Democratic Sentinel, Volume 16, Number 17, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 13 May 1892 — A SAYAGE CEREMONY. [ARTICLE]

A SAYAGE CEREMONY.

Snake Dance of the Moqui Indians in the Southwest. The place where the danoe is held is a small open court, with the three-story houses crowding it on the west, and the brink of the cliff bounding it on the east. At the south end of the court stands the sacred Dance-rock—-a natural pillar about fourteen feet high, left by water wearing upon the rock floor of the mesa’s top. Midway from this to the north end of the court has been constructed the kee-si, or sacred booth of cottonwood branches, its opening closed by a curtain. Just in front of this a shallow cavity has been dug, and then covered with a strong and ancient plank with a hole in one side. This covered cavity represents Shi-pa-pu, the Great Black Lake of Tears—a name so sacred that few Indians will speak it aloud —whence, according to tho common belief of all southwestern Indians, the human race first came. On the day of tho dance the Captain of the Snake-men places all the snakes in a large bag, and deposits this in the booth. All the other active participants are still in their room, going through their mysterious preparations. Just before sunset is the invariable time for the danoe. At about half-past five in the afternoon the twenty men of the Antelope Order emerge from their own speoial room in single file, march thrice around the court, and go through certain sacred ceremonies in front of the booth. Now all is ready; and in a moment a buzz in the crowd announces the coming of the seventeen priests of the Snake Order through the roofed alley just south of the Dance-rock. These seventeen enter the court in single file at a rapid gait, and make the circuit of the oourt four times, stamping hard with the right foot upon the sacred plank that covers Shi-pa-pu as they pass in front of the booth. This is to let the Cachinas (spirits, or divinities) know that tho dancers are now presenting their prayers.

When the Captain of the Snake Order reaches the booth on the fourth circuit, the procession halts. The oaptain kneels in front ot the booth, thrusts his right arm behind the curtain, unties the sack and in a moment draws out a huge, squirming rattlesnake. This he holds with his teeth about six inches back of the ugly triangular head, and then he rises erect. The Captain of the Antelope Order steps forward and puts his left arm around the Snake-captain’s neck, while with the snake-whip in his right hand he “smooths” the writhing reptile. The two start forward in the peculiar hippaty-hop, hop, hippety-hop of all Pueblo dances; the next Snakepriest draws forth a snake from the booth, and is joined by the next Ante-lope-man as a partner; aud so on, until each of the Snake-men is dancing with a deadly snake in his mouth, aud an equal number of Antelope-men are accompanying them. The dancers hop in pairs thus from the booth to' the Dance-rock, thence north, and circle toward the booth again. When they reach a certain point, which completes about t three-quarters of the circle, each Snake-man gives his head a sharp snap to the right, and thereby throws his snake to the rock floor of the court, inside the ring of dancers, and dances on to the booth again, to extract a fresh snake and make another round. There are three more Antelope-men than Snake-men, and these three have no partners in the dance, and are intrusted with the duty of gathering up the snakes thus set free and putting them baok into the booth. The snakes sometimes run to the crowd—a ticklish affair for those jammed upon the brink of the precipice. In oase they run, the three official gatherers snatch them up without’ado; but if they coil and show fight, these Antelope-men tickle them with the snake-whips until they uncoil and try to glide away, and then seize them with the rapidity of lightning. Frequently these gatherers have five or six snakes in their hands at once. The reptiles areas deadly as ever—not one has had its fangs extracted!—[St. Nicholas.