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The women wear a "manta ' (a black woolen dress, without sleeves 

 and fastening over the right shoulder only). Their feet and legs are 

 bare. A wooden tablita or head board is worn over the head. They 

 carry spruce in each hand. 



The dance lasts all afternoon. First one group dances, then 

 another. Between dances they rest and practice songs. After the 

 first dance all of the dancers file into the little house where the saint 

 is and pray to him, one man and one woman kneeling before hmi at 

 a time. Along toward the close of the afternoon the two kiva groups 

 come out at the same time and dance together. Various dance 

 figures are executed throughout the afternoon. There is no individual 

 performance; it is entirely a group affair. Indeed there is no leader 

 so far as anyone can see, but all of the dancers keep step, turn, etc., 

 at the precise moment and in perfect coordination. 



At the close of the dance all of the dancers gather near the house 

 of the saint. Before they stop dancing the war chief begins to pray. 

 He praj^s in a droning, singsong voice. Then all of the dancers stop 

 and kneel. The war chief prays and thanks the people for dancing 

 for the saint. Then the saint is carried back to the church, followed 

 1)V the dancers and some people. 



That evening, after supper, people visit with each other. Usually 

 one large house is cleared, and they have a "com dance." There is 

 no costume; men and women just dance to singing and a gourd rattle. 

 vSometimes they have a "Mexican dance"; i. e., three Mexicans, one 

 with a guitar, another \\Tth an accordion, and the third with a fiddle, 

 play American jazz and a variety of Mexican selections. The young 

 men and girls dance together.^" 



The fiesta dance at Acoma is not as well done as at the Keresan 

 villages in the east. The costumes are not pure; there is a mixture 

 of Indian and white. Some men wear imion suits and American 

 shoes, socks, and garters. Some even wear shirts and trousers, but 

 some of the men, especially the older men, insist upon puritj" of cos- 

 tume. The dancing itself is inferior to that of then- eastern cousins; 

 it lacks finish. I think this is to be attributed, in part at least, to 

 the fact that the eastern pueblos are stimulated by comparisons with 

 each other. They visit each other at fiesta times, and compare notes; 

 and, of course, each village is anxious to appear well in the dancing. 

 Acoma, on the other hand, is quite isolated. She has onlj- Laguna 

 to compete with, and she is even worse. The yoimg people at Acoma 

 are not particularh^ interested in putting on a finished dance; that 

 means a lot of work. About all they want is to have a good time, and 



" Some of the olil folks disapprove of these dances very much; it is another step away from the old ways. 

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