The Coconino sun., 1927-08-12
NAVAJO mud" PRIESTS
GAVE RESERVATION DR..
CAMPBELL A TREATMENT


Too bad so few Flagstaff people
knew of it in time to see one of the
most interesting Indian dances of the
year.
1t was the Navajo Indian "Mud"
dance, and was held at Red Lake on
Sunday. In fact there were two
dances there Sunday, the MUD dance
and the final spasm of the three-day
lthree-place "Squaw' dance.
The mud dance is interesting both
in significance and operation and fur
nishes worlds of fun.
The chief medicine men, it is de-
creed by Navajo medical jurispru-
dence, must be previously afflicted,
one by having been struck by light
ming, the other by having been bitten
by rattlesnake.
Sitting around the mud slough were
the patients, suffering from all sorts
of ailments. When the proper time
came the medicine men, clad only in
gee-string, and very little of that,
burst pell nell out of hogan. They
went through various calisthenic and
chanting ceremonies. Then one of
the patients was grabbed, held aloft,
on the priests hands as they danced,
chanting, in circle. Then he was
dropped to the ground and the priests
spit in his face. They had been chew
ing some weed during the ceremony up
to then, and it is kind of,weed that
certainly does not retard secretion Of
saliva, for the way those priests
could spit! Talk about your old-timer
and his ability to hit spittoon at ten
paces-he never had a look-in either
for copiousness of spittle or deadly
accuracy in its projection with those.
priests. Spang! into the patients
eye! Spangl into the patients mouth!
Spangl into the patients ear!
Then a period Of standing aloof
from the patient and poking fun at
him. The jeers and jibes are sup
posed to shame the sick devils out of
him. If it chances the patient is lame,
from rheumatism or otherwise, the
priests step on him, press on him with
their knees, and thus generally maui
and massage him to drive out the
devils.
The medicine men have power also
to drive bitterness out of the hearts
of tribesmen. Following their treat
ment of the physically ailing, they
gang on some guy who's known to
have a grudge against fellow In
dian. They rush him and siam him
prone into the mud. For fear the mud
NAV not be affectionate enough, they
roll and smear him deep into it. Soon
he's indistinguishable from the mud.
When he's finally released, more dead
than alive, he has an hour or two
recreation digging mud out OF all his
crevices. Ostensibly his crouch has
been dispelled; though it's not certain
that he may not in the meantime have
conceived a deep and lasting hatred
for all medicine men.
DR.. Campbell, reservation physician,
objected to the native treatment Of the
sick. He thought it ought to be pre-
vented. He was voicing his objections
to Superintendent C. Z. Walker when
some of the Navajos overheard HIM.
Immediately he was seized and held
aloft, the Indians pretending they were
going to give him the saliva treat
ment. Struggling did the athletic
doctor no good. Several Indian meql-
cine men against one Caucasian medi-
cine man is too much odds. But final
ly they freed the doctor, without .saiI-
waiting" him.
They didn't need to. Immaculate
as he always is, the handling left
enough prints on his clothing
to keep an expert busy month. He
looked almost as dilapidated as any Of
the Indian patients.
The Indians also got hold Of Hugh
McGookin Of this city, but he did sew
eral lightning contortion acts and es-
capped.