Jingle Dress Story of Healing-
The Jingle Dress was seen in a dream, as an object to bring healing to afflicted people. It comes from the Northern tribe Ojibewea, or Chippewea, along the Canadian border.
A medicine man's granddaughter became very ill one day. In a dream, his spirit guides told him to make a jingle dress for her and have her dance in it. This, he was told would heal her. When the outfit was finished, the tribe assembled for a dance. On her first time around, the illness would not permit her to dance and she was carried. As time went on she was soon dancing in the circle.
Jingle cones are made from flat lids no lip snuff lids, cut into a pie shape then incised, and rolled into a cone shape over a wooden dowel stick or pencil. A father or brother may make 365 cones for a girl's first dress, one cone for each day of that year she will first dance.
The cones will be incised or stamped on the outside with blessings for her.
A hole punched at the top of the cone and heavy duty thread is used to sewn the cones on in a pattern around the dress for swishing sound effect.
Tips- Keep the cones in the back away from the area you sit on, drape/drop the pattern.
Practice up on your toes and down on the flat foot, this creates a wave effect and done in a swing movement the results will be like the wind blowing against stiff cloth, swish swish swish. Don't forget to honor the drum up on toes fan held high. Bee Neidlinger
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Jingle Dress Story
Her name was Mayzie but everyone called her Bright Eyes and she loved to dance.
She was always good at dancing, practicing everyday mostly for exercise and fun, but also for grace. Her elder Auntie told her the story of her birth and how she came out dancing.
The nurse warned her mother to watch out for this little one for within the hour she had rolled over. Much to active for a newborn. Her mother and Auntie who raised her did not mind Bright Eyes energy for she was a respectful child and listened well. At age 17 Mayzie's main joy was going to powwows and dances. She had taught herself to move gracefully, she held her back straight and made sure her dance outfit had everything securely sewn on. She did not want to stop dancing because a ribbon drifted off. She was a careful young woman.
Mayzie had a wish dream for weeks now, she wore a jingle dress instead of her ribbon dress. The dress had 365 cones one for every day of the year. Each tin cone etched with a few good words for her. In her dream she danced rocking her feet, up on her toes, Swish, down on her heel, Swish. she had set the jingles in a wave motion, Swish Swish the bottom fringe of her shawl swayed in rhythm too looking like a rocking wind on a pasture of tall grass. She kept having this same dream every night watching herself dance. But it was just dreaming for she had no Uncle or Dad to make her 365 decorated cones.
Her father and Uncle had died within months of each other of lung cancer a year ago. They had both worked security at the uranium mine on the Navajo Reservation.
In an area that was a sacred place for eons but now scarred by uranium leeching runoff on the face of the rocks. Though they concreted the mine shut it still caused Chinle. No one is allowed near the area for it is radioactive from radon gas. Auntie blamed the dust, on the roadway, tailings and even on the equipment.
Auntie said, "dust inhalation", that is how the spots got on Dad's and Uncle's lungs then leeched thru their bodies. The men who guarded the outside road never wore protective gear when they checked the trucks going in and coming out. The dust would really kick up on many a hot day. The dust they brought home on their clothes, on their skin and in their hair. Washing off outside was what they were told to do. Now the mine is closed but people continue to die. That is how come Mayzie, her Mother, Auntie, and brother ended up living away from the mine area that was once close to their home and into a new area that didn't have waste tailings from the mine.
Her good and bad dreams seemed to be how Mayzie could cope with all that had been lost in just a year a father, a uncle and home, but she would never tell her dreams to anyone for they were hers alone.
Mayzie became consumed with the idea of jingle dancing she borrowed a faded old jingle dress from a heavy set cousin on her mother's side. Though the dress swam on her and a lot of the jingles had been lost. Mayzie wrapped her shawl around her and the dress, she began to sway a rocking motion to get the fringe and jingles swishing in unison like a sea of grass. In her head she heard the big drums heartbeat, she moved her feet slowly, toes first forward, then up on her toes swish was the sound she heard back down, and up again. Holding her shawl closed with one hand, her fan in the other she raised her fan high and honored the drum in her head. Time seemed lost as long as she danced. Swish. Swish. Swish. No one was around.
Auntie saw Bright Eyes practicing the dress did not fit her small frame at all in fact she looked like a clown at the Pueblo plaza. Except her dancing it was fluid when fringe and cones moved upward then backward the swish swish was heard repeated over and over the sound was so soothing. Auntie closed her eyes, yes so relaxing the sound she could go to sleep right here in this lawn chair by the porch door that hid her from sight.
Auntie made it a point that night to tell the story of The Jingle Dance. Mayzie was thrilled for the story never got old for her. Auntie began, "A medicine man's beloved granddaughter was very sick and he asked for help how to treat her, he prayed how to help her heal. In his dream that night, spirit helpers told him to make a jingle dress for her and have her dance in it. The dress must be decorated with shiny glowing cones of metal, one for each day of the year, these are called jingles. Each jingle cone is cut into a triangle, incised with a blessing, and rolled into a cone shape around a wooden stick, then punched with a hole for hanging on the dress. When the grandfather was finished with the dress for his granddaughter, he held a dance for her wellbeing, a ceremony for healing. The first time circling she was to weak and needed the help of all relation, the second circling she danced slowly alone, but soon she was dancing in health and everyone was thankful that she was healed."
Mayzie's only other sibling a brother named Ray age 19 listened to Auntie's story and at the end faked a yawn and said," Clank, clank, that's the sound those cones make." Which only got him a good poke from Auntie on his shoulder.
While Auntie wondered if her story would encourage Ray to make jingle cones for Mayzie she took no chances. Cornering Ray before he could go out for the night, Auntie became blunt. She told Ray that his sister never asked for anything for herself. That she wore his hand me downs like the Navy pea coat still to big on her for she didn't grow into it and wouldn't yet that was his reasoning when he got the new coat he had on now. Blunter yet Auntie said," I'll make the dress you make the jinglecones. " Ray was about to say something back but auntie stopped him with her finger pressed on his lips. Auntie narrowed her eyes, gave him the look and her last words were, "DO IT your the only man we got."
It took Ray 4 weeks and hours he stopped counting to make 365 jingles. When his mother saw his hands bruised and nicked, he told her they got that way working on a car engine.
Ray handed his Auntie a burlap bag, shook it, and whispered, "listen they don't clank."
The dress was fringed in V patterns and sewned in between the long fringe spaced evenly were the cones all the same size each incised with blessing words for Mayzie.
Mayzie had dreamed herself into a dress like this, a jingle dress that went swish, swish, swish. The first time she wore the dress how good she felt, but somberness soon took over her dance and she danced a prayer to heal her sad dreams and sad thoughts. Bee Neidlinger
