Day 5 of our trip brought the activity I was most looking forward to.... San Diego Feast Day at Tesuque Pueblo. Many of the Indian Pueblos (pueblo means "village") are closed to the public. On their ceremonial Feast Days once or twice a year though, the public can share in their festivities. The dances are essentially a prayer of blessing before the feast, so you have to be quiet and respectful when visiting a pueblo on Feast Day. The dance is not a performance, it is a religious event to be observed with respect. I do not have any pictures from the day because photography is strictly prohibited in the pueblos. There were signs every 10 feet or so reminding us that there was no picture taking, videotaping, or sketching allowed. Since pueblos have their own laws, you don't want to get caught sneaking a photograph. You might never see your camera again.
We weren't sure what time the dances were to start, so we arrived a bit earlier than necessary. We walked around the pueblo a bit, talking to the girls about what life must be like living in a pueblo. It really feels like a step back in time to another world, another era. Archeologists have determined that Tesuque Pueblo existed before 1200 A.D. It still has a population of around 900 Tesuque people to this day.
By all appearances, we guessed that every family in the Pueblo must own a dog, and the dogs roam freely all over the Pueblo. This was not good for our dog-fearing daughter, Elise. She rounded a corner the same time as a friendly lovable looking yellow lab and screamed in terror. It might as well have been a mountain lion based on her reaction... So much for quiet and respect. Thankfully, we were away from the main plaza and the dances hadn't started yet, so with any luck, we didn't bother too many people. Not five minutes later though, a tiny chihuahua came racing at Nina yapping his head off, and she shrieked in fear as well. I was about ready to give up and leave concluding that my children weren't cut out for the reverence of a Pueblo Feast Day. We decided to stick it out though, and fortunately, we didn't have any other major dog encounters.
I can remember going to a Pueblo Feast Day when I was a kid. I don't remember how old I was, which Pueblo we went to, or which dance was performed, but I remember going. I remember the elaborate costumes, the beating drums, and the metrical dancing. It has left an impression on me to this day. You become part of a ceremony for a people and a culture far removed from your every day life. When I found out there was a Feast Day during our trip, I knew we needed to go.
As we located a place to sit, we found out that the deer dance was the one we would be seeing. My mom got excited because she has seen the deer dance before and knew it was a neat one. The dancers' costumes include antlers, deer pelts, and short canes that they dance with to give the appearance of a deer's front legs. The costumes in this photo are similar to the ones that we saw.
The girls were really excited as they saw the drummers and dancers file out of the kiva and into the plaza. The dance was really neat, but repetitive and long, so after a while the girls proclaimed boredom. We exited quietly and returned to our car. Even though the girls' reaction was, "That was boring.", I'm still glad they were able to experience a Feast Day. Heck, I may have been bored when I went to one as a child too, but I don't remember the boredom. I remember the wonderment of the experience. Hopefully the same will be true for Elise and Nina.
After the dance, we headed to the San Marcos Cafe and Feed Store for lunch - a quirky little place with chickens and turkeys roaming around outside. Poor Nina had her second terrifying animal encounter of the day here. Somehow, a chicken got between her and J.C. as they were walking into the restaurant, and she had a complete panic attack. I wasn't sure the poor girl would ever calm down! My girls are NOT animal people. We have so many allergies in the family (Elise - cats,dogs. J.C. - cats, dogs. Ann - cats, dogs, rats, horses) that I don't think we've ever made our girls feel comfortable around animals, even household pets. As this day proved, we should probably work on that. We devoured hearty meat and potatos burritos and homemade pie (the chocolate pie was divine!) at the San Marcos cafe and then headed home for naps.
For dinner that night, we decided to check out Maria's New Mexican Kitchen which has won many awards for the best margaritas in Santa Fe and best margaritas in New Mexico. I have to say, I was a bit disappointed. The food was delicious, but by my tastebuds, the margarita was too sweet. At least it was a good meal otherwise. After dinner, we got a good night sleep in anticipation of our big Day 6 destination. Stay tuned...
Recent Comments