THE SNAKE DANCE 



131 



After a while some of the priests 

 began to look half hypnotized, and 

 sang with their eyes fixed and heads 

 bent. The silence, except for the 

 chanting, was getting on my nerves. 

 I looked around and saw crowds of 

 people, all silent ; even our troopers 

 were quiet. Suddenly the singing 

 stopped and the Snake priests stood 

 in line, single file, only every other 

 priest had his hand on the shoulder 

 of the one in front of him and in 

 the other hand carried a wand of 

 eagle feathers. Four other Snake 

 priests stationed themselves at the 

 four points of the compass. 



Then suddenly the "Antelope Clan" 

 began another chant, louder and far 

 wilder than before. They stood in 

 front of the altar, swaying forwards 

 and backwards. At about the second 

 stanza the Snake priests began to 

 move ; around they went, around the 

 plaza, with a funny, high-stepping 

 motion. As they passed the altar 

 they paused and stamped twice on 

 a board that was over a hole in the 

 ground. 



I asked my companion what it 

 meant, and he said that the Hopis 

 believe that that hole leads to the 

 underworld and they are awakening 

 the spirits to hear their prayers. 



The second time the priests passed 

 the altar I saw them pause, but only 

 when they had turned facing me I 

 realized the horror. Every other 

 man had a squirming live rattle- 

 snake in his mouth ! The snakes 

 were curling themselves into all kinds 

 of horrible shapes, and their evil heads 

 went darting this way and that. 



I saw one rattler strike a man just 

 under the ear. He had to pull it loose, 

 but took a fresh hold of the snake nearer 

 its head and seemed none the worse 

 for it. 



Now I saw the reason for the second 

 priests with the feather wands. Their 

 duty was to soothe the snake by stroking 

 it with the feathers, and to guide the 

 snake-carrying priest, who often looked 

 as if he was in a trance. Once around 

 the plaza they would dance with their 



Photo by Mrs. Herbert Wadsworth 



"I saw one dancing with a bull snake bigger than 

 himself, and the little boy had to hold it with both 

 hands, as well as with his teeth, to prevent it 

 from getting away (see page 133). 



ghastly burden, and then, putting it down 

 facing one of the four points of the 

 compass, they would leave it, going on 

 to the altar for a fresh one. 



As soon as the snake was released, off 

 it would glide, trying to get to the refuge 

 of one of the houses, or into the crowd 

 which surrounded the plaza like a living 

 wall ; but, before it could reach either, 

 the priest stationed at that point would 

 come behind it and stroke it with a 

 feathered wand similar to those of the 

 guiding priests. The snake would hiss 

 and try to coil and strike, but the tick- 

 ling of the feathers would make it un- 



