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Uses of Ceremony in Native American Cultures
Term Paper ID:42219
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This paper discusses the use of ceremony in Native American Indian culture including the ...... More...
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Paper Abstract:
This paper discusses the use of ceremony in Native American Indian culture, including the powwow and the Gourd Dance.
Paper Introduction:
Uses of Ceremony in Native American Cultures Ceremony is something that American culture has largely dispensedwith Weddings are often conducted in bizarre locales such as in heliumballoons or on the backs of jet skis or just by a justice of the peace instead of in an elaborate ceremony in a church that is replete with time-honored ritual Religious rituals such as observing the Sabbath all dayhave been relegated to only a few of the most devout religious sects Evenrituals as common as
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The strategy of "self-assured communication" is manifested by "allowing non-Indians to seeIndians simply being themselves," and the "presentation of positiveexamples and promoting increased visibility of the local American Indiancommunity" counters Indian stereotypes (Sanchez 1 ). Native Americans delight in their ceremonytraditions, which have multiple uses in their culture, providing tribalidentity, a unifying force, and a forum for communication. Johnson's story, "As It Was in the Beginning," ceremonytakes on a broader sense as the Indian girl is drawn to the ceremony ofeveryday Indian life when she is taken from her people. The powwow itself is a commonality shared by most Indian groups,and the ceremonies of dance and song are shared by many. It is somewhat surprising, then, to discoverthat among Native American cultures, ceremony not only remains alive but isalso vibrant and still widely practiced. Within the music anddance are embedded "beliefs and commitments that foster unity," and the actof dancing together in unity plus the repetitive movements reinforce thesense of Native American unity as a body (Mattern 132). Berkhofer emphasizes the extensive tribal distinctions among theearly American Indians, noting that they were "divided into at least twothousand cultures and more societies, practiced a multiplicity of customsand lifestyles, held an enormous variety of values and beliefs, spokenumerous languages mutually unintelligible to the many speakers, and didnot conceive of themselves as a single people-if they knew about each otherat all (Berkhofer 3). Ypsilanti, MI: Beacon Press, 1992.Berkhofer, Robert F., Jr. Moreover, the powwow can effectpolitical communication in that it mobilizes and informs those that havelimited knowledge or understanding of the Indian community and makes themmore cognizant of and supportive of American Indian issues (Sanchez 11).According to Lake (1991), powwow makes information available that"explicitly links the present to the past, potentially re-contextualizingpresent-day activism and Indian life in ways more congruent with AmericanIndian perspective (Sanchez 11). There are a number of dance traditions among Native Americans. Native American Billy EvansHorse points out that "The whole essence of this thing is to feel good," acomment revealing that the Gourd Dance is used for uplifting the feelingsin addition to just coming together as an Indian nation (Lassiter 148). Underlying ceremonials is a spiritual dimension in which they"restore the psychic unity of the people, reaffirm the terms of theirexistence in the universe, and validate their sense of reality, order, andpropriety" (Allen 73). Indian ceremony, however, is different. One ofthese is the Gourd Dance, a simple dance with equally simple andunderstated movements in which the men and the women dance separately(Lassiter 146). In addition, communication at a powwow educatesthe non-Indian community (Sanchez 1 ). This rich variety of tribal identities has, throughstereotype and media homogenization, devolved to a generic image of theIndian where these distinctions are submerged and effectively lost. These interactions are moderated by powwowetiquette, which is periodically reviewed for attendees by the emcee(Sanchez 13). Most religious and other ceremonies outside the Indianculture offer no opportunity for communication. Thesharpening of identities is not just for the Indians but also for thoseoutside the Indian community. The difference between NativeAmericans and the general populace is that ceremony for the American publicin general has lost its meaning, while for Native American cultures it isstill full of meaning. Leon ties a grayfeather in Teofilo's hair, and Ken paints Teofilo's face with ceremoniallines. Thepowwow and the Gourd Dance are examples of ceremonies that accomplish thesegoals, and Native American literature depicts other ways in which ceremonyis used in Indian life, such as establishing and evoking a sense ofcommunity with defined roles that provide a place of belonging for everyperson. Through their Native American ceremony, Indians reinforce their tribalidentity, draw together in unity, and enjoy a forum for communication. In Pauline E. Although the sprinkling of holy water is intended to bedone after the last rites have been given, the Indians simply wanted holywater sprinkled on their