Evening Republican, Volume 18, Number 10, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 12 January 1914 — Strange Dances of Pueble Indians [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Strange Dances of Pueble Indians

STRANGEST of all the Indian dances are those that take place in secret lodges under ground. No outsider is ever permitted to witness these and their character can only be surmised from the dances that take place in the plazas. Dr. Herbert J. Spinden, of the American Museum of Natural History, has recently returned from a four months’ i- 'sojourn among the Pueblo Indians of the Upper Rio Grande. He was especially interested in the Tewa Indians, as his studies on this trip were almost wholly ethnological, and the rich mythology of the Tewas offered -him a mine of material. ' ~ Not All War Dance*. “Most persons think of those dances of the Indians which were really war dances as being the only ones which were practised,’ 1 said Dr. Spinden. “As a matter of fact there are numerous dances, extremely interesting and yery old, in which women as well as men participate and which have nothing to do with warfare. Few of these are wholly social, although some of them have that element. Practically all of them have a religious origin and today retain a religious significance. “The Tewas are a simple, agricultural people and their homes are doubtless the oldest of any in the United States. “When the Spanish came they converted the Indians to the Roman Catholic religion, and nominally these Indians are still fstftoHri ” But while many of the Tewas retain many of the beliefs and ceremonies of the Catholic religion, they combine with them many of the myths and observances of the religion that antedated their acceptance of the Christian. It was because of the early opposition of the Catholic priests to this adherence to the old rites and customs that the people sought secret places under ground in which to practice them. And, although (he necessity for the secrecy has passed, they still hold these secret meetings, have dances that no white man has ever eben and keep up other traditions with a constancy and seclusion incomprehensible to men of a different race. Some white men say they have penetrated to these underground lodges and have seen what was done there, but Dr. Spinden does not believe that they have ever been present at the carefully guarded ceremonies. The most that they have done iB to see the vacant room or perhaps some dance of no great significance. So cautious are they that when there is to be one of these important conclaves at one of the villages an Indian is sent with a roll of cloth to cover the windows and doors of the house in which the teacher, who is much loved and respected, lives in order that she may not see anything that goes on. Of course Bhe Is not permitted to go out of the house. Formerly some one was left on guard, but they trust her now sufficiently to content themselves with fastening up her house. Any stranger who whs In the neighborhood would be jealously watched lest he should get any inkling of what went on in the underground room. Wear Masks. These lodges always contain an altar, and although most of them seem to have no connection with the outside world except the obscure entrance, they have a splendid system of ventilation. The participants in these underground danoes are always masked. While the American (whom they call the red neck, not the white man, by the way) may not penetrate to the underground chambers and witness the most sacred dances, he may see in the plasa dances of great variety and int«e*t, deeply' significant, each one a

little drama in Itself. The Tewas, being an agricultural people and depending largely upon the amount of rain that falls in a given time for the success or failure of their crops, put their heart and their skill into the dances which they perform in the hope of drawing the benefleient moisture of the heavens ‘down to earth. One of the dances takes its name, tablita, from the curiously shaped “little tablets” which toe -women dancers wear on their heads.

These tower high above the straight hanging black locks of hair, the ends being tipped with soft feathers simulating clouds. The men wear very little clothing, the women appearing in the customary black dress, sometimes ornamented with some bright beadwork or embroidery. The dancers scarcely lift their feet from the ground,. but keep them moving rhythmically in time to the music. The most of the motion is confined to the knees, hands and arms. In their hands they hold fruits, leaves or flowers, a favorite branch being that of the sacred pine, which is reputed to have grown in the underground world. There are many dances representing animals, that of the eagle being especially dramatic. The man who is to take the part of the eagle is wonderfully made up.

Over the head is drawn a sort of sack of black cloth that covers the hair and is pulled forward to form a beak. A red line running around the mouth and curling up on each cheek gives the mouth of the eagle. On the body there is little clothing except a short apron and patches of eagle down attached by a gum to the flesh. The arms are made into wings by means of a cord strung with long hanging feathers stretched from hand to hand across the back and a bunch of feathers at the back make a tail. His hands are painted yellow to look like claws. He is lured forth by the dropping of corn, and as he follows this trail he uses his arms as toe eagle does his wings, and with his entire body he sweeps and moves like the bird he is picturing, but always in time to the music. In another dance a man represents a . dog. He is made up to look as much like one as possible, and is led forth by an Indian maiden who has tied her sash about the body and leads him forth as a woman does her poodle on a leash, except that they are both keeping time to the steps of the dance.