Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-09-16
The HQSkin Letter By ' + asss
HOPI INDIAN SNAKE DANCE

occasionally used. All the time they
keep up a certain rhythmic weaving of
their feathered wands,
Then the Snake priests dash init
orally dash in-their %rattles jinghng
madly, their feet padding the hard
packed earth faster than ear can con-
venientIy count. They are wild looking
creatures, painted reddish brown from
head to toe. Their hair is ragged and
fluffy with parrot. phumes stained a
soft, rosy brown. Their jaws and chins
| are painted black, the mouths broadly
! outlined with white.
The Dance Grows Furious
They take their places in front of
the Antelope priests and with them
| chant and wave their wands for many
minutes. The music seems to grow
wilder. Suddenly it breaks. The Snake
priests separate. One of them kneels
in front of the kisi, reaches in and
| pulls out a snake. He grips its neck
with his lips so that its head projects
a little beyond his left jaw and if it is
q large snake, six or seven feet long,
he grasps it's body with his hands.
Meantime another priest with feather
wand has taken his place st the dane
er's right, places his left hand on the
dancers left shoulder, and with the
wand strokes the body of the snake.
Together, with high rythmatic step,
they start around the court. A third
priest. also with a feather wand, falls
in behind. Thus the whole fraternity
forms into groups of three faster than
words can describe, making the circle of
the dance. Every time they cross Shi-
pan-pu, they stamp upon the board.
These beats fall as regularly as those
of a drum and keep perfect time to the
song of the Antelopes. Both move
ment and sons are swift and wild.
Several times each group of three
makes the circle, and then the dancer
drops the snake. The third member
of the group, the 'gatherer," now
brushes the snake with his wand, and
Selling it by the neck swings it high
in the air. Then he drapes it over his
left arm as unconcernedly as a woman
adjusts a bouquet. Meantime his two
companions, the dancer" and the
"~hugger." have gone on around to the
kisi and secured another serpent. And
so on and on around and around to the
kisi until the ''gatherers' have armfuls
of reptiles. Now and then they hand
them to the Antelope priests who non
chalantly fold them over their arms
without losing a beat in their songs.
Altogether they use 20 or so of the
creatures, big and little, harmless and
poisonous, whip snakes, bull snakes,
rattlesnakes, any kind of snake.
Finally. almost unnoticed. women
come from an inner room with plaques
of sacred meal and draw a huge white
circle in one corner of the court. Then
the lines break. The snakes are
thrown in a heap inside the circle. the
women hastily and timidly sprinkle
them with meal, and as hastily depart.
Certain of the younger Snake priests
dart in. Selling as many reptiles as they
can hold, dash in the four directions.
Far out on the plain they release their
loads-and their serpent brothers seek
their holes and bear the recently enact
ed rain-prayer to the gods below.
The snakes fangs are not pulled.
Sometimes the men are bitted, but it is
claimed they do not even get sick. Tt
is rumored that for many days before
the dance the men use an herb tea
which the women prepare, which acts
as a counter poison.