The Sun Dance O, Wakan Tanka, be merciful to me that my People may live. It is for this that I am sacrificing myself. The Sun Dance is held every year in the month of June or July when the moon was full. It was first uncovered in a vision to a Lakota Indian called Kablaya. Wakan Tanka told him that his People had become way to sluggish in their prayers, so he sent them a new way of praying-the Sun Dance. In a Sun Dance, dancers present their bodies as a sacrifice on behalf of all the Lakota people. Through their sacrifice, the people gain strength and understanding. In the beginning , a large tipi was built and a number of ritual objects gathered or where made. One of these was a round rawhide circle, which represents the sun. It was painted red, with a smaller blue circle in the center, which represented Wakan Tanka. Many singers came to sing the sacred songs, and a drum (its roundness representing the universe, its steady beat the pulse of the heart) was brought. Central to the ceremony was a cottonwood tree, a "rustling" tree, which was placed at the center of the tipi. This rep......

Word Count: 550
Page Count: 2.2 (250 words a page / double spaced)

What is Your Time Worth? Get INSTANT UNLIMITED ACCESS to this Essay
and 15,000 other Essays & Term Papers . Only $12.99!

View This Essay Now

Get instant access to this essay paper and 15,000 term papers, essays, and book reports for only $12.99!
If you wish to view the free essay of The Sun Dance, you must donate an original essay to our web site so that we can grow our collection of free essays, book reports and term papers. Click to donate and then view the entire The Sun Dance essay, term paper or book report for FREE.

Search for other The Sun Dance essays, term papers and book reports.

Other Free Essays, Term Papers and Book Reports:

Dance free essay paper
Dance free essay paper
Religion Vs. Astronomy free book report
Ancient Astronomy free term paper
Ulysses free book report
The Existence Of Aliens free book report
UFO's: Fact or Myth? free term paper
UFO free essay paper
Women's Studies on Sex in Society free book report
Same-Sex Marriages free book report
Protecting Our Children from Protection free essay paper
The Religious Attacks Made By Tartuffe free term paper
Religious Paths free book report
Protestant Reformation free book report
Karma free book report
The Ontological Argument free book report
Paul's Letter to the Galatians free essay paper
Creation or Evolution? free book report
What are the differences between the Indian religion and Catholicism? free essay paper
Buddhist Monks free book report

We realize you have a choice when selecting where to go to find a book report, essay or term paper on The Sun Dance so we appreciate your support in using our essay help and term paper help service.

Dear Free Essays:

Thanks for helping me with my term paper!
With so many essays and term papers on your service, I got a few ideas from mixing and matching and managed to write a great paper in 1/10 the time. My teacher thought so too because I got an A grade. Thank you so much!

Julia B.
Denver, Colorado

I'm very pleased with the quality of your term papers and essays. For all the time and worrying your service saved me from, it was well worth the $12.99.

Brandon W.
Columbus, Ohio

I totally waited to the last minute to work on my term paper and really started to freak. But your site totally came to my rescue and helped me out of a bind. I scored an 89 so I was very pleased. If your crew is ever in San Diego, I'll buy you all a beer!

Greg F.
UC San Diego