Native American dances and dancing

Tribes affected: Pantribal

Significance: Among American Indians, dancing has always played a highly significant role in religious ceremonies and other celebrations

When white explorers and settlers first came to North America, they were immediately impressed by the amount of dancing in which the native population engaged. Centuries later, some of the significance of tribal ceremonies has been lost, as more and more Indians have accepted white culture and religion. Nevertheless, dancing still plays an important part in American Indian life, whether it represents a true continuation of the original tribal cultures, a celebration of birth, death, or other rites of passage, or merely a performance for white tourists.

Historical Background

When European explorers and settlers first encountered the native population of what would later become the United States, they found a wide variety of cultures, all of them vastly different from the ones they had left behind. The American Indians had never developed a technological civilization, and the land was much less densely populated than that of Europe. The religious beliefs were like nothing the Europeans had ever encountered.

The first Europeans in North America had no understanding of the native languages they encountered. The usual view of the “red man” was as a savage—inherently inferior to the settlers and potentially dangerous. The two major activities of the Europeans were to conquer the natives and to try to bring to them the Christianity that was virtually universal in Europe at the time.

The result was a long series of wars, in which the Europeans were ultimately victorious. In the process, many native cultures were destroyed altogether, while others were forced to move west. By the late nineteenth century, the last of “Indian territory” had been conquered, and Indians lived on reservations, generally under very harsh conditions.

Gradually, many Indians who survived the early warfare became a part of white culture and accepted its religious beliefs (chiefly Christianity). In the late twentieth century, many Indians began to try to reclaim their ancient heritage, often moving beyond tribal lines and creating a pantribal movement that strove to preserve the Indian cultures from complete assimilation.

As a result of all these factors, it is very difficult to determine the significance of many tribal rituals as they exist today. Some Indians still retain their ancient beliefs and traditions despite centuries of domination. Others may hold on to a tradition for the sake of tradition itself, while at the same time going to Christian churches, speaking English as their primary language, and even living in large cities. For some, the old rituals, including dances, are little more than a way of attracting tourists.

Regardless of this confusion, all the following rituals will be discussed in the present tense, and it will be assumed that the dances still hold their original meaning to the participants. Some of these dances are rarely performed nowadays, while others are making a resurgence as Indians try to regain their lost cultural identity.

Religious Significance

By the time Europeans were settling in the Americas, their own traditions had changed greatly since their days as small tribal groups. It is very likely that the Europeans had once had a culture in which dancing and music were integral to religion, but this had long become a thing of the past. Certain traditions suggested this past; singing is still an important part of many Christian ceremonies and probably always will be. Dances, however, had largely become stylized, social affairs, with no deep religious or cultural significance.

The American Indians, however, had never developed such a differentiation between religious and social climates. To them, the earth and all living creatures on it were possessed by spirits, and these spirits were understood, and to some extent controlled, by a great number of elaborate dances and songs. There were dances for hunting, fishing, rites of passage, rain, and success in warfare.

The many Indian tribes in North America have different religious rituals, including dances. Conditions in different parts of the continent vary, and different spirits must be appeased under different circumstances. The one aspect almost all of these people have in common is a close tie to the earth and the spirits that control it, although different tribes respond to this in different ways.

The Northwest

The Indians of the Pacific Northwest generally perform their dances singly. Both men and women are involved. The dancers are considered to be possessed by spirits, and the dances can become highly frenzied and emotional. The dances are accompanied by drumming and chanting.

An excellent example of Northwest dancing involves the Kwakiutl, who live along the coast of Oregon and Washington. The Kwakiutl have highly formalized dancing, during which various taboos are enforced and dancers are called only by ceremonial names. Even seating arrangements at the festivities are based on dancing societies rather than on families and clans.

The Kwakiutl have three mutually exclusive dancing societies, sometimes called “secret societies.” Initiation into one of these societies is highly ritualized, and numbers are limited. The Shaman Society is concerned with violent and dangerous supernatural spirits. The most prestigious dancer is a cannibal/dancer, or Hamatsa. People in the Dluwulaxa Society are possessed by spirits of the sky. The Nutlam are possessed by their mythical ancestors, the wolves.

