The Snake Ceremony of the Hopi Indians

The Snake Ceremony of the Hopi Indians By M. W. STIRLING, Chief of the Bureau of American Ethnology, Washington, D. C.

HE celebrated Snake Dance of the Hopi Indians, of the many spectacular and colorful rites of the Pueblo Indians, has intrigued the popular fancy most. While this ceremony has been carefully studied and recorded by such investigators as Bourke, Fewkes and Hough, at a date before white influence had begun to bring about many modifications, nevertheless, most of the printed accounts are highly speculative and fantastic.

At one time apparently widely distributed throughout the pueblo area, the Snake Ceremony is now confined to the several Hopi villages in northern Arizona. It is held every two years, alternating with the Flute Ceremony. In the odd years the dance is held at Walpi and Mishonginovi, while the even-year celebrations are in the other villages. The dance at Walpi has always provided the best spectacle, the Indians of this village taking particular pride in the daring manner in which the snakes are handled.

The public performance of the snake dance is but one episode of an elaborate nine-day ceremonial period, the primary object of which is to bring rain. Very few portions of the ceremony may be witnessed by the public, all of the more sacred rites being conducted in the subterranean “kivas,” or ceremonial chambers of the Antelope Society and the Snake Fraternity, respectively, which jointly conduct the ceremony in its entirety.

The natural question which everyone will ask is, “What is the meaning of this weird performance, and how are its various rituals to be interpreted?” The complete answer is lost in antiquity. Even the Snake Priests of sixty years ago were unable to supply this information. When asked why these things were done, they would reply, “Because our ancestors did so, and it is ordained that we do likewise.” When pressed for an interpretation of the rite, the priests would recount the legend of Tiyo, the Snake Youth, and the first Hopi people who came to Tusayan. In brief form the legend as recounted to Dr. Fewkes is somewhat as follows:

LEGEND OF TIYO

The ancestral Snake Youth, Tiyo, pondering over the fact that the waters Of the river flowed ever onward, without returning or filling the gorge, decided to undertake a journey following the river, in order to solve the mystery. He carried with him as a gift of his father a box which contained eagle's down and a variety of prayer sticks for presentation to the Spider Woman, the Ruler of the Six Directions, the Sun and the god who makes all of the germs of life. After riding the angry rapids of the river in an enclosed canoe, he met the Spider Woman, who became his guide and counselor. She prepared a liquid charm to be taken in the mouth and spurted upon angry beasts and nakes for their pacification and perched herself invisibly upon his ear. Then, through the “sipapu” they plunged to the Underworld.

There, following floating wisps of the eagle's down, they journeyed from place to place, safely passing the great snake Gato ya and savage wild beast sentinels, visiting Hi canavaiya who determines the path of the rain clouds, and Hi zriingwikit, the ancient woman who ev-ery night becomes an enchanting maid-en; had a smoke with Ta Wa, the Sun, and went with him to inspect the place where he rises; meeting Muiyingwuh on the way and receiVing friendly as-surances from that creative divinity. He rode across the sky on the Sun's shoulders and saw the whole world, and learned from his flaming charioteer that the possession most dearly to be prized was the rain-cloud. So he returned to the Kiva near the great snake, and from the Snake Antelope men there learned what songs to sing, what prayer sticks to fashion and how to paint his body, that the rain-cloud might come. The chief gave him much important para-phernalia, and two maidens who knew the charm preventing death from the bite of the rattlesnake. These maidens Tiyo took home, giving one to his young-er brother, where the youthful couples took up their abode in separate kivas. At night low clouds trailed over the vil-lage, and Snake People from the Un-derworld came from them and went into the kivas. On the following morning they were found in the valleys, trans-formed into reptiles of all kinds. This occurred for four days. Then (the ninth morning) the Snake Maidens said: 'We understand this; let the younger broth-ers (the Snake Society) go out and bring them all in and wash their heads, and let them dance with you.' This was done and the prayer meal sprinkled upon them, and then they were carried back to the valleys, and they returned to the Snake kiva of the Underworld, bearing the petitions of all the people.” The exact date upon which the cere-mony is to begin, having been deter-mined by the priests and the necessary preliminary preparations having been completed, the high points of the com-plicated nine-day ceremony are some-what as follows:

