San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1888-09-07
CELEBRATING THE FEAST OF a
SAINT IN NEW MEXICO.

-
San Buena Ventura de Cochiti-A Gu
rious Dance of Mystic Meaning-Ths
Movements.
Two hundred mounted Pueblos, aligned as
perfectly as a crack cavalry regiment on
parade, formed three sides of a hollow
square The fourth side was the high wall
of the old church yard, now buried under a
drift of expectant humanity. Pueblos from
Santo Domingo, San Felipe, Isleta, San
Juan, Nambe, Tesuque, Pojoaque, and even
distant Acoma; Navaioes from the western
end of the territory, four Americans" and
forty or fifty neighboring Mexicans were
among the crowd. Close by the cross over
the gate was the long, faded robe and the
beautiful, classic face of the priest from
Pena Blanca, whose delicately chiseled
Gallo features looked anachronistic enough
among those swarthy proselytes He had
held mass in the old church that morning,
and now the first dance of the day was to be
ell faile del padre, in his honor.
We had not long TO wait Directly the
puml pun! pun! of huge yellow tomtom,
big as mature beer barrel, came around the
corner of the church, presently followed by
the tomtom itself and its athletic prosecutor.
Around the drummer clustered the chorus
a dozen men in snowy shirts and with snowy
drawers descending into the embrace OF
beautiful brown buckskin calzones, which
also covered the tops of their moccaslns.
They were chanting loudly a weird refrain
in the Juerez tongue, keeping perfect time
with feet and arms They were closely
followed by the dancers-a strange and
grotesque half hundred, truly. At their
head marched the bearer of the holy Flag OF
the Sun. He was stalwart aboriginal gen
tleman, clothed upon with all the pomp and
circumstance of a st. Louis drum major, but
without the ramrod which is popularity sup
posed to stiffen the spine of that awful dig
nitary The banner was priceless bit OF
work in beaded bucbskin; bearing, with its
pole, the general shape of gigantic feather,
and fringed and tufted at sides and top with
eagle feathers. The dancers were equally
divided as to sex, and an attractive set IN
face and form The women wore their usual
modest dress to the knees, but had omitted
their everyday buczskin boots and mecca
sins, and their shapely shins and arms were
bare. Their beautiful black hair, carefully
combed hung down their backs, unrestrained
by ribbon or ornament. Around their nechs
they wore dazzling profusion of necklaces,
costly corals, silver beads alternating with
silver crosses and long strings of priceless
turquois-their proximity to the only tur-
Quois mine in the Western hemisphere stands
them in good stead-were a dozen strands
deep on those pretty brown necks. Their
heavy Jet bangs-the AZtecs were banging
their hair before Cortez sailed from Spain
waved as they came hopping along on alter
nate feet. Each had a bright vermilion
patch on either cheek bone, and each held in
either hand sprig of sacred cedar. But
the most remarkable feature of the female
half of the ballet was the headdress. Over
the middle of her crown, each woman wore
a board, fitted to her head, and rising eigh
teen inches above it. The board was bright
with an ornamental top and capital T sawed
out of the middle. The project ions at the
top of the board were prettily tufted.
The men were more picturesquely arrayed
Each was naked to the waist, and painted
over the trunk and arms with dull blue
Around the waist and falling nearly to the
knees was an elaborate dancing skirt woven
of mouse colored stuff. handsomely decked
with bead work, and with fine macreme
sash pendent on the right side To this skirt,
behind, was attached beautiful fox skin,
with its long brush dangling nearly to the
ground. The moccasins and leggins COM
pl2ted the dress but there were further ac-
cessories Each man had fastened to the top
of his head q little bunch of feathers or a
sprig OF cedar: each had around his hiceis
four-iMch ar.nlet of buckskin painted green
and white, and several Skens Of bright warn
and strings of sleigh bells were tied around
the calzones Just below the knee. None of
them We're facially painted, none had the
customary headkerchief or queue, nor the
every day white cotton drawers Each held
in'his left hand a branch of evergreen, and
in his right a rattle, made of a dry gourd,
with q wooden handle Over their bare
chests ratified beads only less prodigal than
those worn by the women. The men were
all young or youngish and, as a rule, very
good looking fellows. At the rear the pro-
cession tapered down to half a dozen bows
and girls the smallest not over years old,
but dressed just like their elders, and equally
expert in the intrlcacies Of the curious
dance
When the fifty dancers were all inside the
square, in long row by pairs-frst two
women and then two men-they ceased their
advance, which had been made at madding
pace of half mile per hour, but continued
to mark time, as an army man would say,
to the unfaltering bump of the yellow drum
and the long winded sing song of the chorus
The step, whether advancing, retreating OF
standing still, is the samoa simple variation
Of the universal hop jump remembered by
every one who has ever seen an aboriginal
dance anywhere. Stsrti-Z, on ti9toe. 10
iContlnued on next page.l