Native American Theatre
By:
Jennifer Waller
Theatre History II
12-16-2002
Introduction
I have always considered native rituals rich and fulfilling to see. I have also enjoyed the rich stories and tales that I have heard. Having always lived in the Southwest I was exposed to the culture and rich heritage, but I have always been surprised that barely any Native American history has been taught.
Because of the lack of formal education on the subject of Native American culture and history I decided that researching just those topics and focusing primarily on theatre would be a good project. Another focus of the paper is the comparison of Native American ritual to theatre as we describe it. I will compare the two and use some definitions to aid in structuring the comparison.
History
Archaeologists have found evidence that the native peoples were living in the southwest by 10000 B.C. By 3000 B.C. there was evidence that corn was being grown in the southwest along with other crops for food, and by 1000 B.C. the crops were well cultivated and basket weaving was occurring.
Excavations of pit houses that were grouped together along with kivas that are almost identical to those used today show that the people led a settled way of life by 1 A.D. Nine hundred years later there was proof of trade with other peoples. Trade items included parrot feathers, seashells and other items.
The “classic” age of pueblo development is between 1150-1350. By this time there was a formalized religion, and system of government. The culture had evolved to the point where they could no longer be referred to a savages. However there was no written language. All the history and culture was passed down orally (Sando, 245-246).
In Spanish1528 survivors of a shipwreck were stranded off the Texas coast. After eight years four survivors made it to Mexico. With them they brought tales of cities to the north that contained great riches. Greedy, the Spaniards sent an expedition in 1539 to verify the tales (Sando 48-49).
In 1595 Juan de Onate was awarded the contract to colonize the New Mexico area. In 1598 the first colonists set out for the region from Mexico. At first the Spaniards are welcomed by the pueblo people. Soon problems arise, however. Within the year Onate’s nephew is killed by the Acomas over dissatisfaction over their treatment by the Spaniards (Sando, 248).
Problems continue in the pueblo area. In 1661 the leader of all the Franciscans gave orders against the native religion. Any religious object found was destroyed. In the end the Franciscan leader reported that 1600 Kachina masks had been burned (Folsom, 49).
On August 10th 1680 the pueblos revolted. Twenty-one Franciscans were killed along with about four hundred Spaniards. Many survivors fled to Santa Fe for refuge, but they were trapped. Finally, on August 21st 1680 the survivors leave Santa Fe headed for Mexico (Folsom; Sando, 250).
The pueblo people were free of the Spanish for twelve years. Then, in 1692 Don Diego de Vargas returned. There are attacks against the Spanish at first, but with the superior force the Spaniards successfully reclaim the area. There are differences from the first time, however, and there is no second revolt (Sando, 251-253).
From then there were other governments who held control of Pueblo lands, and lands were rearranged along with those controls. Much stayed the same, however, and while the Native Americans in the region of the Pueblos were still threatened religiously and with loss of their land their situation has pretty much remained the same since those times. With the exception of some pueblos dying out and others being moved.
Folklore
In the beginning the people lived in the underworlds of the earth. Gradually they passed through the four underworlds and emerged into this, the fifth world. The place of emergence was a hole in the middle of a lake, called sipapu. From there the people spread out and made homes in the fifth world.
At this time there came with the people many animals and some new ones came into being as well. Among the new creatures were humans as we know them. According to tradition man and woman were created from corn.
As man spread out on the face of the fifth world he encountered many creatures and some monsters. The tales tell of how many creatures came to look and act as we know them to today, such as the straggly coat of the coyote, or the short feet of the duck (Zolbrod).
Many of these stories are passed down
and some of the aspects are essential to the native way of life. One
aspect
that is essential is the kiva. The round subterranean chamber is an
important
meeting place for the different societies and the small hole in the
center of
the kiva is representative of sipapu. Other things that have importance
are
corn, the four cardinal directions, and a reverence for life.
Dances
Every year many dances are held at each pueblo. The dances are usually requested by the village council or by specific societies within the village. Once the dance is decided upon and the dates are set then the war captains ask the village composers to write the music. Some dances must be the same each year, others are new every time. The village composers must know which dances are to be remembered from previous years and which can be given new life every year.
