Moments of Enchantment; 142; The Pecos Serpent

Moments of Enchantment brought to you by the New Mexico Office of Cultural Affairs and 770 K -O -B Radio. There are many traditions connected with the people of Pecos located in New Mexico as northern mountains. One is that the village was built by a race of giants 50 feet tall. The giants died off and were succeeded by red headed dwarfs who were then followed by the Aztecs. No Pecos legend, however, has survived the test of time longer than the story of the Pecos serpent, more in a moment. The colorful legend surrounding the Pecos serpent was recorded by a man named Mariano Ruiz, an informant of explorer Adolf Bandalier. According to the story, a giant snake was kept in an underground room near a sacred fire in the village. Ruiz was commissioned to become the custodian of the sacred fire, but declined because of the high mortality rate of previous fire keepers. It seems that Mariano's annoyance with the ceremonial snake and sacred fire was common knowledge in Pecos. One day, on a stroll through the

village, Ruiz came upon a friend bowed in grief. He asked what was the matter, and the Indian replied that my newborn child has been condemned to be fed to the snake. Ruiz suggested that he trick the ceremonial priests. Acting on this advice, the Indian poisoned a newborn goat with certain herbs wrapped it up as if it were a baby and then threw it to the hungry reptile. That night, terrifying screams came from the underground den as the great snake rye at the denagity, when morning came the serpent lay dead with the white of its belly exposed. The people of Pecos were devastated because they assumed this ugly incident signaled the extinction of their tribe. They packed and left the village of Pecos behind. Explore more of New Mexico's prolific past by visiting the Museum of New Mexico's Palace of the Governors in Santa Fe. Moments of Enchantment brought to you by the New Mexico Office of Cultural Affairs. For Moments of Enchantment, I'm David Griffin.