It would be erroneous to suppose that there is much gaiety in their dances. At least, it is not apparent to foreign eyes. The music is monotonous and almost lugubrious, the singing is all in the minor key, and the motions are dull, mechanical and ungraceful. A European traveler has, indeed, characterized these spectacles rather as an exhibition of profound melancholy, than outbursts of merriment, and has instanced them as a proof of the psychical inferiority of the race![30]
Some of them, even to this day, as continued by the lower half-caste population, are accused of an indecency which may be a reminiscence of ancient Indian religious rites;[31] for we know that the native Nicaraguans celebrated a festival strictly similar to that in ancient Babylon, so condemned by the prophet, during which every woman, of whatever class, had the right to yield her person to whom she would, without incurring blame or exciting jealousy.
The Logas seem to be peculiar to the Mangues. A small theatre is extemporized, music is provided, and the actor comes forward, arrayed in some odd garb, and recites a sort of poem, with gestures and dancing movements. The text of one of these was obtained at Namotivá by Dr. Berendt, and is in my possession. It is entitled, Loga del Niño Dios, and contains about two hundred lines. The language is a corrupt Spanish, with a number of Mangue words interspersed. The exordium reads—
"Atienda, Señores,
Pongan atencion
Del Mangue tiyo Pegro
La conversacion."
The theme is an address to the patron saints and the infant Jesus, but the tone is that of a burlesque, rather than a serious composition. The costume of the orator, and his surroundings, the little theatre, the holy infant, etc., are represented in the frontispiece to this work, from a sketch taken from life.[32]
Frequently a number of persons join in the dance. Such is one, still occasionally seen, called Las Inditas, the Little Indian Girls. The period of its celebration is on the day of St. Jerome. The women are masked, and wear a loose mantle, a skirt with lace edging, a sash of rose color, and a hat with feathers. They carry bouquets and have a silk handkerchief fastened around the waist, the ends meeting over the hips. The men are in grotesque costumes, with ugly masks. They dance in couples, but without touching each other. The music is the marimba and the guitar. The songs usually turn on some matter of local interest.
Another favorite dance is the Baile de Chinegritos, celebrated by the Mangues. This name is applied to the masqueraders who take part in it. They wear a cap of black straw, and the body is naked to the waist, and painted. Each carries a stick or the dried yard of a bull, and in turn lifts a companion from the ground and strikes him with the whip. One, who keeps himself apart from the rest, is called the rucia, or yeguita, the mare. He is in a framework of cane adorned with women's skirts and colored handkerchiefs, supposed to represent some animal. There is no fixed day for the dance, but it is usually carried out in fulfillment of a vow. A variety of this baile, called Chinegritos à caballo, is performed by mounted actors, in brilliant costumes, with gaily caparisoned horses. They are accompanied by music, and draw up in front of a house, where they sing a song with a monotonous chorus, le-le-le-le-le-le-le-li-u.
The Baile de Negritos is celebrated on the festivals of St. James and St. Anna. The participants are on horseback, themselves and their steeds adorned with bright-colored sashes and garlands of flowers. They all wear the mosote, or black straw hat, from which this and the preceding dance derive their names.[33] The songs which they sing are called Ensaladas, salads or medleys, and usually contain personal allusions.
The Baile de Toro-Guaca, the Dance of the Graveyard Bull,[34] as it may be rendered, is presented on the festival of the Virgin, of St. Jerome, and other days, in accordance with a vow. It requires fourteen dancers and seventeen masqueraders. The "bull" is represented by a framework of reeds, surmounted by a pair of horns and gaily decorated.
Other such exhibitions are called the Baile de diablitos, Baile de la Yeguita, Baile de San Roman, Baile de San Martin, Baile del Toro y Venado, Baile del Mantudo (in which a desperado, with numerous chichiltes, small bells, appears), besides some representations of Bible scenes, as the combat between David and Goliath, etc.