The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1889-04-15
A BARBARIC DANCE.
A STRANGE CEREMONY WITNESSED
IN A MOQUI PUEBLO.
PromiscUous Throng OF ZunIs. Navas
jos, and Moquis--IntrOductOr Per-
formance-BIOOd-C urdIIng Spe~-
tacIe-" Snake Dance"
rChicarn News ]


Covering the housetops and seated upon
every available ladder was gathered q
prOmisCuous throng; Zunis, from their
village far to the southwark; Navaios.
from their reservation near by; MoQuis
from the pueblos on the three other mesas
near to the one on which we were and
Me jewellers of the town, whose houses
Ne 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 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 rather monOtonous walk
around a 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 gourd covered with
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
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 short tine Lefore the ceremonies
began AS the first dancers passed this
they stamped sharply on the ground and
sprinkled a 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 a
slight raising or the foot and the utter
ance of short, dog like barks accompanied
by the sound given 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, filed rapidly into the Enclosure and
began brisk march around the Yellow
hued rock, near which so many cere-
monies have been held during the I'M
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 thickIy
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-
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 shrlll notes Of the song ris-
! ing high above the paudits Of the people
THE SNAKE DANCE" BEGINS.
And now the snake dance began In
earnest At 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 living. rafting Kissing.
biting snake. Grasping the hideous rep
| tile between his teeth and holding Is
firmly the dancer began a slow walk
! around the standing stone. In time there
| wcro fifty men thus decorated and in q
ong file, they began moving slowly about
| ihC open square. each snake holder being
| .ended by an Indian who brushed
! he reptiles head with his eagle feather
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 q 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
| moment more excited and the song of tina
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
| curding to look upon. disgusting 20
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 religious
ceremony Cf great antiquity.
After the dance ended the snakes were
thrown together Ia a common pile. where
they twisted and turned. and later. at "A
signal, q second rush was made and again
zach man secured one or more reptiles,
which he held in his hand. and with
which Re ran rapidly down the mesa's
narrow trail to the valley below. where
khe snakes were set at liberty.
The free shooter is the name given 20
p hunter or marksman, who, by entering
into a compact with the devil, procured
balls six Of which infallibly bit, however
great the distance. while the seventh or.
according 10 some, one of the seven
( belon ged to The devil. who directed 1t at
his pleasure Legends Of this nature were
rife among the troopers of Germany OF
the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries,
and during the thirty years war. The
story was adapted in 1643 to the opera
composed by Weber in 1921. which has
made 10 known ia all civilized countrieA