Existing comment:
RETURN TO BIG CYPRESS
30" X 48" Oil Painting
A Seminole family's arrival for the Green Corn Dance celebration.
Where the narrow waterway opens into the welcoming cove, the old ones and the chickees of the reserve beckon the young family back to their tribal lands. It is the season of the Green Corn Dance. The annual ritual is generally observed in Native American cultures and the Tribe of the Florida Seminoles place great importance on this springtime event when the stalks of brilliant green display their greatest promise.
It is a celebration of feast and thanksgiving. It's a time for atonement and forgiving. It's a time for the tribe's accounting for their affairs and for attending to the matters of the community in the Big Cypress Tribal Reserve. For example, young couples who have eloped during the previous year are welcomed back into their families and accepted into the tribal clan of the bride.
The ancient rituals, the telling of the past times and legends, give spirit to the elders. The folklore, dance, and songs bring delight to the young. For generations the tribes have embraced the ceremonial drinking of the Black Drink during this celebration, a curious and mystical practice that has always been a part of the seasonal event and as well as consultations with the tribe's Medicine Man.
With a sense of renewed spirit and ties to family and clan redeemed, the Seminoles will go forth into another long and sweltering Florida summer, to be followed by what may be a severe winter. Many trials to body and soul will tempt and temper their hearts until; once again, the narrow waterway will open into the welcoming cove at Big Cypress. |