This new edition of Dancing Gods includes a six page foreword by Tony Hillerman, a fourteen page introduction by Erna Fergusson, and twelve pages of black and white illustrations prior to its 273 pages of manuscript. The text is arranged in nine units, with internal subdivisions, and ends with a ten page index

Burton, Charline L.

English

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Although the reviewer has very few negative criticisms of the book, two points are perhaps worth mentioning here. First, the colored plates are not numbered. This fact will confound future scholars who wish to cite specific comparisons to their own data. Second, Fenton's chapter on E uropean parallels - which he admittedly calls a "Postlude" - is frustratingly superficial. To be sure, the Swiss folk Carnival masks (and even more, the Bergengeisten or Mountain Spirit masks) bear some striking stylistic similarities to Iroquois masks. Having offered that comparison, Fenton reasonably might have provided some photographs to illustrate his observation. As such, the discussion is more tantalizing than instructive although the reviewer agrees with Fenton that the two masking complexes are apparently not related historically or epistemo­logically. Nonetheless, Fenton or someone else might well pursue the artistic comparison further. In conclusion, we salute the prodigious efforts of William Fenton in this work and his other extensive discussions of Iroquois culture and history. Researchers, artists, teachers, and students will long stand in debt to Fenton as they draw information from the deep well of knowledge encompassed in this tome. -David M. Gradwohl Iowa State University Erna Fergusson. Dancing Gods: Indian Ceremonials of New Mexico and Arizona. (Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press ,  1 988) 286 pp., $ 1 2 .95 paper. This new edition of Dancing Gods includes a six page foreword by Tony Hillerman, a fourteen page introduction by Erna Fergusson, and twelve pages of black and white illustrations prior to its 273 pages of manuscript. The text is arranged in nine units, with internal sub­divisions, and ends with a ten page index. This is the fourth paper back edition by the University of New Mexico Press. The original 1931 publication was edited by Alfred A. Knopf from Fergusson's 1 920s writings about ceremonials for her Koshare Tours. The tour company's name was taken from one of the Pueblo Clown fraternities, and her Dancing Gods allows readers insight into the ceremonial dances of New Mexico and Arizona before the years of tourists took their toll. The publication covers the dances of the Rio Grande and Zuni Pueblos, the Hopis, the Navajo  and the Apaches. This reader finds herself wishing 32 Explorations in Sights and So unds No. 9 (Summer 1 989)  the thirteen reproductions of ceremonials were rearranged so that each was within the sub-division, or at least at the beginning of the unit to which it is relevant. This is a delightful prerequisite for tourists planning to visit the area. It should be an academic requirement for any instructor or student in any area of Native American studies.  Native American history, religion, and humanitiies are so interwoven with the Indian ceremonials that these early Fergusson writings need to be read before any of the more recent pu blica tions. -Charline L. Burton Central State University, Edmond, Oklahoma Ernesto Juan Fonfrias. Five Women in the Life of Jesus. (San Juan, PR: Esmaco Press,  1987) 85 pp, no price available. Religious themes, especially the Marian, had an increasingly high number of publications last year all over the Christian World because 1 987 was a Marian year. One of the most exciting and intriguing titles on this theme is this Puerto Rican poligraph. Fonfrias's book is a collection of six interesting essays. The first one is en ti tled "Reasons and Moti ves" in which the author explains the genesis of this fascinating publication. He expresses the irrepressible urge that he has felt all his life for writing about the most significant moments in the life of Jesus of Nazareth . Then, he goes on to narrate the personal incidents of his own peregrination through the same roads and paths that Jesus walked on his evangelical mission. The next five chapters in the book pertain to the five women that in Fonfrias's opinion played a significant role in Jesus's evangelical mission. The second essay is the longest in the book, the best researched, and where he offers a great deal of additional information about Mary. The primary sources of investigation are the synoptic gospels and the most recent evangelical historical investigation on this inspirational topic. Fonfrias describes in this essay one of the most significant moments in the history of Christianity, the moment when Gabriel , the angel of annunciation, appeared to Mary and informed her of the good news that she had been chosen to be the mother ofthe Son of God. In order to give to this biblical account the proper historical context he cites directly from the Scriptures,  and then goes on to explain in a very artistic style and elevated tone the importance of this moment in the history of Christianity. He has documented his work with an inexhaustible number of sources written in different languages and by the most respected Explora tions in Sights and Sounds No. 9 (Summer 1 989) 33 

[Review of] Erna Fergusson. Dancing Gods: Indian Ceremonials of New Mexico and Arizona

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[Review of] Erna Fergusson. Dancing Gods: Indian Ceremonials of New Mexico and Arizona

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