Bull Dance at Tesuque

My favorite Pueblo had several Christmas dances from which to choose an occasion. I always intend to be at more than one dance, but it never seems to work out that way. As close as Tesuque is, it's still north of Santa Fe and we're 17 miles south already. This year was a great line-up though. Christmas Eve dances right before Midnight (well, 11pm, that is) Mass - Ellen and I attended that once, in the old church, much more intimate and sweet than the new church, which was built after vandals burned down the old one,sad. Christmas Day was a Standing Deer, always a lovely dance with the pine boughs and antlers on the men's heads. Yesterday was a Snowbird Dance, which I have never seen but hope to, someday. Today, another one we haven't seen, the Bull Dance, men only (52 of them, Stephanie counted), each with faces painted black on top, white on the bottom and with a red horizontal stripe across the nose, for some of them. In their left hands, they held a gourd rattle, in the right, sad to say, I don't remember, pine boughs, maybe? (boughs seems to be a winter thing). Percussive anklets, one drummer wrapped in a deer-hide, one lead dance captain with two other dance captains. The dancers also sang, not so common as a group of singers and several drums. They spread out in a line, and moved in a U-shape from one side of the Plaza to the other, and when they moved, in-between dances, they bellowed (ya can't say they moo-ed, they're men, but the sound was moo-ish). We stood on the sunny side of the Plaza, all bundled up and it seemed to be mostly Pueblo folk, think we were early for whiteys, although we were actually late and only saw the last 1/4 of the dance, I think. Then we brought cookies over to my pal (thanks, Papa, I like that word) Flo's house, with all her grand-kids and great-grandkids, all with crazy non-Indian names like Arwen, Jessica, Patrick, Donovan (!) and Dmitri (!!!). Although it's probably spelled "Demetrey!" Zachary, I get it, it's biblical.

Anyway, Edward is taking the gang out to dinner at the new pub that opened here, Eldorado is a tough sell for a restaurant, seems like people eat out when they're in town already. It will have to be good AND reasonably priced...

Tomorrow is a Bow and Arrow Dance, seems like kind of a funny choice for Holy Innocents Day, but maybe appropriate, who can afford to be innocent around here anymore???!!! Get out yer Bow and Arrow! And innocence should be celebrated and protected, especially at the same time as the Christ Child's birth, although I am not much for martyrs, never was, the thought terrifies me to this day...St. Lucy and her eyeballs on a platter, as Patty Muth would say, "gack!"