USA > Arizona > History of Arizona, Vol. VII > Part 6
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20
"At present the trophy is inserted with the bundle of weeds, and on the final day of the cere- mony, when the blackening of the patient has taken place, it is carried out some distance from the place of final gathering and deposited upon the ground by the singer. The throng sur- rounds the trophy at a respectful distance, while the singer takes a pinch of ashes and sprinkles the trophy with it, exhorting the visitors not to gaze upon it while this is being done. When the patient, too, has sprinkled ashes upon it, two of the visitors rush up and discharge their guns (formerly their arrows) upon the trophy. They then sing the praises of the patient in slaying or running the enemy down. This is concluded in the evening, just before dark, by a general celebration of victory. The rattle bearer and other invited singers of the war rite indulge for about half an hour in yelling and rushing at one another with firebrands, a turn which is soon taken up by all men and boys present. The rest of the night is spent in dan- cing and merriment.
"The blackening is sometimes performed in- dependently of the other features of the war VII-6
82
HISTORY OF ARIZONA.
dance, and may be done in the open, or in the hogan, or even in a modern house.
"For dispelling native enemies, such as the influence of the monsters of the legends, and innumerable witches, another war dance, the blackening against witchcraft, is conducted.
"In the description of the masks, mention has been made of the bow and queue as emblematic of the clothes of the Slayer of Monsters and his brother. For similar traditional reasons the openings of the bow and queue are left open on the rattlestick. As the Slayer of Monsters or Enemies and his brother, the Water Child, are inseparable in the destruction of enemies, the symbol of bow and queue are both added to the rattlestick as indicating the power of these two gods.
PUBLIC EXHIBITIONS OR DANCES.
"The night chant, and some of the mountain chants, occasionally close with a public exhibi- tion by masked personators, which, however, is not essential to the chant, but optional with the patient. When the night chant is to be closed privately, or like any ordinary chant, the masked personators perform inside the hogan, and the mountain chant is limited, in a similar event, to five nights, with the exclusion of drum and dancers.
"In public, the personators perform in a cor- ral, and for the mountain chant, around a huge fire built in the center of this corral, which ac- counts for the popular names of the corral and fire dances for these two chants. These corrals or enclosures are made of brushwork, set up
83
THE NAVAHO.
after sunset, which, in the mountain chant, is done under the direction of the masked persona- tor of the Speaking God, who gives his direc- tions by gestures and his usual call only. The corral is of the same shape for every public ex- hibition, and has but one opening in the east, though at dawn the enclosure is broken at the other cardinal points also.
"The personators for the night chant disrobe to the breechclout and moccasins, paint their bodies with white clay, and adorn themselves with a silver belt, and the skin of a kitfox dang- ling in their rear. Each dons one of the masks, after which they are not allowed to speak, and they enter the corral in single file, in which posi- tion they dance to the beat of a drum. They leave the corral after some time and make way for another set of dancers to whom they give their masks and regalias. This is continued until dawn is announced, after which the corral is opened.
"In the mountain chant the personators, such as the two performing the feat of swallowing the arrows, and the fire dancers, are not masked, but disrobe, and paint their bodies for protec- tion from the excessive heat. A variety of leger- demain was in vogue at this dance, such as the growing of yucca, the dancing porcupine quill, and other performances, which took up the in- tervals. Originally, custom required the mes- sengers, or meal sprinklers, to invite foreign tribes to contribute with their magic for the occasion. Later these invitations extended only to the shamans of the tribe whose insignia, when they had such, were borne to the place of cele-
84
HISTORY OF ARIZONA.
bration by the messenger. Eventually, much of this formality was dropped, as performances of magic are exposed to the ridicule of the younger generation, so that invitations to the various lodges of medicine men are extended merely as a matter of courtesy. The various performances, however, are responsible for such designations of the mountain chant as the fire dance, growing hashkan, or hashkan dance, etc., just as the night chant is sometimes designated as the vei-bichai dance from the leading person- ator.
