The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1907-08-17

are indescribably weird, the voircs
pitched in minor key. and blending
in such perfect unison through every
! cadence that but for the volume NJ
sound the listener would think he heard
| but the voice Of a single singer.
Just as in the circus, so in The Corn
dance the clowns are far more interest
ing than the regular performers. They
are naked. excepting for a breGchciouI
and are painted from head TO foot with
red and white adobe cIaT Some are
painted solid white. some red. and some
are made still more ETotesQUe i'm ap-
pearance by having uue sid PAINTED
white and the other red. Twisted into
their long black hair, which is fast
ened IN knot on top of the head. ara
punches of dried grass. and the whole
is thiCkly plastered with white Cay.
Bands of eVeTgreens are fastened about
the wrists. ankles and waist. and
snakelii;e designs are traced in black
over their bodies, adding to the fantas-
tic appearance Of their makeup. Thezr
contortiOns, gestiCUlations and IRA
tiOnal actions are irresistibly funny
But apparently their jokes and ejacU-
lations are more so. although most nj
these are COUched i'm the native Indian
dialect and the rest in bad Spanish.
so that the white auditors miss the
point or their SdllIeS OF VII.
In marked contrast with the antics
of the clowns is the sedate and dig
nified demeanOr Of the dancers. Not
one of them is ever seen to smile while
the performance is going on: and the
more hilarious the crowd becomes the
more austere and funeral becomes the
behavior of the dancers. One might
think that the fate of the universe de
pended upon their performing every ev-
OlutiOn Of the dance with clOckWoriS
regularity and mathematical precision.
They resemble wooden automatonS
more than flesh and blood creatures
and all appear to be worked by the
same wires drawn by the same hand.
so regular and so nearly Identical are
their movements. The illusion is hight
ened by the fact that all are dressed
exactly alike. Their long hair falls
over their shoulders Their bodies ara
nude to the waist painted yellow.
Strands OF beads. turquoise. silver.
shell and other materials encircle their
necks. Bands of evergreen and strings
of rattles made of followed sheep
hoOfs are fastened around the arms.
waist and ankles. A kind of apron
is worn to the back of which is fast
ened the skin of a silver fox, with head
attached to the belt and the long,
bushy tail sweeping the ground.
In front of the line goes the stand
and bearer. or master of ceremonies.
carrying a long pole. to which is fast
ened brilliantly colored tassel, and
a long streamer of COlOred cloth, Orna-
mented with gaudy feathers. To the
motions OF this wand the dancers re
spond as if to the command of a cap
tain. Every motion is a signal. per-
fectly understood and implicitly Obeyed
by the performers.
After the first set of performers has
held the plaza or open square for about
an hour another energies from the es-
tufa. These are so exactly like the
first that if one did not see them come
upon the scene and watch the others
withdraw be would hardly believe that
there had been any change. Thus from
morning until the sun sinks behind the
western horizon the two sets of cancers
alternate with tireless energy and
power Of endurance that makes spec
tators Of the superior white race
wonder wherein lies the secret of the
physical strength OF the Pueblos. As
the shades of night begin TO darken the
dancers are called to a feast Of meat.
chilli and tortillas. Then the alien
whites must steal away. for the
PuebIos resent too bold intrusion into
their privacy. and hold the curious pryr
ing. kodak-snapping palefaces i'll as
profound contempt as they hold the
dogs gathered around to snatch the
that escape the lips Of the
jewellers.