The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-08-16
Immunity in Handling the Reptiles
Probably Due tn knowledge of an
Antidote for the Bite.
ODD CUSTOMS OF THE TRIBE
GIRLS DO THE COURTING INSTEAD
OF WAITING Fob THE MEN.
Agriculture the Mainstay Of Their EN-
i~stence-A Peaceful People with
a Few A~ntipathics

- ~ III h'thh IOic hfb
WASHINGTON. Aug. 15.-An antidote.
known only to two member of the tribe,
is said to be the secret of the freedom with
which the Mocui Indians handle rattle
snakes in the celebrated Snake Dance.
which will be held this month i'm the desert
country of northeastern Arizona. This, at
least. is the story brought here by Mr.. A..
o. Wright. supervisor of Indian schools,
who has just returned from a prolonged
tour of inspection i'm the Southwest.
THE Moqui, or more properly speaking,
the Hopi. is one of the most interesting of
American Indian tribes said Mr.. Wright.
these Indians show little evidence Of
years of contact with the white man. They
retain all the old customs and practices
and still continue the barbarous methods
characteristic of the religious ceremonies
of nature worshipers. The Hopis are OPP
posed to education and had to be forced
to send their children to the government
schools. The tribe has many peculiar GUS
toms. but is best known to the world
through the famous snake dance"
The snake dance, according to Mr..
Wright, who has witnessed il. is not at
tended by torture, as is the case with the
sun dance and like ceremonies in other
tribes. 1t is a part of the religion of the
Hopis and is enveloped i'm a great deal of
mystery. 1.-The snake dance of the Hopi,"
said Mr.. Wright, lis picturesque in the ex-
treme. 1t is the big festival of the year.
The active participants are the venerable
priests of the tribe. This affair takes place
some time in the month of August, accord
ing to the phase of the moon and the omens
discovered by the priests, and is held alter
nately in each of the three tribal villages.
The snakes are procured by the young
priests, who scour the country for miles
around in search of the reptiles. When
the snake is found it coils itself. of course,
i'm an attitude of defense. The Indians
claim that they effect the capture by means
of hypnotism, but there is a well anthem
ticated story that a secret antidote, known
to the old cronc and patriarch of the tribe,
and by them communicated to their sue
cessors. is the explanation of the fearless
ness of the Hopi in handling the danger
Gus rattlesnakes. At any rate the young
priest after finding the snake proceeds, as
is explained by the Indians, to hypnotic
it. He does this by gently moving round
and round Il bunch of long feathers until
the reptile is hypnotized, finally relaxing
its coil, w%hereupon the priest places one
hand upon the neck and with the other
hand lifts the body. In this manner the
snake is carried to the Indian village,
where the dance is to be held. Preparatory
to the dance the snakes are placed in an
underground khiva, where they are cared
for by an old priest, who keeps them in
condition by waving a bunch Of feathers
above them and gently stroking them at
stated intervals. Just previous to the dance
the snakes are sprinkled with sacred meal
and various ceremonies are performed with
them in the khiva. On the day of the
dance the priests take the reptiles to the
plaza, where the dance is held.
"All is now ready for the great religious
ceremony of the Hopi. The dance is per-
formed with great rapidity and the priests
as we'll as the entire tribe work themselves
up into a great frenzy. Each of the priests
carries a snake in his mouth. all of them
proceeding across the plaza company front.
the attendants meanwhile waving feathers
to keep up the Illusion of hypnotism. 1t
is rare that an Indian is bitten during the
emo After the dance the snakes are
returned to the place where they were
found and the Indians offer profuse apollo
gies for any annoyance that they may have
caused.
ANCESTRY
1.-THE snake dance is purely a religious
ceremony" said Mr.. Wright. 1.-The Indians
believe the snakes are their grandfathers,
or, as We would say, their ancestors, and
that they have become powerful spirits,
aking the form of rattlesnakes. The dance
is a form of worship to these spirits to in
duce them to give rain. Rain in that desert
country is the one thing needful for food.
AS the month of August is the time when
the summer rain comes the prayers of the
priests are generally answered favorably.''
Concerning the religion of the Hopi,
Supervisor Wright said: Mature worship
is the religion of the Hopi. 1t closely re-
sembles the nature worship of the Canaan-
ties, into which the Hebrews were so prone
to fall, as shown in the Old Testament.
This nature worship expresses itself i'm
methods which to Us would be obscene
and revolving, but which TO them are sa-
cred in the light of their religion. The
Hopi are more open in these practices than
the Pueblos. who were forced by their
Spanish conquerors to suppress their OBJ
scene ceremonies"
Remarkable tales are told of the sprint
ing ability of the Hopi Indians. They are
said to be the best runners in the world,
and able to withstand great hardship.
when ! was at the boarding school at
Keam's canyon said Mr.. Wright. "a boy
thirteen years old ran away. He left the
school at night. travelling over the desert
TO the village of Orabi. He went TO his
home TO get some peaches and melons.
which his father had failed TO bring 10
him at school. He stayed there until after
noon. when he started back. He arrived
late at night, travelling seventy miles with
in twenty-four hours. Shortly after that
I visited the school at Blue canyon. The
teacher Of the day school at Orabi. forty
miles distant. sent an adult Hopi to Blue
canyon for a physician. The ffopi started
at 10 o'clock at night. reaching Blue canyon
at 5 I'm the morning. He rested for an hour
and then began the return trip. following
on foot the team driven by the physician.
He thus Travelled forty miles between 10
at night and 5 in the morning. and returned
the same distance, keeping up with the
team. and reaching Orabi early in the aft
ernoon."
Agriculture was followed by the tribe