The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1898-12-09
INDIAN DOLL BABIES.

dolls. 1t possesses Zuni dolls, which
are similar, but do not supply the de-
fciency. Accordingly DR.. j. w. Fewkes
has been dispatched to Arizona to look
up a remedy for his lack. He is ex-
pected to return with a collection of
Moki mannikins.
What makes these dolls so interest
ing is that they represent the demons
and divinities feared and worshipped
by the Moki. Furthermore, the chill
dren of the tribe are taught the rudi-
ments of the ritual which makes up
the religion of these semi-savages.
No other people have such elaborate
dolls; for, whereas, the manikin of the
Anglo-Saxon nursery or of the Cont
mental Europe is much the same every
where, the Moki dolls exhibit the Wild
est play of an aboriginal fancy revealing
in the supernatural.
At intervals the Moki Indians hold
festivals, largely Of a religious char
acter, and on these occasions men ap-
pear dressed in fantastic costumes and
wearing strange masks. Each repre-
sents a god or demon, and the Who
affair is a religious play. Those engag-
ed give the little girls the dolls referred
to, which themselves wear masks and
costumes similar to those of the actors.
The play in question is supposed to de-
pict scenes In the neurological history
of the Moki people. Usually it lasts for
days.
The actors in the religious drama are
members of societies, each of which has
it's secret underground chamber.
In these chambers the members whit
tie out with knives the wonderful dolls
and dress them, decorate them with
green, black and white. The material
employed is wood, from the roots of
the cottonwood tree, which mas a sa-
cred character because it grow near
water-the scarcest and most desirable
of all things in that sun-parched part
of the world.
Elaborate and curious are these Moki
dolls-there are only a few of them
and from their variety it may be judged
how rich in divinities the mythology is.
The Corn Maid is one; she brought to
the Indians the precious gift of maize.
The Corn Maid is varied almost in
definitely, as her attributes possess
such variety. But the Little God of
War is comparatively simple. His bust
ness is fighting, and he looks defiant.
Tho UTo1F C01 {c q ~ orarrofio 1or,on
and the Moki deem him worthy of pro-
pitiation. The Earth Goddess is an
un~pretentious old lady. The Father of
the Gods has an aggressive appearance,
and his head Is decorated with feathers.
The Mother Of the Gods wears a blan-
Very Old Woman or the Spider Wo-
man. She has the power to change her
shape at will. When the Wa God
performs n feat she perches IN his
shoulder and gives advice. The man.
ner in which her hair is arranged shows
that she is married.
The Planting God carries a hoe and
a water gourd. The bogy is chiefly
Of use for frightening children. Moth
ers tell their infants that if they are
good the Bogy God will eat them.
The Bogy God doll has a long snout
and a lower jaw worked with a string,
so that anybody may perceive his pro-
to gobble.
. At a certain time every year six of
these bogies, represented by costumed
- >o-, {~$o <1u,~ n~1 ,c1y ; & Ahn
are ready tobe eaten, but |
somebody says no and 80 they escape.
The Little God Of War saved the corn
md drove out the monsters. AS for the
Wolf God, he is M of the desties of
war. He is colored red, is ~ornamented
red feathers, and holds a bow and
arrow. The Father of the Gods is one
IF the sun gods, and naturally Of great
He has a long, red tongue
which hangs out.
These are only a few af the divinittes
represented by the dolls OF. the Moki
children. More will be known about
Them, perhaps, when DR.. Fewkes gets
back with his collection.
observation-disclosures
EMBARRASSMENT.
Have YOU ever
Tried to save time in q barber shop
BY getting 9 shave with your three
inch collar on? s5, s54
Stepped of q cable car backwards,~or
tried to connect pren1a4urely with one
on q slippery pavement?
Taken on your hat o q LADY ac-
uuaintance In q preliminary canter on
q bicycle? StsFa 81
Had . 3oo-pound lady repose grace
fully on your pet corn IN ! crowded