Worcester Democrat and the ledger-enterprise. (Pocomoke City, Md.) 1921-1953, 1921-01-08
M)KIS DANCE
TO PROPITIATE
God OF rain
Arizona Indians, Far Removed
From Civilization, Cling to
Ancestral Customs.
AS IN DAYS BEFORE COLUMBUS
Mokiland Is the Richest Part of the
Union for Prehistoric Exploration
medicine Man Determines
Date for Snake Dance.

| Smithsonian Psychologists say that
| the most interesting aboriginal cere-
monies performed nowadays In Amer
| lea take place In midsummer days
among the Moki Indians, who live In
northeastern Arizona. Scarcely touch
ed by our civilization and clinglng to
ancestral customs, II. G. Tinsey tells
the Dearborn Independent, the MOkis
| perform during the last days of each
| August dances and rites in propitia-
ton of their god of rain, identical
with those Of their ancestors ages be-
fore Columbus sailed from Spain.
Mokiand, or the province of Tusuy.
an as the Spanish named 1t In the
early part Of the sixteenth century, Is
the richest part of the Union for pre-
historic exploration. Cities Of strong,
Intelligent people fourished here in
| the time Of the Caesars. Ruins Of
heather temples, which crumbled be-
fore the Montezuma dynasty began,
land of the Mokis abounds in an
cient traditions still kept In their
pristine freshness.
Studying Mokls' Customs.
This month two score Of American
ethnologlsts and psychologists, besides
some from Europe, have gathered in
the Moh pueblos to study the GUS
toms, habits, thought and traditions
! Of in tIaat
have come down through generations
Of Mokis,
Spanish adventures under Cor
Onado reckoned in 1912 that there
were about 1900 souls in the Tusuy-
an confederacy of Moki tribes. Now
there are but few hundred Mokis
They are known also as Hopis; and
their name signifies peace loving"
They have q tradition that several
hundred years ago the warlike
Apaches waged a terrific war against
/ the tribe. The remnant of the Moks
! fled in terror and took refuge on the
| two great tablelands of red sandstone
which rise sheer some 70 feet out Of
! formation has been veritable Gil
, br6ltar of defense to the tribe and from
! the day the ancestral Mokis fled they
and their descendants have dwelt
there isolated. Rain Is the all-essen-
tial element in the success Of Moki
agriculture, and in the desert region
rains come capriciouSly.
The date of the Moki snake dance
is determined by an old medicine man
In the tribe. When during August the
sun at It's setting glints the sacred
rock that stands before the door Of
the tribal kiva, the old medicine man,
Honi, mounts the highest point at
either Walpi or Oraibi and solemnly
| gives notice that 16 sunsets hence the
solemn snake ceremonies will take
place. He ends by invoking all to be-
| gin immediate preparation for the oc-
! caSiOn. The women are to bake for
a tribal feast, to dress themselves and
their children In their best garments,
and the men are to perform their sew
eral parts In the ceremonies.
A certain number Of young men, APP
| pointed for the purpose, start out at
next dawn to perform their part of
the preparation for the dance. They
| are ]al,ulali (snake gatherers). They
roam over The desert with a forked
| stick in one hand and bag made Of
skins In the other. They know where
| to look for rattlesnakes and some
timee they get more than 200 serpents
In week. They plant the forks of
their sticks over the neck of the re-
cumhent snake, and by an adroit move
ment throw the reptile into the bag.
The serpents are brought to the pueblo
and turned over to the old snake
priests.
Tho PreIlmnaries.
SIX days after the official announce
ment of the annual snake ceremonies,
mysterious rites among 81 of the fore
most men in the Moki tribe begin in
Chamber iewn into the rock down be-
low the pueblo. This is the kiva,
the holy Of holes of MOki belief.
DR.. ]. Walter Fewks Of the Smithson-
ian institution is the only white person
who has ever entered the kiva, and he
says that the ceremonies there consist
In washing the serpents captured and
brought there by young men. The old
men engage In barbaric lamentations.
and chant appeals to the serpents to
bear messages of devotion and friend,
ship to the powers that rule the rain
clouds. The snake priests wear moth,
ing to protect themselves from the rep.
tiles fangs. Each day they wash the
rattlesnakes. sprinkle sacred cornmeaI
on the ser2ents' heads, and deposit the
creatu es in Jars. Meanwhile the Mok
house' ives cook and bake in prepare
ton for the event of the yeGr-th
snake dance on the plaza of the pu
eblO. The gaudiest tribal finery j.
bropGh' forth and made ready. Whit
aud Ma Taio Indian visitors come acros
the Desert to see the public ceremonie
and Tor II week all Mokiland hustle