Monday, July 15, 2019

Little Truths About Pow Wows 2019

By Jerry Rogers


When we met new friends or those whom we did not see for a long time, we celebrate their presence by hanging out in bars, backyards, inside our homes or theirs. In every place of the world, there are many ways in which we expressed our happiness for the friendship among ourselves and for other people. This is the main reason why this pow wows 2019 festivity is the culmination of a week long remembering and cherishing the presence and moments with each other.

In a stricter sense, the event is a social gathering organized by different Native American societies. However, the modern version today is when these people held it to give value to their cultures, coupled with dancing and singing all the day long or perhaps will last for a week. Sometimes, there would be dance competitions among different tribal groups with a sizeable monetary reward for the winners.

Preparations for the event is insanely long, often taking a year before the date arrives. Most of the times, groups of tribes may volunteer to be the sponsors of that event and that will set everything in motion by then. It is their task to advertise, prepare the venue and make an agreement between vendors who will be setting their makeshift tents to display their wares.

The perfect sign that the festival is about to start is the unison sound of drums which could be heard at a distance. The rhythm signifies an invitation for people to come and being part in their celebration of brotherhood, peace and unity. Different singing styles from the North and South are often heard together with these drums.

Their traditional dances are rich in movement and has depth in meaning, since they were a gathering for religious leaders in each tribe. Sometimes, wars between them are ended here with a peace treaty and this gives a significant unifying attribute to the festivity. As it is in actuality a ritual for medical practices, mending wounded relationships is part of the essence on this feast.

What is peculiar about this ceremony is that everybody is invited, friend or foe, so it was crucial that somebody would act as the middleman between them to keep everything in order. In festivities today, you can call this person as the master of ceremony who will see to it that everything flows smoothly. It is very much like the Olympics of old wherein warring states of ancient Greece would stop their wars after four years to play games in honor of the gods.

As the sang and danced, you would notice that they do it in circles. The shape is actually an important symbol for the tribes, as it signifies that diagram we call as the cycle of life. In the middle of this, a pole with a white flag is placed as a sign of peace for all people attending the event.

Their songs hold a special place in their hearts, as these carry along their rich traditions and culture ultimately passing them on to the next generation. Most of them are still sung in their native languages, whether composed originally or a revival of some sort. Usually, when singing commences, that is also the start of dancing by different groups.

In order to understand another group of people, we need to know how they behave and make their own living in the society. Rather than learning them through textbooks and from the classroom, you can learn faster and better if you are a witness on their act. In such way, we can appreciate them more and learn to live harmoniously in this ever changing world.




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