grandfather so that he would not be thirsty.Their request discomfits the priest, who does not want to take that elementout of context in the Catholic ceremony but who finally decides to sprinklethe holy water anyway, just to comfort the family. In dance,"multiple tribes converge," and "traditions such as language, world view,religion, and community narrative help to demarcate this Indian world"(Lassiter 146). The story does not depict any particular Indian ritual,just the experience of daily Indian life that is so profound to the girl.In the smell of the buckskin is her identity, her oneness with her people,and her memories of her parents. This keepsthe tribal character alive, even while tribal distinctions in the worldoutside the powwow may be diminishing through the overgeneralizations ofmedia representations. It is a natural moodlifter built into the Indian culture that Indians can take advantage ofwhenever they want to feel good. Evenrituals as common as the typical family dinner where everyone in the familysat down together and ate-a "ceremony" that has little been seen since thefifties-is virtually extinct. Visitors are free totalk to the dancers outside the arena, and the dancers are happy to answersuch questions, talk about their regalia and the dances, and share theirculture (Sanchez 13). Works CitedAllen, Paula Gunn. Mattern states that "The powwow is oftencited for its importance in contemporary Indian life as a constituent oftribal and Indian identity, and as a unifying force in Indian life," and heconcurs with that assessment (129). Indian ceremony is, unlike other ceremonies around the world, a forumfor communication. Lanham, MD: Rowman Altamira, 1999.Lerch, Patricia B. Anthrosource. He notes that powwows are more than"constituents of identity and a unifying force in contemporary Indianlife;" they are also "arenas of conflict and disagreement in which powerplays an important role and in which Indians implicitly and explicitlydebate their identity and mutual commitments (Mattern 129). Knopf, 1978.Johnson, Pauline E. Importantly, ceremony reinforcesthe tribal identity to prevent the ubiquitous Indian stereotypes fromhomogenizing and ultimately destroying the Native American tribal cultureby obliterating the distinctions among Indian tribes and nations. Powwows also functionto provide an opportunity to acquire liaisons, "trusted members of thedominant culture who can be called upon to support the American Indiancommunity" (Sanchez 1 ). Everyone knows exactlywhat is to be done, because the ceremony is a shared knowledge among them.Each person has a task to perform in relation to the ceremony, so everyperson has a place within the context of the ceremony. Thevalue of ceremony is that it distinguishes the Indians from the non-Indiansand then unifies the Indians and strengthens their community. The emcee explains the events as theyoccur and may endorse certain stands on Indian-related political issuessuch as tribal treaty rights (Mattern 131, 132). The reinforcement of tribal identity is another use of the powwowceremony. Weddings are often conducted in bizarre locales such as in heliumballoons or on the backs of jet skis, or just by a justice of the peace,instead of in an elaborate ceremony in a church that is replete with time-honored ritual. Since powwows are "intertribal gatheringswhere local and supratribal identity co-mingle," the powwows occurring indifferent parts of the country with different dance styles, regalia, anddrumming songs "blend to form a syncretic 'Indian' pattern...believed bysome to appeal to marginal tribal people, those who no longer speak anindigenous language or live in a community in which traditional culturesurvives (Lerch 27). "Intertribal dance and cross cultural communication: Traditional powwows in Ohio." Communication Studies (Spring 2 1): 1- 18. The dance is useful not only for bringing Indians of oneor many tribes together in unity and bolstering their sense of oneness butalso for reminding them of the tribal distinctions that exist. Sanchez (2 1) notes that powwows "allow acurious and often misinformed...public to interact with American Indians inwhat they perceive to be an authentic experience...quite different from theromanticized pre-contact or 19th Century ideal many people hold" (16). The Sacred Hoop: Recovering the Feminine in American Indian Traditions. Thus, in carrying out the ceremony, they werereinforcing their unity. Uses of Ceremony in Native American Cultures Ceremony is something that American culture has largely dispensedwith. "Pageantry, Parade, and Indian Dancing: The Staging of Identity Among the Waccamaw Sioux." Museum Anthropology 16.2: 27-34. The White Man's Indian: Images of the American Indian from Columbus to the Present. Louise and Teresa spread the shawl on the bed and laid out hisclothes, and Leon and Ken dressed him. Shestates that "Intertribal dance is an eloquent and effective means ofcommunication, fostering exploration and expression of American Indians'individual ethnic identity as well as cross cultural dialog among Indianpeoples and between Indian America and mainstream America" (Sanchez 16). The elements of the ceremony were known by everyone and noinstructions were necessary. He relates, however, that thesetestimonies are true but incomplete, as they bypass the "disagreements andconflicts that occur within the powwow