THE FIRST DAY

At sunrise on the first day, the chief priest of the Antelope Society places up-right at the hatchway of the Antelope kiva the sacred natci made of two eagle feathers tied to a short stick. This is put up on the morning of each ceremo-nial day, and a similar object at the en-trance to the Snake kiva as a sign that ceremonials are being performed. The principal rites of the first day take place in the Antelope kiva where the Antelope Priest mixes the bowl of sacred medi-cine which is used throughout the cere-mony, and on the floor of the kiva con-structs a beautiful colored sand-paint-ing which represents symbolic clouds, rain and lightning, and which serves as an altar for subsequent ceremonies. The rituals connected with the mixing of the medicine and the construction of the altar consume the greater part of the day.

THE SECOND DAY

The ceremonies of the second day consist of the manufacture and consecra-tion of prayer-sticks. These are the bearers of prayers to the gods, and they vary in kind according to the particular divinity to whom the prayer is address-ed, and in length to the distance of the shrines in which they are to be deposi-ted. The prayer-sticks are as a rule, made of cottonwood, painted and carved in various manners and decorated by means of attached feathers. On this and each succeeding day the prayer-sticks are consecrated by the singing of sixteen songs by the Antelope Society seated about the altar. This part of the ceremony is the same for each day, ex-cepting the last two days when an in-teresting dramatization takes place in which the legendary Snake Youth, Tiyo, and the Snake Maiden, Tcuamana, appear. On these two occasions the Snake Priest also visits the Antelope kiva.

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THE THIRD DAY

The third day is the first of the four on which the snake hunts take place in the sacred four quarters; on this day the snake hunt is in the north. Early in the morning the Snake Society assembles in their kiva and prepares themselves for the hunt. Leaving the kiva they comb the country to the northward, spending the day in capturing snakes. Each snake when captured is sprinkled with sacred meal and placed in a pouch carried by his captor. The majority are rattlesnakes. On returning to the kiva, with appropriate ceremonies, the snakes are placed one by one in four jars which are used only for this purpose.

THE FOURTH DAY

On the fourth day the Snake Priests are again absent from their kiva, this time collecting snakes from the west quarter. In the Antelope kiva elaborate ceremonies continue, in which the sacred pipe is smoked and more prayers entrusted to the prayer-sticks. Further rites are conducted in the preparation of the sacred medicine, and certain new objects are added to the altar.

THE FIFTH DAY

On the fifth day the ceremonies continue as before, the Snake Priest collecting snakes from the south quarter and the Antelope Society spending the day busily engaged in important ceremonies within their kiva.

THE SIXTH DAY

On the sixth day the snakes are gathered from the east quarter, and on the seventh day the sand-painting is made for the altar in the Snake kiva and the sacred snake charm liquid is mixed. This has always been one of the most secret and carefully guaarded portions of the entire ceremony. The kiva ceremonies of this, one of the most important days of the entire series, close with a spectacular dramatization in the Snake kiva. during which novices are initiated into the Snake Society.

THE SEVENTH DAY

Many ceremonies take place at distant shrines outside the pueblo on the night following the morning of the eighth day, including the Antelope race before dawn, when a number of the runners of this society hold a ceremonial foot race on the plain south of the village.

THE EIGHTH DAY ARIZONA HIGHWAYS

Of the legend of the Snake Youth and the Snake Maiden takes place in the Antelope kiva. The Snake Priests spend the morning of this day making prayer-sticks in their kiva. In the middle of the afternoon the kisi, a small conical structure of green boughs, is constructed in the plaza. In front of the entrance there is a hole representing the sipapu, the sacred hole from which the first beings emerged from the darkness of the Underworld onto the earth.

In the late afternoon of the eighth day the first public observance takes place. This is the Antelope Dance, which is performed on the village plaza. With its weird humming music, the rythmic swaying of the dancers with their rattles as the two groups comprising the two societies face each other on the plaza, this is a most impressive sight in the clear air of the Arizona evening.

The groups of dancers make four ceremonial circuits of the plaza, pausing in each circuit long enough to stamp vigorously on the sapapu by way of giving notice to the gods that a ceremony is in progress.

