Medicine dance

“ The purpose of the Medicine Dance is in part the desire to attain a long life, a safe journey to the next world, and the possibility of a return to this life again, preferably in human shape. All these benefits may be obtained by taking an active part in the ceremony, and by performing to the best of one’s ability all the duties of a member. Although it is essential to participate in the entire ritual in order to obtain these benefits to the fullest extent, nevertheless the phenomena of shooting and being shot at play an especially important rôle in this connection. ”

“ Medicine Dance.—In the Winnebago Medicine Dance, membership does not depend upon supernatural communication of any kind, but must be purchased from the leader of one of the five bands. A long preparation is necessary, lasting in olden times as long as four years. The individual is then initiated into certain of the teachings of the society. ”

“ As contrasted with the marked unity of action displayed in the Shell Society, we find here a marked tendency for individual development, that is perhaps to be expected, considering that the bond of union (namely, the powers obtained through common visions) is a rather vague one from the point of view of organization.
4. Medicine Dance.—In the Medicine Dance the general ceremony includes, in addition to the basic and initiation rituals, a secret ceremony that takes place outside of the lodge itself. ”

“ Similarly the various elements that make up the life which the members of the Medicine Dance pray for,—the food-supply, the power of healing, success on the warpath, a normal quota of years,—these are all definitely associated with spirits and ceremonials. ”

“ There is, however, a very persistent exoteric interpretation of the Medicine Dance, according to which the members are regarded primarily as powerful shamans concerned preferably with the practice of “bad” magic. In this practice they are greatly aided by the fact that their membership in the society increases their magical powers, especially that connected with the ability to transform themselves into all kinds of animate and inanimate objects for the furtherance of their evil designs. ”

“ Some begin to tremble and stagger almost at the beginning of the dance, without any effort on the part of the medicine-man, while formerly it was usually late in the night before the trances began, although the medicine-men were constantly at work to produce such result. In many if not in most cases the medicine-men themselves have been in trances produced in the same fashion, and must thus be considered sensitives as well as those hypnotized by them. ”

“ The medicine-man is on the watch, and as soon as he notices the woman’s condition he comes over and stands immediately in front of her, looking intently into her face and whirling the feather or the handkerchief, or both, rapidly in front of her eyes, moving slowly around with the dancers at the same time, but constantly facing the woman. ”

“ When in the Medicine Dance they pray for long life, what they mean is the ability to surmount the crises of life. Whatever may be the nature of these crises,—whether they relate to family disasters, sickness, old age, etc.,—it is expected that they will be overcome by membership and active participation in the society. There seems to be no suggestion that this is attained through the influence of magic. It is mere membership and obedience to the society’s teachings, ambition to raise one’s status by purchasing more and more privileges, that accomplish195 the desired end in view. ”

“ Dancing has been abandoned and the medicine work is almost overthrown, and, in passing along the village after dark, my ear is now often greeted with the Christian hymn or the song of praise where formerly the noise of the heathen dance, or the frantic orgies of the medicine man drowned all other sounds. ”

“ The participants form a circle, each person grasping the hand of his adjacent neighbor, and all moving sidewise with a dragging, shuffling step, in time to the songs which provide the music. The purpose of the Dream Dance is to communicate with the Great Spirit of Life. The Ghost Dance has for its object the communication of the participants with the spirits of the departed relatives and friends, this being accomplished by hypnotic trances induced through the agency of the medicine man. ”

“ On two occasions my partner in the dance, each time a woman, came under the influence and I was thus enabled to note the very first nervous tremor of her hand and mark it as it increased in violence until she broke away and staggered toward the medicine-man within the circle.
Young women are usually the first to be affected, then older women, and lastly men. ”

“ The medicine-man thus gains honor and credit, his patient being so soon healed and on her feet. This treatment, however, does nothing for those who are dangerously ill and reduced by weakness, but causes their death rather than their cure; for I can testify that they sometimes make such a noise and hubbub from morning until two o'clock at night that it is impossible for the patient to endure it without great pain. Sometimes the patient is seized with the desire to have the women and girls dance all together, which is done in accordance with the direction of the oqui. ”

“ As the steps and the pulses quicken, there comes on that exhilaration of mood familiar to all dancers, caused by the lights, the flowers, the perfumes, the music, the gay costumes, the beauty and the gallantry of a ball-room, the rhythmic exercise of the muscles and free circulation of the blood, all acting together to produce upon the senses and the fancy an effect amounting almost to intoxication; an echo of which is awakened in every breast, which has felt it often and keenly, on catching a strain of distant dance music, to the end of life. ”

“ Right dancing can cadence the very soul, give nervous poise and control, bring harmony between basal and finer muscles, and also between feeling and intellect, body and mind. It can serve both as an awakener and a test of intelligence, predispose the heart against vice, and turn the springs of character toward virtue. That its present decadent forms, for those too devitalized to dance aright, can be demoralizing, we know in this day too well, although even questionable dances may sometimes work off vicious propensities in ways more harmless than those in which they would otherwise find vent. ”

“ Dancing combines wholesome exercise, so cial enjoyment, and the acquirement of skill and grace, but it is seldom of much hygienic value because it is frequently overdone, and often involves bad air and loss of sleep. In one large plant where the employes were examined by the Life Extension Institute, the management regarded the harmful effect of dancing as their chief obstacle to efficiency. Many of the large force of girls and women were accustomed to dance until late in the night, bringing on a condition of chronic fatigue. ”

