The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1899-12-28
STRANGE FEsTiv1fY.
ROW THE Moouis CELEBRATE
THE NEW YEAR.


Serpent in the Ceremony--A Spec
tacular Dance-Where the Creator
lis Sparins of His Favors.
The Moqui Indians New Years
celebration. called So-yal-u-na, is
largely presentation of singular
and elaborate mythic drama, divided
into two parts in which offerings are
made to effigies of the Great Plume
Headed Serpent, the enemy of the
sun, followed by sun dance in which
the conflict between the sun and the
inferior hostile gods Is admirably por-
trayed by Moqui men personifying the
various deites.
This celebration is primarily per-
formed by warriors and commemor-
ates the return of the sun from the
winter solstice In other words, the
Moqui wofully fear, when they see the
sun going further and further to the
southward each day, he is going to
desert them and leave them alone
upon their cold, weary, sand-blown
mesas. One wonders little that, in
this dreadful situation, they have in
itiated profound and mystic rights
with view to propitiatine the evil
one who would harm their dearly be-
loved fire.
Day by day the old men and seers Of
the tribe watch each morning the
point at which the sun rises from the
eastern horizon of the pinnacled and
ragged mountain range. They have
found particular notch between two
peaks, past which the sun does not
travel in it's southern march, but in
stead 1t stops and returns over its
long and dreary trail to bring ulti-
mately the spring the butterflies. and,
most precious of all. the corn--their
staff of life.
AS the sun nears it's lowest notch
preparations for the rite which concil-
iates the suns worst enemy-the
snake demon-are well under way
Tomorrow. in wierd subtorranean
cavern, called an estufa; or XVI. it is
declared that the baneful serpent
shall be amply placated; so rich will
be the tribute that for one entire year
the sun shall be free from his perse.
cutions, and the clouds, too which the
snake wickedly swallows, shall gather
and their moisture freely descend up.
on the parched and blighted land until
1t is once more clothed in verdure
DIR. j. Walter Fewkes, ethnologist of
the Smithsonian Institution, is famil
lar with most of the Moqui cermonials
and has described to me in some de-
tail this strange New Years festival
In the dimly lighted, underground
room there is erected, at its west end,
screen profusely decorated with
corn husks, but cleverly in imitation
of flowers Near the middle of the
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hind 1t stands man who, at the prop
er time. manipulates the effigy of the
snake. BY his side stands compan.
Ion who has large conch shell made
In the form of horn, through which
he utters fearful groans and noises,
presumably the voice of the monster
serpent. In front of the screen sits
three or four solemn priests, and the
audience consisting of members of all
the clans and their families, and be.
hind them is a row of men who act as
chorus.
When the rites begin the chorus
commences to sing. at first low,
wierd chant, which gradually rises to
piercing intensity, and, as 1t does SO,
the man behind the screen takes I'D
the eff ~ of the great snake and
thrusts it rapidly through the open.
ing number of times, accompanied
by the unearthly and discordant wall
ing of the conch she'll. The priest
directly in front of the screen takes
little sacred meal in his hand and
nolds 1t in his mouth, uttering a
deeply significant invocation to the
serpent, and then casts the meal on
the head of the serpent.
The serpent effigy used in the cere-
mony has head cut from a gourd,
with a horrible grotesque mouth and
prominent teeth and great red
tongue protruding from the nose. A
curved horn rises from the back of
the head and bunch of light and
wavy feathers adorn the neck. The
long body Is made of buckskin. and
through the middle of it runs back
bone made from sticks. In fact. the
effigy becomes a horrid monster
viewed in the pale and sticky light
which filters weakly downward
through the single entrance at the top
of the chamber.
One by one all the members pres
ent make their prayer to the hostile
serpent god, hoping that, by their
earnestness, they will beget individ-
ual and communal prosperity through.
out the ensuing year. So ends the first
half of the drama and on the morrow
of the new year begins the great
snake dance. Four orders of warriors
participate in the dance. and 1t Ia re-
garded as test of supreme endurance
for those who engage hour after hour
in the fatiguing and incessant motion
which is demanded by the dance
drama.
On the opposite sides of the kiya
there stand rows of men, bearing
shields, with elaborate symbolic de,
signs of the different priesthoods and
mythical beings painted upon them,
AT the end of the room, all alone and
unsupported, stands the sunbearer,
awaiting the onslaught of his horde
of enemies A signal and the song be-
gins, and the lines of warriors on each
side of the room surge against the
sunbearer In feigned, but realistic
attack. He brandishes his shield and
rushes upon them with great vigor,
repulsing and driving them back to
the wall again and again, until,
and vanquishes his many foes.
This last interesting spectacular
dance so exhausts its participants
that individuals become prostrated
and faint away.
New Years Day finishes with feast
ing and jolliflcation, which brightens
the faces and hearts of the old and
feeble men, and cause the youngsters
to overflow with an exuberant aban.
don of spirits. Happy hearts and hap
py homes are to be found on the first
day. even In this desolate region,
where the Creator has been so sparing
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