Zuni Harvest Dance
The Zuni Healthy Lifestyles Program has been sponsoring the Harvest Dance for the past 15 years. Young and old will come together to dance as one to celebrate the coming of the harvest season. Two groups: The Leekya Dance Group and Edaakie Dance Group practice days before the actually event, usually held on a Saturday in October. In previous years the dance was held at the de'wido'thana (Big Plaza) in the middle of the village. However, due to the deterioration of the Zuni Old Mission the safety of the Zuni people were taking into consideration. Today, the dances are held at the Zuni Fairgrounds about a mile away from the original site.
I remember long ago when the Sandu (Santa Nino) would come out, the old men would start singing and dancing through out the village. They would go about the village as they made there way to the Big Plaza. One by one people would join in young and old. The men would be singing the big songs using guns and fire crackers making noises as they went. They would dance 4 days for her when she would come out for the Harvest. People would carry her as they danced, Hazel danced with her once. Those were the days - Fred Bowannie
For the past few years I have been taking part in the harvest dance, not for the incentives that are given to each participant, but for the joy and love of dancing. I grew up with family participating in religious activities, societies, and social dances. The sound of the drums have been in my life for as long as I can remember. Each beat, each step, each dance represents a meaning or a time in our religion. The Harvest dance is a time in our community representing the coming of harvest. My great-grandmother always told me high knees each time I dance. I always laugh when I remember that saying. The morning of the dance is a time in my family were we get together and dress the women of the family that are taking part. Our white moccasins are the first thing we put on, it is layers and layers of cloth in order for our ankles to match our calves. I swear it is like ankle weights when dancing, now I don’t complain of high knees. Our dresses have simplified from wool to the lighter fabric over the years. I still ask my grandmother to do my belt for me, when they say grandmother does it best they don’t lie. My grandmother would tell me stand still, grab one end of the belt and hold the other end against my tummy and pull. She will keep pulling and pulling till the tassels are right in the middle of my back. At the end of this I can barely breathe, but it is the greatest feeling in the world. Getting ready is part of the fun in dancing. I swear it’s like dancing with an additional 20lbs, with our dresses, pins, shoes, jewelry and our headdresses. -Lynn Bowannie