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Thursday, July 11, 2019

What You Need To Know About Native American Pow Wows

By Rebecca Barnes


No matter where you are in this world, for a time in your life you are aware of tribe ceremonial gatherings. Every place and tribe has its way of celebrating their identity and culture. However, modern life has allowed these practices to be at its extinction. Today, not all celebrate their heritage, and only a few tribes still follow their tradition. There are ways on how these tribes and ancestry would further develop their ceremonies which allowed the new generation of their tribe to experience it as well. The Native american pow wows are proof that these types of ceremonial activities still exist.

Tribes celebrate to recognize and reestablish their own identities and heritage. It has been a part of powwows to continue what has been started since the early times. One of its aims is to let the younger individuals today take their tradition with pride and let them acquire the wealthy culture of American Indians. Through this, people can join in different types of activities such as social gatherings and competition which they can also join.

Going back as to how it started, the powwow is termed for a healing ceremony that is executed by religious leaders. However, how it started was still part of the commonly asked questions by people, yet no answer is served. As most of them are big believers in both physical existence and spiritual, the existence of powwow has served as an entertainment and a way of healing for every native. It is mostly celebrated during the summer and spring months.

It has proven to evolve throughout the years as it started as a religious event to obtain insights and to recognize the creator, Wakan Tanka. Today, it has been more of a celebration to showcase the tribal dancers and singers competitively. However, the celebration is not complete without the religious side of it. Ideally, it did not undergo drastic changes when it comes to how it is celebrated and how it should be, but it only added significant excitement for all to engage in.

The dancing, gathering, chants, healing sessions and the loud boom of every drum are the major components as to how it should be celebrated. The new set of generation is fortunate enough to still celebrate this kind of renewal and social gathering celebration. The natives have tried to continue this tradition, not just for their interest, but to let others experience it as well. Some powwows would go around different places in the country just to teach other people and inform them further on the Native American culture.

The natives perform their given pieces with a hint of religion, cultural and storytelling concepts. These performances have evolved and are now part of the competition. Some festivals would last just a day, but powwows would reach up to three days consecutive. It has been consistent that over one hundred thousand watchers would wait for this ceremony every year. This is the best indication of how rich their culture is.

It is also the time where they can show how they can beautifully tailor dresses which mostly consist of colorful and luxurious look with a twist of its unique detailing. These dresses are not just for the sake of it, but it is mostly made from where it originated and how each serves with its meaning. Their dances would include gourd dancing, cloth dancing and so much more exciting types. Truly, they nurtured their practices since then.

If you can compare how people would celebrate their culture today, perhaps you will be able to identify how western culture has influenced many countries today. The younger generation will never know how beautiful tribe ceremonies can be as this is not practiced in other places now. Tribes could showcase their dresses and heritage with so much pride, and for them, that is already enough to let people know that their origin and identity are rich as gold.

The importance of preserving a culture and has been out of the context in modern living. People today would rather argue over a certain belief that settled for it. Renewal of heritage is important for various reasons. One is to reestablish the given identity and help in rebuilding the cultural image. It facilitates people to further understand local pride, spirit and what you truly believe in.




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