"Ordinarily a ceremony is performed over a single patient. It is permissible, however, to conduct a ceremony for two patients of the same sex, so that, for instance, a ceremony may not be held over man and wife simultaneously. A singer may conduct a ceremony over his own wife, but not for his own benefit, for which he must call on the services of another singer. In the event of two patients there are two meal or pollen sprinklers at the public exhibition in place of the customary single one. Other changes take place in the various songs, and especially in the distribution of the prayer- sticks.
"The night chant is performed over persons as well as over the masks themselves. An in- stance of this kind has been mentioned in the dedication of a new set of masks. Another in- stance is the purification of a set of masks defiled by the death of its owner, or that of the patient for whom the chant is conducted. In this event the masks may not be used again unless the night
85
THE NAVAHO.
chant, specifically its vigil, has been performed over them.
"It is customary that guests attending the close of a ceremony partake of a repast at the hogan where it takes place. At public exhibi- tions, where the multitude of visiting guests is unusually large, this has been abolished, and is now limited to the meals which the patient must provide for the singer and his assistants. At the smaller ceremonies of one and five nights' duration meals are served to the guests about midnight. Accordingly, the meals served there are sometimes referred to as the close of cere- mony.
THE CHOICE OR SELECTION OF CHANTS TO BE PERFORMED.
"The decision as to the particular chant to be selected is left with the individual. Owing to the great variety of causes for disease and continued misfortune, the choice is often a diffi- cult one. If relief is not obtained the rites and ceremonies of another chant should be enlisted to secure it. In this manner a fortune is often spent. Public opinion has it that a person bit- ten by a snake, struck by lightning, thrown from or kicked by a horse, is pursued by some unseen power. The bite of an ant, or mad coyote, continued prostitution, or venereal excess, loss of sheep, failure of crops, sickness or death in the family or relationship, all portend some malign influence. This is also the case with dreams bearing on misfortune. A pregnant woman especially must exercise the greatest care lest she observe anything in the shape of
86
HISTORY OF ARIZONA.
violence. The influence of bad dreams must be removed during the time of her pregnancy, both by herself and her husband. If this has been neglected the duty devolves upon the child, even at an advanced age.
"In such manner each case is carefully diag- nosed and discussed by the family and their rela- tives who, in addition, often consult astrologers and divinators for the purpose of selecting the appropriate chant.
THE EXPENSES.
"Expenses vary according to the nature of the chant and aggregate for public exhibitions as high as two hundred dollars and more. For the minor chants the price consists of a horse, cow, some sheep, calico, etc., according to the means of the patient. The legends inculcate that the shaman render his services without compensation in case of need. A nominal price is sometimes asked in such instances, though frequently assistance is refused entirely. Friends and relatives of the patient are, as a rule, asked to assist in defraying expenses."
The Navahos have many ceremonies which they practice with as great earnestness and devotion as did their fathers before them. Some are long, elaborate and intricate, being often of nine days' duration when applied to the healing of the sick. Many years of patient work are required to learn even one of their great rites perfectly, there being, so it is said, some- times two hundred songs to be memorized. No priest attempts to learn more than one of the great rites, although he may know some of the
87
THE NAVAHO.
minor ceremonies. In many of their cere- monies the Navahos masquerade in the costumes of their favorite gods, and, while posing as gods, gesticulate and utter strange sounds, though they never speak. For the time being the priest thus masquerading, is to all intents and pur- poses, the god he represents. He hears prayers and accepts sacrifices, not as a man, but as the impersonator of divinity, much the same as do the priests of our Christian churches when they receive offerings, or hear confessions, or dis- pense blessings.
The ceremony of the Mountain Chant is thus described :
"The ceremony of the Mountain Chant is per- haps one of the most elaborate rites celebrated by the Navahos. It is founded on a myth, the burden of which is the story of the wanderings of a family of six Navahos, the father, mother, two sons and two daughters. These people wandered for many days in the vicinity of the Carrizo mountains, then jour- neyed far to the north, crossing the San Juan river. The legend relates that the two sons provided meat for the family by hunting rab- bits, wood rats, and other small animals, and the two daughters gathered edible seeds and
roots on the way. It was a long time before the young men learned to follow the trail of the deer, and on one occasion, after returning to camp without the coveted deer, the old man be- came provoked at the stupidity of his sons and said to them, 'You kill nothing because you know nothing. If you had knowledge you would be successful. I pity you.' He then directed them
88
HISTORY OF ARIZONA.
to build a sweat house, giving them instructions as to the details of its construction. After un- dergoing the purifying ordeal of the sweat bath, he began slowly and carefully to teach them all the arts of woodcraft; how to surprise the vigi- lant deer, and carefully, step by step, they were initiated into the mysteries of the chase. After many days of careful drilling, these sons made great preparations for going on a big hunt in the distant mountains. They returned after many days, each with a deer he had slain, to- gether with much dried meat and many skins.
