Jingle Dresses Make a Huge Impression

We'll start this by saying that jingle dresses are not for everyone and certainly not for everyday wear. In fact, I would recommend you NEVER wear one. But I just have to tell you about these because they are so impressive.

We have had the privilege of attending the Native American Powwows that are held twice a year in our area. We live a few miles from the reservation. When we first moved to the area we asked several neighbors if they attended the powwows, none of them had because they did not know if they would be welcomed. There were several advertisements for the powwow that stated it was free and opened to everyone so we decided to attend.

The big powwow in our area is held in August. It begins on a Friday evening and runs until Sunday afternoon. Four times over the weekend the grand entry is held. This is when all the dancers that are participating enter the grounds. They enter by groups. The groups are determined by what each is wearing as well as sex. There are 6 main groups; the men in traditional dress, the women in traditional dress, and the women in jingle dresses, the young male grass dancers, the young female dancers and the children. Everyone that dances needs to be in regalia and needs to be able to dance unassisted.

I loved the experience from the minute we parked our car. The dancers were arriving at the same time and the majority had bells that were wrapped around their ankles, so the jingling sound filled the air. The women wearing the jingle dresses were my favorite. From a distance I thought that the jingle dresses were covered with bells, but as we got closer I realized that they were metal cylinders that were sewn closely together. The jingle dresses had several rows of the metal cones on them so each movement the women would make would cause some of the cones to hit together, creating the jingling noise.

The grounds are set up with a large circle where the dancers perform. Also in this area are several drum circles. Each drum circle consists of 5 to 7 males that are pounding the large drums and singing in their native tongue. The beat of the drums the sounds of the bells and jingle dresses creates a magical atmosphere.

The sounds would literally fill the air. You can't help but feel something special.

There is also an area for venders next to the dance grounds. The venders sell food, including Indian fry bread and wild rice. There are also venders selling regalia and materials to create the dancers clothing. They sold tanned animal skins, furs as well as beads and the cylinders for the jingle dresses. I was shocked at how heavy one of the cylinders weighed. I mentioned this to the owner of the booth. She stated that the jingle dresses weigh many pounds.

I was thinking of the weight of the jingle dresses as I watched the dancers circle the powwow area in time to the drum beats. The steady bouncing motion and twirling seemed effortless, yet I new the jingle dresses were very heavy. We now attend the powwows annually and bring along others to experience this beautiful magical tradition.

And every time we go, I watch those dancers in those heavy jingle dresses and remain impressed by the look and the sounds they create.