What is the difference between Northern and Southern Drum in Native American dance?

Answer 1

The dance, the song, the drum.

All three of these are extremely important to the Native American culture and way of life. This is clearly seen by their use in Pow wows, shows, and contests across the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The drum beat symbolizes the heart beat, either of the human being or Mother Earth, depending on the tribal or regional beliefs, living and thriving in the circle of life. The song is the voice of the Native peoples, the dance a tribute to movement and the cycle of life, both honoring and thanking the Creator who brought about and cares for all life in existence.

Northern and Central America where the Native people made their home, and where they still dwell today, is a vast land filled with all different ecosystems and landscapes. From the strong Rocky Mountains surrounded by vast, green forests, to the low, hot valley of what is today Phoenix, Arizona, to the Great Plains which stretch all the way from Oklahoma to the Prairies of Canada.

These different regions, though having many similarities, do differ in certain cultural and spiritual aspects of their lives. The tribes of the North and those of the South have different ceremonial practices, including the use of the drum and song.

Northern singers, often having a more falsetto pitch than those in the south, sit together, men and women alike, around the drum. The drum, often a small commercial bass drum, is about 26 inches in diameter, with about 7-8 male drummers and 2-3 female drummers. The Southern drums are usually larger, wooden drums covered in some type of hide, with only men allowed to sit around and strike the drum in the inner circle, while the women stand around them in the second row, also singing.

Another difference in the two region's drumming and singing are the songs themselves. Songs vary greatly even from tribe to tribe, but there are certain differences in the organization and format of these songs from the Northern and Southern tribes which include, but are not limited to: rhythm, different placement of the chorus and refrains, lyrics, and lyrical meaning.