The History and culture of the Spirit Lake Dakota
The Night Dance Hanhepi Wacipi, or contracted to HanWacipi was a social dance introduced circa 1900. It was considered a breakdown in morals by conservative Dakota in the change from tribal to reservation life. Nice girls did not go to a Night Dance (Deloria 2022:221). There are many descriptions of the choreography, but are all basically the same. The following are descriptions of the festivities from various sources. Among the Blackfeet people in Montana we learn of a lodge filled with men and women having a social dance. Near the doorway are the singers who beat time to the dance on hand held drums made of rawhide stretched over wooden hoops. On one side of the lodge stand the men and on the other the women. Everyone present begin to sing as the drumming begins. The step is a double bending at the knees while dancing in place. A woman will dance over to a man and swiftly throwing her shawl over his head, and undercover give him a hearty kiss. Everyone in attendance give a burst of laughter. For this favor the man is expected to give a small present to the woman. Outside on a bed of hot coals are bowls of food which the dancers eat it at intervals during the evening. The dance was known as The Kiss Dance among the Blackfeet (Schultz 1995:4).
The Night Dance was danced in a round dancing hall, and used as a fund-raising social event. As witnessed by Howard among the Canadian Dakota. The meal was again bowls of soup. The men stand on one side of the hall facing the women, who stand on the other side. A young man dances forward, up to a to a sweetheart and dances backwards while still facing her. She must pay a small fee, paid to the treasurer to share the soup served later in the program with her admirer. If she out of embarrassment refuses to pay, he may spill the soup on her clothing. The young men one at a time or in rank file dance forward to the females. When each on has secured a partner, they hold hands and dance a Round Dance, using a side step facing the center of the dance hall to the beat of the drum and voices of the singers (Howard 2014:87-88).
This next description comes from among the Assiniboine at Fort Peck, Montana, who also name the festivities The Night Dance. This was danced in a large tipi separate from the Grass Dance hall. The women dance first in a circle for a few songs before they invite the men to join them. Sometimes it is the man is embarrassed and she must drag him into the circle of dancers. There is rest period between sets of songs Now the men become brave and put their arms over the shoulder of their partners. Some become jealous if a woman has selected her boyfriend or husband of theirs. This dance takes a long time for the dancers to form a large circle and side step to the drum and the singer’s voices (Long 2004: 158-159).
I remember being told a story years ago that happened here at Spirit Lake. At this Night Dance, the Kiss style was used. A woman went to the dance alone and the husband learned that his wife was kissed during the dance. He sat on a low tree branch above the trail leading from the dance hall. As his wife’s kiss partner passed below in the dark of night, he reached down and struck him with a tomahawk, killing him. The Indian Agent at Fort Totten made a law forbidding the Night Dance.
On Standing Rock Reservation located south of Bismarck, the same choreography was employed where the young men and women sat facing each other. The man dances forward with a present for his girlfriend. He dances backward to his seat, whereupon this girlfriend dances forward to him with a gift. When a number of young people have notified each other of their intentions to dance, the singers change to the Round Dance and the dancers hold hands and dance in a circle. At the end a feast was served (Densmore 1918: 479). On page 480 is the author has made musical notes of one of the Night Dance Songs, No words, just vocables.
Bibliography
Deloria, Ella Cara The Dakota Way of Life. Edited by Raymond J. DeMallie and Thierry Veyrie. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press 2022.
Densmore, Frances Teton Sioux Music. Smithsonian Institute, Bureau of American Ethnology. Bulletin 61 Washington: Government Printing Office 1918.
This report has been republished many times and can easily sourced on line.
Howard, James H. The Canadian Sioux, second edition. University of Nebraska Press Lincoln: 2014.
Long, James L. land of the Nakota: The story of the Assiniboine Indians. The Montana Historical Society; Riverbend Publishing 2004.
Schultz, J. Willard Life Among the Blackfeet. The Museum of the Fur Trade Quarterly V.31#2 Summer 1995 Chadron, Nebraska
