The contemporary Prairie powwow has a multitude of dance styles that all dancers participating in understand and know what each are. One dance that stands on its own in the dance arena is the jingle dress. The dresses can be seen at many powwows all over the United States. Each year more women are taking the dance style up in favor of the other women’s dance categories. What makes these dresses different from the others are the hundreds of metal cones attached to each dress that move and strike each other with a distinct sound.
Ojibwe Roots of the Jingle Dress
The jingle dress was first used by the Ojibwe Nation in the Great Lakes area. The jingle dress was once just used for certain ceremonies. In their dance ceremonies, certain initiated women of the Nation would be allowed to wear the jingle dress, and gather together to perform a dance for healing of anyone that witnessed it. The dancers moved slowly in time with the drum, and holding their hands on their hips. The dance step was simple shuffling movements that always moved forward. Many times the dancer had minimum hair decoration, plain moccasins and leggings.
When looking at older dresses, they were simple in pattern and design. The jingles were snuff can lids rolled in a cone shape in order for the cones to be attached to the dress easily. The number of jingles depended on the choice of the dancer. If the dancer liked thin cones or fat cones, the number would fluctuate more or less depending on the desired sound. A typical dress would have between 250-500 cones. Simple dresses of cotton would have been worn with horizontal lines or u-shape lines of cones attached by bias tape or fabric strips. Also a dress called the flap dress was used, a whole dress, with a flap attached to the back of the dress with cones attached to be lifted for sitting.
The Jingle Dress Dance Today
The dress has evolved to be more elaborate in the dress pattern, as well as flasher material choices, such as neon and highly reflective fabric. Different dress patterns are worn, a full dress with an underskirt is worn, a cobbler dress which is a double apron over a simple dress, and lastly the flap dress. The Ojibwe dance is now seen in all of Native America. At this point almost every powwow will have a jingle dress dancer, but of a more contemporary style. It is still done for healing purposes, but those dances are not done at powwows, and only specific dancers will know the more private ceremonial dances.
Even the jingles have changed. They are a variety of items, from snuff can lids of every brand, to small tin cones used for edging on Northern Prairie clothing. As time goes on, metal snuff can lids are getting harder to find, so jingle dress dancers are expanding on cone choices. It has been reported that canning lids and roof flashing are starting to make their way onto the dance floor. The patterns of the dresses vary according to the dancers choices, but the cones are attached relatively the same. Instead of just horizontal and u-shaped lines, steps, circles, v and w shapes are also being made. One recent change is to wear a skirt with all the jingles on it, and a beaded short vest or shirt with applique is worn as a top. A contemporary idea of 365 cones has also been established as custom for some newer dancers. It is thought it is one cone for every day of the year. Many dancers will still use the idea of however many cones it makes to make a good sound will work well.
The dance steps are move lively, kicking up, dancing backwards, hopping from side to side, and jumping. The old shuffle style hardly being seen anymore. A contemporary dancer will always have a fan in one hand and a purse or scarf in the other. Her hair will have decorations of eagle feathers in it or just simple barrettes. Her moccasins and leggings will be fully beaded or just accented beads.
What was once just ceremonial, is now a major dance category at any contemporary powwow. Whether an ‘old style’ dancer or contemporary style dancer, all jingle dress dancers are unique to the powwow circuits. The sounds of their jingles add to the hustle and bustle of a dance arena. While their grace and beauty easily sets the stage for a dance style and dress that will constantly be reworked and redefined.
Sources:
- Hungry Wolf, Adolf. (1999). Pow-wow: Dancer’s and Craftworker’s Handbook. Summertown, TN: Native Voices.
- Johnson, Jim & Maureen Johnson. (2002). “Jingle Dresses.” Whispering Wind Crafts Annual #5, 2nd edition. Folsom, LA: Written Heritage.
- Powwow observations: State College Powwow “New Faces of an Old People”, 2009. Shartlesville, PA “Two Moons Memorial Powwow”, 1999-2008. Salem, NJ “Nanticoke Lenape Powwow”, 1999-2005. Oakorchard, Delaware “Nanticoke Indian Days”, 1988-1999.
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