THE FINAL DAY

The ninth and final day of the ceremonial period opens with a foot race by members of the Snake Society. Early in the morning a continuation of the dramatization of the Snake Youth and Snake Maiden legend takes place with elaborate ceremony during which novices are introduced into the Antelope Society. Following the conclusion of this performance the members of the society occupy themselves the remainder of the morning in freshly painting their kits, making new moccasins and otherwise preparing for the dance to follow later in the day. During this day the Snake Priests eat no food whatever. At noon the most important rite of the entire nine-day period takes place. This is the "washing" of the snakes in the sacred liquid. This ceremony, the most carefully guarded of the entire series, can best be described in the words of Dr. Fewkes, who, after being warned of the dire consequences that would be certain to result, was the first white man to witness this awe-inspiring rite. After a lengthy description of the preliminary rites, he says:

THE WASHING OF THE SNAKES

The Snake Priests who stood by the snake jars which were in the east corner of the room, began to take out the reptiles, and stood holding several of them in their hands behind the Su-pe-la, the Snake Chief, so that my attention was distracted by them. Su-pe-la

During the eighth day a dramatization

NOVEMBER, 1929 Then prayed, and after a short interval two rattlesnakes were handed him, after which other veneomous snakes were passed to the others, and each of the six priests who sat around the bowl held two rattlesnakes by the necks with their heads elevated above the bowl.

"A low noise from the rattles of the priests, which shortly after was accompanied by a melodious hum by all present, then began. The priests who held the snakes beat time up and down above the liquid with the reptiles, which, although not vicious, wound their bodies around the arms of the holders. The song went on and frequently changed, growing louder and wilder, until it burst forth into a fierce, blood-curdling yell, or war-cry. At this moment the heads of the snakes were thrust several times into the liquid, so that even parts of their bodies were submerged, and were then drawn out, not having left the hands of the priests, and forcibly thrown across the room upon the sand mosaic, knocking down the crocks and other objects placed about it. As they fell on the sand pictures three Snake Priests stood in readiness, and while the reptiles squirmed about or coiled for defense, these men with their snakewhips brushed them back and forth in the sand of the altar.

The excitement which accompanied this ceremony cannot be adequately described. The low song breaking into piercing shrieks, the red-stained singers, the snakes thrown by the chiefs, and the fierce attitudes of the reptiles as they landed on the sand mosaic, made it next to impossible to sit calmly down and quietly note the events which followed one after another in quick succession. The sight haunted me for weeks afterward, and I can never forget this wildest of all the aboriginal rites of this strange people, which showed no element of our present civilization. It was a performance which might have been expected in the heart of Africa rather than in the American Union, and certainly one could not realize that he was in the United States at the end of the Nineteenth Century.

The low, weird song continued while other rattlesnakes were taken in the hands of the priests and as the song rose again to the wild war cry, these snakes were also plunged into the liquid and thrown upon the writhing mass which now occupied the place of the altar. Again and again this was repeated until all the snakes had been treated in the same way, and reptiles, fetishes, crocks and sand were mixed together in one

NOVEMBER, 1929 ARIZONA HIGHWAYS Page Eleven

confused mass. As the excitement subsided and the snakes crawled to the corners of the kiva, seeking vainly for protection, they were again pushed back in the mass and brushed together in the sand in order that their bodies might be thoroughly dried. Every snake in the collection was thus washed, the harm less varieties being bathed after the venomous.

In the destruction of the altar by the reptiles the snake ti-po-ni (fetish) stood upright until all had been washed, and then one of the priests turned it on its side as a sign that the observance had ended. The low, weird song of the Snake men continued and gradually died away until there was no sound but the warning rattle of the snakes mingled with that of the rattles in the hands of the chiefs, and finally the motion of the snake-whips ceased and all was silent.

The culmination of the nine-day ceremonial takes place on the evening of the final day in the public performance of the Snake Dance, the observance of which has made the Hopi Indians known the world over. To this, the Hopi have always welcomed visitors, and the assorted audience of Navajos, cowboys and tourists is second in interest as a spectacle only to the Snake Dance itself.

