The stomp dance is performed by different Eastern Woodland tribes and Native American groups in the United States, such as the Muscogee, Yuchi, Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Delaware, Miami, Caddo, Tuscarora, Ottawa, Quapaw, Peoria, Shawnee, Seminole, Natchez, and Seneca-Cayuga tribes. Stomp dance groups can be found in Georgia, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Alabama, Mississippi, and Florida.

Names and etymology

The English word "stomp dance" describes the movements of the dance, which include shuffling and stomping. In the Muskogee language, the dance is called opvnkv haco, which can mean "drunken," "crazy," or "inspirited" dance. This name often refers to the exciting and calming effect the dance and the medicine have on the people who participate. In the Shawnee language, the dance is called nikanikawe, which means a dance involving friends or Nekon. Some Shawnees also call it the "leading dance," but most people simply refer to it as the "stomp dance." In the Caddo language, the dance is called kakiʔtihánnakah.

Structure and function of a stomp dance society

The stomp dance grounds of the Muscogee Creeks and Four Mothers Society include a raised square platform. The flat sides of this square face the four cardinal directions—north, south, east, and west. Arbors are built on these flat sides, and men sit inside them, facing one of the four directions. This area is officially called the Square Ground. It is surrounded by a ring of earth. In the center of the Square Ground is a ceremonial fire, which is called by many names, including "mother" fire. This fire is the center of songs and prayers during ceremonies and is seen as a living sacred being.

Outside the ring of earth, around the Square Ground, are the community's clan-houses. These are sometimes called "camps." Depending on how traditional the community is and their financial situation, these camps may be simple shelters, modest cottages, or something in between. Before the dance, dinner is prepared in these family camps. During the night, guests who arrive are invited to help eat the leftover food. The meals at stomp dances often include Southern foods like cornbread and mashed potatoes, as well as traditional dishes such as sofkee, pashofa, grape or lye dumplings, and hominy.

The Kituwah stomp dance grounds are surrounded by seven clan arbors. These arbors were inspired by the traditionalist revival among Cherokees in the late 1800s, led by Redbird Smith. In 1907, 22 ceremonial grounds were active on Cherokee lands in Oklahoma.

Stickball games are often played at stomp dance grounds. Yuchi stomp dances are held together with their ritual football games. In Oklahoma, different tribes often join each other's dances.

Leadership

A traditional stomp dance gathering is often led by a male elder. In the Creek and Seminole traditions, the mekko, or "king" (chief), is the main leader in ceremonies. The mekko is supported by a second-in-command called a henehv, a chief medicine man called a heleshayv, and a speaker called opunayv. Mekkos do not speak to the whole group, so the speaker, opunayv, often takes on this responsibility. A traditional Creek gathering also includes four tvstvnvkvlke (warchiefs, generals, or police), four head ladies, and four alternate head ladies.

Ceremony

The dance usually begins after dark and continues until morning. People who are making a religious promise to the ceremony start fasting after midnight, touch medicine four times during the night, and stay awake all night. The medicine is made from special roots and plants collected by chosen "medicine helpers" and prepared by the Heles Haya at sunrise on the day of the dance. This medicine is used to help the dancers physically and spiritually during the ceremony.

One man from the community is chosen to call out each song leader and other dancers for each round. Each round is led by a man who creates his own songs based on traditional rhythms, melodies, and lyrics, sometimes adding personal details. The songs are usually sung in call-and-response style in the native language. Every dance must include at least one woman with shakers who walks directly behind the song leader to keep the rhythm. Other dancers follow, alternating between men and women in a spiral around the central fire. Visitors, children, and others with odd numbers join at the end of the line. Dancers move counterclockwise around the fire, using deliberate stomping steps that match the rhythm made by the women’s shell shakers. The number of people in the circle depends on the community size and how many visitors are present, ranging from fewer than ten to several hundred. Each round continues until at least four songs are performed by the leader, after which everyone returns to their seats until another singer is called to lead. There are usually a few minutes of rest between each leader, but breaks may be longer if fewer people are dancing. The stomp dance is not meant to be physically demanding, but most participants dance for most of the night.

