"Pressing of the skin" tradition

Mato Winyan · 06-12-2006, 01:12 PM

I went to a "gathering" this Sat up by Indy. Reason why I call it a "gathering" is there is no way I would call this a powwow!! The hubby and I didn't even stay a full 20 min. Reason I was there that long was I saw someone I knew that was trading and they had beadsssssssssss!!

Anyway........ this "gathering" was getting ready to start and yeah..... had a head man, head lady. They called for a drum and I saw no drum but instead they turned on a fricken tape player!!

Anyway...... there is another thread about all that...... but what I'm talking about here puzzled the heck outta me.

They had a woman that wanted to bring her little boy into the circle. He was a baby in arms. So they had the dance. Then the mc (only one that looked like there may have been some native genes in him) Announced something like this... Now what is done when we have a ceremony such as this is a tradition that has been passed down to us by the elders thru the generations. In keeping with this tradition we are going to do what is called a "pressing of the skin" ceremony. He went on and on....blah blah blah....... then said what this ceremony tradition consists of is when you come out and greet this mother on this boys behalf you take a dollar out of your pocket and press it into the skin of her hand.

Don't get me wrong.........the dude was stone cold serious!!!

What I'm wondering....... have any of you outside Indiana ever heard it called that??????

oh... I just have to say......... Never ........never ever....... in the history of my entire life have I ever seen so many fur covered beings outside of the zoo!!!!!!!!

DANCINGEAGLE · 06-12-2006, 03:27 PM

Nope. Never heard of this before. Well, did the mother at least keep the dollar bills?

RedShield · 06-12-2006, 04:03 PM

Again... wow... never heard of such a thing either in the midwest or Pacific NW... or Indiana either for that matter... and I been doing pow wows over there for years... again... wow!

Paselo

**billyjoejimbob** · 06-12-2006, 05:47 PM

Sounds like a cheap attempt at being funny about a ceremony.

dwight · 06-12-2006, 06:15 PM

By foregoing the blanket dance, perhaps they figure they don't have to clean the blanket?

apacheheart · 06-12-2006, 06:39 PM

I agree with BillieJoe,sounds to me like the man was trying to get a laugh from the NDN spectators,and had there been more than a handful of NDNs(and those that understand NDN humor)he might have got the response he was fishing for....keep smilin'1

Lakota Wiyan · 06-12-2006, 07:57 PM

Maybe they meant for the people to Press her a buck to help pay the drum and announcer.....??? I heard of that, but not pressing of skin....or whatever.....Thats the category that goes into....The "Whatever" category!

Mato Winyan · 06-12-2006, 09:26 PM

Like I said before..... the dude was completely serious!

I mean he did not have a smile or nothing. I heard one of the people that looked up to this guy as their leader or whatever say " this is what we always do". So go figure.

And mother didn't keep the money.

**billyjoejimbob** · 06-13-2006, 02:45 AM

This is how white people learn the wrong ways. He kids about something and they take it serious.

OLChemist · 06-13-2006, 09:26 AM

During honor dances I've seen people slip a family member money during a handshake to help out with the giveaway or the drum. But, I've never seen it used as a ceremony. In the honor dance it is very low key. This sounds like a crop circle tribe thing to me.

Mato Winyan · 06-13-2006, 10:12 AM

ROFLMAO!!! Funny you should mention the "crop circle" tribe thing. I was thinking "children of the corn"!!! Afterall, it is Indiana ya know!!

BJJB....... Like I've said before..... I've been around powwows for several decades ( yeah.. i'm old ....so?

*lol*) and I have heard good jokes......bad jokes..... and a multitude of stupid ones. Never have I heard or seen something like this. I'm tellin ya.............. the dude was SERIOUS!!!! I know all too well about ndn humor and yeah...... I've pulled stuff myself pretending to be serious.......but this dude was stone cold serious. You had to be there to get the feel for it. I mean every activity stopped there. Traders came and stood outside their booths. It was freaky.

Hank_Shelton · 06-13-2006, 10:13 AM

I usually press the skin like that, not for naming or for ceremony, but for buying my weed.

**billyjoejimbob** · 06-13-2006, 10:31 AM

Crop circles!!!!

In the east, particularly in Maryland, there is the toilet bowl. After each song everyone cirlce around and out of the arbor, looks like a toilet flushing. For grand entry they come in 4 different directions.

**streamhawk** · 06-13-2006, 11:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by billyjoejimbob

Crop circles!!!!

For grand entry they come in 4 different directions.

m'k. So umm, does the sun come up in all four directions there too? Sounds confusing, which direction are the flags coming in? Head man? Head Lady? Is there a big collision in the middle?

06-12-2006, 01:12 PM	#1 (permalink)
Mato Winyan Gangster of Love Join Date: Mar 2000 Location: Indiana Posts: 5,497 Blog Entries: 4	"Pressing of the skin" tradition I went to a "gathering" this Sat up by Indy. Reason why I call it a "gathering" is there is no way I would call this a powwow!! The hubby and I didn't even stay a full 20 min. Reason I was there that long was I saw someone I knew that was trading and they had beadsssssssssss!! Anyway........ this "gathering" was getting ready to start and yeah..... had a head man, head lady. They called for a drum and I saw no drum but instead they turned on a fricken tape player!! Anyway...... there is another thread about all that...... but what I'm talking about here puzzled the heck outta me. They had a woman that wanted to bring her little boy into the circle. He was a baby in arms. So they had the dance. Then the mc (only one that looked like there may have been some native genes in him) Announced something like this... Now what is done when we have a ceremony such as this is a tradition that has been passed down to us by the elders thru the generations. In keeping with this tradition we are going to do what is called a "pressing of the skin" ceremony. He went on and on....blah blah blah....... then said what this ceremony tradition consists of is when you come out and greet this mother on this boys behalf you take a dollar out of your pocket and press it into the skin of her hand. Don't get me wrong.........the dude was stone cold serious!!! What I'm wondering....... have any of you outside Indiana ever heard it called that?????? oh... I just have to say......... Never ........never ever....... in the history of my entire life have I ever seen so many fur covered beings outside of the zoo!!!!!!!! __________________ "We see it as a desecration not only of a mountain but of our way of life. This is a genocidal issue to us. If they kill this mountain, they kill our way of life." ~Debra White Plume