THE SNAKE DANCE

Just before sundown the Antelopes, in full regalia with faces and bodies painted, emerge from their kiva, forming a line before the Snake kiva, where each member casts a pinch of corn meal into the hatchway. They then march to the west side of the kiva, circling the plaza four times, as on the preceding day, stamping vigorously on the sipapu as they pass to notify the gods of the ceremony. They then form in a line on each side of the kiva. Then, in marked contrast to the sedate Antelopes, the Snake Society, led by their chief, rush into the plaza, clad in barbaric splendor, carrying the paraphernalia to be used in the dance. After circling the plaza four times, they form a line facing the Antelope Society, which now breaks into a low humming song, swaying their bodies laterally in rhythm with the music, while the Snake Society steps to and fro with a peculiar motion, pointing their feather snake-whips to the earth, moving them tremulously back and forth in time with the rattles and the song.

During this, one of the priests walks between the lines sprinkling the sacred liquid to the four quarters, repeating loudly a sacred formula as he does so. At the conclusion of this perform ance, the snakes, which had been placed in the kiva are now brought out and carried around the plaza. The Snake Priests arrange themselves into groups of three, called respectively the carrier, the hugger and the gatherer, in accordance with their function during the dance. These groups line up before the kisi where each carrier kneels down, and reaching his arm into the bag of writhing snakes, draws out one. He immediately places the squirming creature in his mouth, holding its body near the middle and allowing the two ends to dangle freely. At Walpi the dancers express contempt for those of the other pueblos, who hold the two loose ends of the snake with the hands or grasp it near the neck with their mouths. The groups then begin making the ceremonial circuit of the plaza, and the most exciting episode of the Snake Dance is under way. The huggers, each with the left arm placed around the carrier's neck, distract the attention of the snakes by brushing their feather snake-whips before the heads of the serpents. The snakes are strong and occasionally one wriggles free and falls to the plaza where he attempts to escape. It is now the duty of the gatherer to recapture the reptile lost by his group. As the plaza is filled with priests making the circuit, the excitement, which has now become intense, is heightened as an occasional serpent dashes towards the crowd, pursued by his gatherer, or an occasional spectator, exhibiting disrespect for a snake which has approached too closely, is struck in the face by the body of another live snake carried by one of the priests. During the entire dance the priests conduct themselves much as though the spectators were not present, and a spectator who happens to be in the path of a fast-charging carrier or gatherer is apt to be nursing black and blue marks as a result.

At one place along the circuit stands a row of women, each holding a tray of sacred meal with which the carriers are sprinkled as they pass. All during this performance the Antelopes remain in place, singing and shaking their rattles. When all of the carriers have been supplied with snakes, each Antelope is given one to hold.

After all the snakes have been carried the Chief Priests make a large ring of corn meal on the ground and across it is formed six radial lines representing the Six Directions. At a given signal all of the snakes are cast into the ring. A signal is given, and the women cast into the seething mass the corn meal remaining on their trays, whereupon all the Snake Priests rush up to the ring, grasp as many snakes as they can hold in both hands, and carrying them in this fashion dash down the several trails leading to the plain, where the snakes are liberated once more in the four directions and from whence they carry the message of the ceremony to the gods who control the rain clouds.

THE PURIFICATION RITE

This having been accomplished, the priests return to the kiva and remove their dance togs. Leaving the kiva, they purify themselves by taking an emetic served them by the women. This ritual having been completed they again re-tire to the kiva where a feast is held, lasting well into the night. The Ante-lopes do not take part in this portion of the day's activities..

As already indicated, most of the snakes used are venomous. Nothing is done to these serpents either to remove their venom or reduce their activity. It is possible that they become accustomed to being handled while in the kiva and thus are less belligerent than ordinarily, but it is more likely that accidents are prevented by the care and confidence with which they are handled by the priests. It is also possible that a rat-tlesnake is not prone to strike while un-coiled, but this would not be at all im-possible as the snakes are handled at Walpi.

There is no question but that this is the most spectacular of all surviving ceremonies of our American Indians, and one which will well repay the visitor his trip to the mesa of Walpi. He must take care, however, not to linger too long after the ceremony, as the deluge which the rain gods usually bring immediately after its conclusion is likely to create a torrent in the usually dry wash which will maroon him in the vicinity of the pueblo.

RECREATIONIST FROM EAST FORGETS TOIL AND TURMOIL OF CITY

(Continued from page 8) the rugged, sharp-peaked hills as they glow in the morning sun and as they melt all mauve and purple into the evening sky, and that there is something magnetic about the grey-green mesas that stretch off into the distance; something which satisfies and appeals to the imagination like no other place in the world. These are the things that visitors never forget and that very often draw them back to stay.