"It finally developed that the old man was a great prophet, and the myth goes on to relate how the two sons disobeyed their father's in- structions and the punishment that was visited upon them by the gods in consequence thereof. Afterwards the prophet was captured by the Utes, always at enmity with the Navahos, bound hand and foot, and sentenced by the Ute coun- cil to be whipped to death. An angel visited the old man in the night and loosed his thongs, and the prophet took his flight, and after under- going many hair-breadth escapes, finally reached the home of the gods who taught him how to make offerings to the deities. They also taught him the mysteries of the dry sand-paintings, and how to perform the great healing rites of the Mountain Chant.
"When the prophet at last returned to his people, a great feast and dance were given in his honor. There was much rejoicing and making merry. He was washed from head to foot and dried with the sacred corn meal. He was then asked to relate his experiences in the strange
89
THE NAVAHO.
land of the gods. - He now proceeded to teach his people the new rites he had learned from the gods and the preparation and use of the sacrificial sticks. A day was appointed when this new ceremony would be performed; all the neighboring tribes were invited to attend, and there was much rejoicing and exchanging of friendly good will. The ceremony was contin- ued through nine days and nights, at the con- clusion of which the prophet vanished in the air and was seen no more on earth."
The following is the account the Navahos give of the origin of the ceremony of the Mountain Chant.
"This ceremony is in reality a great passion play. The costumes are numerous and elabo- rate. There is much dancing, so called, but it is really not dancing at all, simply the acting out of the drama of the great cosmic myth in perpetuating the religious symbols of the tribe."
The following description of the "Fire Play" is given by Dr. Washington Matthews :
"The eleventh dance was the fire dance, or fire play, which was the most picturesque and startling of all. Every man except the leader bore a long thick bundle of shredded cedar bark in each hand, and one had two extra bundles on his shoulders for the later use of the leader. The latter carried four small fagots of the same material in his hands. Four times they all danced around the fire, waving their bundles of bark towards it. They halted in the east; the leader advanced towards the central fire, lighted one of his fagots, and trumpeting loudly, threw it to the east over the fence of the corral.
90
HISTORY OF ARIZONA.
He performed a similar act at the south, at the west, and at the north; but before the northern brand was thrown he lighted with it the dark bundles of his comrades. As each brand dis- appeared over the fence some of the spectators blew into their hands and made a motion as if tossing some substance into the departing flame. When the fascicles were all lighted the whole band began a wild race around the fire. At first they kept close together and spat upon one another some substance of supposed medicinal virtue. Soon they scattered and ran apparently without concert, the rapid racing causing the brands to throw out long brilliant streamers of flame over the hands and arms of the dancers. Then they proceeded to apply the brands to their own nude bodies and to the bodies of their com- rades in front of them, no man ever once turn- ing around; at times the dancer struck his vic- tim vigorous blows with his flaming wand; again he seized the flame as if it were a sponge, and, keeping close to the one pursued, rubbed the back of the latter for several moments, as if he were bathing him. In the meantime the sufferer would perhaps catch up with some one in front of him and in turn bathe him in flame. At times when a dancer found no one in front of him he proceeded to sponge his own back, and might keep this up while making two or three circuits around the fire or until he caught up with someone else. At each application of the blaze the loud trumpeting was heard, and it often seemed as if a great flock of cranes was winging its way overhead southward through the darkness. If a brand became extinguished
91
THE NAVAHO.
it was lighted again in the central fire; but when it was so far consumed as to be no longer held conveniently in the hand, the dancer dropped it and rushed, trumpeting, out of the corral. Thus, one by one, they all departed. When they were gone, many of the spectators came forward, picked up some of the fallen fragments of cedar bark, lighted them, and bathed their hands in the flame as a charm against the evil effects of fire.
