Three Kings Day at Pojoaque

In The Rhythm of Gratitude:  Pueblos Celebrate Three Kings Day with Prayer, Food and Buffalo Dance, the author describes the celebration of the Feast of the Epiphany (aka Three Kings Day) at Poajoaque. As the headline says, tribal members perform the Buffalo Dance, offer prayers, and share food. Clearly they see no contradiction between celebrating God and Jesus and celebrating nature:"We pay respects for the celebration and thank the animal for their sustenance," Rivera said. "We are being respectful to Mother Nature."Before DMarks says anything, we're talking about the three Biblical kings, not Three Kings the George Clooney movie. <g>

This is an interesting example of how tribes often combine Christian and Native beliefs. I believe the technical term is syncretism.

For more on the subject, see Pueblo Christmas Dances and Looks for Buffalo on Native Christmas.