Pow wow

Today we were at pow wow...
A pow-wow is a gathering of Native Americans. It derives from the Narragansett word powwaw, meaning "spirtual leader". It has since come to be used to describe any gathering of Native Americans of any tribe, and as such is occasionally heard in older Western movies. The word has also been used to refer to any meeting, but especially a congress, a friendly gathering, or a meeting of powerful people such as officers in the military.

An early twenty-first century pow-wow is a specific type of event held by Native Americans. Typically, a pow-wow consists of people (Native American and non-Native American alike) meeting in one particular area to dance, sing, socialize, and generally have a good time. Pow-wows can vary in length from a single session of about 5-6 hours to three days with one to three sessions a day.



A pow-wow session begins with the Grand Entry, during which all the dancers line up by dance style and age, then enter the arena while one of the host drums sings a special song. Normally, the first in are veterans carrying flags and eagle staffs, followed by the head dancers, then the dancers follow in a specific order: Men's Traditional, Men's Grass Dance, Men's Fancy, Women's Traditional, Women's Jingle, and Women's Fancy. Teens and small children then follow in the same order.

Most of the various types of dances performed at a pow-wow are descended from the dances of the Plains tribes of Canada and the United States. Besides those for the opening and closing of a pow-wow session, the most common is the intertribal, where a drum will sing a song and anyone who wants to can come and dance. Similar dances are the trot dance, called a crow hop when performed by a northern drum or a horse stealing song by a southern drum, and the round dance. Each of these songs have a different step to be used during them, but are open for dancers of any style.

A Northern style Men's Fancy Dancer


In addition to the open dances, contests dances for a particular style and age group are often held, with the top winners receiving a cash prize. To compete in a contest the dancer must be in an outfit appropriate for the competition.

Very interesting, Owlet! Did you make pics of the event yesterday?

Yeah that was interesting, especially that I've been curious about what is pow-wow since somebody mentioned it but didn't explain what does it mean. What were you doing there Owlet? Did you dance too or just watch?

savyonok wrote:

Very interesting, Owlet! Did you make pics of the event yesterday?

Last year I didn't have the camera with me at pow wow...but this year I made sure I could take some pictures...

This was the 39th year for the Pow Wow - taking place again at the Autry National Center in Griffith Park.







There is a Museum of the American West:





But Pow WOW took center stage at the Southern Californian Indian Center.

Hundreds of dancers, drummers and artists gather each year to celebrate their shared heritage as the first people of this land. Southern California is home to the largest population of Urban Indians in the country. This is the single largest Pow Wow and American Indian Arts & Crafts show on the west coast.





Beside the competition for the best drummers and dancers, this Pow Wow educates the public about the lasting and unique customs and traditions of the Native people. You can get a rare look at sacred prayers and witness the native art of drumming and dancing. You'll also meet dozens of Native artists like painters, sculptors, basket weavers, jewelry makers, flutists and others who work hard to keep Native art alive.

The Grand Entry is about to start...everybody is getting ready for that...

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While Mike was parking the car I was running around trying to take some pictures...
This guy stopped to let me know that he almost run me over 2x...


So where is Mike??? I want to get IN the Grand Entry has already started!!!
Oh, here he is...coming...

During the Grand Entry, everyone is asked to stand as the flags are brought into the arena. The flags carried generally include the US flag, tribal flags, POW flag, and eagle staffs of various tribes present.

2007-07-28