While we know our northern friends may not feel it, in the South, Spring is
here. So we thought we'd share a few of our gardening sites appropriate
for this time of the year. Along with gardening, there's grilling, and getting
ready to diet so that you can fit back into that bathing suit this summer!
The Passamaquoddies, no doubt, in old times,
had many dances, sacred and secular. Some of these were very
different from what they now are, and in consequence it is
not easy to recognize their meaning. Indians declare that in
their youth dances were much more common. Possibly some of
these will never be danced again. That the Micmacs,
neighbors of the Passamaquoddies, had dances in which
elaborate masks were worn, seems to be indicated by
pictographs found on the rocks in Nova Scotia. Mrs. Brown
has in her possession a head-band made of silver, similar to
those worn in ancient times on festive occasions, and
probably at dances. It was not necessarily a badge of a
chief. In excavations made at East Machias, an Indian was
found with a copper head-band and the remnant of a woven
tiara. These relics are now in the hands of Dr. Shehan, of
Edmunds, Maine. Copper head-bands have repeatedly been found
on the skulls of Mound Indians. When a boy, I myself was
present at the work of excavating an Indian burial place on
the banks of Charles River, near the end of Maple Street,
Watertown. With one of these skeletons a turtle shell was
found, which was possibly an old Indian rattle.
One of the most interesting of the selections mentioned is
the Song of the Snake Dance, No. 8. Although the ceremonial
element has now disappeared from this song, it may be
presumed that it originally had a religious importance
similar to that of the Snake Dances of the Southwest, since
the extent of the worship of the snake among North American
Indians is known. The same dance is also celebrated by the
Micmacs, having been performed by them during the past year.
In both nations, it is generally united with other dances,
and seems to be an appendage to the more formal ones.
The general impression among the Passamaquoddies is that
this dance never had a sacred character. The name is said to
have been derived from the sinuous course of the chain of
dancers, and from its resemblance to the motion of a snake.
While there is nothing to prove that it is a remnant of an
ancient snake worship, still it is natural to presume that
such is really the case. There are several tales relating to
the manner in which men were turned into rattlesnakes, and
how the noise of the rattlesnakes has its lineal descendant
in the rattles of the dancers. The Indians told me of
several songs used for snake dances, but in those which were
sung I think I detected the same music, and am confident
that the words as given occur in most of them. The discord
at the end of the first line is also a feature of the snake
dances which I have heard.5
The dance is performed at weddings and other festive
occasions. It is not used alone, but only with others, and,
as I am told, is employed at all times of festival.
Snake Song
The words of the first strain are as follows:
Way' ho yarhnie, way ho yarhnie.
The words of the second strain are as follows:
Hew nay ie hah, hew na'y ie hah, hew na'y ie hah,
Hew nay ie hah, hew nay ie hah, hew nay ie hah.
When the strain changes from the first to the second, the
words ho yar'h nie become a discord like noyah.
The first part of the song is sung alone, by the conjurer,
as he moves about the room in search of the snake. In the
second part all in the chain of dancers join in with him in
the song. The description of the song in Passamaquoddy,
including the invitation to take part in the dance, is given
on the first part of the cylinder. Calls to the assembly to
join in the dance are interpolated in the second strain.
The leader or singer, whom we may call the
master of the ceremony, begins the dance by
moving about the room in a stooping posture,
shaking in his hand a rattle made of horn,
beating the ground violently with one foot.
He peers into every corner of the room,
either seeking the snake or inciting the
on-lookers to take part, meanwhile singing
the first part of the song recorded on the
phonograph. Then he goes to the middle of
the room, and, calling out one after another
of the auditors, seizes his hands. The two
participants dance round the room together.
Then another person grasps the hands of the
first, and others join until there is a
continuous line of men and women, alternate
members of the chain facing in opposite
directions, and all grasping each other's
hands. The chain then coils back and forth
and round the room, and at last forms a
closely pressed spiral, tightly coiled
together, with the leader in the middle. At
first the dancers have their bodies bent
over in a stooping attitude, but as the
dance goes on and the excitement increases
they rise to an erect posture, especially as
near the end they coil around the leader
with the horn rattles, who is concealed from
sight by the dancers. They call on the
spectators to follow them, with loud calls
mingled with the music: these cries now
become louder and more boisterous, and the
coil rapidly unwinds, moving more and more
quickly, until some one of the dancers,
being unable to keep up, slips and falls.
Then the chain is broken, and all, with loud
shouts, often dripping with perspiration,
return to their seats.6
In this dance all present take part; it
always occurs at the end of the
Passamaquoddy dances, though it may be
followed by a dance of the Micmacs, or other
foreign Indians. There was, when last
presented, no special dress adopted for the
snake-dance, and the horn rattle is used
also in other dances. It seems probable that
everything used in the old times has
disappeared, with the exception perhaps of
the last-named implement, yet the song
resembles closely that of the olden time.
The invitations to dance are possibly
introduced, and the boisterous finale may be
of modern date. There is recorded also on
the phonograph, with the song, the
invitation to the dance in the Passamaquoddy
language. An invitation is extended to all
to come to the dance. It is a proclamation
that there will be a good time, much to eat,
"Indian dances," snake dance, and Micmac
dances. The shell of the turtle was used in
old times for a rattle, in place of the
horn, and in a story of the origin of the
rattlesnake the conqueror is said to use a
rattle of this kind. In the Zuņi dances, and
in the Moqui snake-dance, a turtle rattle is
tied to the inside of the left leg. The
rattle, carried in the hand by the Moqui
snake dancer, is a gourd, but the
Passamaquoddies seem to find the horn better
adapted for their purpose. The almost
universal use of the rattle among the
Indians in their sacred dances is very
significant. The meaning of the snake song
is unknown to the Indians who sing it. The
words are probably either archaic or
remnants of a sacred language or mystic
words of an esoteric priesthood.
The Indian dances held in honor of the chief
(governor) and other officers continued for
several days. On the first night the newly
elected chief sang a song complimentary to
the food, thanking the tribe, greeting the
past governor, etc. Noel Josephs, at the
last celebration, sang this song by proxy,
as the newly elected chief could not sing.
When sung by proxy, the song is called by
another name than when sung by the person
elected. This song is preserved on one of
the cylinders.
This site includes some historical
materials that may imply negative
stereotypes reflecting the culture or
language of a particular period or place.
These items are presented as part of the
historical record and should not be
interpreted to mean that the WebMasters in
any way endorse the stereotypes implied
.
