Téenek Hawk Dance

This year's Smithsonian Folklife Festival features Mexico, Asian Pacific Americans, and Smithsonian Inside Out.

The high point is the Hawk Dance performed by the Téenek of Tamaletón, Mexico. Here is the description of it from the SI web site:

The Téenek of Tamaletón in the Huasteca region of San Luis Potosí celebrate the Danza del Bixom Tíiw ceremony. This ritual involves "flying" from a pole, in honor of Dhipaak, the Lord of Corn, to ensure good crops. In a newly inaugurated cultural center, the Téenek also perform for tourists, inviting them to experience local ceremonial and foodways traditions as well as vernacular crafts and architecture.

• Florentina Manuel Martínez, Hilaria Martínez Santos, María Concepción Méndez Orta, María Juana Santos Miramontes, Palo Volantín ceremony: dancers
• Bernardino Martínez Santos, Rodrigo Martínez Zapata, Juan Reyes Méndez, Manuel Reyes Crisóstomo, Palo Volantín ceremony: flyers
• Benigno Robles Reyes, Palo Volantín ceremony: director
• Juan Miguel Santiago Reyes, Palo Volantín ceremony: musician, flyer

The rope is wrapped around the pole and as they let go the rope unwinds and spins them around.

Here are some photographs from the morning performance and preparations for the afternoon performance.

Téenek Hawk Dance

This is a video of the afternoon performance—the first YouTube video I have ever created myself.