Pueblos offer holiday dances - a mix of Catholic and Pueblo traditions

Dec. 16—One writer called them "dances of mystery" — public performances cloaked in a sense of privacy.

The traditional cultural dances performed by many of New Mexico's pueblos around Christmastime are deeply personal rituals of prayer and expressions of gratitude, but they're often wide open to the public.

To outsiders, the dances may not be easy to understand, but in general they have the same goal: to offer thanks and pray for good tidings for those who dance and the spectators who watch.

"It's very important within pueblo traditions to welcome guests, to feed them, and there is also a tradition in doing our dances and having our feasts and ceremonies for them," said Felipe J. Estudillo Colón, provost of the Institute of American Indian Arts.

"We are imbuing those who are watching with the prayers we are putting out," said Colón, a member of Laguna Pueblo. He said the hope is visitors will "take those prayers out with them into the world" and share them with others.

The dances often blend Spanish Catholic customs with pueblo traditions, a mix that may strike some as odd, given the pain connected to centuries of colonialism and the desire for self-determination.

Colón said it actually makes sense. When the Spanish came into the territory and put the pueblos under their rule, they naturally brought in Catholic rituals, traditions and customs to help convert Natives to their religion.

One thing the two cultures had in common was the timing of many of these traditions, including feast days and dance celebrations. December is full of feast days honoring Catholic saints, while the pueblos often held winter ceremonies and dances — particularly dances paying homage to the animals who provided sustenance for the pueblo people, Colón said.

"There was an alignment in what we were already celebrating," said Colón, adding the mix of the two traditions has "been going on for hundreds of years."

Following the 1680 Pueblo Revolt which led to the temporary Spanish retreat from the territory, the pueblos reverted to practicing their own traditions while incorporating some of the Spanish customs.

Once the Spanish returned later that century, he said, pueblos were often "willing to adopt an outward demonstration of their Catholicism even if internally they were not Catholic, per se."

In the early 1700s, he said, there was a "major shift" in the support Catholic missions in New Mexico got from the Spanish church system. Instead of one priest servicing one pueblo, he might be put in charge of multiple areas and "that kind of took the attention off of what the pueblos were doing," he said.

As such, the pueblos could adopt a "here's what we want to keep, here's what we like, here's what we want to get rid off" attitude toward practicing Catholic and Spanish traditions in celebrations, he said.

"So they formed their own kind of tribal tradition and Spanish tradition" approach, he said.

Matthew Martinez, a former lieutenant governor of Ohkay Owingeh and former professor of Pueblo Indian studies at Northern New Mexico College, said the pueblo dances are based on the seasons. He and Colón both said agricultural-based dances take place during the season of planting and growing, while winter — a non-growing time, for the most part — is ideal for the animal dances that often make up the Christmas-season events.

Martinez said the dances pay respect to the larger calendar season of good health and sustenance. "Each pueblo is very unique in terms of cultural understanding and approaches, but generally, if there are animal dances — particularly with deer or buffalo — or corn dances, they pay respect to wishing for good life and good food, not only for native people but all living things."

The matachin dance, which dates back hundreds of years, is one that is familiar to many pueblo visitors. The dance is performed in both Hispanic and Native American communities at various times of the year and for different reasons.

"It's more of a social dance where there is a blending of Hispano and pueblo traditions, a community celebration of Catholicism and its impact on the villages," Martinez said.

Matachin dances often features the same main characters, including La Monarca, who often represents Montezuma, and La Malinche, a role usually reserved for a little girl dressed in white. Some also include the character of El Toro, who sometimes represents bad behavior or evil.

Martinez said at his pueblo, new dancers often take part in the matachin performances, including a new girl to play La Malinche. "It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for her to be chosen for this dance," he said.

His pueblo also offers the Turtle Dance using the same dance regalia and songs every year, he said. The words, however, can change depending on who writes the songs.

"The dancers and singers gather at last a week before (the dance performance) to hear the songs and to learn the new words," he said.

Martinez urged visitors to be respectful during the dances and follow pueblo guidelines. Photography and video are almost always prohibited, he said. Even in rare circumstances when photos might be allowed, he said he advises people "to just come in and experience it with an open heart and listen and observe. Just be part of being there, taking in the energy, taking in the moment and not get caught up with the photography or even the question of what does this all signify?"

Colón echoed that thought, adding some pueblos have what are known as clown dancers — Kosahre — who perform a number of tasks, including monitoring crowd behavior, during the dances. If a clown dancer sees someone taking photos where that is prohibited, the camera could be confiscated.

He said it's important to respect each pueblo's guidelines and enjoy the dances — "but we want you to keep your camera or iPhone," he joked.