GODDARD— APACHE MASKED DANCERS 



When he talked over my body with the longest life, 

 The voice of thunder spoke well four times. 

 He spoke four times to me with life. 

 Holy sky boy spoke to me four times. 

 When he talked to me my breath became. 



In these songs one recognizes at once the sacred number four, 

 connected with the world-quarters, each with its color. The east is 

 black, the south is blue, the west is yellow, and the north is white. 

 The dualism of sky and earth also appears. Several of the sacred 

 materials are mentioned — the soft feathers, the black stone or jet, 

 and pollen connected with speech or prayer. The mountain of the 

 east, "Mescal mountain", is the mythical home of the Gans where there 

 stands a row of Douglas spruce. 1 Besides the Gans themselves, the sky 

 boy and sky girl are prominent as persons, and the thunder and light- 

 ning with clouds disguised as spots represent the forces of nature. 



During a visit to the Arizona Apache in 1914, by good fortune 

 it was possible to witness a performance of the Gan dance. This was 

 given on the occasion of an abbreviated puberty ceremony for a girl. 

 A dance-ground had been prepared during the day by completely 

 clearing away all brush and other growth and anything which might 

 interfere with the feet of the dancers. A bountiful supply of firewood 

 had been provided and placed in the center of the ground. At the 

 western side a number of singers grouped themselves about the drum, 

 a piece of rawhide stretched over brush. Many families had come 

 during the morning before for the other features of the ceremony. 

 These family groups were scattered on the gently rising hillside to 

 the west with improvised shelters at the back, while in front of them 

 their small cooking fires dotted the hillside as night approached. The 

 young people, the girls and boys in separate lines, began dancing to 

 the music of the drum. With the girls was the one for whom the 

 ceremony was being held. 



Soon after sunset the masked dancers appeared in single-file ap- 

 proaching from the east. They circled the dance-ground clockwise and 

 then began dancing. They wore kilts and high moccasins similar to 

 those generally worn by the women. Their bodies were blackened and 

 soon gleamed as violent perspiration was induced by dancing. Over 

 their faces they had canvas masks which were surmounted by the 

 characteristic wooden frames. The material for these frames is split 

 from the flowering stalk of the Spanish bayonet. The pieces are 

 shaved thin and smooth, and cut and painted with the symbolism of 



1 During a recent visit to Arizona this mountain was found to be one of the White Mountain 

 summits, that one called "Baldy". 



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