Page:The Pima Indians.pdf/175

170 Hoof rattles, usually of dewclaws, were of universal distribution among the American Indians and were common among the Pimas, though none are to be found at the present day. Bartlett figures such a rattle in his Personal Narrative (, 223).



Dancing was frequently indulged in by both sexes and was accompanied by song, together with instrumental music furnished by the basket drum and the rattle. The dancers stood in a circle with arms extended across the shoulders of those adjoining. This position did not permit much freedom, and movements were confined to stamping the feet and bending the body. When food was plentiful dances might occur at any time. Their number increased and their moral character sadly deteriorated as the men relaxed their vigilance after peace was made with the Apaches. The energy formerly expended on the warpath was then wasted in debauchery. The dances began in the morning and lasted all day. Both men and women came with freshly painted faces and bodies, the women with their hair neatly dressed. Each woman brought a contribution of food in the form of mesquite dumplings, corn and wheat pinole or tortillas, meat, and the like. Throughout the day a few at a time stopped to eat, so that the dancing and the feasting both proceeded without interruption. For an account of the war dances, see page 205; puberty dance, page 182.



Of course all festivals partook somewhat of the nature of sacred ceremonies, but when this element was at a minimum, as in the saguaro harvest festival, its description may properly appear here with the arts of pleasure. These festivals were of annual occurrence, except during the occasional seasons when the fruit failed. The leading feature of these gatherings was the preparation and drinking of navait or saguaro liquor, and they became drunken orgies in which, since the introduction of knives and firearms, men were sometimes killed. The Government has prohibited "tizwin drunks," as they are called by the whites, though they are still surreptitiously held.

The sirup of the saguaro fruit is boiled for two days in the preparation of the liquer, and in the meantime the people gather and dance in the plaza nearest to the spot where the large ollas are simmering. During the final carousal all the men and some of the women become intoxicated. Through the influence of the missionaries, the native police under the agent's orders, and the actively exerted influence of the more intelligent men in the tribe, the custom is dying out. The subchief, Kâemâ-â (pl., c), at Gila Crossing has been a zealous advocate of temperance for a number of years. and it is not unlikely that the folly of such debaucheries was apparent to