An Introduction to the mortuary customs of the North American IndiansYarrow, H. C. (Harry Crécy)
History
An Introduction to the mortuary customs of the North American Indians
Yarrow, H. C. (Harry Crécy)
Indians of North America -- Funeral customs and rites
"Then preparations were made for the dance. One end of the room was
set aside for the dressing-room. The chief actors were five men, who
were muscular and agile. They were profusely decorated with paint and
feathers, while white and dark stripes covered their bodies. They were
girt about the middle with cloth of bright colors, sometimes with
variegated shawls. A feather mantle hung from the shoulder, reaching
below the knee; strings of shells ornamented the neck, while their
heads were covered with a crown of eagle feathers. They had whistles
in their mouths as they danced, swaying their heads, bending and
whirling their bodies; every muscle seemed to be exercised, and the
feather ornaments quivered with light. They were agile and graceful as
they bounded about in the sinuous course of the dance.
"The five men were assisted by a semicircle of twenty women, who only
marked time by stepping up and down with short step; they always took
their places first and disappeared first, the men making their exit
gracefully one by one. The dresses of the women were suitable for the
occasion. They were white dresses trimmed heavily with black velvet. The
stripes were about three inches wide, some plain and others edged like
saw-teeth. This was an indication of their mourning for the dead chief
in whose honor they had prepared that style of dancing. Strings of
haliotis and pachydesma shell beads encircled their necks, and around
their waists were belts heavily loaded with the same material. Their
head-dresses were more showy than those of the men. The head was
encircled with a bandeau of otters' or beavers' fur, to which were
attached short wires standing out in all directions, with glass or shell
beads strung on them, and at the tips little feather flags and quail
plumes. Surmounting all was a pyramidal plume of feathers, black, gray,
and scarlet, the top generally being a bright scarlet bunch, waving and
tossing very beautifully. All these combined gave their heads a very
brilliant and spangled appearance.
"The first day the dance was slow and funereal, in honor of the Yo-
kai-a chief who died a short time before. The music was mournful and
simple being a monotonous chant in which only two tones were used,
accompanied with a rattling of split sticks and stamping on a hollow
slab. The second day the dance was more lively on the part of the men,
the music was better, employing airs which had a greater range of tune
and the women generally joined in the chorus. The dress of the women
was not so beautiful as they appeared in ordinary calico. The third
day if observed in accordance with Indian custom the dancing was still
more lively and the proceedings more gay just as the coming home from
a Christian funeral is apt to be much more jolly than the going out."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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