Native American Music and Dance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Native American Music and Dance - Essay Example Powwows, being a cultural display, are meticulously formed depictions, performances, or articulations of Native American past and contemporary reality as they want to express it. Organizing the occasion-- establishing the rules and regulations, registering partakers, and putting in order the activities (Heth 1992)— gives order and furnishes significance to this community gathering. The pan-Indian or supra-tribal feature of the powwow has encouraged scholars, especially anthropologists, to ridicule its recognition among early Indian cultures because they are anxious that it may displace culture-oriented rituals or practices (Heth 1992). Others perceive it as the only Native American blueprint evident in the life of several regional or ethnic groups. The Waccamaw Sioux’s powwow rites (Ellis, Lassiter, & Dunham 2005, 294) present a possibility of taking into account how performance and ceremonies characterize their identity in present-day American culture. Powwows are a vi tal link between non-Indians and Native Americans, even though numerous conflicts and issues should be addressed so as to build and sustain this cultural connection. Powwows are a quite intricate kind of communication on multiple extents, from the individual to the collective to the political (Ellis & Lassiter 2005).... Some anthropologists, according to Koskoff (2005), also deal with the themes of intertribal support, pan-Indianism, and diverse identity. There is unfortunately insufficient literature on Native American powwows and there is no scholarship which deals with the entire intricacy of powwows and their function in Native America. Even though there are more and more scholarly works proclaiming powwows of Native America and taking into account occasions, and there are currently several accurate children’s literature dedicated to the images and sounds of the powwows and the participants, and there are a number of pictures which comprise the issues of the subject (Ellis & Lassiter 2005), there is still inadequate systematic and critical literature on the issue. As stated by Toelken (1991) in his work Ethnic Selection and Intensification in the Native American Powwow (as cited in Stern & Cicala 1991, 137): â€Å"Perhaps because their participants seem to be having fun instead of playin g to the white stereotype of Indian stoicism†¦ the contemporary intertribal powwow, an increasingly popular vernacular dance expression among Native Americans, has not been given much attention by scholars, even though it has become one of the most common articulations of ‘Indianness’ among Indians today.† Kiowa Song As the language of Kiowa keeps on weakening in its commonplace usage, a song is surfacing as a leading representation for expressing the identity and legacy of the Kiowa people. However, a song cannot be deprived of its storyline perspective; specifically, for numerous Kiowa singers, narrative is entirely important for interpreting songs (May & Hood 1983). Without a narrative, a song is only a cacophony of sound; nevertheless, with a narrative, sound

Critical Response Paper- The Temple of Zeus at Olympia, Heroes and Essay

Critical Response Paper- The Temple of Zeus at Olympia, Heroes and Athletes - Essay Example article in question, the following analysis will attempt to be concentric upon a discussion of the author’s thesis, the overall level of data that is represented, a consideration of the strengths and weaknesses of the approach, and an analysis of other tangentially related aspects of the research and literature that are represented (Baringer 213). Through such a level of discussion and critique, it is the hope of this particular author that the reader will gain a more informed understanding with respect to the information that is presented and the manner through which inference is drawn. Finally, rather than representing a pro-con/strengths and weaknesses analysis of the particular piece, this discussion will be concentric upon those elements that helped to promote the thesis, those that take away from it, and opportunities for improvement that the author could leverage as a means of better presenting the topic to the reading audience. Firstly, it must be noted that a particular strength of the analysis has to do with the fact that the author does not immediately jumped directly into the debate. Whereas many pieces exhibit a fundamental weakness of immediately discussing the disagreements regarding the way in which a particular facet of information is understood, the particular analysis instead begins by attempting to paint a vivid and meaningful historical portrait of how the Temple of Zeus was used, the underlying meanings, and the attitudes and cultural relevance that were necessarily pertained within its structure, form, and purpose. Furthermore, as the historical discussion progresses, the eventual research question comes clearly interview. As such, this research question is contingent upon what meaning these symbols had from the context in which they were represented. By placing the reader within the figurative footsteps of the ancient Greeks that used the Temple and understood its underlying meaning, the au thor is able to build the suspense for something