Today, most dancers are members of a gourd society.
If you listen closely you will hear the call of the wolf at the end of the songs. Red Wolf feeds the warrior and tells him to take the songs back to the tribe. On his way, he hears music and finds a Red Wolf, singing and dancing and holding a fan in one paw and a rattle in the other. Inspiration for the songs, according to the Kiowa story, a Kiowa warrior, the lone survivor of a battle, is trying to find his way back to the tribe. Southern California Gourd Dancers, San Diego Powwow COMPLETE CAPTION. For a period of time these gourd dance songs were not presented in public but by the middle of the last century, 1950, there was a revival of this now popular tradition. This is also a time when they were in close proximity to the Cheyenne and their society songs. These songs originated with the Kiowa tribe in the Black Hills of South Dakota in the 1700s. Story & photos by Roy Cook, Opata-Oodham, Mazopiye Wishasha: Writer, Singer, SpeakerĪccording to the Kiowa, in the pow wow world, the Kiowa singers are best recognized for the popularity of the gourd dance. Randy Edmonds (Kiowa gourd dancer), SCAIR Senior Advisor, pictured 2010 playing an American Indian rattle with his fellow Southern California gourd dancers. KIOWA GOURD DANCE AND SONG Story-Photos by Roy Cook
