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The Rabbit Dance
Mohawk (Kanienkahageh) Legend
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Long ago, a group of hunters were out looking for game. They had seen no sign of animals, but they went slowly and carefully through the forest, knowing that at any moment they might find something. Just ahead of them was a clearing. The leader of the hunters held his hand for the other to pause. He thought he had seen something. All of the men dropped down on their stomachs and crept to the clearing's edge to see what they could see. What they saw amazed them. There, in the center of the clearing, was the biggest rabbit any of them had ever seen. It seemed to be as big as a small bear!!
The rabbit lifted its head and looked toward the men. Even though they were well hidden on the right side of the clearing, it seemed as if that giant rabbit could see them. But, the rabbit didn't take flight. Instead, it just nodded it's head. Then, it lifted one of its feet and thumped the ground. As soon as it did so, other rabbits began to come into the clearing. They came from all directions and, like their chief, paid no attention to the hunters. Now the big rabbit began to thump its foot against the ground in a different way. Ba-pum Ba-pum Ba-pum
Then, suddenly, the big rabbit stopped thumping the earth. All of the rabbits stopped dancing. BA-BUM! The chief of the rabbits thumped the earth one final time. It leaped high into the air, right over the men's heads, and it was gone. All of the other rabbits ran in every direction out of the clearing, and they were gone, too. The men were astonished by what they had seen. None of them had ever seen anything at all like this. None of them had ever heard or seen such a dance. It was all they could talk about as they went back into the village. All thought of hunting was now gone from their minds. When they reached the village, they went straight to the longhouse where the head of the Clan Mothers lived. She was a very wise woman and knew a great deal about animals. They told her the story. She listened closely. When they were done telling the story, she picked up a water drum and handed it to the leader of the hunters. "Play that rhythm which the Rabbit Chief played," she said. The leader of the men did as she asked. he played the rhythm of the rabbits dance. "That is a good sound," said the Clan Mother. "Now show me the dance which the rabbit people showed you." The hunters then did the dance while their leader played the drum. The Clan Mother listened closely and watched. When they were done, she smiled at them. "I understand what has happened," she said. "The Rabbit People know that we rely on them. We hunt them for food and clothing. The Rabbit Chief has given us this special dance so that we can honor its people for all they give to the human beings. If we play their song and do their dance, then they will know we are grateful for all they continue to give us. We much call this new song The Rabbit Dance and we must do it, men and women together, to honor the Rabbit People." So it was that a new social dance was given to the Iroquois people. To this day, the Rabbit Dance is done to thank the Rabbit People for all they have given, not only food and clothing, but also a fine dance that makes the people glad. Print and color a rabbit of your own
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There was a man who lived in the country far away from any village. He made his living
as a hunter, but he was always very respectful of the animals he hunted. This man's name was Walking Man. He always
kept his eyes and ears open to everything around him, for he know how special the wilderness was. It was to the
wilderness that people went in their dreams, to the place they called Seye Wailo. That name meant many things.
It meant the Home of all the Animals. It meant the home of the Deer. It meant the Place Where Flowers Live. It
was said that the best songs always came to people from Seye Wailo. Print and color a picture from this story |
| Music, dance and celebration are sometimes seen by people of European heritage as being
limited to human beings. Native American people don't see it this way, at all. The rabbit, for one, is thought
of as a great dancer and one who loves to have a good time. Rabbit Dance: It's often said by the People of the Longhouse, the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois), that we learn many things from the animals. This story of 'The Rabbit Dance is one example. It comes from the Mohawk (Kanienkahageh or "People of the Flint") Nation of the Haudenosaunee. By watching the animals closely, the hunters came home with something special. The relationship between Native American people and the animals that they had to hunt for survival was very different from that between a modern sportsman who hunts only for his pleasure and his prey. In story after story among the Haudenosaunee, a hunter goes out and comes back not with game, but with a lesson learned from the animals themselves. Circle Dance: Each time the animals offer the gift of survival to the people, a circle of giving and receiving is begun. This circle is complete when the gift is returned to the people. There are many traditional ways that move in this circle. In the tradition of the Abenaki Indians of the East, the "People of the Dawn," the hunter prepares for the hunt by asking permission of the animal and Creation. If this is done in a respectful, reverential way, it is believed, the animal will present itself to the hunter. All of the animal is used without wasting anything, which would be respectful. A gift of the animal's bones is then returned to the place where the animal was found and a prayer of thanks is said. Circle dances are commonly done to celebrate the gift, to remind people of their connection with all of life, to strengthen the community, and to celebrate the giving circle and the circles of life. Deer Dance: The second story reminds us that today the Deer Dance remains strong among the Yaqui people. It is closely connected with being a Yaqui. The Yaqui people believe that everything in the world of the desert is alive and in communication with everything else. They also know that the desert world is a place of flowers. There are few places in North America where flowers leap into life with such beauty and intensity as in the Arizona desert during the time of the spring rains. The desert truly is the "Flower World" and all of the Deer Songs of the Yaqui people speak of and give praise to this flower-covered world that is the desert. It is a world that may seem dead, but the smallest drops of rain awaken it to life again and the deer go among the new flowers....dancing. |
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Now, reread the stories and without peeking answer these questions:
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| Canku Ota is a free Newsletter celebrating Native America, its traditions and accomplishments . We do not provide subscriber or visitor names to anyone. Some articles presented in Canku Ota may contain copyright material. We have received appropriate permissions for republishing any articles. Material appearing here is distributed without profit or monetary gain to those who have expressed an interest. This is in accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107. |
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Canku Ota is a copyright of Vicki Lockard and Paul Barry. |
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One of
the hunters slowly began to raise his bow. A rabbit as large as that one would be food enough for the entire village.
But, the leader of the men held out his hand and made a small motion that the man with the bow understood. He lowered
his weapon. Something unusual was happening. It was best to just watch and see what would happen next.
It was the
sound of a drum beating. the rabbits all around made a big circle and began to dance. They danced and danced. They
danced in couples and moved in and out and back and forth. It was a very good dance that the rabbits did. The hunters
who were watching found themselves tapping the earth with their hands in the same beat as the big rabbit's foot.
The next morning Walking Man rose before the sun came up and went back to that hilltop. He sat
quietly on a fallen tree and waited as the sun rose. He began to hear that sound again, and he looked carefully.
There, not far from him were two big deer. They had huge antlers and, as they stood facing each other, they rattled
their antlers together. Near them was a young deer. As Walking Man watched, he saw that young deer lift its head
and lower it. It ran from side to side, leaping up and down. It seemed happy as it did this. Walking Man knew what
he was seeing. He was seeing the deer do their own special dance. Though he had his weapons with him, he did not
try to kill them. He watched them dance for a long time.
He took two sticks and put notches on one of them so that he could make the sound of the deer's
antlers. He showed one of the boys in the village how the young deer danced and had the boy dance that way as they
played the deer song and sang.
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