Using Native American Rattles for Indian Ceremonies and Rituals
If you love Native American rattles, you will definitely benefit from adding them to your percussion and powwow circles. Rattles are excellent Native American icons that represent indigenous tribes and their unique culture. They are also among the most popular musical instruments to play in ceremonial rituals in various Indian tribes. Rattles, for many years and for most American Indians, have always had a great role in the spiritual connection with the creator, as well as for use in public gatherings.
As you read about the intriguing history of the American Indians and their use of Native American bells, you will find that they are symbolic among indigenous tribes and essential to the tribal ceremony in which they are used. They are said to symbolize the animal, plant, and mineral kingdoms. The animal kingdom is exemplified in the shape of the rattle’s container or decorative feather. The mineral kingdom is represented by the rocks that create the sound or also by the paint used for the artwork depicted on the rattle. And the vegetable kingdom is symbolized by the mango.
By studying Native American uses of rattles and how they are played, you will learn that virtually all Indian tribes and cultures, including the Navajo culture, play rattles in their ceremonies. Among the many types of Indian rattles, along with the popular pumpkin and tortoise-shell rattles, the simple rawhide rattle is the most widely used in Native American tribes. The images, such as the Navajo bear or the Navajo eagle, used in the illustrations affixed to the bells, differ in each tribe. You will find it interesting that different tribes, including the Cherokee, Navajo, Apache, Pueblo, Zuni, and Hopi, can be identified by the variations of the beautiful art in their crafts. One thing these tribes have in common is that they all ring bells at the many ceremonial events and as part of music, dance, medicine, and spirituality.
Native rattles are really very attractive and are made with a number of natural materials like tortoise shell, leather, rawhide, beads, and Native American feathers. Skins, fringes, seeds, rocks, antlers, horns, bones and shells are used to create that unique Indian style. Sometimes clay pearls, blue corn, manzanita seeds or small smooth stones such as those found in the opening of an anthill are also placed in the bells to give them the desired sound.
The natives have always used music, songs, stories, and legends to express their cultural beliefs and customs with each other and with the outside world. In harmony with these ways of learning, bells have become an important part of the ceremonies and rituals of indigenous peoples.
That is the reason why there is nothing more exciting than owning genuine Indian musical instruments and handicrafts. You can easily buy Indian rattles online and also in stores that sell rustic decor. If you are fascinated by authentic Indian musical instruments, or are looking for the right instrument to use in your drumming ceremonies, you will definitely be drawn to the unique sound of Native American bells.