The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1888-02-11
A BARBARIC DANCE.
A STRANGE CEREMONY WITNESSED
IN A MOQUI PUEBLO.
A Promiscuous Throng of Zunis, Nava'
jos, and Observation-Disclosures Per-
formance-BIood-C urdIing Spec
tacIe-" Snake Dance"
TChicago News. ]

Covering the housetops and seated upon
every available ladder was gathered q
promiscuous throng; Zunis, from their
village far to the southwark: Nava ios,
from their reservation near by; MoquIs
from the puebloS on the three other mesas,
near to the one on which We we're, and
the jewellers of the town, whose houses
we had been exploring. The costumes
were quaint and often purely Indian,
bright-red blankets, gathered gracefully
about well-made forms. being the most
conspicuous part of the dress, though
the 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 sea-like plains the dance
began and the eyes of all present
were fastened upon the little in
closure at our feet First to make their
appearance were fifteen dancers, who
marched in single file into the square and
then began a rather mOnOtonOus walk
around huge, time 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 a foXskin dangling down be
hind and fastened to his tunic and carried
a rattle made of a gourd covered with a
piece of dried skin. All were provided
with baskets containing sacred meal, and
wore strings of antelope hoofs about their
ankles, so that every step produced a
rafting sound The long, bushy hair of
the men was filled with eagle feathers
PRELIMINARY PERFORMANCE.
In front of where l stood was bower
made of cottonwood trees and in this
the snakes that were to be used had beed
placed a short til e efOre the ceremonies
began. AS the first dancers passed this
they stamped sharply on the ground and
sprinkled handful of meal, after which
line was formed before the bower and
song and dance given, which consisted of
a slow movement of the body sidewise
slight raising of the foot, and the utter
ance of short dog like barks, accompanied
by the sound 81 en- by the rattles The
chief attraction which this so-called dance,
which is always given by Pueblo Indians,
has is the unison with which the per
formers move. The action grows more
vigorous as the time passes, and at length
the excitement caused the men to raise
their voices to a key that is high pitched,
shrill and extremely weird
AS this particular dance was at its height
another party, numbering over fifty in
all, flied rapidly into the inclOsure and
began brisk march around the yellow
RLed rock, near which so many cere
monies have been held during the uD-
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 OPP
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 was
weird in the extreme, the half naked and
painted bodies of the men contrasting
strangely with their Tudely made orna
ments and the shrill notes of the song ris-
ing high above the plaudits of the people
THE SNAKE DANCE" BEGINS.
And now the snake dance began in
earnest AT a given signal the members
of the second party made 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
wero fifty men thus decorated, and, in a
long file, they began moving slowly about
ChC OPOh odudAC, CoCu Sudh0- uOIOeI UolnS
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 festooned
about the heads in curious coils they
were deluged with sacred meal.
Now and then a snake got away and
caused a general stampede among the
lockers on. and often man was severely
bitten by the savage monster that he held.
For fully half an hour the hideous sport
went on, the dancers growing every
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, squrming, kissing. The spectacle
was barbaric in the extreme blood.
Curdling to look upon, disgusting to
think about. There were ever 100 snakes
and among them were the
most venomous known in the country
They are caught during the four DAYS
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. 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.
In the Spanish PostofHcs.