The Diaries of John Gregory Bourke Volume 5: May 23, 1881--August 26, 1881

11. The Dance

226 Chapter 11 ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ The Dance W hile the procession was forming, we had plenty of time to hunt up Padre Ribera and sample his breakfast. We were welcomed with cordiality and introduced to all the cooks and attendants. To frame an opinion from what I saw that morning, Father Ribera must be held in high repute by his flock. Three young girls had been detailed to cook, clean dishes and set the table—as many more old women, chapéroned, superintended, bustled about and made themselves general nuisances under the impression that they were rendering invaluable services, and half a dozen old men, more or less lazy and decrepit did what might be called, “the heavy standing round”. The young girls were models of neatness, modesty and decorum; their hands and faces were clean as amber, their hair freshly washed with “amole”, brushed and tied up—their dresses new and bright, each wearing a freshly ironed petticoat which was allowed to hang down about an inch below the dark blue blanket shirt, and a cotton chemise which covers arms, and bosom and neck: while cooking, cleaning dishes or setting table, a white cotton cloth, tied about the neck and allowed to hang down in front to cover the dress. The Padre invited us to be seated and then gave the signal to bring on the repast. A big Pueblo grabs in one hand, a saddle of mutton, freshly roasted over the coals, and cuts it into large “gobs”, any one of which would have been big enough for a small family. To each guest, one of these was handed by the the dance 227 attendant who accompanied it with a correspondingly great hunch [sic] of bread and a bowl of fresh goat’s milk. The centre of the table was reserved for a platter of fried eggs and one of boiled and a small pile of melons. There was the greatest confusion: Indians ran in and out, on business or pleasure intent; the business was largely comprehended in falling over the pack of curs which the appetizing smell of the roast meat had attracted inside the house; while the pleasure seemed to consist in scratching their heads or gazing at us, with open mouths and open eyes. There was enough disturbance to drive a Saint mad; but Padre Ribera never lost his good-humor and indeed soon had us infected with a fair portion of his own joviality. “Captain,[”] he said, turning to me, [“]did you ever know that in olden times, the Spanish priests who lived among these Indians used to keep journals of their daily lives, in which were narrated all that the Indians had done or said—that would be a great thing for you, to get some of them, would it not?[”] “Yes, Father, I appreciate fully the wonderful labors of those devoted men and I regret extremely that some method cannot be devised by our government, or by private individuals interested in the early history of our country, to get back those books, from the city of Mexico, Simancas in Spain,1 or wherever else they may be stored. I think they would be almost priceless in value”. “I think so 1. The National Archives of Spain are held in Simancas. Church of Santo Domingo, New Mexico, Aug. 4th ’81. 228 the new mexIco pueBloS too—but gentlemen, let’s get inside the shade of the church—here comes the procession”. The first division of the dance was now moving slowly and sedately into the Church Plaza; the formation being in column of twos, the men on the Right, the women on the Left. The men were all bareheaded , hair flowing loose and with parrot feathers tied to the front of crown: their bodies were naked, but painted flesh color (reddish pink.) with, in some cases, streaks of white. Above the elbows were broad green armlets, holding springs of cedar in place. A Scotch kilt of white cotton Zuni cloth reached half way to the knees, the lower edge of these kilts being generally fringed with a narrow border of black. Hanging from rear of waist belts, were coyote or fox skins, tails downward. No leggings were worn, but around the calves were green, black, or yellow garters with shell pendants which rattled in unison with the music of the tortoise shells and sheeps’ toes, tied to the Right knees, or the painted...