Once the music has been composed the war captains ask the lead male singers to start practicing with the composers in the kiva. Later the other male participants join in the rehearsals and dance steps are set. Finally the women are formally invited to attend rehearsals.
Five nights before the date of the dance the young men are sent on an expedition to collect evergreens for the dance. While the young men no longer have to trek many miles to gather them they are still collected with reverence. Finally there is a four night practice period in the kiva, during this time the masks and costumes are also prepared.
On
the day of the dance the dancers will emerge from the kiva and will
usually
proceed through four different plazas, repeating their dance in each
one. Also
in each plaza the dance might be repeated in each of the cardinal
directions.
Many of the steps and styles of the dances are small, repetitive, and controlled. There are some different steps from the normal steps that are close to the ground. Some of the other steps include the deer and buffalo walks and small skips or hops (Sweet, 16-17).
Of
the types of dances there is one that is not open to the public. Those
are the
Kachina dances. Kachina dancers wear elaborate costumes that are meant
to
completely hide their human identity while they are assuming the shape
of the
Kachina. These performances had troubled non Pueblo people in the past
and that
is probably the reason that they are not open to the public (Sweet,
10). I was
net even able to find a photograph of an actual Kachina dancer only
dolls and
paintings.
Characters
that still might be seen by anybody visiting a dance would be the kossa
or
clowns. These clowns have been known to mock anybody that they please,
including the dancers. The clowns act opposite to the accepted norms of
the
society in order to teach by example of what should not be done. The
clowns
have also been affected by outsiders that do not understand the
rituals. While
still mocking, the behavior of the clowns is muted compared to years
past
(Sweet, 32-33).
Other elements that might be seen in a dance include the feasts and the throw. Often the dances are a day of ceremony and the entire village participates. If they are not dancing personally, a person might give moral support by watching or by preparing a feast in their home.
A throw is almost exactly what it sounds like. Observers may throw items to the dancers or the dancers may throw items to the observers. Either way this is meant as a statement of community sharing. The relatives of the dancers will take the gifts from the throw home so as not to have the dance disrupted and observers are expected to take items received form the throw as gifts(Sweet, 24-25).
New Developments
Some new developments in Native American theatre are the emergence of Native American playwrights and the creation of ceremonials and exportation of the ritual dances.
Native American playwrights are an emerging group and there is not much literature about them yet.
Another recent development is that of the ceremonial. These started out as detours to the pueblos as part of a tour package. Business owners in the area saw the native rituals as a good way to make money. Other businessmen decided that bringing the Natives to the tourists might be even more profitable than taking the tourists to the Natives. These businessmen organized annual festivals to bring the tourists to them. These festivals were called ceremonials (Sweet, 45-46).
The first ceremonial was held in Gallup in 1922. Sponsored by the owner of a local trading post, Mike Kirk, it brought more than two-thousand participants and observers. At these early ceremonials there was not only dancing but also games and demonstrations in Native American art.
Differences between the ideals of the natives and the Anglos who organized the ceremonials soon became apparent. The ceremonials at Gallup had a strong basis in competition. The Natives could not understand this because the judges looked for outstanding dancers and the natives viewed dancing too hard as a poor performance.
In the following years more ceremonials started to appear. Albuquerque staged its first ceremonial called “The First American.” The first year was very lavish and revenues did not even cover the expenses. Only a few years after its debut the ceremonial in Albuquerque died out.
The first Tewa organized ceremonial was held in 1957. This ceremonial was held at Puye Cliffs. This ceremonial ended after two women were killed by a lightening strike in 1981. The following year the village council decided to discontinue the event. Four years after the Puye Cliffs event was started another Tewa organized ceremonial was introduced, the Nambe Falls event. This event still survives and the only year that it was not held was in 1982.
Only the Gallup ceremonial and the Nambe falls ceremonials still exist. There are other performances, however. Many dances can be seen at craft fairs and at powwows. Some dances are also exported out of state for other events (Sweet, 46-58).
