Patriotic Plays and Pageants for Young PeopleMackay, Constance D'Arcy
History
Patriotic Plays and Pageants for Young People
Mackay, Constance D'Arcy
Pageants; Patriotic plays, American
INDIAN BRAVES. The braves who follow Powhatan should wear costumes
resembling those of the chief, save that they are less gorgeously
painted, and wear fewer strings of beads and shells. Their
head-dresses, too, are shorter. They should be of gray, black, and
brown feathers. Their faces are, of course, stained brown, their arms
and necks likewise. Red and black warpaint should also be on their
faces. Unless wigs of long hair are to be worn, the boys wearing the
feathered head-dresses should be careful to see that their lack of long
hair is concealed from view. Often the Indian braves wore their long
matted locks braided; and black cheesecloth cut into strips and then
braided and fastened to a tight black cap will make a splendid wig of
this sort--the braids of hair should hang in front of the ears. The
Indian braves should carry bows, arrows, and tomahawks.
THE INDIAN MAIDENS. The Indian maidens should wear tan fringed dresses,
of the same length and fashion as that of Pocahontas. Necklaces and
bracelets of shells. The necks of the dresses embroidered in beads and
shells. They wear their long black hair in two braids, the ends of the
braids bound either with scarlet, corn-yellow, or vivid blue. They have
moccasins and tan-colored stockings. Their bead' embroidered footgear
should be in striking color on a tan background. But their chief glory
is their blankets. These should be barbarically glowing, since it is
partly in their wild flare of color that the beauty of the Blanket
Dance lies. The following designs for them are taken from the Indian
motifs and colorings studied from the collections in various museums of
natural history, and however startling they may seem at first, their
color-scheme should be faithfully carried out, as much of the success
of the scene depends on them. The material used may be canton flannel
throughout. They should be the size of the average, every-day blanket.
1. Blanket made of equal halves of deep royal purple and pale turquoise
blue.
2. Blanket of deep cobalt blue. Fastened in the center a great oval of
orange.
3. Blanket made of equal halves of pale lemon and black.
4. Blanket made of equal halves of very dark green and very pale green.
5. Blanket made of equal halves of deep violet and white.
6. White blanket with disks of scarlet at each of its four corners.
7. Blanket of equal halves of royal purple and pale lavender.
8. Blanket of very pale green, with large white disk in center.
Each Indian maiden should wear a band of gay-colored cheesecloth, red,
green, or blue, bound about her forehead. This band should match the
color that fastens her braids. In the back of the head-band should be
fastened a quill of contrasting shade. It need hardly be added that the
Indian maidens wear neither feather head-dresses nor war-paint. Their
arms, necks, and faces should be stained light brown. The tan-colored
stockings are to simulate bare skin.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account