Omaha daily bee., 1895-09-22
SNAKE DANCE OF THE MOQUIS
Startling BarbariO Rites Practiced by
Arizona Indians.
DETAILS or THE SHOCKING CEREMONY
People Lost to CiviIizing Influences
unJ CIinginE to Ancient Customs
Prospective citizens Of the
United states.

spondence Of The Bee)-When Uncle Sam
boasts Of the many strange peoples he has
united under the protection Of his flag In
one great, happy family, he never mentions
a race of pagans who worship snakes, but
very likely it is because he knows next to
nothing about this remarkable people. Ser
pent worship was one Of the most ancient
and common pagan religions, and 1t Is a cur
ious fact that one of its last lingering
remnants Is found in the United States, and
that, too. among the people whom the courts
have declared to be citizens of what Ame--
cans believe to be the most enlightened
country on the globe.
religion, or superstition, or paganism
IT you prefer, is still in active force among
the Moqui Indians of northeastern Arizona.
No white man has been able to solve its
mysteries, and little is known about 1t ex-
cept what appears at the biennial snake
dance. In the frenzy Of that ceremony the
initiated fearlessly grab rattlesnakes and
other deadly serpents by the handful, put
the Shiny, wriggllng reptiles in their mouths
and prance about a sacred rock in rhythmic
tune. The performers in this strange deyo-
ton are sometimes bitten by the snakes,
whose poison would be sure death to other
men, but the Moqui devotees are never
known to be any the worse for their expert
ence. 1t is not an unusual thing in these
dances to see an Indian with two serpants in
his mouth, holding them by the slack skin
just bdth " llc NtliOlIlOuS htduSs thclt 10
reliable evidence that the fangs of these
snakes are not extracted, and hideous rat
tiers Ave feet long are often used.
CHRISTIAN INFLUENCES UNANAILING.
Serpent worship was common among the
Pueblo tribes when they fell under the yoke
OF the Spanish conquistadores 300 years ago,
but the successors of Cortez and Coronado
were accompanied by many padres, who
brought the Indians ofNew Mexico to observe a
semblance OF Christianity. During the revolt
- 1Qrn ,ulAn - ,rn 1rA-a tn Crnn
iards out of the land now known as New
Mexico and Arizona, the Moquis killed the
missionaries among them and have ever since
resisted Outstanding influences. Their seven
villages, built upon barren rocks and cliffs
and reached by narrow, difficult trails, are
eighty miles north of Holbrook on the At
lantic & Pacific railroad. The intervening
country Is a desert, given over to the pinon,
the cactus and the soapweed. 1t is a dreary,
back-breaking ride to Moqui land, over rough
trails that climb mountains, drag YEARLY
across scorching mesas or jump from rock
to rock In racking conyons. On the way one
may see the ruins of a community house, with
perhaps fifty rooms, whose people were killed
by the Moquis because they had too many
Singing men," The Moquis stormed the
place at night, threw bundles of burning
straw through the doors in the roof peculiar
to these buildings, and suffocated the inhab-
itants. At another point may be seen an in
scription cut in a soft rock, saying that Kit
Carson passed that way in 1868 in command
or q regimen OF New MeXlcanS. There are
also cliff dwellings along the route, some of
which are at times occupied by Moqui fam
lilies.
II SNAKE DANCE.
The snake dance is held every second year
during the month OF August. The date is
governed by the moon and Is seldom known
more than ten days in advance. 1t is fixed
by a medicine man, who has a peculiar cal
endar. He sits in a darkened chamber, with
a hole in the roof. A beam of light from
the sun Dr the moon falls on the fOOr and
slowly moves across the priests guiding lines
drawn on the hardened dirt Several years
ago a medicine man made a mistake of two
days in his calculation, which was discovered,
and the angered Moquis, fearful Of the conse-
quences of such a blunder in their worship,
nearly killed him. The principal snake dance
Is held at the village of Walpai. Among the
spectators this year were a number Of Navajo
Indians, a few cow punchers and Mexican
sheep herders from scattered grazing grounds
and several tourists from civilization. Among
the latter was Hamlin Garland.
The ceremonies begin eight days before the
dance, when the priest Of this strange wor-
ship consecrates the young men and sends
them forth to capture snakes. In the house
of this cacique they recite prayers and
sprinkle themselves with medicine water
and cungue (cacred corn neal. The young
men roam over the neighboring valleys, CIV
Ing a day to each of the four points of the
compass. They are said to have captured as
many as 400 or 500 snakes for a dance, but
perhaps a third of that number is nearer the
average. As many as fourteen varieties of
serpents are used, but the rattlesnake is the
most common.
The catchers are members Of the snake
order. and they are provided with four med
icines' made from roots. A Moqui explained
that when a catcher meets a snake he prays
to the sun, saying:
Father, make him to be tame; prevail on
him that no harm shall come to me-"
Then he says to the snake:
Father, be tame for me, for here ! make
my prayers"
OPERATIONS OF A SNAKE CATCHER.
The catcher has a wand, tipped with
feathers from the eagle, the ancient enemy
Of the serpent. The rajtlesnake does not
bite; he strikes. In order to strike he must
coil a large part of his body, and his jaws
are opened wide until they form nearly a
straight line, The RATHER apparently has a
great fear of the eagle feathers. When
tickled or brushed with the feather 1t will
instantly uncoil and try to escape. The
young Moqui seizes that opportune moment
holds 1t up to the sun with his left hand,
strokes it with his right, and repeats the
prayers already quoted. In explanation Of the
use of the word father in this connection
1T may be stated that the Moquis have a
legend that they are descended from a snake.
The sun. which gives warmth and makes
crops possible, is symbolized as a good
father"
The captured snakes are confined in ollas
(earthenware jars) in the estufas. "Estufa"
Is Spanish for stove. The estufa plays an i'm
portant part in the life of all the Pueblo
tribes, 1t is a large chamber generally cir