The Ghost Dance / Spirit Dance / Prophet Dance
Began: Late 1880's.
Purpose: To unite all people of all nations with each other in love and peace, and to unite them with their happily departed loved ones in the Great Beyond. Some tribes also believed that a Native American Messiah would come and kill all of the white men, which would leave the Native Americans in peace. This made the white men very uneasy and the dance was outlawed. Because the Lakota-Sioux ignored these orders, in 1890, the U.S. Army retaliated which led to the massacre at Wounded Knee and the death of Chief Sitting Bull. 251 Lakota men, women and children were either wounded or killed and 64 U.S. Army cavalrymen were either wounded or killed.
Basic Elements: A shuffling-dance to the left in a circle, around the person presiding over the dance. A lot of drumming, chanting, and trance-states. Everyone who participates wears a "ghost shirt," which is a shirt that is said, erroneously, to have the magical ability to protect one from bullets.
Tribes that practiced the Ghost Dance: the Paiute, Lakota-Sioux, Cheyenne, Arapaho, and the Ojibwe.
The Scalp Dance
Began: At least as early as 1325 AD.
Purpose: A victory dance to celebrate the taking of a trophy from their enemies.
Basic Elements: Traditions vary depending on the tribe, but basically, scalps (which still had their hair) were attached to long decorated poles and danced around in circles by both the men and the women. Among the Cheyenne, the Scalp Dances, which were also courtship dances, were orchestrated by the Hee-Man-Eh, the gay or transvestite members, who were also the matchmakers and medicine men of the tribe.
Tribes that practiced the Scalp Dance or who were known to scalp their enemies: Tonkawa, Crow, Creek, Iroquois, Natchez, Meskwaki, Apache, Cheyenne, Comanche, Lakota. The British, the American Colonists and the French also took scalps of Native Americans, but utilized the scalping services of their Native American allies so they wouldn't get their lily-white hands dirty.
The War Dance
Began: Probably as soon as one tribe encroached on the territory of another.
Purpose: To purify the soul and body in preparation for battle.
Basic Elements: Singing, dancing, prayer, purification rituals, handling of sacred objects, rattles, drums, whistles, and may contain special masks, face-paint and clothing.
Tribes that practiced the War Dance: Pueblo, Iroquois, Kiowa, Cheyenne, Arapaho, Comanche, Apache, Shoshone, Lakota, Omaha and Paiute.
Green Corn Dance / Green Corn Celebration
Began: Probably about the same time that certain tribes settled down and started to grow corn.
Purpose: Celebration of the corn harvest that centers around a central bonfire that transmits prayers to the Breath-maker, enemies reconcile, and debts and sins are forgiven. Fasting and emetics to purify the body were a big part of this celebration.
Basic Elements: Older buildings are torn down and replaced, old pottery is broken and the ovens cleaned. Brave young men are given their war-names, and the Feather Dance is performed in a square, not a circle. The Corn Dance itself is circular and involves miming the act of pouring corn into a bowl. While the women prepare the after-fast meal, the men go down to the river to purify themselves. Afterwards, participants engage in an all-night Stomp Dance. The ceremony lasts 4-8 days.
Tribes that practiced the Green Corn Dance: Muskogee, Creek, Cherokee, Chickasaw, Shawnee, Timucua and Seminole.
Stomp Dance / Drunken Dance / Crazy Dance / Inspirited Dance
Began: Unknown.
Purpose: Insures the wellbeing of the tribe. Often held in conjunction with the Green Corn Ceremony, Duck Dance, Friendship Dance or Bean Dance.
Basic Elements: A Dusk-to-Dawn dance of shuffle-and-stomp. Can include "medicine" prepared by a Healer. Among the Chickasaw, the leader of the dance calls out to the Creator and his alternating male-and-female followers either keep up the rhythm with ankle-rattles (women) or call out the answer (men.) Whatever the leader asks of the Creator will be theoretically be fulfilled in four days.
Tribes that practiced the Stomp Dance or some variation: Muskogee, Creek, Yuchi, Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Caddo, Delaware, Miami, Ottawa, Peoria, Shawnee, Seminole, Natches, Ojibwe, Menominee, Nez Perce and Seneca-Cayuga.
