S. A. Barrett

“ While serving, during the regular ghost dance, as messengers, sergeants-at-arms, and collectors of fines, the ash-devils were called katsa ́tala (E) , and were the special clowns who performed all manner of antics in their endeavors to provoke an outward expression of mirth from some unfortunate spectator. Should he so forget himself as to laugh or even smile at the antics, one of these katsa ́tala ran at him with his wand and levied tribute in the form of a payment of beads or some other commodity, or imposed a penalty requiring the offender to bring wood or water for the dancers. ”

“ But finally, at a word from the prompter, the spearman makes a tremendous run at the woman and stabs her in the umbilicus. She falls over on the ground, quivering in every limb, and the blood jets forth in a purple stream. The Indians all rush around her quickly and hustle her away to another place, where they commence laying her out for the funeral pyre, but huddle around her so thickly all the while that the Americans cannot approach to see what is done. ”

“ The dancers entered the village at the call of a crier stationed on top of the dance-house, performed an elaborate ceremony in front of the dance-house, and finally entered it backwards, groping their way, using an inverted style of speech, and in every other manner showing that the spirits of the departed were unaccustomed to the ways of mortals. The dancing was elaborate and was characterized by the occurrence of movements in cycles of four, followed by an elaborate ceremonial disrobing at the drum, and then by swimming. During the fire dance the ash-devils initiated novices. ”

“ The chief ghost-dancer, upon arriving in front of the center pole, said, "mamūle ́" (E) , to which the spectators replied, "hehē ́...." Then he made a short speech in a more or less archaic language. Its purport was: "I do not come to do any one harm, but rather to take all sickness away and to make everybody strong." ”

“ They do not scruple to avow to Americans who are well acquainted with them, and in whose discretion they have confidence, that their object is simply to "raise the devil," as they express it, with whom they pretend to hold communication; and to carry on other demoniacal doings, accompanied by frightful whooping and yelling, in order to work on the imaginations of the erring squaws, no whit more guilty than themselves. ”

“ As a rule, fire-eating and fire-handling were only incidental to the ghost dance proper. However, if occasion arose, the ghost-dancers themselves might handle fire, though they could not eat it. This privilege was especially reserved to the ash-devils, nō' xahlūīgak (E) . In case something was done to offend the ghost-dancers, such as an inadequate provision of wood or some inattention on the part of the officials, they might attempt to show their displeasure by throwing fire about the dance-house. ”

“ The officials particularly concerned with the ceremony were two head singers, an indefinite number of burden-singers, a drummer, two fire-tenders, and two masters of ceremonies. The village captains retained their full authority in this ceremony except when the ash-devils were performing. The audience consisted of initiated men only, and silence was the rule. Any exhibition of mirth was absolutely prohibited under penalty. The attire of the ghost-dancer consisted of several pieces of headgear, supplemented in some cases by a chaplet of leaves, a girdle, and sometimes a neck-ring of leaves. ”

“ It lasted four days, ending with an all-night dance, and, on the morning of the fifth day, a purification rite followed by a feast in which each class of individuals dined by itself. The participants were several ghost-or devil-dancers personating the spirits of the departed and accompanied frequently, though not always, by one or more ash-devils or ash-ghosts, who filled the double office of clown and sergeant-at-arms, and who usually performed their special fire dance and fire-eating ceremony. ”

“ Although this travesty of gladiatorial combat is intended merely for amusement, yet all the Indians, these stoics of the woods, gaze upon it with profound and passionless gravity. If they laugh at all it is only after it is all over, and at the mystification of the Americans.
Referring to another phase of the same dance, as practiced in another division of the Pomo, Powers says:
Their fashion of the spear dance is different from the Gallinomero. ”

“ These are to personify the devils. A herald goes up to the top of the assembly-house and makes a speech to the multitude. At a signal agreed upon in the evening the masqueraders come in from the mountains, with the vessels of pitch flaming on their heads, and with all the frightful accessories of noise, motion, and costume which the savage mind can devise in representation of demons. ”

“ When everything was in readiness in the village, the head captain sent out a messenger to notify the dancers. When the latter were ready to enter the village, a small fire was built in the hills to give notice of the fact. They made their first entry just about daybreak on the first day. A crier, who was always one of the captains or a fire-tender detailed to this duty, took his position on the roof of the dance-house just below the smoke-hole, where he gave the ghost call "yē ..." four times. ”

“ The head singer had to possess a very good voice, and had to make it his business to know the songs for the various ceremonies. Now and then he was at a loss for the proper song for a particular occasion. He was allowed to consult some other singer, or, upon occasion, he might ask for suggestions from the audience. Any one who knew a song which fitted the occasion might come to the head singer and sing it for him in an undertone, until he caught it and was ready to lead in the singing. As a rule he kept time with a split-stick rattle, or a rattle made of cocoons. ”

“ OFFICIALS
As has been elsewhere pointed out, [2] the social organization of the Pomo is based primarily upon blood relationship, the blood relatives who resided in a definite village grouping themselves into a political unit under the leadership of an hereditary "captain." Usually several of these consanguineal units comprise a village, and their captains form its governing body. From among these the people elect a head captain. Not even the head captain has absolute authority, nor has any captain important judicial power, or power to inflict punishment. ”

“ As a rule, visitors arrived at least one day before the ceremony [Pg 403] began, but they never entered the village itself until the morning of the first ceremonial day, making camp meanwhile at some convenient spot within a short distance. The visitors collected a present of a considerable number of shell beads, which was carried by their head captain as he led them into the village. Some, at least, of the younger men among the visitors attired themselves in their dance costumes and danced into the village, usually following a little apart from the rest of their people. ”

