What Is The Difference Between Grass Dance And Fancy Shawl Dance

The pulsating beat of a deer hide drum resonates while the aroma of sage and tobacco flood the air. Singers murmur song verses in their native language, words unknown to many but felt by all. Accompanying the drum are dancers in extravagant regalia; their clothing may be buckskin and neutral-toned or cloth and colorful. Two seemingly similar dance styles stick out in particular: the men’s grass dance and the women’s fancy shawl dance. Although the men’s grass dance and the women’s fancy shawl dance are both physically demanding powwow dances dominated by the drum, they differ greatly in origin, style, representation, and regalia.
Both grass dancing and fancy shawl dancing are seen at Native American powwows throughout the United States. The
Grass dancing is thought to have originated in the Plains tribes when the elders ordered the young men to stomp down the tall grasses in preparation for meetings, camps, powwows, or other ceremonies. Some tribes believe that God created the grass dance to represent a need for balance and symmetry in life. The origin of the fancy shawl dance is quite different. Numerous tribes believe it sprung up in the North when young women wanted to imitate or compete with their male counterparts. While this may be true, still others picture that the young women created the dance to mimic a butterfly’s emergence from the
The swaying fringes on the grass dancer’s regalia are the waving prairie grasses. Its symmetrical concept tells a story of God’s wish for balance in the world. Overall, grass dancing typifies smoothness and fluidity. Shawl dancers, on the other hand, hope to tell the story of freedom in the life of a butterfly as it breaks from its cocoon into a new world. The ribbons hanging from the shawl coincide with the young lady as she moves. When she dances, she may start with her shawl wrapped tightly around her body as though she encased in a cocoon. As the song progresses, she fully extends the shawl like the wings of a butterfly. Her dance is also a way to express herself and honor the