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Show The Nuwuvi 19 These songs were acquired in the same way as those for the stories already mentioned. "The Cry" was a dance honoring and showing respect for the dead. It was held for several days at a time, during which the people showed much grief and mourned heavily for those who had died. The bear dance was probably learned in later years from the Utes who lived north and east of the Nuwuvi. Men and women danced facing each other in a circular enclosure accompanied by the scraping of a notched stick and by singing. Women selected their partners, and the dancing continued of! and on for several days.11 A story was told of how the dance came to be: Once in the fall a man came to where a bear lay asleep in her hole. The man took off his clothes; he was naked. He had two partners with him. He told his partners, "Come back in March." He went in there and slept all winter with the bear. His partners came back and talked to him. They asked, "Are you all right?" He said he was. He came out. He was all covered with hair. He could still talk. He told them not to be afraid; that he was still their partner. He said, "I'll give you a bear dance. I'll give you songs and the step. I will dance. My wife (the bear) and I will give them to you. Dance this in March. Now go and tell all the Indians." He told them, too, "Make a stick; cut notches in it. When you come back next time, I'll go with you." They told the people, "He will give us a dance and songs. He has a bear wife now. He is covered with hair; he has claws now." Ten days went by. He told them to tie all the dogs or his wife might get angry. He said, "The two of us will come now." Near sundown he talked to them: "I give you song; I give you dance. All right. You learn. I never more here." Then he left with his wife. He told his partners, "For ten years, don't kill any bear; you might be killing me." 12 All of these dances were important parts of the inter-band celebrations or "big times." These were times for the Nuwuvi to come together and enjoy each other's company in unusually large groups. Along with dancing the Nuwuvi would play games, gamble, and hold races. The favorite game was the hand game which was played in teams with one team shuffling objects under a blanket while the other team tried to guess their location. Wagers were commonly made on the outcome. |