"The Hoshkawn Dance, the Plumed Arrow Dance and the Wand Dance are some of the other important ceremonies in the great rite of the Mountain Chant. Few white people, ex- cept those living in the immediate vicinity of the Navahos, have ever witnessed many of the Navaho ceremonies for the reason that as these ceremonies are primarily for the healing of the sick, no regular time for holding them is ever appointed by the priests. When a Navaho gets sick it is necessary for his friends and re- lations to hold a consultation and decide on what one of the many ceremonies will most likely effect a cure. This decided, a theurgist is selected who is familiar with the rites to be performed and he is immediately sought out and bargained with. The patient pays all the ex- penses of the ceremony, which is often a very elaborate affair and very expensive. All visit- ors are expected to feast, make merry, and have a good time, at the expense of the patient.
"One of the most interesting features, to the casual observer of the great religious ceremonies of the Navahos, is the elaborate painting with various colored dry sands. Careful prepara-
92
HISTORY OF ARIZONA.
tions are made in the lodge by covering the floor with a coating of sand about three inches in thickness. A black pigment is then prepared from charcoal for the black, yellow sandstone for the yellow, red sandstone for the red, and white sandstone for the white. A kind of blue is made by mixing the black with the yellow.
"Before beginning the painting, the surface of the sand is carefully smoothed with a broad oaken batten. Young men usually do the paint- ing under the careful and ever watchful eve of the shaman. There is a set rule which must be followed in each of the four great paintings. The Navaho shaman believes that to depart from the fixed order as handed down from father to son through many generations, would be to invite the enmity of the gods. The true design must be followed, although within cer- tain limits the artist must display his skill.
"In order to understand these sand paintings it is necessary to know thoroughly the myths upon which they are based. Perhaps no white man has ever yet been able fully to understand and appreciate their symbolism. Since the Navajos do not preserve any patterns to go by, it is wonderful how they are enabled to preserve all the details of these elaborate paintings. Yet they claim not to have varied in any essential detail in all these hundreds of years."
MAN-KA-CHA WA-Havasupai Chief.
93
THE HAVASUPAI.
CHAPTER V. THE HAVASUPAI.
LOCATION-EARLY NAME "COSNINOS"-HABITS, HISTORY, AND LEGENDS-CHIEFS-MEDICINE MEN-AGRICULTURISTS-ENGINEERING SKILL -HOSPITALITY - FUNERAL CEREMONIES -
LANGUAGE-WORSHIP-LEGEND OF ORIGIN.
HAVASUPAI ("blue or green water peo- ple"). A small isolated tribe of the Yuman stock (the nucleus of which is believed to have descended from the Wallapai) who occupy Cat- aract Canvon of the Rio Colorado in northwest- ern Arizona. Whipple (Pac. R. R. Rep., III pt. I, 82, 1856) was informed in 1850 that the "Cosninos" roamed from the Sierra Mogollon to the San Francisco mountains, and along the valley of the Colorado Chiquito. The tribe is a peculiarly interesting one, since of all the Yuman tribes it is the only one which has devel- oped or borrowed a culture similar to, though less advanced, than that of the Pueblo peoples ; indeed, according to tradition, the Havasupai (or more probably a Pueblo clan or tribe that became incorporated with them) formerly built and occupied villages of a permanent character on the Colorado Chiquito east of the San Fran- cisco mountains, where ruins were pointed out to Powell by a Havasupai chief as the former homes of his people. As the result of the war with tribes farther east, they abandoned these villages and took refuge in the San Francisco mountains, subsequently leaving these for
94
HISTORY OF ARIZONA.
