542 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1956 



placed together on a piece of groundhog skin or buckskin about one 

 yard square in size and the fifth tortoise shell placed on top of the other 

 four and tied with them to the skin. Thongs of skin are used for tying 

 one of these combination rattles to each leg. 



The hand rattles are made from gourds. A small hole is bored at 

 each end of the gourd and a slender piece of wood a foot long is run 

 through the oval or egg-shaped gourd. The typical gourd shell is 

 about 4 inches long and about 3 inches in diameter and contains small 

 pebbles to make the rattling sound. 



Dance teams are organized in the different communities — at Big 

 Cove, Birdtown, and elsewhere, especially for Friendship Dances. 

 Each team has a "caller" who calls forth the names of those who are 

 to lead each song step, and directs the sequence with the proper sig- 

 nals. The caller endeavors to pick out the best and most effective sing- 

 ers to lead the songs. The number of songs in each dance averages 

 about four, and the song consists in the repetition of a single melodic 

 theme to the accompaniment of archaic words. An alternation of slow 

 and fast tempos can be noted, with the faster tempos predominating 

 at the close. Dances may be held as often as once a week, generally 

 in the evenings. 



The action and speech simulates and refers to basic life activities 

 such as playing the game of Cherokee ball, planting and tilling the 

 soil, curing and preventing disease, hunting various wild animals, and 

 joking with familiar clan relatives. Clapping the hands together is 

 a common feature of the Friendship Dances and expresses the hap- 

 piness and the good time being enjoyed by all the participants. Solo 

 dances are sometimes given in which the dancer sings and tells a story 

 as he dances, occasionally poking fun at his familiar clan relatives. 



The names of the principal dances of the Cherokees and the signifi- 

 cance of each is given below. 



Name of Dance Significance 



Ant Dance Imitates the movements of ants 



Ball Dance Magic for obtaining victory in ball game 



Bear Dance Imitative of the bear 



Beaver Dance Imitative of killing beaver 



Buffalo Dance Imitative of killing buffalo 



Bugah Dance Buffoonery 



Chicken Dance Mimetic of birds 



Coat Dance Buying a wife 



Corn Dance Corn planting 



Eagle Dance Victory in war 



Friendship Dance Promotes social intercourse 



Green Corn Dance Celebrates the harvest of corn 



Groundhog Dance Hunting the groundhog 



Horse Dance Mimetic of the horse 



Knee-deep Dance Mimetic of knee-deep spring frog 



Medicine Dance Physic dance for health 



