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Dancing Gods: Indian Ceremonials of New Mexico and Arizona
One of the most remarkable features of life in the Southwest is the presence of Native American religious ceremonies in communities that are driving distance from Sunbelt cities. Many of these ceremonies are open to the public and Dancing Gods is the best single reference for visitors to dances at the Rio Grande Pueblos, Zuni Pueblo, the Hopi Mesas, and the Navajo and Apache reservations. Fergusson's classic guide to New Mexico and Arizona Indian ceremonies is once again available in print. It offers background information on the history and religion of the area's Native American peoples and describes the principal public ceremonies and some lesser-known dances that are rarely performed. Here is information on the major Pueblo rituals--the Corn Dance, Deer Dance, and Eagle Dance--as well as various dances at Zuni, including the complicated Shalako. Fergusson also describes the Hopi bean-planting and Niman Kachina ceremonies in addition to the Snake Dance, the Navajo Mountain Chant and Night Chant, and several Apache ceremonies.
"Still the best of all books about the Indian ceremonials of New Mexico and Arizona. . . .perceptive and simple, reverent and lucid."--Lawrence Clark Powell, Southwest Classics
"Still the best of all books about the Indian ceremonials of New Mexico and Arizona. . . .perceptive and simple, reverent and lucid."--Lawrence Clark Powell, Southwest Classics
314 pages, Paperback
Published April 1, 1988
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About the author
Erna Fergusson
56 books3 followersErna Fergusson was a writer, historian, and storyteller, who documented the culture and history of New Mexico for more than forty years.
Erna, the eldest of four children, grew up in “La Glorieta,” a historic hacienda in Albuquerque, New Mexico, believed to be the oldest residence in the city. The hacienda was her primary residence. However, between 1897 and 1899 Erna spent her formative years in Washington, D.C. when her father served as a delegate to the United States Congress. In 1906 Erna graduated from Central High School in Albuquerque. She began teaching in the Albuquerque public schools while at the same time furthering her education. In 1912 she graduated from University of New Mexico with a Bachelor of Pedagogy Degree. A year later Erna completed her Masters in History from Columbia University in New York. After teaching a while at Chatham Hall in Virginia she decided to return home and continue teaching in Albuquerque.
Throughout her years Erna had various other occupations. During World War II she took a job with the Red Cross as the home service secretary and State Supervisor for New Mexico. After the war she became a reporter for the Albuquerque Herald, writing various articles regarding her hometown.
She was commissioned in 1926 by Century Magazine to write two articles. These were “Redskins to Railroads” and “From Rodeo to Rotary” which were published only many years later, in 1947, after she had established herself as a regional writer. Fergusson’s early writing relied on two techniques she would perfect in her later work—the oral interview and a conversational prose style. Fergusson interviewed Albuquerque old timers and wrote in a humorous and engaging vein.
While at the Herald, Erna also began a touring company alongside friend Ethel Hickey. The touring company, Koshare Tours, provided guests with tours of the southwest, introducing them to native cultures. The touring company was so successful that Fred Harvey, a famous and well to do western hotel and restaurateur, bought Kosher Tours and hired Erna Fergusson to direct a new endeavor—Indian Detour Service.
In 1931 Erna Fergusson published her first book Dancing Gods, which was about Indian ceremonials. Several histories and numerous travel books followed after her success with Dancing Gods. In her 1934 book, Mexican Cookbook, Fergusson was perhaps the first to correct the popular view that “frijoles refritos” meant “refried beans,” but the correction never took hold.
In 1942 Erna Fergusson helped found the Albuquerque Historical Society. A year later she was awarded as an Honorary Doctorate of Letters from the University of New Mexico. She died in Albuquerque in 1964.
—from Wikipedia, with information from “First Lady of American Letters” by Michael Ann Sullivan (http://newmexicohistory.org/people/er...)
