Rain Dance
"Talneh! Time to get up!"
Talneh's eyes snapped open at hearing his mother calling over to his side of the house. The young coyote jumped up from under his blankets, brushed his fur, and quickly dressed in his deerskin pants and woven shirt before pushing back the blanket that was hung across the room to separate the sleeping room from the living room. He saw his mom over by the fire, stirring something in the cooking pot.
"Yeah mom, I'm up," he said, stretching his arms and paws.
"Good, because this is a big day for you. Now hurry and eat your breakfast, you'll need to meet with Enmah soon." She spooned and dished some corn mush into a bowl. Talneh grabbed a spoon, taking a deep whiff he savored the smell of the mush. He was so excited for what was going to happen today that he didn't expect to eat much, but it seemed like within a minute he had finished the bowl and was setting it down before getting up and running out the door.
"Dance well my son, and may the gods judge us worthy and send us rain," his mom said as he stepped outside.
The sun was just beginning to rise and Talneh could hear only the sound of his steps echoing as he ran down the street towards Enmah's house. Reaching the place he found a few others standing around, and more were arriving. As soon as the last one arrived, Enmah the medicine man stepped out of his doorway, steadying himself with his walking stick.
The old coyote faced the crowd. "Today marks the passing of the first moon since the last of the snows. The pueblo has spent several weeks planting the seeds for our crops. It is time to ask the gods to bless us with their water so that we may have a good harvest and grasses for our sheep to eat. Young ones, dance for the gods so that they may provide us with their gift. Now, line up and receive your garments."
Talneh and the others fell into line and as each one came up to Enmah they received their ceremonial garments along with his blessing. Talneh received a woven blue loincloth that reached down just past his knees, a long-sleeved deerskin shirt with a beaded pattern representing rain clouds sewn on each sleeve, and rabbit skin moccasin boots. In one paw he held the wooden mask he would wear during the ceremony. It was square-shaped, with the exception of the hollow tube that fit over his muzzle. Two cords tied in the back to hold it on and a pair of slits served as eyes for him to see. The border of the mask was painted black, the rest of the square was a light blue, and the muzzle was red. When he put it on he would look like one of the rain gods. In his other paw he held the wooden rattle he would use to make the sound of rain. He was excited to receive these items because they were only given to the one who would dance for the Song of Rain. He hoped the gods would be pleased with his dancing.
As the sun rose higher in the sky, Talneh and the others waited for the ceremony to begin. They could hear the other villagers walking towards the central square to watch the ceremony and offer their own prayers for rain. One of the other dancers helped tie on Talneh's mask before they all lined up and walked towards the square. As they arrived, Talneh could see the entire pueblo was there. All ages of coyotes were standing or sitting on the ground; some of the cubs were climbing up ladders to watch or play on the roofs of the adobe houses. He remembered being that cub only a few years ago, mesmerized as the dancers performed to the sacred music and brought rain to the crops of the pueblo.
Raising his ears he caught snippets of some of the conversations in the crowd. Many of the villagers sounded worried. Last spring they had performed the rain dance but the gods did not bless them with the gift of their water. It had been a very dry spring and summer for the pueblo, and they had to work very hard to try to keep their crops watered. Unfortunately some of their efforts failed and they lost much of their harvest. For Talneh, it meant driving his family's sheep farther and farther out to find grasses that they could eat, keeping him away from the pueblo for days at a time. He hoped that would not happen again. I will do the best rain dance the gods have ever seen.
The dancers stood in a straight line in the middle of the square. Enmah walked past them to where several males sat with drums under the shade of a canopy. He turned and faced towards the dancers and held up a paw, everyone grew quiet. The drummers began a slow beat. In a singsong voice, Enmah started with the first prayer of the ceremony, the drummers keeping in time with him. The dancers started to walk in time with the beat. Together they moved through the beginning of the ceremony, singing and dancing to the sacred songs to ask for rain.
The dancers formed a straight line and moved to the back of the square, facing the crowd. Talneh walked out to the middle. This is it, here we go; remember, two hops on the left footpaw, then two hops on the right footpaw. The drummers and Enmah started the Song of Rain while Talneh shook his rain rattle and spread his arms out. He began to hop, two to the left and two to the right, leaning his arm toward the footpaw he was hopping on. He made a slow wave pattern as he moved forward to one end of the square before he turned around and danced in the other direction. Gods, see how I move and dance, looking like the ones who send your water down to the pueblo. Please, send us the rain we so desperately need. He heard nothing but the beat of the drum and the rattle in his paw. He felt his footpaws touching the ground, but they felt different. They felt light, as if they could carry him up into the sky. The air around him felt very cool, even though moments before he could feel the heat of the sun on his fur. The square, the crowd, everything seemed to melt away from his vision and he saw nothing but white around him. He continued like this, turning around again to continue his dance in the original direction. Talneh soon heard the drums begin to slow and he moved into the last position of his dance, crouching on the ground as the drumbeat died away. He remained there for a moment as the familiar surroundings came rushing back into his vision, and he felt the sun's heat hit him full force. He started to pant from dancing so hard. He got up and rejoined the line of dancers.
