powwow

n.

1. A council or meeting with or of Native Americans.
2. 1. A Native American shaman.
   2. A ceremony conducted by a shaman, as in the performance of healing or hunting rituals.
3. Informal. A conference or gathering.

intr.v. Informal, -wowed, -wow·ing, -wows.
To hold a powwow.

[Narragansett powwaw, shaman.]

WORD HISTORY   Because trances were so important to the Native American shaman as a means of getting in touch with spiritual forces beyond the ken of the normal person, the title powwaw, literally meaning "one who has visions," was accorded him. An occurrence of this word in an early piece of propaganda designed to bring more settlers to New England represents fairly well the Puritan attitudes to the religion of the native inhabitants of the New World: "The office and dutie of the Powah is to be exercised principally in calling upon the Devil; and curing diseases of the sicke or wounded." The word whose spelling was eventually settled in English as powwow was also used as the name for ceremonies and councils, probably because of the important role played by the shaman in both. Eventually the newcomers decided that they could have powwows too, the first reference to one of these being recorded in the Salem, Massachusetts, Gazette of 1812: "The Warriors of the Democratic Tribe will hold a powwow at Agawam on Tuesday next." The verb powwow, "to confer," was recorded even earlier, in 1780.

(POU-wou)

noun
1. A Native American ceremony featuring dances, feasting, fair, etc.
2. A Native American shaman.
3. A meeting, conference, or get-together.

verb intr.
1. To hold a powwow.
2. To confer.

Etymology
From Narragansett powwaw (shaman).

Usage
"Putin himself went on a charm offensive Thursday at a meeting in the Kremlin with executives of more than a dozen leading Western and Russian investment banks. The unprecedented powwow came less than an hour after prosecutors announced they had seized the Yukos shares as collateral for the $1 billion Khodorkovsky allegedly cost the state." — Catherine Belton; Kremlin Tempers Attack on Yukos; Moscow Times (Russia); Nov 3, 2003.

"At one point during the annual sales powwow at a San Francisco convention center in August, a wizened (John) Chambers came out from behind the podium to be closer to the 10,000 salespeople." — Peter Burrows; Cisco's Comeback; Businessweek (New York); Nov 24, 2003.

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For more information on powwow, visit Britannica.com.

noun

A meeting for the exchange of views: colloquium, conference, discussion, parley, seminar. Slang rap session. See meet, words.

verb

To meet and exchange views to reach a decision: advise, confer, consult, deliberate, parley, talk. See collect/distribute, meet, words.

n

Definition: discussion
Antonyms: quiet

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Origin: 1625

The Indians taught the English settlers not only about the natural features of their new home, but also about politics, business, and diplomacy. A powwow was a shaman or worker of magic. A report from New England, published in 1625, refers to "a Powah, one of special note amongst them." A powwow was also a council meeting or conference, often involving a certain amount of noisy ceremony. When in the course of succeeding centuries American politicians or tradespeople got together to celebrate and plan, there was no better name for it than powwow, a meeting with a "wow."

In the twentieth century, American Indians have developed their own modern sense for powwow. It is now the name for a gathering at which traditional Indian dances and songs are performed.

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Powwow, a Native American gathering centered around dance. In post–World War II America, "powwow," derived from the Narragansett word for "shaman," became the term for the Plains Indians social dance that spread to all fifty states, Canada, and Europe. Held indoors or outdoors, powwows typically occur as Saturday afternoon or evening single events, three-day weekend events, or week-long annual events. Powwows vary regionally and attract Native Americans, non-Indian hobbyists, and tourists who travel to rural and urban tribal, intertribal, and hobbyist venues to socialize in and around the circular powwow arena. Powwows commemorate Indian culture and entertain.

Powwows originated in Oklahoma in the mid-nineteenth century, when intertribal warfare transformed into visiting and dancing networks that expanded through common experiences in boarding schools, Wild West shows, the peyote religion, and the Ghost Dance. The most popular powwow dance, the war dance, evolved from the War Dance Complex of the Southeastern Ceremonial Complex (A.D. 800–1500) and was aboriginal to the Caddoan-speaking Pawnees and the Dhegihan Omahas, Poncas, and Osages. From these groups the war dance diffused in the 1860s to the northern Plains tribes, where it became the Omaha dance or grass dance. In the early 1880s, the war dance appeared in western Oklahoma as the Crow dance or the Ohomo dance. By the mid-twentieth century, the Oklahoma or southern Plains variant of the war dance became the straight dance.

Heightened involvement in tourism and contest dancing in the early 1920s compelled western Oklahoma tribes to transform the war dance into the fast-paced, colorful fancy dance, which became the main attraction of powwows. A typical Oklahoma-influenced powwow features several dance styles: gourd dance, round dance, fancy dance, straight dance, traditional dance, two-step dance, women's fancy shawl and jingle dress dances, and perhaps hoop dance or shield dance. Singers in Oklahoma prefer a southern drum, whereas northern Plains singers maintain a northern drum style.

Bibliography

Galloway, Patricia, ed. The Southeastern Ceremonial Complex: Artifacts and Analysis. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1989.

Kavanaugh, Thomas W. "Powwows." In Encyclopedia of North American Indians. Edited by Frederick E. Hoxie. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1996.

Powers, William K. War Dance: Plains Indian Musical Performance. Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 1990.

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Dansk (Danish)
n. - indiansk medicinmand, besværgelsesceremoni, konference, passiar
v. intr. - helbrede ved besværgelse, konferere, sludre

Nederlands (Dutch)
indianen conventie, indiaanse ceremonie, medicijnman, drukke bijeenkomst, discussie

Français (French)
n. - assemblée d'Indiens d'Amérique, (fig) discussion importante
v. intr. - discuter, négocier

Deutsch (German)
n. - Pow-Wow, Besprechung
v. - sich beraten

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - σύσκεψη (στελεχών επιχειρήσεως), διάσκεψη
v. - διασκέπτομαι, είμαι σε διάσκεψη

Italiano (Italian)
discussione, stregone, tener consiglio, esercitare magia

Português (Portuguese)
n. - curandeiro (m), conferência (f), reunião (f)
v. - praticar curandeirismo, participar de conferência

Русский (Russian)
совещание, совещаться

Español (Spanish)
n. - conferencia
v. intr. - conferenciar

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - rådslag, möte, samtal, besvärjelsefest (Am. indian.)
v. - rådslå, pratas vid, hålla besvärjelsefest (Am.indian.)

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
仪式, 医师, 巫师, 商谈, 举行祈祷仪式, 开会

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 儀式, 醫師, 巫師
v. intr. - 商談, 舉行祈禱儀式, 開會

한국어 (Korean)
n. - (북아메리카 원주민의) 주술사[의식]
v. intr. - ~의 의식을 행하다

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - まじない師, 交渉, 会合
v. - まじないをする, 協議する, …にまじないをする

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) البوو : كاهن او طبيب هندي أحمر, مهرجان صاخب يقيمه الهنود (فعل) يقيم مهرجان, يعغقد مؤتمر‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮אסיפה, דיון‬
v. intr. - ‮ניהל דיון, ניהל אסיפה‬

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