Miscellaneous Papers. 257 



menced performing according to their respective kind. The buf- 

 falo pawed the earth and bellowed. The rabbit and the deer 

 leaped from place to place. The turtle proceeded slowly to naove 

 about. The turkey gobbled and strutted. The coyote howled. 

 The bear growled. Followed by the chanters these odd performers 

 moved slowly across the plaza till the whole public space was 

 danced over. The cacique then sprinkled all the participants with 

 sacred meal. The actors then dispersed. A new '" set" formed, 

 and the previous extravagant actions and strange ejaculations were 

 gone over again. This performing they continued till "Sol" began 

 to hide his face beyond the western highlands. The cacique then 

 sprinkled all present with sacred meal, and the animal dance was 

 completed. 



THE MEDICINE DANCES. 



These Indians, like all Indians, have medicine dances to cure 

 the sick. These are usually held at night. During them the chief 

 medicine-man sprinkles the patient with sacred meal, prays to the 

 gods, contorts and otherwise mortifies his own body, doctors the 

 patient by a crude process of massage, and occasionally gives him 

 root-tea to drive "sick" away. While he is doing this a houseful 

 of nude men often dance around the couch of the sick one. These 

 dance and chant with the doors of the room closed till the air in 

 the room is nearly foul enough to take one's breath. When they 

 have performed as long as they can stand it in the ill-ventilated 

 room they rush out into the streets and plaza and run hither and 

 thither, uttering shriek after shriek that would make any white 

 man's blood run cold. This shrieking is done to drive out the 

 evil spirit "sick." The sick one usually dies. 



THE BOW-AND-ARROW DANCE. 



At dusk the evening before the dance, as seen by the writer in 

 August, 1900, the cacique and his aids made the rounds of the vil- 

 lage, prayed, and sprinkled corn pollen in every house and over 

 each inmate of the same. Then to the estufas they proceeded, and 

 sprinkled the sacred meal before the symbolic paintings and over 

 the images of the gods brought thither for the dance preparation. 

 Then the sprinkling in the estufas being completed, four of the 

 caciques left the north estufa and went one in each of the four 

 cardinal directions for a distance of about a half a mile. Reaching 

 their destination, each cacique lighted a low fire and then sat down 

 beside it so as to face the silvery faced moon. As soon as seated 

 each began to beat a small drum and chant to his deities. This 

 they continued till morning. 

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