The drummers began another song as the dancers walked outside of the square where there were cups of water waiting for them. Talneh gladly took one and drank, feeling the cool water splash against his muzzle and wet his parched mouth and throat. He looked up at the sky and he saw barely any clouds. Now he started to worry. Usually he would see dark clouds gathering in the sky. Did the gods think the pueblo was not worthy of their gift again? What were they doing wrong? I must dance extra hard this afternoon, I don't want us to fail to bring the rain.
The dancers walked back to the square and lined up for the next dance. For hours they danced, sang, and offered their prayers to the gods. Every time Talneh had a moment to breathe he looked at the sky, but it never seemed to change. I wish I knew what we needed to do, gods, give us a sign, what will make us worthy of receiving rain? As the shadows grew long the rain dance ceremony came to a close, and yet Talneh could not see a cloud anywhere in the sky. He felt his heart sink, and as he slowly followed the other dancers out of the square he heard the other villagers sharing their worries. "What are we going to do?" "We can't have another dry season!" "I don't know if we can find enough grass for our sheep." "I have growing cubs, how will I have enough food for them if the corn doesn't get enough water?" Talneh's ears drooped as he walked and he winced from the pain in his sore footpaws. After leaving the square he took off the mask and looked down at the ground, wishing that he saw mud sticking to his moccasins instead of dust. He decided to head home; he'd bring all of the borrowed items back to Enmah tomorrow.
Talneh found his mom was already hard at work with dinner preparations, but he was so exhausted from dancing that he went straight over to the sleeping room, stripped off his clothes and laid down on his blankets, asleep before his head hit the pillow. He dreamed he was dressed to dance, but he didn't see the pueblo or the villagers; he saw nothing at all but himself. A drumbeat started up, he recognized it as the Song of Rain. Talneh began his rain dance, moving with the beat of the drum, every step and hop in perfect time. He danced and he danced, moving back and forth across the space, not feeling any soreness or fatigue from the afternoon. As the song ended he could see what looked like the rain gods watching him. They stood tall, their lanky bodies covered in gray fur like some of the old coyotes of the pueblo. Their faces were as blue as the sky while their muzzles were as red as the sunset. They looked down and nodded, looking like they approved of what they just saw. Talneh felt a cool breeze across his fur as a voice called out to him, "Talneh, dance again. Return and dance again."
Talneh awoke with a start and sat up. He could hear his mother sleeping across the room. Remembering the dream, he quietly got dressed in the ceremonial clothes, slipped out the door into the moonlit night, and headed for the village square. There he found Enmah standing with a lantern and a drum.
"Enmah, I didn't expect you here," he said to the old coyote.
"Young one, I had a vision from the gods. They told me to return to the square and sing the Song of Rain. Did they send you a vision as well?"
"Yes, I was told to return and dance."
"Then let us follow what the gods have commanded us to do. Are you ready?"
"Yes Enmah."
Enmah tied the mask to Talneh's head; he started to beat on the drum and quietly started to sing the Song of Rain. Talneh began to dance, he didn't feel any of his earlier fatigue from the afternoon. As he danced the feeling he would float away came back to him. Back and forth he danced across the square as Enmah went through the verses of the song. Their surroundings started to grow darker and Talneh couldn't see much anymore until he turned around and saw the light of the lantern. He danced towards the light as he heard the song come to an end. Talneh went into his last crouch and waited, panting lightly. He felt a breeze blow across his fur, and then something cool landed on the back of his neck. He looked up and saw the moon and stars were no longer there in the sky. Something wet hit his nose, then another, then another. It was the rain he had danced for; finally the gods had blessed the pueblo! He stood up and walked towards Enmah, hearing shouts of joy as some of the villagers were roused from their beds by the sound of the rain hitting the rooftops.
"Young one, your dancing has pleased the gods and they have given us the gift of their water," Enmah said. His eyes shone in the light of the lantern as he looked proudly at Talneh.
"Yes, may our crops grow tall and produce much food for the pueblo, and may there be much grass for our sheep to eat," Talneh replied.
He took off his mask and looked to the sky again, letting the rain soak his head. Thank you gods, thank you for judging us as worthy and sending us your water. He returned to his home and found his mother awake. She asked him where he had been and he told her of his dream and of dancing in the square to bring the rains.
"Our pueblo is truly blessed to have you Talneh," she said.
"Thanks mom. May the pueblo continue to prosper," he said as he found his way to his bed, falling asleep to the sound of the gentle rain as it beat on the roof.