The Northwest Coast culture area was never very heavily populated by Indians, and it was one of the last areas settled by European Americans. There are still many Indians who follow tradition as much as possible in the Northwest, but few live on reservations. There is a large American Indian population in big cities such as Seattle, Washington, and Portland, Oregon. Farther inland, where most of the land is mountainous and much is national park and national forest land, the traditions also continue.

The Southwest

The condition in the Southwest culture area is quite different. This area was highly populated by a variety of Indian tribes, then taken over by the Spanish, the Mexicans, and finally the United States government. Climatic conditions vary widely. There are mountain ranges, coastal areas subject to regular flooding, and deserts in which water is the most important consideration for survival. This is the area where the greatest number of Indian reservations exist today and where the greatest proportion of Indians still practice their original rites.

It must be understood that most of the reservations were placed on land the white settlers did not want, and where the climate is harsh. Reservation Indians have both their own problems and their own advantages. There is great poverty, and the social problems that accompany poverty, frustration, and isolation are severe. On the other hand, these Indians are more closely in touch with their origins. The Southwest is probably the best place in the United States to find Indian ceremonies in a state very close to what they were before white people appeared on the scene.

An interesting example of the dancing ceremonies in the Southwest is the Kachina dances among the Zuni of New Mexico. The Kachinas are considered to be the spirits of children, lost long ago in the wilderness and transformed into gods who live under a mystic lake. The Kachinas wear masks and dance for rain. The dancers impersonating the Kachinas “become” rain gods and invoke the spirits who will provide the parched land with much-needed water.

The traditional cultures of the Southwest may be the hardest for white visitors to understand, because many reservations have made tourism a major economic factor. There are certainly many Indians there who still believe in the traditional religions; on the other hand, the great poverty in this area has led many to reenact ceremonies long extinct in order to please tourists.

The Southeast

The southeastern United States is probably the most easily endured climate in North America. While there are hurricanes and other natural disasters, for the most part the people live in a generally warm and hospitable climate, and food is abundant. Hunting is never easy, however, so the spirits must be evoked.

The tribes in the southeast culture area were among the first to be encountered by Europeans, a fact which has had two directly opposite results in terms of the study of these cultures. On one side, these Indians were not opposed to accepting white people as a new tribe moving into the area, and many tribal ceremonies were seen by the explorers in their original state. When Sir Walter Raleigh and his men first set foot on the North Carolina coast, wars between Indians and Europeans were a long way in the future. Therefore, some of the best early descriptions of Indian dances and other rituals exist from this area. On the other hand, when the wars did take place, they began on the East Coast. Some cultures were entirely destroyed, and others were forced to move from their home territory. In many cases, there is little but historical evidence on which to draw.

The Southeast Indians use rattles made from gourds and filled with peas, beans, or pebbles; flutes made of reed or cane; and drums made of clay, gourd, or wood, with stretched deerhides for skin, as accompaniments to their dances.

Indians of the Southeast generally dance in large groups, sometimes for many hours at a stretch, with groups of dancers replacing other groups as they grow tired. Masks are often worn, especially in hunting ceremonies, where animal masks are used. The dances are often named after animals.

The Northeast

The Indians of the Northeast culture area also encountered Europeans very early, but the initial meetings were not nearly as friendly as they were farther south. In the Middle Atlantic and New England areas, conditions could be extremely harsh, and good land was not as plentiful as it was in the south. In addition, the northeastern Iroquois were held together by a confederation of six tribes and an alliance with others. Their chief rivals among Indians were the Algonquins, with whom they were often at war. In fact, during the French and Indian War, the Algonquins took the part of the French and the Iroquois that of the English.

White settlers rarely saw Indian ceremonies; in general, these ceremonies tended to be more social and political (and less religious) in nature than those of most North American Indians. Dancing seems to had less significance here than it did elsewhere. These civilizations are by no means completely gone. There are Indian reservations in New York, for example, where Iroquois live in longhouses and still maintain many of their ancient traditions. The British victory over the French in North America decimated the Algonquins, but there are still many Iroquois in the area.

