Tewa Indian Ritual: Native Aesthetics by Anya Peterson Royce

Royce writes about the dance rituals of the Tewa Indians, one of the six groups of Pueblo Indians. She writes how the Tewa dance for both ritualistic purposes and for crowds of tourists in order to sell local crafts. The dancers’ skill is very important in the Tewa society. “Ability, rather than status associated with a social or political role, is extremely important in selecting dancers for particular roles.” The “roles” Royce is talking about can include anything from maidens to animals. Tewa Indians place great importance on time. Time has two dimensions in their society: ritual time, which refers to the larger cycle of agriculture and hunting, and secular time, which refers to work and the life needs of people.
The Tewa Indians have also adopted new dances, like the Matachines, which is a hybrid of European and indigenous dance and musical elements. The dance is performed in pueblos at Christmas. “The Matachines dance is probably the most significant single ceremony from the outside that was adopted by the Tewa but their history is one of continuous interaction and selective borrowing.”
Dancing for tourists has also become a large part of Tewa society. Royce discusses the “ceremonials”, an Anglo-organized event in which Indians dance for outside audiences. Whenever dances are done outside of the pueblo, or plaza, the choreography is drastically changed. Segments are made shorter, costumes are made more flamboyant and colorful, and the dances overall cater to the outsiders’ stereotypes of Tewa Indians.