Springfield globe-republic. (Springfield, Ohio) 1884-1887, 1886-01-24
A BARBARiC DANCE.
4 STRANGE CEREMONY W MESSED
IN A MOoJl PUEBLO
A Prom scu su. Thron, of Zinis, NIvs
jos, and Moq ,is - 'tr"d lctnry Yer
formance Blood Cur.lIny Spec
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fChict Neys
Covering the housetops an cred up.r
every available ladler Wa, salic"d {
prumiscuous thrung: unis. ir,m thri
village far 10 the southwark Nava Us
from their reservation near by; Mogu
from the pueL.os ON the three other m,'sas
near to the one on VIII ch We We e a.
the dwellers OF the town. VIII Sc h"ue
We had been eNplor NJ. The Cos,Gme
were quaint ant often purely lnd.an
bright red blankets. IA hered GRACEFUL.
about well made forms being the mos,
conspicuous part Of the dress. ID ,ugL
the children were clothed only in such
garments as nature had pro, i,ied
At last when the red hot sun had sunk
nearly to the tops of the blue hued San
Francisco mountains visible in the dis.
tan G across the alike plains. the dance
began and the eyes Of all present
were fastened upon the little in
closure at our feet First to make their
ADJ earance were fifteen dancers, who
marched in single file into the square and
then began q rather monotonous walk
around huge. tilne. carved pillar Of stone
They were hideously painted from head
to foot. and naked except for tunic Of
reddish cloth worn about the waist Each
man wore . foxskin dangling down be
hind and fastened TO his tunic and carried
Q rattle made Of gourd covered with Q
piece Of dried skin All were provided
with baskets containing sacred meal. and
wore strings Of antelope hoofs about their
ankles. % that every step produced .
rattling sound The long bushy hair Of
the men was filed with eagle featherA
PRELIMINARY PERFORMANCE.
In front Of where I stood was bower
made of cottonwood trees. and In this
the snakes that were to be used had beed
placed q short time before the ceremonies
began. As the first dancers passed this
they stamped sharply on the ground and
sprinkled handful Of meal, after which
o line wss formed before the bower and Q
song and dance given, which consisted Of
. slow movement Of the body sidewise. .
slight raising of the foot and the utter
ance of short dog like barks, accompanied
BY the sound give by the rattlea The
chief attraction which this o-called dance.
which Il always given BY Pueblo Indians,
has b the unison with which the per-
formers nova The action grows more
vigorous as the time passes. and at length
the excitement caused the men to raise
their voices 10 . key that h high pitched.
shrill and extremely weird
As this particular dance was at It's height
smother party. numbering over ffty In
oil. fled rapidly into the inclosure and
began brisk march around the yellow.
hued ROCK. near which 20 many cere-
monies have been held during the un.
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 feathera 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-
posite the first party. now boisterously
dancing and singing. and began. them
selves, the wild chant and slow lifting Of
feet. The spectacle now presented VA
weird In the extreme, the half naked and
painted bodies Of the men contrasting
strangely with their rudely made orna
ments and the sbrili notes Of the song ris-
ing high above the plaujits Of the people
THE SNAKE DANCE" BEGINS.
And now the, snake dance began iu
earnest At given signal the members
of the second party made q rush for the
bower containing the snakes, and in q
moment each performer had provided
himself with Q living, rafting. Kissing.
biting snake. Grasping the hideous rep.
tile between bis teeth and holding II
firmly the dancer began q slow wall
around the standing stone In time thers
wero fifty mon thus decorated. and. In Z
long file. they began moving slowly abou,
the open square, each snake holder beina
tended BY an Indian Who brushed
the reptiles head with his eagle feathei
wand A. the dascea passed {
certain point whore stood q Rroup OF
Indian msidens, dressed in bright red
shswlAL and with their hair festooued
about The heads In curious coils, they
Now and then n snake rot avay and
caused a general stampede among thl
lockers on. and often man was severely
bitten BY the savage monster that he held
For fully half an hour the hideous spor'
went on, the dancers growing every
moment more excited and the song Of ths
first party louder. while before us wers
the twisting forms Of the snakes. lashinl
themselves around their captors' neck
biting. squirmine. hissinG The spectacle
was barbaric in the extreme. blood
curdiiDg to look upon, disgusttng 4
think about There were ever 100 snake
altogether. and among them were th'