Sunday, July 7, 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.

Celebrating culture and heritage is a way of keeping and protecting old practices. Powwow has served positive engagement with regards to the new generation. It has provided them to transfer the possession of the rich culture and heritage of every American Indian. It has been an effectual way to let people socialize and be part of the activities such as dancing and singing. Apart from that, it had also catered to renew relationships and friendships.

Through history as to how and when it started, there was never really an exact detail as to how it boomed just like that. People are left with no answers until today. The rise of powwow had helped people to be cured and healed with their certain illnesses through spiritual existence, as they believed. This is typically recognized during the summer and spring seasons.

It has started as a religious celebration for believers to acquire wisdom and to celebrate the creator, Wakan Tanka. However, it has mainly been changing over the years. Today, it is celebrated as a social gathering that includes competitions through dances, and religious acts are still performed. Perhaps, it did not deeply change its overall practice, but it only evolved and with additional activities that would be more engaging for more natives.

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.

Every performance is not just about compliance, skills, and honor. Their performances would always inhibit their identity and how they are as a group. This would also consist of religious related performances and storytelling concepts. As many performers would gather, this would typically last a day that could even go up to three days consecutively. Consequently, their culture is wealthy as it is mostly watched by over ninety thousand individuals.

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.

In the generation today, some do not celebrate the festivities of their tribe, neither the religious beliefs. Most cultures are highly westernized, which follows a different way. Celebrations today would include partying with alcoholic drinks. People today will never understand why preservation of culture has been part of the identity that powwows have kept throughout the years. It gives them so much pride in how they can sustain these aspects.

Keep and protecting the heritage and culture of a tribe or a place is something that only a few individuals have taken seriously these days. Modern living has allowed a lot of people to take this situation as something irrelevant. It is important to consider these aspects as this will also let other people engage in your identity and beliefs. There is so much to discover out there than just settling for what you already know.




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