The Hopi Director Of The Dances Was
Mootchka, Whose Costume Was As Astoundingly Frightful As He Could Possibly
Make It.
His naked body was smeared over with whitewash, some of which
adhered and some of which did not.
On his head was a mass of rudely woven
black wool, crowned with the duplex pads of some wild flower. Around the
waist was a similar black wool mat, fastened on with a Navaho belt of
silver disks. When all was ready the dancers began. The trader's store-yard
was the plaza, and the roofs of all the buildings on the three sides of the
square were covered with Navaho spectators. Hour after hour they continued.
Some of the dancers were decorated, others were in ordinary costume, but
all danced and sang with fervor.
Dancing. The chief instrument was a large drum, made by hollowing out a
section of a tree trunk, and covering the ends with rawhide, which were
tightly laced on with strips of the same material. The dull monotonous
thump of the drum kept time, while dancers sang and rattled. Their songs
are invocations to "Those Above" to continue their good gifts, and at the
same time accept thanks for all that had been given. One dance was
particularly beautiful. It was supposed to represent the movements of the
planets in and out of the fixed stars. Two little girls, brightly and
beautifully dressed, waving feather plumes in their hands, threaded their
way in and out of the lines of the dancers, themselves moving with an easy
graceful swing.
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