grounds and that swirl around powwowpractices" (Mattern 129). .Mattern, Mark. The powwow,as an open ceremony that Indians of any tribe, and even non-Indians, areinvited to attend, provides an excellent communication forum that includesa number of communication strategies (Sanchez 1 ). "Southwestern Oklahoma, the Gourd Dance, and 'Charlie Brown.'" In Duane Champagne Contemporary Native American Cultural Issues. Assuch, the Gourd Dance is a better alternative than other feel-goodactivities such as drinking alcohol or taking drugs. This story suggests that the simple ceremony of Indian life and theusual accouterments of daily living are a compelling force that draws theIndian back into the tribe. Therefore, the powwow reinforces the tribal identityfor the Indian community but also draws in outsiders and marginal Indiansthat have lost contact with the Indian world, magnifying the Indian cultureto all. This suggests that inthe Indians' openness to include part of the Catholic ceremony in theirown, they have paved the way for the Catholic ceremony's rigid boundariesto be broken down to some extent. Victoria E. . The powwow becomes a forum forcommunication as visitors are encouraged to ask questions about anythingthat they do not understand, with the caveat that this be done outside thearena so as not to interrupt the event (Sanchez 13). She states that they "serve to hold thesociety together, create harmony, restore balance, ensure prosperity andunity, and establish right relations within the social and natural world"(Allen 73). As Berkhofer (1978) states, "Native Americans were and are real,but the Indian was a White invention and still remains largely a Whiteimage, if not a stereotype...because it does not square with present-dayconceptions of how those people called Indians lived and saw themselves"(3). McLean, VA: IndyPublish, 2 8.Lassiter, Luke E. At the same time, the coming together at the powwow is a unifyingforce. Moreover, she contends, "The most central of theseperform this function at levels that are far more intense than others, andthese great ceremonies, more than any single phenomenon, distinguish onetribe from another" (Allen 73). The story also suggests that the Indians had noproblem incorporating elements of the Catholic ceremony into their own asthey made sense. Allen assertsthat ceremonial cycles as a whole are a unifying force but that they alsoserve multiple other purposes. The wearing of the buckskin was aceremony that had taken place every day of her life until she was taken andits smell placed her back again in the Indian life as though she werethere. Mattern identifies the elements of the powwow-the drum, the emcee, andthe music and dance-noting how they foster unity in the Indian community.The drum he names as "the core of powwow experience" because it "symbolizesthe heart of all living creatures and of indigenous people...the heartbeatof our sacred circle" (Mattern 131). BNET. Lanham, MD: Rowman Altamira, 1999.Sanchez, Victoria E. The notion of ceremony as a unifying force is depicted in LeslieMarmon Silko's story "The Man to Send Rain Clouds." Here, the ceremonyassociated with handling the dead provides a focus that brings together themembers of his family to tend to Teofilo's body. Louise sprinkled cornmeal aroundhim. "As It Was in the Beginning." The Moccasin Maker. The movements are restrained because the Gourd Danceexperience focuses more on what is heard than what is seen, so song iscentral to the experience (Lassiter 146). One of the primary ceremonies meaningful to Native Americans is thepowwow, the name of which is derived from the Narragansett Algonquian wordpauau, which originally meant "a gathering of medicine men for a curingceremony" but which has come to mean "a gathering of people to celebrate animportant event" (Mattern 141). Religious rituals such as observing the Sabbath all dayhave been relegated to only a few of the most devout religious sects. After being raisedwith a white preacher and his family, away from her parents and the Indianculture, she one day sees a roll of buckskin unfurled and the smell of thebuckskin brings back a heady sensation of what it was like to be with herpeople-to be home. Ceremony is affirming and validating, particularly in a worldwhere Indians tend to be marginalized. New York: Alfred A. Thus,when the tribes come together for a powwow, it is an opportunity toexperience their differences once again, to see the distinctions amongthem, and to sharply redefine what makes each tribe and nation unique. The manyuses of ceremony in bolstering the Indian community suggest that ceremonyhas been instrumental in ensuring the survival of the Indian culturethroughout the centuries. "The Powwow as a Public Arena for Negotiating Unity and Diversity in American Indian Life." In Duane Champagne Contemporary Native American Cultural Issues. While distinctions may be more apparent there, commonalities alsoemerge. There is a sense of belonging there thatcannot be supplied by any other kind of belonging, not even acceptance intothe white man's heaven. Powwows-"Indian dancing, regalia, princesspageants-and parades advertise the Indian identity of the community to alarger audience" (Lerch 27). They consist of setrituals that are repeated in exactly the same way every time, usually withthe identical words.
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