Acatlaxqui

Acatlaxqui is the Dance of the Reed-Throwers, a dance performed by certain groups of indigenous peoples in Mexico. Kurath, G. (1972). "acatlaxqui", in Leach, M. (ed) Funk & Wagnalls Standard Dictionary of Folklore, Mythology and Legend. 3rd ed. p.5
== History ==
The dance is performed by the Otomi people, generally in Pahuatlan, Atla, and Tlalcruz in the state of Puebla. It is performed on Santa Catarina Nopochtla, which is associated with St. Catherine's Day (November 25th). 
The dance is suggested to have a pre-Catholic origin, with the dance itself suggesting worship of their old god Mixcoatl, while the crossdressing boy and reeds are phallic symbols which, along with the men dancing around the crossdresser suggest it may have originated as a fertility ritual invoking Mixcoatl.
== Dance ==
There are at least ten dancers, all of whom are young men wearing white cotton coats, red knee-pants, red bandanas crossed over a shoulder and under the other, conical paper hats with paper ribbons attacked to the tip, and sandals. Each dancer holds a strong reed about as long as a person's arm, which has feathers and a dozen smaller reeds attached to it in such a way that it slides and arcs upwards during the dance. At the centre of the dance is a boy dressed as a girl called Maringuilla (little Mary), carrying a gourd with a wooden snake inside. 
The dance is performed in a church, with the dancers starting in two rows. Eventually, the two rows merge into a single row before the entrance to the church, and that one row later forms a circle around the Maringuilla while one of the dancers holds the snake from the gourd above Maringuilla's head. Maringuilla is then lifted onto a platform while the dancers dance around him. At the climax of the dance, the reeds are arced above Maringuilla's head in an arched dome while the church bell rings and fireworks are set off. 
== References ==
Category:Funk & Wagnalls Standard Dictionary of Folklore, Mythology and Legend
Category:Rituals
Category:Dances