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拍品专文
The present work was used as an illustration for William M. Edwardy’s article “Snake Dance of the Moqui Indians” published in the November 2, 1889 edition of Harper’s Weekly. Painted from photographs taken by anthropologist Cosmos Mindeleff, Farny captures the Moqui tribe—also known as Hopi—conducting the sacred and striking Snake Dance. Susan Meyn writes, “Although we have no evidence that Farny traveled to the Hopi Pueblo, the clothing, ornaments, architecture, and even the dance are accurately drawn.” (Henry Farny Paints the Far West, Cincinnati, Ohio, 2007, p. 61.)
In the article, journalist of the American frontier William Edwardy describes his firsthand account of the Northern Arizonian tribe’s most sacred ceremony, which occurred only once every two years, and its origins. “According to their traditions, the tribe once inhabited a fertile plain far to the north, upon the banks of a great stream. Among their people was a youth named Tijo, who sought to discover the basin into which the great river flowed. He left his people, and following the course of the stream, pushed on towards its mouth. He was gone for many years, and finally came upon the great water-house into which the river flowed. Here he found the ‘snake people,’ a supernatural race, who inhabited a beautiful land. He lived among them, and after many ages had passed returned to his tribe, bringing with him the mysteries which cannot be told. He also brought with him two wives, who were called chua mana, or snake virgins, and by them he had many children, all of whom were snakes. These snakes were very wicked, and attacked the people of the tribe. Many were bitten and died, and the remainder were forced to fly for safety to the mesa where they now dwell. After a while the snakes ceased their warfare, and as it was discovered that they were in constant communication with the ‘snake people,’ they became the messengers between the Moquis and the gods of the underworld.” (“Snake Dance of the Moqui Indians,” Harper’s Weekly, November 2, 1889, p. 871)
For at least 1,000 years, the Moquis (now known as Hopi) lived in villages built upon a mesa, with no water or vegetation except for the little available in the desolate plains below. In what is now the Hopi Reservation, the barren landscape yielded corn as the principal crop and was therefore regarded with the highest reverence and ground into a sacred meal used with great importance in the snake dance. The purpose of the dance is to open the portal to the underworld, the Moqui’s equivalent to heaven, and encourage the messengers to deliver requests for water to fertilize the land on their way back to the home of the gods. Edwardy writes, “The Moquis explain the ‘snake dance’ by saying that they handle the snakes to show them that they will not be harmed, and while this is being done they sing to them, begging them to carry their messages to the gods of the underworld.” (“Snake Dance of the Moqui Indians,” p. 871)
In the present work, dancers known as Antelopes can be seen in a line at left, holding a rattle made of tortoise-shell in his right hand and a chau vwapi or “snake whip” in his left made of two eagle feathers fastened to a stick. The rattle is shaken during the dance, while the whip provides a mystifying effect on the snakes – soothing them into a state of relaxation so that they can be handled during the ceremony. It is used in the preparations as well, which take about four days as members from the tribe collect nearly 200 snakes of varying species using the chau vwapi to almost lure them out of their burrows and into buckskin bags. They are housed in a sacred kisa until the time of the dance, at which time designated dancers enter the kisa and emerge with a snake between their teeth while a companion dancer strokes its head with the chau vwapi. The dance continues for about a half an hour until the snakes are placed within a circle of sacred meal prepared by a Snake Chief—an elder known to have a mystical antidote to venom provided to the dancers in the days of preparation—before the snakes are grabbed again by the dancers and set free into the wild with great haste. Upon their return marking the end of the ceremony, the women of the village serve a banquet of meats, vegetables and fruits. At far right, the artist depicts Moqui women donning a special hairstyle resembling a squash blossom, their emblem of fertility and productiveness.
