Native American Sun Dance

Native American Sun Dance

There are six continents on the plant, 193 countries in world, and over sixty billion people living on the earth. The human society is formed by many different tribes, and each tribe has their own religious belief and owns their unique traditions and customs. According to Oxfor English Dictionary, the meaning of the word “ritual” is “Ritual observances; ceremonial acts. Now frequently in sing., and in extended and trivial uses.” Singing is one of ceremonial acts, but dancing is the other ceremonial act that tribes use during the ceremonies. Therefore, ritual dances are dances that performed on a religious ritual. I will discuss more about the functions of ritual in the society, and I will also introduce a Native American ritual dance called Sun Dance. The Sun Dance is a sacred ceremony of renewal, and it also ensures good hunting. The Northern Plains Indian nations, such as the Arapaho, celebrate it. (Stout, 2006, p. 288).

The term, ritual, has been studied by many savants of different scopes. Ritual plays multi-functional roles around the human society. Ritual clearly serves many purposes; it can be used as a resource for developing the cultural history of human beings, as a healing tool for psychological and mental scar.

Some scholars consider that religion and ritual are connected together. For instance, the article ‘The Archaeology of Religious Ritual’ indicates that most archaeologists’ studies of religion are often focusing on the ritual of the tribes. Furthermore, the author says that “There is a widespread archaeological understanding that ritual is a form of human action that leaves material traces, whereas religion is a more abstract symbolic system consisting of beliefs, myths, and doctrines.” (Fogelin, 2007, p. 55). Religious ritual ceremonies usually leave a numbers of ritual implements in which become the evidences for and help archaeologists to trace the history of a tribe. Unlike abstract religious belief, ritual...