Page 158 - TheHopiIndians

150 MESA FOLK OP HOPILAND

made of two eagle feathers secured to a short stick.
On the floor dry sand has been spread out and on it a
medicine bowl of water. The snakes have been placed
in bags near by in the care of priests, and the snake
washer, arrayed as a warrior, sets himself before the
bowl, while back of him stand two men waving snake
whips. A weird song begins, and the warrior thrusts
his hand into the bag and draws out a handful of
snakes, plunges them into the medicine water, and
drops them on the sand. Then the snakes are rapidly
passed to the warrior, who plunges them and easts
them forth, while the priests wave their wands and
sing, now low and now loudly and vehemently. Some
of the snakes try to escape, but are herded on the sand
field, which is for the purpose of drying them. The
snakes are left on the floor for a few hours intervening
before the public dance, a writhing mass, watched over
by naked boys. These boys, barefoot and otherwise
entirely naked, sit down on the stones and with their
whips or naked hands, play with the snakes, per
mitting them to crawl over and under their feet, be
tween their legs, handling them, using them as play
things, paying no more attention to the rattlesnakes
than to the smallest harmless whip-snakes, creating a
sight never to be forgotten. It must be admitted,
however, that owing to the absolute abandon and reck
lessness used by the boys in handling these snakes, all
of one 's preconceived notions of the dangerousness of
the rattlesnake entirely disappear. Occasionally, one