Arizona republican., 1922-04-17
Yaqi Easter Dances Attract Many
To Traditional Desert Ceremonies

The traditional Easter dances OF
the Yaqui Indians living al the vii
lage of Guadalupe. south of Tempe
were given Saturday evening with all
the elaboration which. distinguishes
these unusual ceremonies. More than
5000 people attended the dances, OF
which the following account Is given
by Mrs. Phoebe Nj. Began of Tucson,
member of the Arizona Archaeo-
logical and Historical society:
1.-THE Yaqui River Valley is one OF
the most beautiful and fertile valleys
of the Southwest" Mrs, Began said
Monday night. Possibly people do
not realize the asset the Yaquis are
to the state, for they are sober, in
dustrious and deeply religious, al
though much of their religion is bound
up in their former paganism.
"The dances of the church are
those first established in Spain,
France and italy and many attempts
have been made to abolish that part
of the religion which seems to be so
much of the pagan. The Corpus
Christi dance in the cathedral of Sc
Vile is most state and beautiful, its
quiet beauty part Of the former re-
ligious ceremonies at the feasts. The
fasts have always been held at the
change of the seasons, and the
dances Of the Yaqui are practice Of
the Lenten season.
Strange to say, the men do the
dancing of the Easter Dances" Mrs.
Began said. THE women have little
part in the ceremony except to carry
about the statue of the Virgin Mary
and to guard the altar, Their cos
tuning is usually very siInple, while
the dancers wear the most grotesque
head dresses, barbarous masks and
belts.
.The afternoon dances begi nabout
. o'clock" Mrs. Began said, land
when the moon rises above the
mountain top the evening fire is
lighted and the night dancing be-
gins. For the dance of the Mata-
chimes the music is the sensuous but
rhythmic notes of the flute, the vi0-
lin, the TOM tom and the sound Of
shot in q hollow g0urd kept In con-
stant motion by the Yaqui as he
dances the measures of the weird
AIatachines, naked to the waist, his
smooth body moving in perfect
rhythm Around their waists are
worn belts of buckskin, with PEN
dantsof small bells that jingle In
musical time to every motion OF the
dancers body. The ankles are bound
with strips of buckskin with some-
times bells attached TO add to the
music of the dancer. Their masks
and head dresses are unusual and
sometimes horribly ugly in design.
Those worn by the .Mummers' or
pilots of the dancing are supposed
to keep away the evil spirits. They
are usually made of strips Of raw
hide dyed in the brightest of cOiors.
THE Pasacolas dance is nothing
more than the shimmies OF today,
and is danced always by men alone.
In their hands they hold gourds
filled with shot which they keep in
constant motion, producing a strange
undertone of sound for the music OF
the violin and flute that is fascinat-
ing.
"The men who dance the Mata-
chimes are trained for this dance
from little children. Their bodies
are possessed of remarkable youth
fulness even in the old men whose
faces are wrinkied and show the
signs of age.
There Is a strange vein of bur-
lesque running through the whole
those who have seen
the dances say. While the cere-
mony is part OF the Lenten services
of the holy week. yet grown men
take occasion to indulge in not a
little by play such as carrying
about grotesque toys or dogs, play
ing with them like children. The