Albuquerque daily citizen. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1895-1903, 1902-08-21
ARIZONA MOKIS.
They are Preparing to Invoke Aid Of
the Gods in Ending tho DrOuth.
ORIGIN OF THEIR DANCES.

There will be rain within the next
few days in the northern part of Ari-
IONA. On Monday the Moki Indians
began their prayers for rain and al
ways after this ceremony the clouds
begin to gather.
The ceremony Is one of the most an
cient of pagan survivals of modern
times. Though hundreds of Indians
nave become Catholics and early all
have %espoused the Christian faith, the
Mokis resist all attempts made to con
vert them. The last time, when sew
eral priests approached their village
they were unceremoniously thrown
over the cliffs and after their horrible
fate Christian missionaries have not
invaded the Moki villages.
These wild children of nature. who
are supposed to be direct descendants
of the cliff jewellers, have never allied
themselves with the farce of Indian
life as seen for 25 cents. No price will
pay for their sacred rites, wild yet in
tensely picturesque, and no amount of
persuasion could make them forget
the Rain Gods and the all powerful
| Smoke Father in whom they have be-
! lieved for centuries.
Nine days ago the Great Smoke
priest announced that prayers for rain
would begin August 20. The procla-
nation is the great event of the Moki
year, for every Indian knows that it
ends in the Great Snake Dance, a
dance which the Moki tribe alone
knows and which has attracted the at
%tention of some of the greatest ethnol-
oglsts Of the present day.
The story of the rain ceremony
might have come from a Greek myth
ology, so %curiously is it allied with an
cient pagan lore.
Long ago a young buck, says the
snake legend, followed a little stream
to see where it went to. At the end of
nine days he found the spider woman,
who weaves the clouds, and she gave
him a liquid which would quiet all rep
tiles-the charm against snake bites.
The hoy then came to the place
| MNtIe llG sun lOHt. Nv BUN GALLEY
the youth on his shoulders around the
world, and told him that the most
valuable thing in the world was a rain
cloud. Finally, the young Indian came
to the great Smoke Father. The Great
Serpent gave him two beautiful maid
ems to carry home. One he married
The other became his brothers wife.
Now every night the clouds used tc
arise and out of them would come
smoke people. who would turn into
snakes the mex day.
DO you know what they want?'
asked one of the snake maidens. They
want to be washed and danced with.
This is the origin of the Moki Snake
dance.
The picturesque story combines will
the weird ceremonies and the wild set
ting and one who witnesses the rites
legend. 1t is all so vivid to the Mokis
The great snake and the Web Woman
still exist in the northern part of Ari
|, IONA. As for the real snakes. they arr
; quite tame when handled by their In
dian worshipers.
On the first day of the rites, a part!
of Indians go forth to hunt for snakes
They bring back several hundred an,
more than half of them are rattle
, snakes. Nothing is done to harm
l them. That would be a sacrilege.
l They are placed safely in the kivas
underground rooms, where a grea
part of the ceremony is held.
At 2 o'clock in the morning tn,
priests-which includes the antelop
i priests and the snake priests-go L
! the sacred springs for water. The
, the whole village gathers on the mesi
to watch their return. 1t is an IndiaI
race and the priest who arrives frs
may pour the water on his ground t
. insure the growth of his crops.
The next feature of the ceremony
= attended with romantic significance