The Passamaquoddies, no doubt, in old times, had many dances, sacred
and secular. Some of these were very different from what they now are,
and in consequence it is not easy to recognize their meaning. Indians
declare that in their youth dances were much more common. Possibly
some of these will never be danced again. That the Micmacs, neighbors
of the Passamaquoddies, had dances in which elaborate masks were worn,
seems to be indicated by pictographs found on the rocks in Nova
Scotia. Mrs. Brown has in her possession a head-band made of silver,
similar to those worn in ancient times on festive occasions, and
probably at dances. It was not necessarily a badge of a chief. In
excavations made at East Machias, an Indian was found with a copper
head-band and the remnant of a woven tiara. These relics are now in
the hands of Dr. Shehan, of Edmunds, Maine. Copper head-bands have
repeatedly been found on the skulls of Mound Indians. When a boy, I
myself was present at the work of excavating an Indian burial place on
the banks of Charles River, near the end of Maple Street, Watertown.
With one of these skeletons a turtle shell was found, which was
possibly an old Indian rattle.
One of the most interesting of the selections mentioned is the Song of
the Snake Dance, No. 8. Although the ceremonial element has now
disappeared from this song, it may be presumed that it originally had
a religious importance similar to that of the Snake Dances of the
Southwest, since the extent of the worship of the snake among North
American Indians is known. The same dance is also celebrated by the
Micmacs, having been performed by them during the past year. In both
nations, it is generally united with other dances, and seems to be an
appendage to the more formal ones.
The general impression among the Passamaquoddies is that this dance
never had a sacred character. The name is said to have been derived
from the sinuous course of the chain of dancers, and from its
resemblance to the motion of a snake. While there is nothing to prove
that it is a remnant of an ancient snake worship, still it is natural
to presume that such is really the case. There are several tales
relating to the manner in which men were turned into rattlesnakes, and
how the noise of the rattlesnakes has its lineal descendant in the
rattles of the dancers. The Indians told me of several songs used for
snake dances, but in those which were sung I think I detected the same
music, and am confident that the words as given occur in most of them.
The discord at the end of the first line is also a feature of the
snake dances which I have heard.[5]
[Footnote 5: I myself have never witnessed the snake-dance. The
description which follows was obtained from Mrs. Brown, who has seen
it performed twice, as well as from Peter Selmore, Noel Josephs, and
other Indians who have frequently taken part in it. The song was
recorded on the phonograph from the lips of Josephs, who is recognized
by the Indians themselves as one competent to sing the song. Josephs
told me that he remembered when this and other dances took place in a
large wigwam made of bark.]
The dance is performed at weddings and other festive occasions. It is
not used alone, but only with others, and, as I am told, is employed
at all times of festival.