WENATCHEE - A tone of victory is heard today in the vibrant beat of the tom-toms of the Colville Indians at Nespelem as they finish their annual chinook dance. Yesterday as old warriors danced in full regalia and the women swayed in unison warm gusts of wind swept from the north. It was an answer to a 10-day entreaty on the part of the Indians that the chinook be allowed to blow away the blizzard blasts which have gripped the district.
Each winter when zero weather prevails too long and the horses can not reach feed, the Indians gather for the chinook dances. At Monse, Nespelem, Inchelium and other points of the reservation dances are held.
The chants and dancing are the same as they have been for centuries, however. Several men squat about a huge tom-tom, beating it in a complicated rhythm. The dancers take the center of the floor, decked in rich furs and beads, with bells on their feet and arms. As they dance they utter a weird chant. A medicine man shrills an incantation, thrusting meantime at imaginary evil spirits who are seeking to thwart the dance. Occassionally a venturesome woman joins the dancers.
And today the tom-toms beat in triumph. The chinook blows and the stock is saved.
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