1. The ceremony of dsilyÃdje qaçà l, or mountain chant--literally,
chant towards (a place) within the mountains--is one of a large number
practiced by the shamans, or medicine men, of the Navajo tribe. I have
selected it as the first of those to be described, because I have
witnessed it the most frequently, because it is the most interesting to
the Caucasian spectator, and because it is the best known to the whites
who visit and reside in and around the Navajo country. Its chief
interest to the stranger lies in the various public performances of the
last night. Like other great rites of the shamans, it has its secret
ceremonies of many days' duration in the medicine lodge; but, unlike the
others, it ends with a varied show in the open air, which all are
invited to witness. Another ceremony which I have attended, and which
the whites usually call the "Ya[`y]bichy Dance" (Yèbitcai), has a final
public exhibition which occupies the whole night, but it is unvaried.
Few Europeans can be found who have remained awake later than midnight
to watch it. Such is not the case with the rite now to be described.
Here the white man is rarely the first to leave at dawn.
2. The appropriateness of the name dsilyÃdje or tsilgitce--towards
(a place) within the mountains--will be better understood from the myth
than from any brief description. "Dsilyi`" may well allude to mountains
in general or to the Carrizo Mountains in particular, to the place in
the mountains (paragraphs 9 and 38) where the originator of these
ceremonies (whom I often find it convenient to call "prophet") dwelt, or
to the name of the prophet (par. 41), or to all these combined. Qaçà l
signifies a sacred song or a collection of sacred songs. From the many
English synonyms for song I have selected the word chant to translate
qaçà l. In its usual signification hymnody may be its more exact
equivalent, but it is a less convenient term than chant. The shaman, or
medicine man, who is master of ceremonies, is known as qaçà li or
chanter--el cantador, the Mexicans call him. In order to keep in mind
his relationship to similar functionaries in other tribes I shall, from
time to time, allude to him as the priest, the shaman, or the medicine
man, following the example of other authors. To all ceremonies of a
character similar to this the term qaçà l is applicable. It would seem
from this that the Navajo regard the song as the chief part of the
ceremony, but since the Americans, as a rule, regard all Indian
ceremonies as merely dances and call them dances, I will, out of
deference to a national prejudice, frequently refer to the ceremony as a
dance.
3. Sometimes the collective rites and amusements of the last night are
spoken of as ilnasjÃngo qaçà l, or chant in the dark circle of branches,
from _il_, branches of a tree; _nas_, surrounding, encircling; _jin_,
dark; and _go_, in. The name alludes to the great fence of piñon
branches, erected after sunset on the last night, to receive the guests
and performers. I shall often refer to this inclosure as the corral.
Some white men call the rites I describe the "corral dance," but more
usually they call them the "hoshkà wn dance," from one of the minor
performances of the last night, the hackà n-inçá`, or act of the _Yucca
baccata_, a rite or drama which seems to particularly excite the
Caucasian interest. To such minor acts the terms inçá` and alìli are
applied; these may be translated dance, show, act, or exhibition.
4. The purposes of the ceremony are various. Its ostensible reason for
existence is to cure disease; but it is made the occasion for invoking
the unseen powers in behalf of the people at large for various purposes,
particularly for good crops and abundant rains. It would appear that it
is also designed to perpetuate their religious symbolism. Some of the
shows of the last night are undoubtedly intended to be dramatic and
entertaining as well as religious, while the merely social element of
the whole affair is obvious. It is an occasion when the people gather to
have a jolly time. The patient pays the expenses and, probably in
addition to the favor and help of the gods and the praise of the
priesthood, hopes to obtain social distinction for his liberality.
5. This, like other great rites of the Navajo, is of nine days'
duration. Some of these rites may take place in the summer; but the
great majority of them, including this dsilyÃdje qaçà l, may be
celebrated only in the winter, in the season when the thunder is silent
and the rattlesnakes are hibernating. Were they to tell of their chief
gods or relate their myths of the ancient days at any other time, death
from lightning or snake-bite would, they believe, be their early fate.
6. While in New Mexico I sometimes employed a very liberal minded
Navajo, named Juan, as a guide and informant. He had spent many years
among Americans, Mormons, and Mexicans, and was, I imagined, almost
perfectly emancipated from his "early bias." He spoke both English and
Spanish fairly. On one occasion, during the month of August, in the
height of the rainy season, I had him in my study conversing with him.
In an unguarded moment, on his part, I led him into a discussion about
the gods of his people, and neither of us had noticed a heavy storm
coming over the crest of the Zuñi Mountains, close by. We were just
talking of Estsánatlehi, the goddess of the west, when the house was
shaken by a terrific peal of thunder. He rose at once, pale and
evidently agitated, and, whispering hoarsely, "Wait till Christmas; they
are angry," he hurried away. I have seen many such evidences of the deep
influence of this superstition on them.
7. When the man (or the woman) who gives the entertainment concludes he
is sick and that he can afford to call a shaman, it is not the latter
who decides what particular rites are best suited to cure the malady. It
is the patient and his friends who determine this. Then they send for a
man who is known to be skilled in performing the desired rites, and it
is his province merely to do the work required of him.
8. Before beginning to describe the ceremonies it will be well to relate
the myth accounting for their origin.