Erna, the eldest of four children, grew up in “La Glorieta,” a historic hacienda in Albuquerque, New Mexico, believed to be the oldest residence in the city. The hacienda was her primary residence. However, between 1897 and 1899 Erna spent her formative years in Washington, D.C. when her father served as a delegate to the United States Congress. In 1906 Erna graduated from Central High School in Albuquerque. She began teaching in the Albuquerque public schools while at the same time furthering her education. In 1912 she graduated from University of New Mexico with a Bachelor of Pedagogy Degree. A year later Erna completed her Masters in History from Columbia University in New York. After teaching a while at Chatham Hall in Virginia she decided to return home and continue teaching in Albuquerque.
Throughout her years Erna had various other occupations. During World War II she took a job with the Red Cross as the home service secretary and State Supervisor for New Mexico. After the war she became a reporter for the Albuquerque Herald, writing various articles regarding her hometown.
She was commissioned in 1926 by Century Magazine to write two articles. These were “Redskins to Railroads” and “From Rodeo to Rotary” which were published only many years later, in 1947, after she had established herself as a regional writer. Fergusson’s early writing relied on two techniques she would perfect in her later work—the oral interview and a conversational prose style. Fergusson interviewed Albuquerque old timers and wrote in a humorous and engaging vein.
While at the Herald, Erna also began a touring company alongside friend Ethel Hickey. The touring company, Koshare Tours, provided guests with tours of the southwest, introducing them to native cultures. The touring company was so successful that Fred Harvey, a famous and well to do western hotel and restaurateur, bought Kosher Tours and hired Erna Fergusson to direct a new endeavor—Indian Detour Service.
In 1931 Erna Fergusson published her first book Dancing Gods, which was about Indian ceremonials. Several histories and numerous travel books followed after her success with Dancing Gods. In her 1934 book, Mexican Cookbook, Fergusson was perhaps the first to correct the popular view that “frijoles refritos” meant “refried beans,” but the correction never took hold.
In 1942 Erna Fergusson helped found the Albuquerque Historical Society. A year later she was awarded as an Honorary Doctorate of Letters from the University of New Mexico. She died in Albuquerque in 1964.
—from Wikipedia, with information from “First Lady of American Letters” by Michael Ann Sullivan (http://newmexicohistory.org/people/er...)
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
January 6, 2025
The author wrote this book in the early 1930s. It describes the dances of the Indians of the SW (Pueblos, Zuni, Navajo, Hopi, Apache).
There’s a lot of detail here and it’s easy to get lost unless one is really into the subject matter. Kudos to Fergusson for recording this detail.
Her introduction highlights what many of the dances have in common, so there’s cultural variation of underlying forms and, possibly, a peek into the lives of Indians before they came into contact with the West. Fergusson says that the dances are prayers: “An Indian dance is not a dance in the sense in which we use that term. It is a ceremonial, a symbolic representation, a prayer. It is, in fact, what all dances were in the early days of the race before the dance as a social and dramatic expression grew apart from the ceremonial which gradually developed into the church service.” On this point, she adds that the dance “is the genuine religious expression of a primitive people which has survived without serious interruption for thousands of years. It belongs to the period of human culture before the religious ritual and the dramas had become separate things. The Indian dance is a prayer, performed with the greatest reverence, and it is also a dramatic representation, as finished and as beautiful as a modern ballet.”
The prayers were about the uppermost concerns in the daily lives of the Indians. “No act of daily life,” she writes, “is too ordinary to be dignified by ritual, no magnificence of God or nature too awe-inspiring to be explained by myth and influenced by prayer. There are prayers for birth and death…and thanksgiving, prayers connected with the planting and harvesting of crops, the hunt, the journey, grinding the corn, the storm, the sun, and the rain - especially the rain….Both in the river valleys and on the desert uplands, prolonged drought has always been their greatest danger. If it does not rain, the people perish. So in one way or another nearly every prayer is a prayer for rain, for renewal and for growth.” And then, she adds, “Prayers for rain often include appeal for all life, animal and human as well as plants, and on this is based the occasional complaint that Indian dances are obscene….To an Indian, human generation is no more obscene than is the fertilization and development of a plant.”
