English Translation
19. The First Mountain Spirit Ceremony
Sam Kenoi
Long ago, when everything was new, there were many Indians.
No one at that time knew anything about those who are called Mountain Spirits1
Only one man who knew about them lived among the many people but they did not know about him.
Then that man who knew about the Mountain Spirits talked to them:
"There is to be a ceremony. Tonight, I will make Mountain Spirits for you. The ceremony lasts four nights; I will make for you something you have never seen before. Therefore, all of you go there."he said to them.
Then the people spoke thus:
They talked to one another:
"It is well. It is well that you be grateful for that which the man is to do for us which we have never seen before. It is proper that we do for the man whatever the man tells us."they said to one another as they talked to one another.
"Therefore, all of you, every last one of you, will go there."they said to one another.
Then this man, he who knew about the Mountain Spirits [and] was going to make them for them, again talked to them.
He spoke thus to them:
"My brothers, my sisters:he said to them.
I will make these Mountain Spirits that I'm going to make far away over there at the foot of the mountain2. So advise your children [and] your relatives well.
No one is to come close to these Mountain Spirits which I will make [and] decorate.
Do not call these people I will make into Mountain Spirits by their names even if you recognize them.
My relatives, it is dangerous [for] anyone to speak [so]. Forbid your children [to do so].
No one is to go where these Mountain Spirits are being decorated.
No one is to look at them3. If you see them only at twilight coming out to the fire, it is perfectly all right. But treat them with respect4.
No one is to speak carelessly. Forbid your children [to do so].
No one is to say anything. It is dangerous [for] anyone to speak thus.
My relatives, I plead with you."
In a good way, in exactly that way, he had made it known to them.
That man who was to make the Mountain Spirits advised them [well].
Now then, making use of some of those people who were with him, he made the Mountain Spirits.
Far away, at the foot of the mountain, where no one was near, he made a brush corral for the Mountain Spirits.
There he decorated the Mountain Spirits.
Then some children [who] were playing ran about all over.
Though he had said "No one is to go there," when he had spoken to the people, the children were already running about playing [close] to [that place].
Then one young girl came out near the Mountain Spirits who were being decorated.
And she turned her head toward the Mountain Spirits who were being decorated there.
And that young girl saw one of the men she knew.
She recognized him.
Then, at twilight there was a big fire at the place where the ceremony was to be held.
There were a great many there.
The Mountain Spirits came to the fire.
They blessed the fire5.
The singing had begun for them.
When they had blessed the fire, the singing went on for them.
They danced.
They danced well.
Then this one, the one man that the young girl had seen [and] recognized where the Mountains Spirits were being decorated, was pointing around there where the Mountain Spirits were dancing.
And that young girl called by name this Mountain Spirit.6
"That is he who is called so and so."she said.
That young girl spoke thus.
Then that one who knew about the Mountain Spirits [and] who had made them for the people immediately knew [what she had said]7
Then the Mountain Spirits went back out [of sight].
And he talked to all of the people.
"'No one is to say anything' I told you; I made this known to you in a good way.he said to the people.
It is said that someone has already spoken improperly [and] dangerously.
Now then, I can in no way make things good again for you.
One young girl, while the Mountain Spirits were dancing a while ago, called someone that she recognized by name. I can in no way make things [right] again for you,"
Then the people pleaded with him
"Anyhow, help her for us with all your power. [Then] nothing will happen to us."they said to that man.
He really tried to help her for them with all his power but it could not be done8
He tried in vain.
Then that one who had made the Mountain Spirits for them spoke to them.
"This girl who has spoken improperly will not be ours at sunrise on the morning [after] the fourth night of this ceremony, they say to us.
Right before your faces just as you are looking on, they will kill her, they say to us.
I am unable to make it as it was for you.
Long ago, at the very beginning, I made this known to you in a good way. 'No one is to speak so,' I said to you."
In spite of that, this man who knew about the Mountain Spirits, by means of his power, tried to help her for them so that nothing would happen to them but he did so in vain.
He could think of only one thing.
Whoever it is who is said to speak to him spoke thus to him:9
"The morning [after] the fourth night of this ceremony has been finished, put that girl who spoke improperly into a hole you will dig under the fire that lies there where the Mountain Spirits are dancing,"he said to him.10
Then this man who had made the Mountain Spirits for them made this known to them.
Then he also spoke thus to them again:
"Go ahead, have a good time. One can do nothing. Only on the morning [after] the fourth night will [anything] be known,"he said to them.
Then, in just that way, the ceremony went on.
But they did not feel right about it.
That young girl was very pretty.
They tried in vain to do so11
The fourth night came to an end as he had promised them.
They put that girl under where the fire had been.
That morning, many Mountain Spirits from the mountains strung out in a very long line, came to them.12
One Gray One stood at the very end.13
These, who were Mountain Spirits from the mountains whom they had never seen, all carried sabres.
The Big Black Mountain Spirit stood in the very first place.14
Right behind him stood the Big Blue Mountain Spirit.
And right behind him stood the Big Yellow Mountain Spirit.
At the very end stood the Gray Mountain Spirit.
At the place where the ceremony had been held, they blessed the fire that had lain there.
They blessed the fire and then they searched for that young girl.
They searched for her all over the camp, scattering their furnishings here and there.
They searched in vain.
At the place where the ceremony had been held, they circled toward the fire several times.
The Big Black Mountain Spirit stood before all of the Mountain Spirits.
He had tried in vain to learn [where she was].
Then he went to the very end [of the line] since he had failed.
Then the Big Blue Mountain Spirit went to the front.