their present abode. In this connection it is of interest to note that the Cosnino caves on the upper Rio Verde, near the northern edge of Tonto basin, central Arizona, were named for this tribe, because of their supposed early occupancy by them. Their present village, com- posed of temporary cabins or shelters of wattled canes and branches and earth in summer, and of the natural caves and crevices in winter, is situated 115 miles north of Prescott and seven miles south of the Grand Canyon. The Hava- supai are well formed, though of medium stat- ure. They are skilled in the manufacture and use of implements, and especially in preparing raw material, like buckskin. The men are ex- pert hunters, the women adept in the manufac- ture of baskets which, when lined with clay, serve also as cooking utensils. Like the other Yuman tribes, until affected by white influences during recent years, their clothing consisted chiefly of deerskin and, for the sake of orna- ment, both men and women painted their faces with a thick, smooth coating of fine red ocher or blue paint prepared from wild indigo; tattooing and scarification for ornament were also some- times practiced. In summer they subsist chiefly upon corn, calabashes, sunflower seeds, melons, peaches, and apricots, which they cultivate by means of irrigation, and also the wild datila and mescal; in winter principally upon the flesh of game, which they hunt in the surrounding up- lands and mountains. While a strictly sedentary people, they are unskilled in the manufacture of earthenware and obtain their more modern implements and utensils, except basketry, by
95
THE HAVASUPAI.
barter with the Hopi, with which people they seem always to have had closer affiliation than with their Yuman kindred. Their weapons in war and the chase were rude clubs and pikes of hard wood, bows and arrows, and, formerly, slings; but firearms have practically replaced these more primitive appliances.
Mr. F. H. Cushing, who can be classed as the premier archaeologist of Arizona and New Mex- ico, having spent a number of years among the Zunis, and being the first to explore the ruins of the Salt River Valley, has given us in an ar- ticle printed in the Atlantic Monthly, in 1882, the following description of the habits, history and legends of the Havasupais :
"A most curious fact, and a very significant one in the consideration of the origin of the Havasupai, is the absence of the Gentile system of descent or organization among them, their society consanguineally being patriarchal; but they claim to be the people of the Coyote, which indicates that one gens has absorbed all the others, or else that they are, as seems more prob- able, a single gens, which has separated from its original body, and never again developed the separate gentes, as has been the case with other segregated clans among Indians. I incline to this belief from the fact that the Hualapai, to whom their relationship is indisputable, have, as subsequent investigations have shown, the Gentile and Phratral systems, certainly to some extent. And as far as I can ascertain this is also the case with the Apache-Yumas and Apache-Mohaves, who are only other divisions of the same stock. Descent is therefore not
96
HISTORY OF ARIZONA.
through the mother, but through the father, and marriage, to use the words of my inform- ant, can take place 'wherever the one loves the other and the other loves the one, and their wants are the same. Why not?' 'We know nothing else,' he added, 'for our father is the Coyote, and he never told us anything else. How should a Coyote teach his children what he neither knows nor practices himself ?'
"They are polygamists, the number of wives a man shall have being limited, apparently, only by the number he can procure, or by his means for supporting them. These marriages are con- stant, the only ground for divorce being unfaith- fulness, which, with the women of rare occur- rence, scarcely exists with the men, as a cause. Betrothals by purchase or stipulation are com- mon, a girl of seven or eight summers being fre- quently promised to a man as old as, or even older than, her father. Marriages are there- fore, with the girls, usually very early in life; with the men, late. In consequence of this polygamy, a large number of the men are un- married, the women being monopolized, with or without their will, by the wealthier and more in- fluential men of the tribe. The male population is in excess of the female; hence it sometimes happens that Hualapai squaws are married, and in one instance a Moqui woman, a probable out- cast from her own nation, was observed by us.
"The children do not seem to have regular property, as with the Pueblos, until after pu- berty, although, on the death of the father, his portable property is inherited by the son, for sacrifice at the rites to be described further on.
97
THE HAVASUPAI.
"The head chieftaincy is hereditary. In the absence of a son, the chief's nephew on the father's side is, I believe, chosen as successor. All the subchiefs are named by the head chief, on account of personal preference, wealth, or influence. There seems to be no distinct order of warriors; when a scalp is taken, it is brought to the village, and a dance, celebrating the death of the enemy, is given in honor of the victor, and the body is then cremated; no record or mark of dress being preserved to represent the rank or prowess of the warrior. In case of hostility, obligations to war are simply coextensive with the adult population. There is, however, a cer- tain importance attached to one of the warriors, who is supposed to have in his keeping a medi- cine of war, and who, by virtue of his valor and possession, is a sort of war chief, although the civil and martial affairs of the nation are more closely allied than is the case with most Indian tribes.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.