Page 154 - TheHopiIndians

146 MESA FOLK OF HOPILAND

great fun and frolic. Every few days there is a new
arrival and a fresh festival. Each year there is some
thing new, and the Indians rack their inventive genius
to produce the most startling masks and costumes. The
kachinas admit of any character in the extensive Hopi
mythology. Almost any character from a clown to a
god can be introduced, and there are songs belonging
to each. Every male Hopi takes some part in the
kachinas, and all dates and distances are cancelled
when these dances are in progress.
The kachina dances promote sociability among the
pueblos. The Walpi boys, for instance, may give a
representation of a kachina at a neighboring pueblo
in return for a like expression of good-will on some
other occasion. It goes without saying that there is a
friendly rivalry among the pueblos, each striving to
give the best dance. Like his white brothers, the In
dian works harder at his amusement than at almost
anything else.
These dances also show the cheerful Hopi at his
best, — a true, spontaneous child of nature. They are
the most characteristic ceremonies of the pueblos, most
musical, spectacular, and pleasing. They are really
more worthy of the attention of white people than the
forbidding Snake Dance, which overshadows them by
the element of horror.
In July the kachinas take their flight, and with a
great culminating ceremony the Hopi bid them fare
well. The Niman, or Farewell ceremony, begins