Dance grounds

Although they are not as common as they once were, many ceremonial grounds, also called stomp grounds, still exist in parts of the southeastern United States and Oklahoma, where many southeastern tribes were relocated during the 1800s. One example is the Stokes Smith Stomp Dance Ground, located in a remote area of the Cherokee Nation tribal lands. This site is one of about seven active stomp grounds used by the Cherokee people. The Eastern Band Cherokee stomp grounds are currently located in Raven’s Roost, North Carolina, on the Qualla Boundary. The Echota Ceremonial Ground has been in Park Hill, Oklahoma, since 2001. There is one active Tuscarora arbor near the Tuscarora Nation Longhouse in the rural area of Prospect, North Carolina. The Creek tribe has 16 active ceremonial grounds across northeast Oklahoma, including Flat Rock, which is west of Eufaula and south of Mill Creek. Other active sites include the Hossossv Tvlvhvse Ceremonial Ground on the Poarch Creek Indian Reservation near Atmore, Alabama; Kvnfvske Etvlwv in Fountain, Florida; and the White Oak Shawnee Tribe’s ceremonial grounds.

Music

Men sing stomp dance songs using a call-and-answer style. One person is chosen to lead the song, and the other men sing the chorus. In some dances, the male leader uses a handheld rattle, which is often made from box turtle shells, gourds, or coconuts. Women create rhythm by shaking objects attached to their legs, which are traditionally made from turtle shells but may also be made from condensed milk cans. In some dances, a water drum is used. Ethnomusicologist Victoria Lindsay Levine states, "Stomp dance songs are some of the most exciting and dramatic types of music in Native America."

Attire

Stomp dancers usually wear simple but neat clothing. For special ceremonies, they may wear more formal outfits, but the physical activity of the dance and the warm, outdoor setting make comfort more important than style. Women often wear skirts and blouses with traditional patterns. Men typically wear jeans or slacks and hats, which are often cowboy or ballcap styles. These hats usually have one feather from an eagle, hawk, or crane in the hatband. For ceremonies, both men and women wear ribbon shirts, which are loose tunics decorated with ribbons. Cherokee women often wear full cotton skirts with ribbonwork in a rattlesnake pattern.

Women wear shakers made from tortoise shells on both legs, usually six to 12 on each leg. These shakers are hollowed-out shells with holes and filled with river rocks that make them rattle. Creek and Seminole dancers traditionally use shells from terrapins or box turtles. In the 1920s, Lydia Sam, a Natchez-Cherokee traditionalist, was the first to use tin or condensed milk can shakers. Some leaders still prefer the use of terrapin shells. Today, many women begin with tin can shakers before using their own shell shakers. Women who perform this dance are called "shell shakers" or "turtles."

Etiquette

People who attend or visit a stomp dance ground must not be drunk or using drugs. Depending on the rules of the location, they must not have consumed alcohol or drugs for a certain amount of time before or after the dance. Photographs are not allowed during ceremonial dances. These ceremonies are religious, and many participants prefer not to talk about details with visitors who are not part of the tribe, especially information related to medicine. Pregnant women and women who are menstruating are not allowed to enter the dance circle at ceremonial grounds. Depending on the location, these individuals may or may not be allowed to touch medicine.

Secular stomp dances

During the cold winter months, stomp dances are sometimes held indoors to stay warm. Some groups include stomp dances in pow wows or use them to teach others about their culture. The Caddo, Delaware, and other Woodland and Southern tribes have traditions of performing stomp dances for social or non-religious reasons. The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma has special areas for stomp dances and stickball that are not connected to religious ceremonies. In contrast, the Chickasaw people keep a ceremonial space for stomp dances and stickball that does not involve medicine. This is because many traditional medicine men were lost over time due to attendance at American Indian boarding schools, which aimed to change Native cultures. The Chickasaw ceremonial ground, called Kali Homma' near Allen, Oklahoma, hosts four stomp dances each summer. It also holds the Chickasaw Reunion festival, which replaced the Chickasaw busk ceremony that was practiced until 1936.