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Savannah Logan

Professor Katsanos

LBST-2102-337

7 April 2017

Indigenous people across the world have long suffered from having their sacred

land stolen, or their beliefs criticized and reformed by force. Though, even today, some of

those beliefs and lands still lay in the hands of the descendants of the original inhabitants

of the land. Even in the modern world, religions and rituals we might view as archaic are

still held steadfast by many people. One such ritual is the Monkeys Dance, a spiritual

ritual performed by the Momostecans of Guatemala. The dance of spiritual and ancestral

power. A very old custom for the Momostecans, and one that is still around today.

In the work by Garret W. Cook, titled Indigenous religion and cultural

performance in the new Maya world, he speaks on the Momostecans and their tradition

of their people dressing as animals to gain spiritual power. This ritual is all about the

power of the spirits, and ancestors in Momostecan culture. The dancers, dressed as

monkeys, lions and tigers, display the ultimate powers of the spirits and their ancestors

by gaining the powers of the animals they represent, and are also protected from death

with this power. And, like in the reading about powwow pilgrims and their powwow trail,

they are blessed through a holy journey they take to altars to these spirits around their

homeland. Along the way they are blessed by a spiritual leader, called the chuchkajaw,

who names the ancient spirits and ancestors and asks them to participate in the ceremony.

At the end of the journey the dancers gain the powers of the animals they represent

through the masks of their costumes. The masks are the important parts of the costumes
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as they are said to have the most spiritual power, as they have been used by many dancers

before them and blessed many, many times. The masks are blessed in order, at the final

altar after the altar has been swept to purify it of any bad remnants. The masks are always

placed symmetrically around the last altar, the same way. The chuchkajaw then blesses

the dancers in order of rank, beginning with the first tigre and ending with the last

monkey. The dancers perform dangerous stunts on tight ropes and climb a huge tree

known as the dance pole with protection from their ancestors and important religious

spirits. This ritual could be related to the powwows from the readings in that it is a huge

social gathering for the Momostecans. Everyone likes to see the dancers dress up and

perform death defying stunts with protection from those long since past and the spirits

who give them sustenance and life on a daily basis. The ritual also allows wanabes, like

from the reading about powwows, though in the form of financial sponsors. The dancers

are expected to make expensive donations to the spirits at the altars, so financial sponsors

are needed for the dancers. In fact, the author of the source was a financial sponsor,

which is why he was able to view the dance even though he himself was not a

Momostecan. Though they still do this spiritual ritual, Momostecans arent all tied to

their ancient customs. Many have jobs that arent hunting or gathering or tending to their

families. In fact many commute out of their home of Momostenago to other cities for

work. Many partake in very modern activities, and many own cars and the like. The

dance is simply a tradition that many dancers partake in because of their love for

Momostecan heritage. Though forty years ago this would not have been the case, as all

Momostecans were expected to partake in their customs and were expected to believe

fully in the spirits and the power of the ancestors. Modernization has caught up with
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them, and this is no longer the case. Though many still cling to old beliefs like candles

were introduced by Spain, so they have no place in Momostecan rituals. This is brought

up a lot around the time to bless the dancers, as the dancers must bring with them a single

bunch of candles that are then placed on their heads as they are blessed.

Though many indigenous people have seen a lot of conflict with modernization

across the world, like the Ghost Dance people from the readings earlier in the week, and

many have seen their customs become a thing of the past, the Momostecans still perform

the Monkeys Dance, and still enjoy the display of spiritual power it brings. They still

enjoy the stories of ancestral power and still appreciate the displays that come with it.

Like many Native American tribes, they did have conflict with the Spanish and other

settlers out to seek a home in the new world, but they still have their holy land and their

dance. Their altars still stand and their people still pray at them. Offerings are still made

and forgiveness is still asked for. Though they saw hardship they held steadfast in their

ways and came out strong thanks to the powers of the spirits, their ancestors, animals that

all partake in the Monkeys Dance.

Works Cited

Cook, Garrett W., Thomas A. Offit, and Rhonda Taube. Indigenous religion and cultural

performance in the new Maya world (2013): n. pag. Uncc.worldcat.org. Web. 7 Apr. 2017.

<http://uncc.worldcat.org/title/indigenous-religion-and-cultural-performance-in-the-new-

maya-world/oclc/848918202&referer=brief_results>.