Idaho semi-weekly world. [volume] (Idaho City, Idaho Territory) 1875-1908, 1892-02-09
A MOQUl SNAKE DANCE
INDIANS DANCING WITH aArrLeas
" THEIR MOUTHS.

Horrible Spectacle That Whit. Ne.
Are Rare', Allowed to wttness-orrie.
which Excite the Members of IN. -
sa' Natives to State Of Frenzy.
Inc snake dances Of the Moqui rndi.
ans nave been frequently written about.
put usually simply on hearsay evidence
~ Is seldom that any white man il a.
lowed to be present at these ceremonies
A scout attached to the force at Fort
Wingate, N. NJ, however, was so fortu-
nate as to be in one Of the Indian vii
lagos and to witness the preliminary
dance. What he saw is described IN
this letter sent from the fort:
The participants were composed Of
two bodies Of men. thirty-six Of whom
danced with the snakes, and a smaller
number who formed chorus of singing
men. These latter were the first "a
come upon the scene, and were dressed
In bright colored embroidered kilts
sasnes. anklets and beautifully tanned
yellow foxskins hanging down behind
the body They bore small rattlcs in
one hand, while in the other was held a
stick, to which YES fastened couple Of
turkey feathers This stick. they claim.
carries the necessary protection OF ones
life and let's the snakes tutelary god
know that none Of his progeny will be
injured or carried to remote lands,
These men made four or FIVE circuits
Of the small plaza and then took up u
position to the west side Of it. In the
center Of the plaza was cottonwood
she'd After they had arranged them
selves properly, in a state OF extraordi-
nary exaltation, the snake men came
marching in to bound across the mesa
with single stride.
These dancing men, like their prede-
cessors, made four circuits around a
large rock which stands in the center of
the place They then faced the chorus
AID song was gone through with. AZ
ter this ceremony the snake men were
divided into groups of three, and one
from each three went into the cotton.
wood shed and extracted snake from
one Of the logs, and after putting it into
his mouth and firmly fixing it there
with his teeth, he started on his round.
A DISGUSTING SCENE
His companion, with his arm around
his neck, kept the tail of the snake in
position with his left hand. while with
his right, in which he carried stick
with two long feathers attached, he kept
the serpent from becoming entangled in
the hair OF the dancer. The snake, after
being carried around the circle, was
thrown from the mouth, when the third
member Of the group gathered it up and
carried it for the rest of the dance.
At times the serpents would try to
make their escape and would make q
dash for liberty through the crowds
which surrounded the dancers, and the
spectators would scatter in all directions
until the snakes were recaptured by the
dancers and carried back into the circle
and more securely held.
The visits to the shed were continued
until at least 100 snakes had been
brought from the Enclosure, and all ap
peared to be in excellent condition, judg.
ing from the manner in which they re.
sisted capture after they had been
dropped from the mouth. Two or three
instances were noticed of large bull
snakes being held by the neck and twin
ing their bodies around the legs Of the
dancers. In one instance the snake had
so entwined himself around the per
former that he was unable to move fol-
fear of falling. This predicament caused
q great outburst of laughter, but il
looked anything but funny to the
dancer.
Those who danced with the snake.
not unfrequently had three or four il
the mouth at the same time, which, O.
all the performance, was the most re
pulsive. To see these naked human be
ings going around with the face com
pletely hidden behind mask of twist
ing and squirming snakes was enough
to make the stoutest hearted man shud
der with disgust, yet the other member
of the tribe greeted these manifestation
with applause.
SNAKES CHEwED IN HALVES.
The applause of the spectators urget
the dancers to greater feats, and as tn
dance proceeded the performance becam
most horrible to behold. Some of tn
dancers would take two large rattlers il
the mouth at the same time, and as the.
slowly swung around the circle woult
chew on the living snakes until, in som
instances, the serpents would fall to tn
ground completely bitten in two. On
dancer, who appeared to be a leader, a
one time had six serpents in his mouth
and the swinging ends of the reptile
made gorgon appearance OF his head
he whirled around the outer edge of tn
circle.
This ceremony lasted two hours, an
when the dance was over the partic
pants were thoroughly exhausted. Will
during the dance they had been uphel
by the ecstatic condition, the reactio
was terrible, and while there was n
permanent injury to the dancers, it too
several days for them to recuperat'
This time was spent in sleeping an
drinking weak sort of broth mad
from the dead snakes which had pc
ished in the ceremony. During tn
dance there is peculiar luster of tt
body and eyes which would indicate thu
the performers had been indicated an
prepared for the ordeal through whic
they were about to pass.
It was supposed by some that the ra
tlesnakes had been rendered harmless
the extraction Of their fangs, but
show that such was not the case dc
was brought into the circle and was bi
ten bv snake In very short tin
the unfortuuS to animal was dead fro
. Saxa Ecox