A circle of people, a swirl of colorful costumes and stomping feet. We’re listening to one of the traditional dances of the Iroquois. I’m Jim Metzner and this is the Pulse of the Planet, presented by DuPont. This smoke dance is an opportunity for participants to challenge each other to ever- faster and more precise steps. It’s just one of the many social dances of the Iroquois people.
“Well, we have gayoa, moccasin dance and lady’s shuffle dance, and Delaware drum songs and dances. ”
There’s also the round dance, the friendship and alligator dance, to name just a few. Jim Sky was for years the leader of a group that performed Iroquois social dances.
“The role is to show your happiness. Like our singers, now, they got to be the first to appreciate it. That song sorta goes into them and they let it out. It makes them happy to see these people dancing.” “Dancing is sorta just part of us, it’s always been there. You can’t really say how long ago. We used to dance at home. My grandfather used to come there and after supper, we’d get him to sing and the three of us would dance around the table. My grandson out there, he was standing there all by himself and all of a sudden he started bouncing and then he would quit again, and look around and see if anybody is dancing with him, and they would be, and he likes that.”
Jim Sky passed away this year. He spent his life preserving Iroquois songs and dances. We’ll hear more about them in our next program. Pulse of the Planet is presented by DuPont, bringing you the miracles of science, with additional support provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities. I’m Jim Metzner.
Iroquois: Social Dances
For the Iroquois people, dancing is an expression of joy. Iroquois "social dances" will be on display this weekend at a festival in upstate New York.
Air Date:08/29/2000
Scientist:
Transcript:
music: Iroquois Smoke Dance
A circle of people, a swirl of colorful costumes and stomping feet. We're listening to one of the traditional dances of the Iroquois. I'm Jim Metzner and this is the Pulse of the Planet, presented by DuPont. This smoke dance is an opportunity for participants to challenge each other to ever- faster and more precise steps. It's just one of the many social dances of the Iroquois people.
"Well, we have gayoa, moccasin dance and lady's shuffle dance, and Delaware drum songs and dances. "
There's also the round dance, the friendship and alligator dance, to name just a few. Jim Sky was for years the leader of a group that performed Iroquois social dances.
"The role is to show your happiness. Like our singers, now, they got to be the first to appreciate it. That song sorta goes into them and they let it out. It makes them happy to see these people dancing." "Dancing is sorta just part of us, it's always been there. You can't really say how long ago. We used to dance at home. My grandfather used to come there and after supper, we'd get him to sing and the three of us would dance around the table. My grandson out there, he was standing there all by himself and all of a sudden he started bouncing and then he would quit again, and look around and see if anybody is dancing with him, and they would be, and he likes that."
Jim Sky passed away this year. He spent his life preserving Iroquois songs and dances. We'll hear more about them in our next program. Pulse of the Planet is presented by DuPont, bringing you the miracles of science, with additional support provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities. I'm Jim Metzner.