Blessing the fire, circling toward it again and again, they ran around it.
The Big Blue Mountain Spirit also learned nothing.
And he also went to the very end.
Then the Big Yellow Mountain Spirit went to the front.
They blessed the fire.
He also did so in vain.
Then now, the Gray One went before all of the Mountain Spirits.
They ran around the fire four times.
They circled toward it four times.
The last time, the fourth time it was done, the Gray One pulled [the girl] out of the center of the fire holding her by the top of her head.
As he held her up, all the Mountain Spirits cut her into very small [pieces] with [their] sabres.
Circling the fire, they went off.
There were many of them.
As everyone watched them, they went out from the fire toward the mountains, the sabres clashing and sparkling [in the sun].
As they watched them, they were moving up toward a broad sheer rock wall at the center of a mountain that lay
there.
They stopped before the rock wall.
A noise was made.
The rock wall opened.
They went in there.
The rock closed again.
The Gray One knows more than all of the Mountain Spirits of whatever kind.
He is over all the Mountain Spirits.
Where the [other] Mountain Spirits were unable to find that young girl, the Gray One pulled her out.
Only the Gray One is supreme.
Ethnological Notes
Morris Opler
19.1
The Mountain Spirits are a race of supernaturals who dwell within the interiors of many mountains, according to Chiricahua Apache belief. There they are said to live and conduct their affairs much as the Apache used to do in aboriginal times. The Mountain Spirits conduct a dance and ceremony in which some of their men are masked and appear with their bodies painted in various patterns. Occasionally an Apache is fortunate enough to have a supernatural experience with the Mountain Spirits of a particular mountain, to witness the performances of these masked supernaturals, and to be instructed in the songs, designs, and prayers which belong to the rite. After this Apache returns to the world outside, and to his own people, he masks and paints Apache men in imitation of the supernaturals he has seen, and sends them out to dance at times of widespread sickness or impending disaster. This procedure or rite is expected to establish rapport between the shaman and the original supernaturals from whom he gained his power, and to enlist the aid of the Mountain Spirits in the emergency which confronts the encampment.
Formerly, as this text and others which follow indicate, the real Mountain Spirits sometimes came out upon this world in person to punish those who have profaned their rite or to succor Apache in need of their assistance. Now it is said that only those appear who are "made" or dressed in imitation of the true Mountain Spirits. These Apache masked dancers, however, are called g3h4, just as are the masked supernaturals of the mountains. [See also Ethnological note to Chircahua text 40, note 1 and following.]
19.2
Formerly, the masked dancers were not "made" within the encampment, but had to be painted in an enclosure constructed in the mountains. From there they would march down the slope in single file, sometimes carrying firebrands.
19.3
This rule has been greatly relaxed, but is still somewhat in force. Informants claim that it used to be strictly maintained.
19.4
The people are advised, at the entrance of the masked dancers, to lower their eyes and pray.
19.5
To "bless the fire" [The original phrasing "they worshipped the fire" has been changed to "they blessed the fire". Neither is a close match for the full meaning of the Apache phrase in context; but the change is made to answer the objections of many Apache people to the primitivistic, and inaccurate, connotations of the former -- MEC] the masked dancers approach it in single file from the east, swaying their arms and bodies, and emitting, when near the flames, a cry peculiar to them. Then they shuffle backwards without turning, circle the fire clockwise, stop at the south and repeat the worship from the south side. This is done from each dir- ection, continuing in the sunwise ceremonial circuit. The "worship" described is the standard method by which the masked dancers purify any place, object, or person, and drive away disease and evil. A sick person who is being ceremonially treated by the masked dancers is approached from the four directions in the same manner.
19.6
The prohibition against calling out the name of a masked dancer whom one recognizes is still observed.
19.7
A shaman, since he is in direct communication with the source of his supernatural power, is often said to be aware of whatever anyone is saying or thinking about his power or his rite.
19.8
The shaman probably sang the songs of the rite in order to learn the fate of the child. His attempts at intercession on her behalf, to judge by analogous tales that have been gathered, were probably extempore prayers.
19.9
A periphrastic reference to the shaman's power or spirit guide.
19.10
This motif of protection by being hidden beneath a fire occurs in other connections. It will be remembered that Child of the Water was preserved from the Menace by this means. [See Chiricahua text 1]
19.11
That is, they tried in vain to feel at ease and enjoy the ceremony.
19.12
These are the true supernaturals of the mountain.
19.13
The Gray One, when the masked dance is held as a spectacular part of a feast or celebration [as occurs in connection with the Girl's Puberty Rite] acts the part of a clown. Then he awkwardly imitates his fellow-dancers and performs for the amusement of the on-lookers. In the myths, and when serious work such as curing is at hand, however, his role is entirely changed. He becomes a most important source of supernatural power, and by many, as by the narrator of this story, is considered the most potent masked dancer of the rite.
19.14
The masked dancers are associated with directional-color symbolism. Ordinarily four masked dancers and the clown are "made" by one man. The leader, the one who heads the single file of dancers, is called the Black Mountain Spirit of the east. Next comes the Blue Mountain Spirit of the south, the Yellow Mountain Spirit of the west, and last the White Mountain Spirit of the north. Occasionally, as in this story, the clown or Gray One is substituted for the White Mountain Spirit and then takes his place as representative of the north. The association of colors and directions noted above is the one most commonly encountered in Chiricahua ritual. Due to the extremely individual character of religious experiences, however, variations are possible and do occur. [See text Chiricahua text 42 and Ethnological note 2 to the English translation of that text.]