Identifier: scribnersmagazin16newy (find matches)
Title: Scribner's magazine
Year: 1887 (1880s)
Authors:
Subjects:
Publisher: New York : C. Scribner's Sons
Contributing Library: Robarts - University of Toronto
Digitizing Sponsor: University of Toronto

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eader stands in the centre of a line,the men on one side of him and thewomen on the other; the men walkslowly forward, keeping time to themusic, while the singer hops along likea crow ; then the dancers turn aroundand go back. The women follow themen, but wait until the men are severalyards in advance, w^hen they run afterthem, without regard to the music.The patter of the womens naked feeton the hard earth sounds like the rushof stampeded mules. By dancing, the Tarahumaris wardoff diseases and keep away caterpillarsand grasshoppers, which w^ould eat thecorn. There is also a thanksgivingdance, and the dance of the dead. Inthe winter the yohe dance is for snow,which is essential for good crops. Theydance to the sun and the moon, theirgods, and hold special festivals in theirhonor. An Indian seldom smokes inthe daytime unless he is drunk, for hewould offend the sun by so doing.Therefore, he smokes only after sun-set, or for ceremonial purposes. Attheir dances, it is considered essential
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Using the Bow, to obsei-ve a strict formality, to refrainfrom laughing or talking in a loudvoice, and from making any unneces-sary kind of noise. As it is difficultto preserve such decorum when largenumbers of people and children arepresent, the pagans often depute oneman to dance and sing as their repre-sentative, while the rest work. Thus,I have seen outside of a Tarahumarihouse a lone man dancing and singing,and shaking his rattle before the cross,while inside the cave, or in the fieldsbeyond, the other Indians were at work.This lonely worshipper is doing hisshare of the work by bringing rain, orwarding off disaster. As he is alone,his decorum is not likely to be dis-turbed, and his dancing may go on allnight. The Indians told me that suchworship was the hardest kind of work,exhausting even to an Indian. In allthese songs and dances they invoke thehelp of the wild animals. The birds,who sing in the spring, sing for rain ;the crickets, the turtles, the fish, thefrogs, all help to ma

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