ANCIENT DANCE IN NICARAGUA.
To one familiar with Nahuatl symbolism, the meaning of this ceremony is, in a general way, obvious. The seated divinity on the summit of the pole represents the god of fertility throned in the heavens. The two boys are the messengers he sends to earth; the arrows refer to the lightnings which he hurls below; the feather fan typifies the breezes and the birds; the mirror, the waters and rains. After the mortals have prayed in chants, for a certain season, the god sends his messengers; men wait in suspense their arrival, whether it shall be for good or for ill hap; and as they reach the earth, a shout of joy is raised, for the food has ripened and been gathered in, and the harvest-home is ended.
In the same century the traveler Giralamo Benzoni, who visited Nicaragua about 1540, was much impressed with the native dances. At certain ones, as many as three or four thousand Indians assembled, some dancing, others playing on drums, while others, who formed the chorus, carried on the singing. The dancers displayed great agility, and practiced a large variety of figures. They were ornamented with feathers and plumes, and strings of shells were attached to their arms and legs.[26]
The Mangues of Chiapas, or the Chapanecs, near relatives, as we have seen, of the Mangues of Nicaragua, were famous in the days of Thomas Gage, the English priest, who traveled through Mexico and Nicaragua about 1630,[27] for their dexterity in games and the elaborate scenery of their dramatic representations. "As for acting of Plays," he says, "this is a common part of their solemn Pastimes."
This passion for scenic performances was by no means peculiar to these tribes. It extended throughout almost the whole of the Red Race, and there are many relics of it which have survived. The older authors refer to it frequently, and the early missionaries, finding that they could not extinguish it, sought to turn it to good account by substituting for the native plays, which were idolatrous or licentious, moral and instructive pieces. They encouraged the more intelligent natives and half-breeds to prepare such, and they were acted in connection with church festivals.
But it would be an error to suppose that these attempts succeeded completely in abolishing the older forms, or quenched entirely the tribal historical character of these ceremonies. Even within our own generation the contrary of this has been recognized by close observers. Thus the cura of Jutiapa, a town in Guatemala, Don Jose Antonio Urrutia, wrote, in 1856: "In most of the Indian towns the custom is still general of preserving a knowledge of great events in their history by means of representations, called bailes (dances), which are, in fact, dances in the public squares, on the days or evenings of great solemnities. It is most interesting for one who understands something of the language to participate in these bailes, as he can thereby obtain some knowledge of the most remote traditions and events in the history of the Indians."[28]
Confining our attention to the limits of Nicaragua, we find that the different bailes represented there within the memory of persons still living may be arranged in five different classes:—
- Simple dances.
- Dances with songs.
- Dances with prose recitation.
- Scenic recitations with music, by a single actor. These are called Logas.
- Complete dramas, with music, ballets, dialogue, and costumes.
Most of these have a religious purpose. Thus, it is still a common custom, in case of sickness or impending danger, to make a vow that, in case of escape, the person will dance before the image of some saint on a certain day, at a certain place, usually at a festival.[29] Such dances are sometimes accompanied with songs or chants of praise, or are performed in silence. The performer is usually masked or in costume.