06-12-2006, 03:27 PM	#2 (permalink)
DANCINGEAGLE BikerBoyNDNStyle Join Date: Jul 2000 Location: Where the rubber meets the road! Posts: 693	Nope. Never heard of this before. Well, did the mother at least keep the dollar bills? __________________ Through the good times and bad times, always pray.

06-12-2006, 04:03 PM	#3 (permalink)
RedShield Singer/ Dancer Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Ohio Posts: 15,474	Again... wow... never heard of such a thing either in the midwest or Pacific NW... or Indiana either for that matter... and I been doing pow wows over there for years... again... wow! Paselo __________________ I became a singer because I love to sing... and to feed my addiction to cough drops!

06-12-2006, 06:15 PM	#5 (permalink)
dwight Buffalo Horns Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Shiprock Posts: 23	By foregoing the blanket dance, perhaps they figure they don't have to clean the blanket? __________________ Ya'at'eeh! Walk with Beauty, Live with Pride!

06-12-2006, 09:26 PM	#8 (permalink)
Mato Winyan Gangster of Love Join Date: Mar 2000 Location: Indiana Posts: 5,497 Blog Entries: 4	Like I said before..... the dude was completely serious! I mean he did not have a smile or nothing. I heard one of the people that looked up to this guy as their leader or whatever say " this is what we always do". So go figure. And mother didn't keep the money. __________________ "We see it as a desecration not only of a mountain but of our way of life. This is a genocidal issue to us. If they kill this mountain, they kill our way of life." ~Debra White Plume

06-12-2006, 05:47 PM	#4 (permalink)
billyjoejimbob Fat Singer Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: white guy land Posts: 1,526	Sounds like a cheap attempt at being funny about a ceremony.

06-12-2006, 06:39 PM	#6 (permalink)
apacheheart Teen Dancer Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Peekskill,NY. Posts: 261	I agree with BillieJoe,sounds to me like the man was trying to get a laugh from the NDN spectators,and had there been more than a handful of NDNs(and those that understand NDN humor)he might have got the response he was fishing for....keep smilin'1

06-12-2006, 07:57 PM	#7 (permalink)
Lakota Wiyan THE Lakota Wiyan Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: He Sapa/Mni Luzahan/Inkpata Posts: 419 Blog Entries: 1	Maybe they meant for the people to Press her a buck to help pay the drum and announcer.....??? I heard of that, but not pressing of skin....or whatever.....Thats the category that goes into....The "Whatever" category!

06-13-2006, 02:45 AM	#9 (permalink)
billyjoejimbob Fat Singer Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: white guy land Posts: 1,526	This is how white people learn the wrong ways. He kids about something and they take it serious.

06-13-2006, 09:26 AM	#10 (permalink)
OLChemist Pow Wow Committee Join Date: May 2002 Posts: 743	During honor dances I've seen people slip a family member money during a handshake to help out with the giveaway or the drum. But, I've never seen it used as a ceremony. In the honor dance it is very low key. This sounds like a crop circle tribe thing to me.

06-13-2006, 10:12 AM	#11 (permalink)
Mato Winyan Gangster of Love Join Date: Mar 2000 Location: Indiana Posts: 5,497 Blog Entries: 4	ROFLMAO!!! Funny you should mention the "crop circle" tribe thing. I was thinking "children of the corn"!!! Afterall, it is Indiana ya know!! BJJB....... Like I've said before..... I've been around powwows for several decades ( yeah.. i'm old ....so? lol) and I have heard good jokes......bad jokes..... and a multitude of stupid ones. Never have I heard or seen something like this. I'm tellin ya.............. the dude was SERIOUS!!!! I know all too well about ndn humor and yeah...... I've pulled stuff myself pretending to be serious.......but this dude was stone cold serious. You had to be there to get the feel for it. I mean every activity stopped there. Traders came and stood outside their booths. It was freaky. __________________ "We see it as a desecration not only of a mountain but of our way of life. This is a genocidal issue to us. If they kill this mountain, they kill our way of life." ~Debra White Plume

06-13-2006, 10:13 AM	#12 (permalink)
Hank_Shelton Tiny Tot Dancer Join Date: Jan 2004 Posts: 94	I usually press the skin like that, not for naming or for ceremony, but for buying my weed.

06-13-2006, 10:31 AM	#13 (permalink)
billyjoejimbob Fat Singer Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: white guy land Posts: 1,526	Crop circles!!!! In the east, particularly in Maryland, there is the toilet bowl. After each song everyone cirlce around and out of the arbor, looks like a toilet flushing. For grand entry they come in 4 different directions.

06-13-2006, 12:00 PM	#15 (permalink)
NDNQt PowWows.com Addicts Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: Aylett, VA Posts: 1,076