Interesting facts....

Sucessfull in hand-to hand combat.

Brings speed to the warrior.

Symbol of Peyote religion.

2 different Native American drums.

I have always been interested in Native Americans and their culture, so I was excited when we started learning about them in class. I read the American Girl books growing up (remember those?), and the Nez Perce girl Kaya was one of my favorites. I have visited Arizona twice and have been to a mission church near a small reservation, and there were many Native Americans selling their handiwork. I was surprised that they wore the same kind of clothes we did, but they had their hair in braids and wore some traditional jewelry. I liked how they still kept some ties to their past even though we are now in modern times.

 I thought that war paint would be an interesting topic because I noticed some of the dancers in the powwow videos we watched were wearing war paint and wondered what the symbolism meant. Here is what I found about it.

War paint was usually done for dances, rituals and of course, for wars. The Native Americans believed that the symbols held magical powers to protect the warriors. War paint wasn’t only for decoration, it was also used to make the warriors and chiefs look vicious and scary. They even painted their horses with war paint. (Though I don’t really see how paint could make a horse look scary.) In some tribes, the warriors were painted with symbols that represented their achievements in battle.

For example:

A hand meant that the warrior was successful in a hand-to-hand combat.

A zig-zag line drawn across the forehead represented lightning, and was thought to bring speed and power to the warrior.

 

The colors that the symbols were painted had meanings too:

Red represented, war, blood strength and success.

Black also meant strength and power, and was used on very accomplished warriors. It also meant victory and would be used before heading back to the main camp.

Yellow meant death and also represented heroism.

Green represented endurance; the color green is associated with a certain healing power and was also thought to help improve vision.

 

 

I also decided to look in to the Native American church a bit more, as I was curious to know the history of the religion, what typically happens during the ceremonies, where they are held and how long they last. We listened to a Native American hymn in class, and I wanted to learn more about the actual ceremony and what goes on.

The Native American church is also called the Peyote Religion and uses the peyote cactus in their practices. The use of the peyote cactus started in Mexico, but soon spread to the Great Plains by tribes such as Apache and Navajo. The peyote cactus is a hallucinogenic drug, and Native Americans used it on their spirit journey to see visions. The beliefs vary among the tribes that practice it, some believe that the peyote is personified as a god called Mescalito, and others have a more Christian based belief system and associate Jesus with peyote instead of Mescalito. The peyote religion does not have to be practiced in a group; it can be practiced alone or with a guide. It can also happen at any time the practitioner thinks it appropriate. Some tribes begin the peyote ritual at sunset on Saturday and it lasts all through the night. The ceremony includes eating peyote, praying, singing peyote songs and various water rituals. They peyote ritual is thought to allow communion with the spirits or another holy deity. The ceremony is usually held in a tipi, or if the weather is bad, in a sizeable room.

 

The basic instruments used in Native American songs are drums, so I wanted to know a bit more about them.

Types of drums differ amongst tribes, but most have very similar features. For bigger celebrations such as powwows, a large drum with a wood frame or carved from a hollow log with an animal hide drumhead is used. These drums are usually 2-3 feet in diameter and are played by multiple drummers simultaneously. There are smaller drums also made from a wood frame and an animal hide drumhead, but is played with one hand. There is another type of drum called a foot drum that was used by primarily southwestern Indian tribes such as Hopi and Aztec. The drum is also made from a hollowed out log that were laid in a cross sectional pattern over a pit that is covered in wood. The drum was played by stomping on it, hence the name foot drum.

 

It was fun researching these topics, and can’t wait to find out more!