228 



CEKEMONY 



[b. a. e. 



whereupon the dancers undergo a purifi- 

 cation rite, often in the form of a power- 

 ful emetic. This may be followed by an 

 act of self-inflicted torture, which, how- 

 ever, often forms an intrinsic part of the 

 public performance. During the entire 

 ceremony, as a rule, certain tabus are en- 

 forced, the most common being a prohi- 

 bition of the presence of women during 

 menstruation. 



The time of the performance of cere- 

 monies varies. Some are held annually, 

 or biennially, at stated periods; such are 

 the solstitial or seasonal ceremonies, for 

 which no special provision is necessarily 

 made. Some are held during certain sea- 

 eons within the year, but are dependent 

 on the will of an individual who may have 

 pledged or taken a vow to perform the 

 ceremony. Others are held at any season, 

 whenever occasion may demand; such 

 are the ceremonies of the medicine-men. 



Inasmuch as ceremonies form intrinsic 

 features and may be regarded as only 

 phases of culture, their special character 

 depends on the state of culture of the 

 people by which they are performed; 

 hence there are at least as many kinds of 

 ceremonies as there are phases of cul- 

 ture in North America. A few charac- 

 teristic ceremonies may be considered 

 for some of the better-defined areas: 



Among the Plains tribes the most spec- 

 tacular ceremony is the Sun dance, q. v. 

 This varied from an annual performance, 

 as among the Ponca and some other 

 Siouan tribes, to a presentation only as 

 the direct result of a vow, as among the 

 Cheyenne, Arapaho, and Siksika. In 

 the Sun dance of all tribes are found 

 certain common features, such as the 

 secret tipi or tipis of preparation; the 

 manufacture of objects to be used on the 

 public altar; the procession of priests in 

 search of an object generally symbolic of 

 spying out the world; the ceremonial 

 erection of the great lodge, of which the 

 center pole is the most prominent feature; 

 the erection of the altar; and the charac- 

 teristic dance lasting from 1 to 4 days. 

 During the public performance the 

 dancers are symbolically painted and 

 otherwise so adorned that their evolu- 

 tions are supposed to lead to a distinct 

 result — the production of rain. While 

 the Sun dance varies from tribe to tribe, 

 not only in its symbolism but also in 

 many important details, itseems primarily 

 to have been a rain ceremony, and its 

 ritual generally recounts the origin or the 

 rebirth of mankind. The second group 

 of ceremonies are those performed by 

 cult societies, generally four or more in 

 number. Each society has its special 

 esoteric songs, its own paraphernalia, 

 and often distinct gradations in rank. 

 The membership is generally exclusively 



male, although a limited number of 

 maidens are admitted into the societies 

 of the Cheyenne, while the Arapaho 

 have a society which belongs exclusively 

 to the women, of which there are several 

 gradations of rank. The third group 

 comprises the performances of cult socie- 

 ties in which the warrior element does 

 not predominate; these are often spoken 

 of as dances, although they are, strictly 

 speaking, ceremonies. Among the best 

 known of these are the Buffalo, the 

 Bear, and the Elk. The basis is usu- 

 ally the acquisition and perpetuation 

 of magic power which, primarily, 

 was derived from the animal after which 

 the society takes its name and from 

 which it is supj^osed to have originated. 

 A fourth group comprises those of the 

 medicine-men, and are either cere- 

 monies in which one or more medicine- 

 men perform for the benefit of the sick, 

 or, more often, in which all the medicine- 

 men of the tribe join in a performance 

 to make public demonstration of magic 

 power through sleight-of-hand. The 

 last group of Plains ceremonies includes 

 those connected with the planting and 

 reaping of the maize, or the first killing 

 of game in the hunting season, or the 

 first coming of the fish — all, it may be 

 noted, connected with the gift of food 

 for the sustenance of life. 



The Pueblo tribes of the S. W. are 

 especially noted for their extended cere- 

 monies, which among the Hopi number 

 no fewer than 13, each of 9 days' dura- 

 tion. The secret rites are almost always 

 held in an underground chamber called 

 a kiva (q. v.), or estufa, in which, in ad- 

 dition to the performances, an elaborate 

 a'ltar is erected. During the initiation of 

 candidates into the brotherhood of these 

 societies, dry-paintings (q. v. ) are laid on 

 the floor of the kiva in front of the altar. 

 The symbolism both of these and of the 

 altar itself is generally very elaborate, 

 but with a strong predominance of sym- 

 bols in which reference is made to rain 

 clouds. During certain of these ceremo- 

 nies masked dancers appear, the symbol- 

 ism of the mask being distinctive. The 

 most notable of the Hopi are: The Soyal, 

 a winter solstice ceremony; the Powamu, 

 a February l)ean-planting ceremony; a 

 New Fire ceremony, in early spring; the 

 Niman, or the departure of the masked 

 personages, a ceremony of early summer; 

 the Snake- Antelope, of the summer, alter- 

 nating each year with that of the Flute 

 ceremonies; those of the women in the 

 autumn comprising the Lagon, the Oaqol, 

 and the INIarau. In addition to these 

 the Hopi have a large number of minor 

 ones, generally of one day's duration. 

 Such are the Katcina or masked dances, 

 and various others of a social nature 