Fergusson also comments that “nobody knows all about Indian dances, not even Indians,” but “The Indian layman, like the Christian layman, knows merely that certain things must be done in a certain way because they have always been done so. ‘Unless we do it this way, our prayer will not be answered. This is the way of the ancients.’” Accordingly, “Everything is done under the direction of the cacique or medicine-man, whose duty it is to see that nothing goes wrong, as the slightest slip may ruin the effect of the entire ceremony.” “The dance,” she adds, “is an affair of the whole community, for everyone is obliged to take part some time during the year, either as a singer or as dancer, and always those who are not dancing or singing are understanding and interested spectators.”
Commenting on the dance rituals themselves, there is “meaning in every item of costume and decoration, in every step and movement….“Every dance is full of tricky changes of tempo and rhythm, of the graceful turnings of long rows of dancers like wheat ruffling in the wind, of that deceptive appearance of ease which is based on years of training for each dancer and days of intensive practice for each performance.” “The intricacies of tempo and rhythm,” she continues, “are based on the music, which commands as much respect in high circles as does the dancing….Lacking harmony, the Indian achieves his effects entirely by rhythm, often combining several rhythms in one song and always using short intervals and very baffling pauses.” Of the pueblo Indian dances, Fergusson notes that “the chant is presumably the prayer, though often those who sing it do not understand it all. Apparently the words used are archaic; sometimes the Indians say they are not words at all, merely sounds. The effect is vigorous, almost angular, unmelodious, unharmonized, but marvelously rhythmic and varied in its rhythm.”
All in all, interesting.
There’s a lot of detail here and it’s easy to get lost unless one is really into the subject matter. Kudos to Fergusson for recording this detail.
Her introduction highlights what many of the dances have in common, so there’s cultural variation of underlying forms and, possibly, a peek into the lives of Indians before they came into contact with the West. Fergusson says that the dances are prayers: “An Indian dance is not a dance in the sense in which we use that term. It is a ceremonial, a symbolic representation, a prayer. It is, in fact, what all dances were in the early days of the race before the dance as a social and dramatic expression grew apart from the ceremonial which gradually developed into the church service.” On this point, she adds that the dance “is the genuine religious expression of a primitive people which has survived without serious interruption for thousands of years. It belongs to the period of human culture before the religious ritual and the dramas had become separate things. The Indian dance is a prayer, performed with the greatest reverence, and it is also a dramatic representation, as finished and as beautiful as a modern ballet.”
The prayers were about the uppermost concerns in the daily lives of the Indians. “No act of daily life,” she writes, “is too ordinary to be dignified by ritual, no magnificence of God or nature too awe-inspiring to be explained by myth and influenced by prayer. There are prayers for birth and death…and thanksgiving, prayers connected with the planting and harvesting of crops, the hunt, the journey, grinding the corn, the storm, the sun, and the rain - especially the rain….Both in the river valleys and on the desert uplands, prolonged drought has always been their greatest danger. If it does not rain, the people perish. So in one way or another nearly every prayer is a prayer for rain, for renewal and for growth.” And then, she adds, “Prayers for rain often include appeal for all life, animal and human as well as plants, and on this is based the occasional complaint that Indian dances are obscene….To an Indian, human generation is no more obscene than is the fertilization and development of a plant.”
Fergusson also comments that “nobody knows all about Indian dances, not even Indians,” but “The Indian layman, like the Christian layman, knows merely that certain things must be done in a certain way because they have always been done so. ‘Unless we do it this way, our prayer will not be answered. This is the way of the ancients.’” Accordingly, “Everything is done under the direction of the cacique or medicine-man, whose duty it is to see that nothing goes wrong, as the slightest slip may ruin the effect of the entire ceremony.” “The dance,” she adds, “is an affair of the whole community, for everyone is obliged to take part some time during the year, either as a singer or as dancer, and always those who are not dancing or singing are understanding and interested spectators.”
