St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1889-10-12
aaoQuls SNAKE DANCE.

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asoQuIs SNAKE DANCE.
4 Disgsssing Csesmeay Thas Has Ne
Equal u Ceasl Terror.
In tho village Of the Moquis Indians
In Arizona there is celebrated each
year the snake dance. q ceremony OF .
secret Indian society. which has not
its equal In cruel terror. The prepa-
ration for the affair takes sixteen daya
During the first eight days the medi-
cine men and chiefs put the dancing
place In order. and brew a secret
driak which secures them against the
effects Of the poisonous bites. Dur
Ing the last eight days the snakes are
hunted for which are to be the invol-
untary participators in the dance. !"
This year there were gathered about
lJ0 snakes of fair size. The Hoquis
first subjected them to q sudden cold
bath. rolled them in the sand until
they were dry. and then laid them In
large stone jars. which we're then
sealed air-tight with tanned skins.
Nobody thought of extracting the
poisonous fangs OF the serpents.
Through that the effects Of the
'charm" would have been destroyed.
On the evening of the feast q '.gen-
eral rehearsal was held, which. how.
ever. proved harmless. for in that the
snakes were not brought into requisi-
tion. After the ''active members"
had sung and danced enough, they
went to rest toprepare themselves for
the work Of the next day. Close to
the village there had been erected a
largo wooden structure where the
carefully tied in bags. were
brought Before this shanty extend.
ed big. clear space. in the middle Of
which there lay heavy stone. Be-
fore the door Of the shanty there lay q
long board. which was scrubbed clean
and sprinkled with Indian meal to
keep all evil spirits away from the
dancers Then came the dancers.
The first group Of them. con-
sisting of thirty-six men. were fantas-
tically decorated. Each Moqui held in
one hand a rattler and in the other a
stick. on the end Of which were fast
ened turkey feathers. The warriors
marched around the place several
times in q ceremonious manner. and
then settled at one end of it. These
were the singers, whose duty it was to
the feast by their song. Then
came the real warriors, also consisting
of thirty six men. They were greeted
with howl. and the singers then sent
iorth their songs" and thus the
real feast commenced. The dancers
in order into the shanty. un-
lied the bags and took as many snakes
- each could carry. and returned to
he dancing place. Once there. the
lancers put the heads Of. the snakes
into their mouths 1t was q ter
-ible sight to see the disgusting
make vain attempts to free
from their uncomfortable
position. Other warriors considered
{ IN honor to hold the snakes by the
.ails and keep them SO straight that
hey could not wind themselves around
he breast and neck Of the dancers. As
'0on as they completed one circle
around the place. the snakes were spit
,ut and caught by others. who carried
hem around in . circle until the whole
lance was over. New snakes were
being supplied from the
,hanty and put in the mouth until the
whole stock was exhausted.
During all this the singers were
heard to make a diabolical noise. the
lapcers jumped and wriggled like
;razy devils. and the scared snakes in
many cases liberated themselves from
.hS hands of the attendants, who held
;hem by the tail ends. and then
,quirmod and struck around them.
snake got out Of the mouth
II one OF the dancers. and as quick as
IN arrow disappeared in the crowd
hat surrounded the place. The women
md girls screamed and cried, and
ried to save themselves by fight.
While the warriors sought to retake
he fugitives.
At last the dance was over. The
makes were carefully replacsd in their
:ases and taken away. and next day
,et at liberty again. The tired dancers
'efreshed themselves with a well
meal. and went to rest, and
'oon the scene of the strange occur.
renee was deserted and empty. The
Afoquis keep the composition Of their
which makes the bite of
he snakes harmless. a. q great secret.
Journal .+4b fsTss
A Prompt Decision.
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