As in most Indian cultures, many dances have animals as their subjects; the Iroquois, however, are celebrating the animals’ lives rather than worshiping their spirits. Dancing involves men, women, and children and is not as clearly structured as it is in the cultures previously described. Since Iroquois dances generally take place inside the longhouses, they cannot be as elaborate or involve as many people as the dances held outside by more southerly tribes.

The Northern Plains

Dance is an integral part of the religious rites of the Indians of the northern Plains. These are performed by both men and women, in large groups, and are highly formalized. Colorful, elaborate costumes are worn. The Plains Indians are the Indians who have been stereotyped in westerns, with feathers, beads, fur, and facial and body paint.

A dance of particular interest is the Sun Dance, a celebration of the cyclical nature of life. The Sun Dance is of interest for several reasons. First, it is still very much in practice, although its nature has changed somewhat. Second, it has been elaborately described by Indians in the twentieth century, who saw it in its original form as children. Finally, the Sun Dance was one of the first Indian ceremonies to be banned by the U.S. government, because of its rather violent nature. This ban, never completely successful, was lifted in 1933, after which the ceremony continued in a somewhat curtailed fashion.

In its original form, the Sun Dance is more than a dance. It is a ceremony formed around the building of a lodge. Frenzied singing and dancing accompany the erection of the lodge. After this, young men are initiated into the tribe and become warriors by having their breasts cut by a medicine man and a thong sewn through the cuts. The young men dance and attempt to remove the thongs. Grave injury sometimes results.

Such ceremonies have been curtailed in modern society. The Sun Dance is still practiced, but young men are not as prominently figured in it as they originally were, and the mutilation has been replaced by symbolic sacrifice.

The people now called the Sioux, actually a mixture of related tribes, are strongly dominated by males. Men have traditionally held the central place in dances, as in most other aspects of life. As elsewhere, however, some aspects of the modern world have changed the basic ceremonies. At the beginning of the Sun Dance ceremony, for example, the American flag is praised, and there may be Christian as well as Sioux prayers said.

The Southern Plains

The dances of the southern Plains groups are not far different from those of their northern neighbors in terms of symbolism and theme. One difference is a greater preponderance of war dances. The most important way in which the two areas differ in their ceremonies is in the degree of formality and the exclusiveness of a dance or ceremony to a particular tribe.

In the southern Plains, dances and pow-wows are as much social gatherings as religious rituals. Often, many tribes will participate. Nearly anyone can get up and join in the festivities, and although the costumes can be as elaborate as they are in the north, formalized dress is not required. Today, among the dancers dressed in beads and feathers, one may see others dressed in jeans and flannel shirts.

The southern Plains were the last area in the contiguous states to be taken formally from the Indians, and thus the most traditional ceremonies can often be seen here. Oklahoma, until it was opened to white settlement in 1889, was still considered Indian Territory. Oklahoma has one of the largest proportions of Indian population in the United States.

Bibliography

Bancroft-Hunt, Norman. People of the Totem. New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1979. A description of Northwest American Indian culture, including a study of their history, ceremonies, and contemporary conditions.

Buttree, Julia M. The Rhythm of the Red Man. New York: A. S. Barnes, 1930. A description of Indian rituals, especially music and dance, including step-by-step instructions for a great number of dances and rituals followed by a variety of tribal groups.

Hamilton, Charles. Cry of the Thunderbird: The American Indian’s Own Story. New ed. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1972. A compilation of articles by American Indians about their culture, including memories of childhood, historical beginnings, and contemporary conditions.

Heth, Charlotte, ed. Native American Dance: Ceremonies and Social Traditions. Washington, D.C.: National Museum of the American Indian, Starwood Publishing, 1992. An illustrated guide to the dances of many American Indian tribes, with descriptions of specific dances as well as general discussions of dance practices by region.

Spencer, Robert F., Jesse D. Jennings, et al. The Native Americans. New York: Harper & Row, 1977. An encyclopedic discussion of American Indian culture, from prehistory to contemporary times.