“ One ceremony has a definite mythological background, but this has been lost elsewhere. No myths are told today to account for the other performances.
In most of the dances an indefinite number of both men and women might participate. In two dances the number of performers of each sex was definitely prescribed. In five, only men might participate, and two were strictly women's dances. In other words, there is patent in Pomo ceremonies a rather thorough going democracy regarding the positions of the sexes. ”

“ Timbers from six to nine inches in diameter were laid from the edge of the pit to the middle posts, and from these to the center pole. Over these were placed grass and brush, and the whole was heavily covered with earth. Allowing four square feet of space to each person, such a structure would contain upward of seven hundred people. In their palmy days hundreds and even thousands of Indians attended one of these grand dances.
When the dance is held, twenty or thirty men array themselves in harlequin rig and barbaric paint and put vessels of pitch on their heads ”

“ They dance in two circles, the squaws in the outside one; the men leaping up and down as usual, and the squaws simply swaying their bodies and waving their handkerchiefs in a lackadaisical manner. Occasionally an Indian will shoot away through the interior of the circle and caper like a [Pg 428] harlequin for a considerable space of time, but he always returns to his place in front of his partner.
After this is over, the coward or clown is provided with a long, sharp stick, and he and his prompter take their places in the ring ready for performances. ”

“ If a dancer so far forgets his sorrow as actively to participate in a ceremony of this kind before the expiration of the prescribed mourning period after the death of a friend or relative some atonement is required. It is customary under such circumstances for some one in the audience to throw some loose shell-beads at the dancer, these being evidently intended as an offering to the spirits and having nothing directly to do with the dancer himself. ”

“ The ceremonial organization of the Pomo was very loose. There was no secret society of importance, as there was among the Maidu and presumably among the neighboring Wintun, and no organized priesthood vested with control over ceremonies. The ordinary chiefs, however (or "captains," as they are more often called) , were prominently concerned with all ceremonies, and there were other officials in charge of particular rites. We may begin therefore by mentioning the various officials in the order of their importance. ”

“ During this dance each child carried a small willow twig, which he threw onto a pile at the end of the dance, after which he was free to go his way, and the entire ceremony was ended. The fire-tender bore these twigs away and deposited them at some distance from the village.
A Gū ́ksū-dancer appeared at other ceremonies, but only for the purpose of removing sickness from the village. He was sometimes called in, as were other dancers, but often he appeared unannounced. He, however, always notified at least one individual, whose duty it was to assist him and direct his movements. ”

“ Upon the head each man wore a down head-net, a feather tuft, and a pair of trembler plumes. No yellow-hammer feather forehead-band, down, or feather skirt was used. The women dressed very simply. They wore the same stripe on the face as did the men, and upon the head a head-net of down and a feather tuft. Both men and women had bone whistles, and each man had a light staff [25] four or five feet long, with one or more cocoons attached as a rattle at its upper end.
īwī ́ ke.—In the īwī ́ (C) or Coyote dance the men were nude except for a coat of white paint over the entire body. ”

“ When painted red, this was said to represent very well this characteristic of the deity as he existed in the imagination of the Indians. The connection with the proboscis of the gallinipper is especially apt. Each Gū ́ksū-dancer carried a cakō ́ik (E) , or staff, about two inches in diameter and from six to eight feet in length, on the top of which was a feather tuft. The Gū ́ksū-dancer, being supposedly a supernatural being, never spoke. The only sound made by him throughout this ceremony was produced by his whistle. ”

“ All the men [Pg 400] participating in the ceremony were supposed to bring wood, which they placed just outside the dance-house. One of the fire-tenders then carried it up and dropped it through the smoke-hole, while the other stacked it in ricks in the proper places within the house. As remuneration for their labor, they received the beads which were thrown at the dancers [4] by the people during the ceremony and which were swept up when the dance-house was cleaned. ”

“ He next painted his body with white, red, and black paints. A man might paint his body entirely one color. The upper half of the body might be of one color, while the lower half was of another. The same difference in color might obtain between the right and the left sides, and bands and stripes might also be freely used.
Before finally finishing the painting of the face and arms, however, the remainder of the attire was put on. This included, for the head, (1) a head-net with which to confine the hair; (2) a down-filled head-net; (3) a feather tuft on top of the head ”

“ Gī ́lak.—The Gī ́lak dance differed from most other Pomo dances in that it consisted of two performances: one used for opening and closing proceedings; the other, or main dance, coming in between.
The men painted with a single color (black, white, or red) all of the face below the eyebrows, after which they scattered eagle-down upon it. This gave the face a white, fluffy appearance. They painted the chest and shoulders black. The legs were painted either all black [Pg 434] or all white. Then longitudinal stripes were scratched through the paint with the fingernails. ”

“ Immediately upon entering the dance-house the main group of ash-devils took up a position at the foot of the center pole and, in case some one of the spectators did not almost immediately start a song for their dance, they might jump into the fire and begin to throw brands and live coals about among the spectators. ”

“ Outside it is thatched and covered with earth. When they are assembled in it there is a doorkeeper at the entrance who suffers no one to enter unless he is a regular member, pledged to secrecy. Even Mr. Potter, though a man held in high honor by them, was not allowed to enter, though they offered to initiate him, if he desired. ”

“ At once answering calls were heard from the ghost-dancers in their several locations, for they had scattered to a number of different places, each man by himself, or in groups of not more than two or three individuals. ”

“ Another feature of the initiation in the Gū ́ksū ceremony is described by a Central Pomo informant, who says that young men were initiated by being ceremonially shot with the bow and arrow.
STEPHEN POWERS ON THE GUKSU CEREMONY
Powers describes what he terms a "spear dance" among the Gallinomero (which evidently refers to this same ceremony) , as follows: [22]
First they all unite, men and squaws together, in a pleasant dance, accompanied by a chant, while a chorister keeps time by beating on his hand with a split stick. ”