09/23/2025
JOE TOHONNIE JR. AND WHITE MOUNTAIN APACHE CROWN DANCERS – Indian Village New Mexico State Fair 2025 – Evening Fire Ceremony - Native Media Network
PREPARING FOR BLESSING CEREMONY – BODY, SPEECH, AND MIND.
Dear Friends and Relatives:
The Evening Fire Ceremony and Blessing for all in need of Solace and Spiritual guidance by Joe Tohonnie Jr. summoned the creator with prayer and the Crown dancers blessed the Indian Village Arena and People attending the event.
The Chants and Dancing invited the Thunder Spirits with Lightning with a torrential rain blessing the people and purifying all negativity.
There are five Crown Dancers, including four masked dancers representing the directions of north, south, east, and west. And a fifth dancer, the clown, who protects the others by driving away evil spirits with the sound of his hummingbull-roarer, a thin piece of wood suspended from a string and swung in a circle.
Joe Tohonnie Jr. Explains the significance of the White Mountain Crown Dance and the Blessings they perform. https://nm.pbslearningmedia.org/resou... Joe Tahonie Jr., White Mountain Apache Crown Dancers, ExpoNM, Native Media Network
Crown Dancing is a very old and sacred dance tradition. According to Apache belief, the dance was taught to the Apache by the mountain spirits as a means of healing. The Crown Dancers are the Gaan or mountain spirits. Apache’s believe that Usen, the Creator, sent the Gaan to the Apache to teach them to live in harmony.
The dancers decide what symbols to put on their crowns. Symbols often honor forms in nature, and many crowns include the Apache cross to signify the four sacred directions. Some crown headdresses are adorned with eagle feathers, because the eagle is sacred to the Apache. Lightning, another sacred symbol, is often painted on the bodies of Apache Crown Dancers.
The dancers are not allowed to talk to one another, so they communicate with their sticks during the dance.
The White Mountain Apache Crown Dancers ceremony is a ritual where the dancers embody the Gaan (Mountain Spirits) through masks and ornate wooden crowns to celebrate community and tradition, often performed during a Sunrise Dance (coming-of-age ceremony) for young Apache women. The five dancers include a "clown" and others representing cardinal directions, using their movements and dances to influence weather, bring blessings, heal the sick, and protect the village.
PURPOSE AND SIGNIFICANCE OF CROWN DANCE.
• Spiritual Connection:
The dancers, known as the Gaan, act as spiritual messengers, channeling the sacred power of the Mountain Spirits to the community.
• Blessings and Protection:
The ceremony is performed to bless the newly initiated girl, purify the village, influence the weather, and protect the community from evil spirits.
• Community and Tradition:
The dance celebrates and reinforces community bonds, honors ancestors, and passes on traditional Apache wisdom.
The Dancers and Regalia
• Embodiment of the Gaan:
Dancers wear black masks and elaborate, symbolic wooden crowns adorned with mirrors and sometimes feathers.
• The Five Dancers:
• A group of five dancers are involved:
• Four Directional Dancers: Represent the cardinal directions (North, South, East, West).
• The Clown: A fifth dancer who is a messenger, guide, and performer of specific blessings.
• Bonfire and Music:
• The dance typically takes place around a bonfire at night, accompanied by singing and drumming from a group of men.
• Sacred Herbs and Symbols:
• Sacred herbs, like cattail pollen, are used for blessings, and symbols such as lightning are painted on the dancers' bodies.
• Connection to the Sunrise Dance:
• The Crown Dance often occurs on the final night of the Sunrise Dance ceremony, where a girl transitions into womanhood.
The sacred fire serves as a physical and spiritual anchor for the ceremony.
• Symbolic portal: The fire is viewed as a "spiritual doorway" that opens to the spirit world, allowing for communication with ancestors. It is a way for participants to offer prayers and connect with those who have passed on.
• Purification and healing: The bonfire's cleansing properties are used to purify the space and drive away any negative or evil spirits. In the context of a healing ritual, the fire is an important element for spiritual and physical cleansing.
• A focus for the dance: The Crown Dancers, who embody the Gaan (Mountain Spirits), perform their dances and chants around the bonfire. The fire's light and warmth enhance the nighttime ceremony and provide a focal point for the ritual.
• Connection and community: Like other sacred fires in indigenous traditions, the bonfire provides a central gathering point for the community to come together to celebrate, share food, and reflect on their purpose.
• Traditional protocols: The bonfire is attended by a Fire Keeper, a person responsible for maintaining the fire throughout the ceremony to ensure it is never left unattended. Only sacred items, such as to***co, sweetgrass, and sage, are placed into the fire.
Joe Tohonnie Jr. never intended to spend his life making spiritual music and leading a dance troupe. But when he was 6 years old, his grandfather told him that he had to learn and practice the music, dances, and blessings of his people. “I said I didn’t want to do it and tried to make him see that. I wasn’t given a choice,” Tohonnie says. “Now I know it was my destiny.”
Tohonnie and his Apache Crown Dancers travel throughout the United States performing sacred dances and indigenous music and providing blessings at the gatherings. It’s not a commercial venture, he says. “I am not a traditional singer. I do this for my people in the tradition of my grandfather.”
Tohonnie generally records and distributes his music for free. Two of his records — Apache Blessings & Crown Dance Songs and Ceremony — have won him highly coveted Grammy Award nominations for Best Regional Roots Music Album.
But it’s the music, more than the awards, that has won him a cross-cultural fan base. Tohonnie says he’s quick to point out to Native American kids with musical aspirations that they should not try to replicate his style but should instead hone their individual talents. Tohonnie believes that’s the way Native American music and traditions will continue to spread.
“My greatest goal is to have my culture and our traditions out there in the world,” he says. “I want to let the world see that you don’t have to be Native American to enjoy and be blessed by these things. We are all human beings — we’re all from the same blood, the same bodies, the same hearts. I am just so honored to have people inspired by my music.”
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“The Sacred and Its Sacredness Are Alive and Well through the Wisdom and Ceremonies of the Elders”
Harmon
Share your wealth; Share your love; Share your song; Share yourself; Give thanks to the creator for what you have.
INDIGENIZE, TELL STORIES, LAUGH, SING, PRAY, FAST AND MEDITATE, HONOR MOTHER EARTH, GIVE THANKS FOR WHAT YOU HAVE, SEEK THE WISDOM OF THE ELDERS !!!!
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JOE TOHONNIE Jr. and the WHITE MOUNTAIN APACHE CROWN DANCERS – PREPARING FOR BLESSING CEREMONY
(Click on YouTube panel on right to view more videos of Indian Village events and performances 2025)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8gf9rioWPg&list=PLigi6CIdVC_GJH92S6UtKnsAV-8pkfwWh&index=82
EVENING FIRE CEREMONY - JOE TAHONNIE JR. AND WHITE MOUNTAIN APACHE CROWN DANCERS – Indian Village New Mexico State Fair – 2025PREPARING AND BLESSING THE FIRE...
