HOLMES ANNIVERSARY VOLUME 



the cult. These carved and painted headdresses are the main objects 

 connected with these rites, and they are looked upon with some 

 reverence and guarded with care. When a dancer is seen in profile, 

 the headdress is scarcely visible because of its thinness, but when the 

 head is suddenly rotated it flashes into full view. Each dancer carries 

 a pair of wands with which he gestures. 



The figures of the dance are originated by the leader who has an 

 especially elaborate head-gear and who represents the most important 

 of the Gans, the one of the east. He is sometimes called the Black 

 Gan from the color associated with the east, the Great Gan, or the 

 Talking Gan (Ganowun). There are usually four masked dancers and 

 a clown. The latter attracts a great deal of attention and causes much 

 delight by exaggerated mistakes in dancing and his general asinine 

 conduct. After dancing for fifteen or twenty minutes, during which 

 the fire is gradually circled clockwise four times, the dancers retire to 

 appear at half-hour intervals. This is supposed to continue through- 

 out the night and to be repeated four nights. 



During this time the songs of Naiyenesgani and Estannadlehi are 

 being sung near by, to the accompaniment of which the girl dances by 

 herself or with one companion. 1 This particular celebration was cur- 

 tailed, the dancing of the Gans ceasing about i a.m., and the ceremony 

 as a whole lasting but little more than twenty-four hours instead of 

 the traditional four days. But on this occasion the Gans joined in the 

 morning ceremony in the bright sunlight at 8 a.m. to the very great 

 surprise and delight of the spectators. Because of this quite unusual 

 daylight visitation those present filed by and sprinkled the masked 

 men with pollen, paying them the honor due the gods they represented. 



The general import is unmistakable; the mortal friends and rela- 

 tives of the girl congregate to celebrate her entry upon womanhood. 

 They sing songs and pray for her future welfare and happiness. They 

 make merry and feast in this ceremony, which is partly religious and 

 partly social. With these human friends join the immortals who not 

 only add their contributions to the fortune-bringing rites, but join in 

 the social pleasures of the occasion. The children believe them to be 

 gods; the elders believe that formerly the gods actually came; they 

 all undoubtedly believe that to a considerable extent these masked 

 men are temporarily divine. 



American Museum of Natural History 

 New York City 



1 For a brief account of this portion of the ceremony as conducted by the Mescalero, and 

 examples of the songs sung, see "Gotal — A Mescalero Apache Ceremony", The Putnam Anni- 

 versary Volume, pp. 385-394. 



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