The Afro-American advance., 1900-04-14
MoQUI SNAKE DANCE
Grsw.orne InesntatIon. of the Indi,
ans to I'Iaeate the SER
pent Deity. .-

of awful chasms, of painted rocks,
mesas and buttes. Crowning one Of
these lofty buttes, 20 miles to the
north of ZWinslow Station, the fair
white castles OF the Moqui Indiana
stan. The Moquls are peaceable and
picturesque in their native costume.
They are types Of the always interest
ing Pueblo life With them alone sur
wives the weird and fantastic specta-
Gle of the snake dance, once common
to all the Pueblo tribes. s.
The serpent is singularly prominent
in all human history. From The gar
den by the Euphrates to the deserts
of New Mexico 1t stretches its Shiny
trail. The Aztecs sculptured the snake
upon their ornamental stones, and the
North American Indians indent their
pottery with an imitation OF its scales
The serpent is especially symbolic to
the Indians, and in their quaint folk.
lore IL occupies about the same rela.
tion to other animals az does BrGr
Rabbit or Uncle Remus. In fact, the
Pueblos call the rattlcsnake "Little
Brother" Mystic magical powers are
ascribed 10 IL. and the dance Is a re-
ligious ceremony to propitiate the
snake god
The bite Of the rattlesnake Is sup
posed to be deadly and is universally
feared. save by the Moquis at these
dances. when they handle the reptiles
with tho most reckless familiarity and
without the slightest evil results.
In vain have the authorities at
Washington sent scientific men TO dis
cover the secret Of this wonderful an.
tidote of the Moqus. The revelation
Of the secret OF this decoction, which
appears to be veritable neutralizer
OF the venom Of rattlesnake bite, Is
punishable by death. IL Is known |
only 10 three individuals OF the tribe
the chief priest. the neophyte who |
Is training to- succeed him and the |
eldest woman.
Every year for several days before |
this grewsome ceremony those who In |
tend TO participate subject themselves
to n strict fast, which is not broken |
until the conclusion OF the rites Dur /
ing this period the secret antidote |,
freely administered by the medicine
man.
Meanwhile the dancers ate busily
engaged in hunting and capturing
hundreds of ruttlesnnkes on the desert /
below the crest of the cliffs. The way
these reptiles are caught Is most eK
traordinhry.
The huutara uPa nruaaI ,.yftJ, t,stRug
On discovering 'little brother"
coiled, angry, kissing, ready TO strike
they reduce him 10 quiescence by
gently strolting him with these wisps
When these ehresses have Modified
the enraged reptiles they are dex
terously thrust into leather bag and
imprisoned in small corral, where
they are kept To the day Of the dance
The ceremonies last seven days For
the first three the dancers. famished
and faint from their continual fnsts
work themselves into an absolute fren,
~ of religious feryor. Their chant.
inRA and the dolcfnl music Of their
barbaric instruments add 20 the mys.
ticlsm and terror of the performance
But the awful climax comes ON the
of the fourth day, when, rigid
and wrlI-nigh cntaleptic, haCgard
staring, frothing at the mouth, the
hnlf-naked braves, with sinister and
awful cries. rush into the mass OF
wrigRling scrpcnts, and
seiking fat, wrthing body In each
hand, leap forth and renew their
dance.
Round and round in this demonlac.
nj dance they circle coiling the snakes
about their arms, their nccks, their
thighs. The serpents swing TO and
fro, twisting and curling in frantic
cndcavor 10 strike their captors with
their wicked fangs.
Dronlng through this grisly spec
tacle goes the monotonous aud m; :!
denlnE tum-tum.tum OF the strange
uncarthly music, only accentuating
and emphasizing the hideousuess of
the ceremony.
Al last arrives the frightful finale
The serpents are cast upon the floor
Of the rocky clitf, where they coil and
writhe and struggle TO escape. Sud
denly the brayest OF the braves darts
forward, and, bending down quickly
catches a loathsomc wrigRling mass
In his mouth. This Is the signal for
the others. The drums beat a pande.
monium of hcyrid sounds. and with
the yells OF devils from the internal
regions on a furlough each dancer
catches a serpent In his mouth and
staggers to aud fro. sickeuing and
the palcfacc lockers on.
After the end OF this spectacle Is
reached tie snakes are carried down
the oin and set free 20 glide 20 their
homes in the sandy desert. while the
Indians, who have repeatedly been
bitten during the performance, return
10 their homes apparently none the
worse for the marks OF affection They
have received from their "little broth.
FRS" Of the plains, and confident that
the great serpent deity Is placated
and that for the coming year the rain
viii descend and the sun will shine
and the corn will grow N. Y Herald
Ga0d GuanerS.
Some extraordinary shooting by the