Hoag Whitehorn, Lillie. “Lenape Talking Dictionary.” The Lenape Talking Dictionary | Stories – Xkweyok Enta Naxkuhëmënt Enta Këntkahtit. Accessed February 28, 2021. https://talk-lenape.org/stories?id=44.
———. “Lenape Talking Dictionary.” The Lenape Talking Dictionary | Stories – Xkweyok Enta Naxkuhëmënt Enta Këntkahtit. Accessed February 28, 2021. https://talk-lenape.org/stories?id=44.
B- “Origin Story of the Woman Dance” details how the woman dance, a sacred dance practiced in Lenape tradition, came to be. Member of the Delaware Nation Lillie Hoag Whitehorn details how a man went out hunting to support his wife and child at home. In the meantime, the woman tended their garden when she was struck “by the thunders”. The husband returned home after it stopped raining to find his wife dead and burned by the lightening. The husband then brought his wife to the councils and one council shared that he can bring her back if all the woman in the tribe dance and all the men sing for 4 days. If anyone cries for her when she returns on the 4th night then she will be gone forever. Essentially, an older male tribe member saw the woman on the 4th night and cried tears of joy to see her return. Being that he disobeyed the commands of the council, the woman returned to the land of dead.
C- One thing I find interesting is that this story does not provide any names but rather titles and labels that essentially make the characters faceless. I believe the point of this is to firstly make the story easy to pass down as most Native American storytelling is oral. I also believe this is done as faceless characters can be more easily applied to the audiences’ lives than ones that have names and well-developed back stories. Earlier on in the story, the woman is the one who farms while the man hunts. This is another look into the role of women. Women were expected to farm which in Western society is considered a man’s job, while the man hunted which in Western society was considered a sport for the rich and noble. The idea that a woman farms while the man hunts reflects the complementary dynamic in the role of women. Additionally, this dance is unique as it can only be performed by women. Men are not allowed to dance. There is strength in sisterhood as all of the women of the tribe come together. It is the power of these women dancing that brings their sister back to the human realm. Most interestingly, it is a man (an elder) who ruins the ritual by crying for the woman. I do wonder what is the subtext of it being a man who ultimately stops the woman coming back from the dead imply. I think this could potentially reflect how some roles are only for women or only for men however I don’t want to assume and get it wrong as I don’t want to inaccurately represent the tribe so I will have to look into more sources on this story in the future.
A- This source found its way to The Lenape Talking Dictionary to teach Lenape tribe members not only how to speak the Lenape language but also about the stories that act as the foundation for culture and tradition. I believe this story may have been included on this website not only to teach younger members of the tribe the language and pronunciation. but also to provide a broader context of how this story relates to Lenape life.
B- In a broader context, this story provides insight into what sort of role may have occupied. In this story, the ceremony can only be performed by women. This is a broader reflection of the fact that there are certain roles that only women can take part of. Throughout my research, I have discovered that Lenape society is far less patriarchal than Western society and more so complementary. It appears that this ceremony is a reflection of the complementary nature of Lenape culture.