Thursday, August 16, 2018

Lakota Culture Of Sun Dance And Heyoka

By Angela Fisher


While there are many cultural aspects with regard to Native American tribes, most differ in comparison. The lakota culture hosts a number of interesting ceremonies and figures not found in other tribes. One such figure is that of Heyoka, a sacred clown which is associated with the lakota people of North America.

Another aspect of this culture is that of the Heyoka. While the Heyoka has ties to both the Sioux and lakota, which is actually a branch of of the Sioux, it is only tribal members whom have been visited by thunder that have been accepted by the larger community as a Heyoka. In the simplest terms, a Heyoka is a sacred clown or jester whom reacts in opposition to others through speaking out, satirist moves and contrarian acts.

One of the most well known Native American rituals associated with the Lakota tribe is that of the Sun Dance ceremony. Practiced by a number of Indigenous tribes of Canada and North America, the ritual involves a gathering in which the tribes come together to pray for healing. Whereas, there are also other ceremonies which include tribal reunions and prayer held at pow wows on an ongoing basis which do not require an aspect of sacrifice.

Sun Dance, one of many ceremonies prohibited by the Canadian and United States governments was aimed at suppressing Indigenous cultures from practicing Sun Dance and other ceremonies. Canada eventually lifted prohibition against Sun Dance, speaking native languages and other Indigenous practices. Unlike Canada, Indigenous tribes in the United States continued to ban the speaking of Native American languages and the practice of Sun Dance and other cultural activities until the late 1970s.

An act of the United States Congress passed an act in 1978 to assure tribes would be protected with regards to religious and cultural activities associated with Native Americans, Eskimos, Aleuts and Native Hawaiians would be upheld in the future. After which, Sun Dance and other ceremonies were once again practiced on public and private lands in the United States.

The sacred ceremony known as Sun Dance is often considered one of the toughest test of physical and spiritual endurance in the Indigenous community. For, it involves a tribal member being tied to a pole which is then pierced through the chest skin, thus allowing blood letting which represents the sacrificial aspect of the ceremony and the connection to community and the tribe.

As the ritual is considered a sacred ceremony, most tribal members are hesitant to discuss the event in detail. In fact, given the long period of misappropriation, many tribes are concerned that outsiders will abuse these and other rituals. As such, the words spoken during ceremonies and rituals are often the native language of tribe.

Later, the Lakota people passed a declaration of war associated with exploiting the tribe. The declaration was originated and unanimously passed at an event known as the Lakota Summit V. After which, those caught using the ceremonies, rituals or exploiting the tribe in any way could be prosecuted, tried and punished under a local tribunal court.




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