Commenting on the dance rituals themselves, there is “meaning in every item of costume and decoration, in every step and movement….“Every dance is full of tricky changes of tempo and rhythm, of the graceful turnings of long rows of dancers like wheat ruffling in the wind, of that deceptive appearance of ease which is based on years of training for each dancer and days of intensive practice for each performance.” “The intricacies of tempo and rhythm,” she continues, “are based on the music, which commands as much respect in high circles as does the dancing….Lacking harmony, the Indian achieves his effects entirely by rhythm, often combining several rhythms in one song and always using short intervals and very baffling pauses.” Of the pueblo Indian dances, Fergusson notes that “the chant is presumably the prayer, though often those who sing it do not understand it all. Apparently the words used are archaic; sometimes the Indians say they are not words at all, merely sounds. The effect is vigorous, almost angular, unmelodious, unharmonized, but marvelously rhythmic and varied in its rhythm.”
All in all, interesting.
June 30, 2023
Honestly was skimming by the end. Like, I knew this was going to be racist (and make overarching/inaccurate assumptions about gender), but it started off not that bad (for the 1930s)... However: then once it got to the Dine people... Ohmygod. Incredibly racist. Dehumanizing, paternalistic, and horrifying. I have no idea if anything this author says about the Ceremonial Ritual Dances is accurate. It was painful to read. Especially in context of the Dine Reader I had just finished, it made so many of the remarks that much clearer on how inaccurate and prejudiced it was. Clearly had no understanding of what these people had gone through, only cared that they were "dirty" and "smelly" and went by a different value system. 10/10 do not recommend.
April 25, 2024
2.6/5 — This is a very limited perspective on Southwestern Native ceremonials from the 1930s. The book is interesting for what it is, an artifact, but ultimately not super compelling because of the mechanical descriptions of events, point of view and intended audience. The chapter on the Hopis is by far the best, and probably the only one really worth reading.
June 6, 2023
Unusually descriptive and informative. She understood writing of one aspect of so very many people's would be large; well done.
November 26, 2012
Fergusson's Dancing Gods provides a lively and sympathetic first-hand account of the ritual life of the Zuni, Hopi, Navaho and Apache cultures of Arizona and New Mexico.
Although she is not a trained academic, ethnographer or historian, she is a perceptive informant who has spent many years in close involvement with the cultures she describes. If one doesn't hold this book to the standards of scholarly works, then it is an invaluable window into the dance cultures of desert southwest.
Fergusson gives historical and anecdotal surveys of the various peoples of this book, then providing first-hand accounts of their primary public ceremonials, including the Shalako dances of the Zunis, the Hopi Kachina and Snake Dances, the Navajo Mountain Chant and Night Chant ceremonies, and Mescalero dances of the Apache.
This book was written in the early decades of the twentieth century, and if her language or perspective at time feel antiquarian to modern sensibilities, she still shows a remarkable degree of objectivity and interest.
I found it valuable to examine the photographs of Edward S. Curtis alongside my read of this book, as he documented many of the locations and dances described in this book a mere ten or twenty years earlier.
My only real complaint about this book is that her sensual appreciation for the exposed "muscular, brown flesh" of the Native Americans was perhaps too frequently and emphatically articulated, which left me feeling rather uncomfortable at times.
Although she is not a trained academic, ethnographer or historian, she is a perceptive informant who has spent many years in close involvement with the cultures she describes. If one doesn't hold this book to the standards of scholarly works, then it is an invaluable window into the dance cultures of desert southwest.
Fergusson gives historical and anecdotal surveys of the various peoples of this book, then providing first-hand accounts of their primary public ceremonials, including the Shalako dances of the Zunis, the Hopi Kachina and Snake Dances, the Navajo Mountain Chant and Night Chant ceremonies, and Mescalero dances of the Apache.
This book was written in the early decades of the twentieth century, and if her language or perspective at time feel antiquarian to modern sensibilities, she still shows a remarkable degree of objectivity and interest.
I found it valuable to examine the photographs of Edward S. Curtis alongside my read of this book, as he documented many of the locations and dances described in this book a mere ten or twenty years earlier.
My only real complaint about this book is that her sensual appreciation for the exposed "muscular, brown flesh" of the Native Americans was perhaps too frequently and emphatically articulated, which left me feeling rather uncomfortable at times.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews