF a GOurd covered with n
piece OF dried skin. All were provided
WIN baskets containing sacred meal, and
wore Strings OF antelope hoofS about their
ankles, so that every step produced a
tattllng sound; The long, bushy hair of
Vhe men was filled with eagle feathers.
PRELIMINARY PERFORMANCE.
In front of where | stood was a bower
made Ut cottonwood trees, and in this
the snakes that were to be used had heed
placed a short time before the
began. AS the first dancers passed tbiS
!hey stamped sharply on the ground and
7 Sprlnkled a handful Of meal, after which
" line was formed before the bower and a
song and dance given, which consisted of
SLOW movement of the body sidewise. a
ellght raising of the foot, and the utter.
ance OF snort. dog like banks, accompanied
ny tne sound gil en- by the rattles The
chleI attraction which this so.called dance
whlcn is always given by Pueblo Indians
mas Is the unison with which the nor.
m move The action grows more
vigorous as the time passes, and at length
the excitement caused the men to raise
tneir voices TO a key that is high. pitched
Shrill and extremely weird.
AS this particular dance was at its HEIGHT
another party, numbering over ffty in
all, filed rapidly into the Enclosure and
began q brisk march around the yellow.
hued rock, near which so manv cprc.
monies have been held during the nm.
known centuries that the snake dance has
been held. They were dressed in nearly
similar style to their predecessors, but
their faces and bodies were more thickly
painted, and, instead of meal and
rattles, they carried wands made of
eagle feathers. These were the
chief performers of the day, and
their advent was hailed with rapturous
delight by the assembled people Finish.
ing their march, they formed in line op-
psite the first party, now boisterousfy
dancing and singing, and began, them
selves, the wild chant and slow lifting of
feet. The spectacle now presented was
weird in the extreme, the half.naked and
painted bodies Of the men contrasting
strangely with their rudely made orna
mentS and the shrill notes of the song ris-
ing high above the plaudits of the people.
H SNAKE DANCE" BEGINS,
And now the snake dance began in
earnest. At a given signal the members
OF the second party made a rush for the
bower containing the snakes, and in a
moment each performer had provided
himself with a living, rafting. Kissing,
biting snake. Grasping the hideous rep
tile between his teeth and holding it
firmly the dancer began a slow walk
around the standing stone. In time there
wcro fifty men thus decorated. and, in a
long file, they began moving slowly about
tended by an Indian who brushed
the reptiles head with his eagle, feather
wand AS the dancers passed a
certain point where stood a group of
Indian maidens, dressed in bright-red
shawls, and with their hair festooued
about the heads in curious coils, they
were deluged with sacred meal.
Now and then a snake got away and
ASeused a general stampede among the
Dkers on, and often a man was severely
45itten by the savage monster that he held.
For fully half an hour the hideous sport
went on. the dancers growing every
moment more excited and the song of the
first party louder, while before us were
the twisting forms of the snakes, lashing
themselves around their captors' necks
biting, squirming, kissing. The spectacle
was barbaric in the extreme, blood.
curdling to look upon, disgusting to
think about. There were ever 100 snakes
altogether, and among them were the
most venomous known in the country.
They are caught during the four days
preceding the fete, and the dance is com-
monty supposed to be part of a religious
ceremony Of great antiquity.
After the dance ended the snakes were
thrown together in a common pile, where
they twisted and turned, and later, at a
signal, a second rush was made and again
each man secured one or more reptiles,
which he held in his hand, and with
which he ran rapidly down the mesa's
narrow trail to the valley below, where
the snakes were set at liberty.