The Wampanoag Nation Singers and Dancers hail from the communities of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe on Cape Cod and the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) on Martha’s Vineyard. They performed at Jacob’s Pillow as part of The Land on Which We Dance—a weeklong celebration of Indigenous dance and culture in 2019—sharing traditions native to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Calumet is a dance typically done at Wampanoag Nation gatherings to give thanks. Performed specifically by men, this dance pays honor to the four cardinal directions, evoking the shape, sound, and smoke of Wampanoag tobacco pipes, which are used by men in prayers and offerings. The Eastern Blanket Dance is a community ritual performed traditionally by women after they have been proposed to. If a woman approves of her suitor, at the end of the dance she will drop her blanket at his feet and he will wrap them in the blanket together, which signals their intentions to the community.
Read More
