Dance Competition Highlights

There are many different dance categories each with its individual meaning and interpretation. Following is an abridged description of various Native dances that are demonstrated during the festivities.

Eagle Feather Pick Up – Eagles and eagle feathers are revered by many tribes of this continent because of the bird’s characteristics, abilities, and closeness to the Creator. The feather symbolizes a fallen warrior.

The Circle Dance – A dance of friendship where everyone can join in. The circle of dancers moves to the left in the clockwise direction and three circle dance songs will be sung in succession.

Men & Boys Traditional – Dancers typically wear a breechcloth, moccasins, feather bustle, a porcupine and deer hair roach with a spreader in the middle made of bone, rawhide, or leather in which roach feathers are mounted.

Men’s Fast & Fancy – Extremely colorful beadwork, elaborate feather bustles, ribbons, scarves, horsehair tips, angora bands, sheep bells, a roach headdress, and dance sticks all punctuate the most spectacular display of dance stunts and movements in this very fast-paced contest that began in the 1950s.

Women & Girls Traditional – Dances feature Plateau Women’s dresses that may be made of buckskin, wool, velvet, or dresses are adorned with dentalia, cowry, or abalone shells, elk teeth, ribbon, seed and bugle beads as well as fringe on the sleeves and hem. Handwoven hats, headbands, or beaded hair ornaments with feathers may be worn. In this category, two songs are typically sung in contests so that the females demonstrate both a slow and graceful straight style war dance and a circle dance.

Women’s Jingle Dress – In 1920, after a medicine man’s granddaughter became ill, his spirit guides told him in a dream to make her a dress that would please the ear and have her dance in it to heal her. The dress is decorated with rolled up snuff can lids or baking powder lids hanging from the ribbon. There are two styles of jingle dance – a slide step and straight.

Women & Girls Traditional – In this category, two songs are typically sung in contests so that the females demonstrate both a slow and graceful straight style war dance and a circle dance.

Grass Dance – Wearing lots of fringe (representing tall blades of prairie grass), a porcupine and deer hair roach, and no bustle, this dance was popularized by Northern Plains peoples where tall prairie grasses needed to be flattened for encampments or gatherings. Moves show how they would gracefully bend, fold, and weave greases to an even surface, and dancers’ ribbons and yarn sway as grasses would.

Source:
www.wallowanezperce.org/tamkaliks/