According to Edwardy’s article, no Moqui has ever been known to die of an accidental bite, and the mysterious antidote has never been discovered. Their secrets and traditions are fiercely protected and have mystified observers through time, which included President Theodore Roosevelt who observed the ritual on the Hopi Reservation on August 20, 1913. Indeed, Edwardy writes, “The Moquis themselves give no explanation of their power to handle living snakes, except that the sacred meal and holy water give them control of all serpents and save them from harm.” (“Snake Dance of the Moqui Indians,” p. 871)
In the article, journalist of the American frontier William Edwardy describes his firsthand account of the Northern Arizonian tribe’s most sacred ceremony, which occurred only once every two years, and its origins. “According to their traditions, the tribe once inhabited a fertile plain far to the north, upon the banks of a great stream. Among their people was a youth named Tijo, who sought to discover the basin into which the great river flowed. He left his people, and following the course of the stream, pushed on towards its mouth. He was gone for many years, and finally came upon the great water-house into which the river flowed. Here he found the ‘snake people,’ a supernatural race, who inhabited a beautiful land. He lived among them, and after many ages had passed returned to his tribe, bringing with him the mysteries which cannot be told. He also brought with him two wives, who were called chua mana, or snake virgins, and by them he had many children, all of whom were snakes. These snakes were very wicked, and attacked the people of the tribe. Many were bitten and died, and the remainder were forced to fly for safety to the mesa where they now dwell. After a while the snakes ceased their warfare, and as it was discovered that they were in constant communication with the ‘snake people,’ they became the messengers between the Moquis and the gods of the underworld.” (“Snake Dance of the Moqui Indians,” Harper’s Weekly, November 2, 1889, p. 871)
For at least 1,000 years, the Moquis (now known as Hopi) lived in villages built upon a mesa, with no water or vegetation except for the little available in the desolate plains below. In what is now the Hopi Reservation, the barren landscape yielded corn as the principal crop and was therefore regarded with the highest reverence and ground into a sacred meal used with great importance in the snake dance. The purpose of the dance is to open the portal to the underworld, the Moqui’s equivalent to heaven, and encourage the messengers to deliver requests for water to fertilize the land on their way back to the home of the gods. Edwardy writes, “The Moquis explain the ‘snake dance’ by saying that they handle the snakes to show them that they will not be harmed, and while this is being done they sing to them, begging them to carry their messages to the gods of the underworld.” (“Snake Dance of the Moqui Indians,” p. 871)
In the present work, dancers known as Antelopes can be seen in a line at left, holding a rattle made of tortoise-shell in his right hand and a chau vwapi or “snake whip” in his left made of two eagle feathers fastened to a stick. The rattle is shaken during the dance, while the whip provides a mystifying effect on the snakes – soothing them into a state of relaxation so that they can be handled during the ceremony. It is used in the preparations as well, which take about four days as members from the tribe collect nearly 200 snakes of varying species using the chau vwapi to almost lure them out of their burrows and into buckskin bags. They are housed in a sacred kisa until the time of the dance, at which time designated dancers enter the kisa and emerge with a snake between their teeth while a companion dancer strokes its head with the chau vwapi. The dance continues for about a half an hour until the snakes are placed within a circle of sacred meal prepared by a Snake Chief—an elder known to have a mystical antidote to venom provided to the dancers in the days of preparation—before the snakes are grabbed again by the dancers and set free into the wild with great haste. Upon their return marking the end of the ceremony, the women of the village serve a banquet of meats, vegetables and fruits. At far right, the artist depicts Moqui women donning a special hairstyle resembling a squash blossom, their emblem of fertility and productiveness.
According to Edwardy’s article, no Moqui has ever been known to die of an accidental bite, and the mysterious antidote has never been discovered. Their secrets and traditions are fiercely protected and have mystified observers through time, which included President Theodore Roosevelt who observed the ritual on the Hopi Reservation on August 20, 1913. Indeed, Edwardy writes, “The Moquis themselves give no explanation of their power to handle living snakes, except that the sacred meal and holy water give them control of all serpents and save them from harm.” (“Snake Dance of the Moqui Indians,” p. 871)