Sun Dance / Sunshine Dance:
Began: Unknown
Purpose: To offer personal sacrifice for the well-being of the tribe, to heal sicknesses, and to insure the fertile continuance of the world. Also to celebrate the first menstrual periods of the girls, their initiation into womanhood and as a courtship dance. It has been banned by the U.S. Government because of the piercing.
Basic Elements: Dancing, singing, prayer with flute music, fasting and skin piercing.
Tribes that practiced the Sun/Sunshine Dance: Shoshoni, Crow, Lakota, Dakota, Cheyenne.
Rain Dance / Snake Dance (Hopi) :
Began: Probably about the same time that the droughts began in the Southwest, around 300 BC.
Purpose: Usually performed by agrarian tribes, the dance is done to bring about rain, particularly in drier areas, or during unusually long droughts.
Basic Elements: The color blue for sky, and feathers for wind are part of the ceremonial dress. Unlike the usual circle dances, the Rain Dance is performed in a zig-zag, possibly to evoke lightning. The Hopi, who live in the desert, have an elaborate rain-and-ancestor dance called the "Snake Dance" in which the Snake Clan priests and their assistants gather up snakes to ask them to tell the gods who live in the Underworld (where it is cool) to send rain.
Tribes that practiced the Rain Dance: Pueblo, Zuni, Cherokee, Apache, Hopi.
Grass Dance:
Began: A very long time ago.
Purpose: To imitate the swaying of the long grasses, to stomp it down in preparation for a ceremony, and to symbolically stomp down one's enemies.
Basic Elements: Stomping on grass while dressed in roaches, fringes and ribbons.
Tribes that practice the Grass Dance: Omaha, Pawnee, Ponca, Dakota, Winnebago, Crow.
Fancy Dance;
Began: Possibly 1920's.
Purpose: Originally begun to circumvent white man's laws against Native American dances, namely the War Dance and the Ghost Dance, Fancy Dances are now part of the Gathering of Nations and other ceremonial dances.
Basic Elements: Wearing brightly-colored clothes and feathered bustles (like a spray of peacock feathers only with feathers that did not come from peacocks), long fringes, pin-feather roaches, feathered armbands, beading and bells. Both men and women participated in a very fast-paced and often competitive stomping dance set to drums, with fancy leaps and turns. Women wear brightly-colored shawls that they open to represent the slow-opening of a cocoon. Extremely strenuous and athletic. For a picture of bustles, go to http://www.red-path.org/regalia/dance-bustles.html.
Tribes that practice the Fancy Dance: Ponca, Kiowa, Comanche and probably others.
Bear Dance:
Began: Before the 1400 AD.
Purpose: To channel the spirit of the bear, its wisdom, its maternal instinct, its ferocity, protection, strength, freedom, courage, power, confidence, victory, courage and the desire for peace. It is both a pre-hunting dance and a courtship dance.
Basic Elements: This, of course, varies per tribe, but someone (usually or always a woman) wears a bear-skin, complete with head, over her dark clothes, and imitates the movements of a bear while dancing. She does imitative butt-against-tree-scratching, walking crouched as though on all fours, mock fighting, and other bear movements. Around her are several other women wearing white, long-fringed shawls and beaded buckskins, also dancing to drumbeats. In the Ute tribe, they do a line dance in which the women line up in one line and the men line up in the other, facing the women, and they dance back and forth at each other, and the women choose their partners from the line of men by flicking their shawls at them.
Tribes that practice the Bear Dance: Shoshone, Aleut, Haida, Sioux, Cree, Ute, Cherokee.
Pow Wow / Big Time / Gathering of Nations:
Began: Perhaps as long ago as the 1600's.
Purpose: To celebrate all things Native American with other Native Americans.
Basic Elements: Tribal dances, singing, drum rotations, raffles, contests, the Grand Entry parade, prayers, flags, music. The hosts of these events are also responsible for maintaining inter-tribal respect, areas for spectators, food booths, vender booths, the circular arenas and the tents or arbors. The drums cannot get wet and the ceremonial participants are not to be touched. Photographs may or may not be taken.
Tribes that participate in the Pow Wow: Most of the Pow Wows appear to be regionally-oriented or geographical-area-specific.
Disclaimer: I have not included all of the Native American dances here, because they seem to be done by only one or two tribes. It should also be noted that I have painted with a wide brush the way in which these dances are performed. Each tribe that performs them does so in their own way with their own distinctive touches. However, it is hoped that these broad strokes will give the reader a general idea.
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