Men's Grass Dance

Several stories about the origin of the grass dance are told. One tells of the grass dance being an elite warrior society. The grass being high in new areas, the warriors would dance in a special way to flatten the grass and make it acceptable for a new camp or meeting site. The grass dance movements also reflect warrior movements such as stalking the game or enemy and fighting the enemy (including one movement representing one of the warrior's legs being staked and unable to move and battling with this leg in a held position). The grass dance is often said to reflect the need for balance in life; each movement that is danced on one side must be repeated by the other side. Some people talk of the grass dance as a gift from the Creator to celebrate life. The regalia for the dance is comprised of long strands of yarn, ribbon or fabric attached to a base outfit to represent grass or in some theories the scalps of enemies. A headdress called a porcupine roach is worn. The roach has two feathers attached in such a way that they rock or twirl as the dancer moves. The movement of the feathers represents two warriors fighting in battle. As in all the dances, the dancer must move with the beats of the drum ending with both feet on the ground on the final beat.