Ceremonies of the Pomo IndiansBarrett, S. A. (Samuel Alfred)
Religion
Ceremonies of the Pomo Indians
Barrett, S. A. (Samuel Alfred)
Pomo Indians -- Social life and customs; Pomo dance
_matcō´ ke._--In the matcō´ dance the music was provided by one
man, who accompanied his song with a split-stick rattle. The dancers
painted themselves as in the yō´ dance. Each wore a feather skirt.
_lēhū´ye ke._--The lēhū´ye dance was sometimes called the
ka´tcaha. The term lēhū´ye is the correct one for this dance.
In fact, the term ka´tcaha has been applied to it only recently and
was derived from the fact that whenever certain of the Pomo men became
intoxicated they almost always sang the songs of this dance; hence the
name "whiskey dance," or ka´tcaha ke. If paint was employed it usually
consisted of a coat of black on the lower part of the face and three
bands about each arm and each leg. Other designs were used, however.
Upon the head the dancer wore a feather tuft, a yellow-hammer feather
forehead-band, and a very large trembler plume, worn erect at the back
of the head. Each man wore a feather skirt. The women painted the lower
part of the face and wore a feather tuft and a yellow-hammer feather
forehead-band.
_kalī´matōtō ke._--The kalī´matōtō or
kalī´mataūtaū, the thunder dance, was danced each morning
and each evening during four successive days. It could be danced at
other times of the day in addition if desired, and other dances might
meanwhile be performed at any time of the day except morning and
evening. The men painted their naked bodies with vertical stripes.
Upon the face but one stripe appeared, running from ear to ear and
just below the nose. Upon the head each man wore a down head-net, a
feather tuft, and a pair of trembler plumes. No yellow-hammer feather
forehead-band, down, or feather skirt was used. The women dressed very
simply. They wore the same stripe on the face as did the men, and upon
the head a head-net of down and a feather tuft. Both men and women had
bone whistles, and each man had a light staff[25] four or five feet
long, with one or more cocoons attached as a rattle at its upper end.
_īwī´ ke._--In the īwī´ (C) or Coyote dance the men were
nude except for a coat of white paint over the entire body. Upon the
head there was a feather tuft, parted from front to rear to permit
the passage of a large yellow-hammer feather forehead-band from the
root of the nose over the head and down the back. The women were
similarly painted and attired, except that each wore an ordinary skirt
of shredded tule or other material. Each dancer carried a small bunch
of green twigs in the hand, so held as to obscure the face as much as
possible. This perhaps typified the crafty and slinking nature of the
coyote. The music was provided by one singer, who used a cocoon rattle.
_gūnū´la xe._--In the gūnū´la xe (E) or Coyote dance the
women dressed as in the hō´hō dance. The men painted themselves
as did the performers in the ghost dance, and wore the parted feather
tuft with the yellow-hammer feather forehead-band passing through
the part and down the back. They also wore feather skirts, and used
whistles.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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