Theatre or Ritual?
I have heard many people refer to the dances of the pueblo peoples as ritual or ceremonial dances. Can these dances be referred to as theatre?
In her book, Dances of the Tewa Pueblo Indians, Jill Sweet quotes a comparison of theatre versus ritual. Ritual is described as events in which supernaturals can be present, the audience requires no written explanation of events and audiences can also participate in the events. Theatre is described as an event that assumes that supernaturals are not present, the audience does not participate and they require written or spoken aids to understand what is presented to them (59).
Other people are a bit more relaxed on the issue. Ethnographers sometimes blur the lines outlined above by calling the dances prayer or ritual dramas, because of the costumes, masks and clowning. Also, the entertainment often draws outsiders to the villages. Another reason that the ethnographers call the dances such is because some of the most sacred parts of the ritual are done outside of public view, in a kiva. The dances that are performed in public usually only represent a small part of the ritual as a whole (Londre, Watermeier, 31).
For my comparison I will use the definitions given by Sweet.
My first argument against the definition of theater as given is that programs are a relatively new development. Early plays would not have provided programs, since printing was prohibitively costly. Some dialogue might have been provided at the beginning of a play, if the events needed explanation. Other plays would not have needed even that because they satirized events of the time or everything was explained in the course of the play itself. Still others would assume that no explanation would have been needed even though it was in a language other than the vernacular, mostly because the story was so familiar, like the medieval liturgical dramas (Wilson and Goldfarb, 90). Since the dances stem partly from the religion, they would need no explanation to the natives watching, much like the liturgical dramas and the people watching them in medieval times.
Next I will focus on the matter of audience participation. While “ritual” audiences do participate in the dances and festivities, by means of preparation or a throw, all audiences do participate in some way. “Theatre” audiences participate in their own way. Applause at properly placed intervals is one means of participation, and is usually not present in the rituals. Either way the presence of an audience at all is participation, would the play continue if nobody was there to enjoy it?
Finally I come to the matter of supernaturals. It is true that supernaturals are assumed to be present at the dances. This is not limited to ritual, however. While slightly different in context supernaturals can be present in many forms throughout theatre. A play performed in memory of a particular person seems to carry the assumption that the dearly departed is still able to see the production and would approve. In the liturgical drama it was probably assumed that God would also see the play and would approve. And even in other ways have supernaturals been included in theatre. Sometimes incorporated into the plays themselves, such as the dead father in Shakespeare’s Hamlet or in other more modern ideas such as those on television’s Crossing Over with John Edward.
While I do agree that theatre and ritual do have subtle differences, they are essentially the same and perhaps should receive a rewriting of the definitions. However, no matter my opinions and conclusions, this, I fear, is a debate that will continue for some time.
Conclusions
This was a difficult topic to research because of the scarcity of material. There is little on the Native American society and less on ritual and theatre. The pueblo people are closely tied to their culture and religion. Oral histories keep the memories of those long departed alive in the minds of the people and those memories help to keep the traditions alive.
While for me the question of whether the dances of the pueblo people are theatre or ritual are answered, for many others they are not and never may be.
Whatever the opinion of the dances of the pueblo peoples, the rich culture and heritage are things that I believe should be preserved and learned about so that we may help future generations to learn about the people who were here before Columbus sailed.
Bibliography
Folsom, Franklin. “Red Power on the Rio Grande.” 1973. Chicago. Follett
Publishing Company.
Londre, Felicia and Watermeier, Daniel. “The History of North American Theater.”
2000. New York. Continuum International Publishing Group.
Sando, Joe. “Pueblo Nations: Eight Centuries of Pueblo Indian History.” 1992.
Santa Fe. Clear Light Publishers.
Sweet, Jill. “Dances of the Tewa Pueblo Indians.” 1985. Santa Fe. School of
American Research Press.
Wilson, Edwin and Goldfarb, Alvin. “Living Theater; A History.” 2000. McGraw
Hill.
Zolbrod, Paul. “Dine bahane: The Navajo Creation Story.” 1984. Albuquerque.
University of New Mexico Press.