“ In dancing there is found a form of exercise that stimulates circulation of the blood to the remotest finger tip; that develops, under proper training, every muscle; that aids digestion to perform its functions of supplying nourishment to every tissue of the body, and brings to the dancers the glow of vigor and animation. These effects of the dance have long been proved by the experience of millions of men and women. ”

“ I began to see the place of dancing in the world, its place as a wholesome natural recreation and as a form of physical training, more effective perhaps than any other, since a vigorous athletic dance brings into play nearly every muscle in the body. I saw that a normal enjoyment of dancing meant a healthy mind in a healthy body. ”

“ Then let us dance, for in dancing we find poise and strength and balance. Let us dance for in dancing we find joy, pleasure, hope. It is the language of the feelings, and nature meant it for the expression of those feelings.
It is only when dancing is confined to hot, crowded rooms where the atmosphere is unwholesome, that it loses its healthful influence on mind and body. But where there is plenty of room and fresh air, plenty of good, soul-inspiring music—we say dance, young and old alike, dance for the keen pleasure and joy of the dance itself, and for the health that follows in its wake! ”

“ All superfluous clothing is discarded in a most alarming manner at various stages of this performance, and the arms are flapped vigorously against the naked body which is made to sound like a drum. The performance is not allowed to stop until the dancer is quite exhausted, when he simply collapses in the arms of one of his friends. The musical accompaniment to this dance verges on the diabolical, the rhythm of what melody there is being interspersed with abundant howls, yells and snapping of fingers from the enthusiastic crowd all round. ”

“ The only specific cure for the bite is believed to be music and dancing. The animating sound of the tune [Pg 101] known as the Tarantella subdues the depressing effect of the poison; the invalid feels invigorated by the music; he raises himself and begins to move his hands and feet to the time of it; and, be he old or young, though he may never before in his life have danced, he is irresistibly forced to dance until exhaustion compels him to desist. The dancing sometimes lasts three hours without cessation, and is repeated for three or four successive days. ”

“ It touches the play-impulse, and substitutes a spontaneous flow of energy for the mechanical effort of the will. The force of imitation or contagion, one of the most valuable forces in education, is also much increased by the state of exhilaration into which dancing puts the system. ”

“ THE REVIVAL OF CLASSICAL DANCING [1] WHEN an art grows infirm, there always comes a time when the practitioners hold council over the failing body and prescribe the remedy. And the remedy is always the same—they recommend a return to Nature. Art must go back to its nursing mother, nourish itself again upon the elemental milk from which it drew its earliest life, and be made whole.
Towards the close of the last century, the dance was sick with a fever, sick unto death. The mild and genial palliatives of Mr John Tiller were unavailing. ”

“ Dancing is merely the voluntary application of the rhythmic principle, when excitement has induced an abnormally rapid oxidization of brain tissue, to the physical exertion by which the overcharged brain is relieved. This is primitive dancing ”

“ Hence muscular contraction pre-supposes that rhythmic state of consciousness which direct observation discloses. A much more conspicuous rhythm, having longer waves, is seen during the outflow of emotion into dancing, poetry, and music. The current of mental energy that shows itself in these modes of bodily action, is not continuous, but falls into a succession of pulses. The measure of a dance is produced by the alternation of strong muscular contractions with weaker ones ”

“ I hear from a physician, a gynæcologist now practising in Egypt, that a dancing-girl can lie on her back, and with a full glass of water standing on one side of her abdomen and an empty glass on the other, can by the contraction of the muscles on the side supporting the full glass, project the water from it, so as to fill the empty glass. ”

“ The dancer continues singing all the while, and keeps time with every movement, sometimes twisting the body in sudden starts, until at last, as if fatigued by the extent of his exertions, he drops upon the ground to recover breath, still maintaining the spirit of the dance, and continuing to sing and keep time, by the motion of his body, to the voices and accompaniments of the spectators. In a few seconds he starts up again, and proceeds with increased vigor. When one foot is tired out, or has done its share of the dance, the other comes forward and performs the same part ”

“ If I do, I must say it is the virtuous wives, daughters, sisters and sweethearts, who have been participating in the dance. Every man knows that this is true. Let every honest physician send in a report of all his male patients, giving the disease of each and the cause, and then let us have a correct report from the dead of the same kind, and I am confident that no husband, father or brother would ever permit his wife, daughter or sister to be seen at a ball or dance. ”

“ This type of dance is the outcome of strong religious emotion which necessitates some bodily expression. It may be paralleled with the exuberance of physical health which demands vigorous exercise. While it begins with moderated movements, held in check by rhythmical restraint, yet as the nervous excitement of the performer becomes increasingly intense and the physical exertion more exacting, so does the dance get wilder and wilder until, as the result of the abandonment of all self-control, the dancer ultimately loses consciousness. ”

“ If the patient be an adult, and have sufficient strength, it is deemed of great importance, that he or she should rise, as often as they are able, and join the dance; and when strength fails, the patient is supported by the arms of relatives. When he is entirely exhausted, he is borne along the dance perfectly passive; and gradually as he languishes, the enthusiasm and anxiety rise to a 277 higher pitch; the drum sounds with more earnest beat ”

“ Even the Italian tarantella probably began as a disease with nervous dancing movements, and then spread over the land through mere imitation which led to an ecstatic turning around and around. Whoever studies the adventures of American dancing during the last season from New York to San Francisco must be impressed by this contagious character of our dancing habits. But this means that the movement carries in itself the energy to spread farther and farther, and to fill the daily life with increased longing for the ragtime. We are already accustomed to the dance at the afternoon tea ”