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We’ve come to the end of the Crow Fair for 2015. This is the day that the closing ceremony is held and that concludes the Fair. The ceremony takes place throughout the camp. The four points of the compass have been marked and as the people gather at the first one the drums commence. The participants dance around the circle, and then they move on to the next point until all points have been visited and the final dance is done.

One of the participants told me that this is their most important get together. It is their biggest holiday. It’s like their New Year’s Day and the ceremony performed art the end of the get together covers several aspects of their life. It is a time of thanksgiving for the good things that happened last year, it is a blessing on the people and their land, and it is a time to ask for a good year ahead. It is a religious and spiritual holiday as much as a secular and celebratory one.

The ceremony consists of the participants dancing around the drummers while songs are sung, They dance in a circle then leave that starting point to complete the same activities at each of the four points. When they’re finished they have danced in the circle four times and have completed the bigger circle of celebrating at each point. Another circle has been completed.

Thesis the first point of the ceremony and the drummers have started. A small crowd of participants have gathered to commence dancing.

Those that been chosen to lead the dancers during the ceremony are the first to enter the circle. Soon others will join into the line and dance.

The men started the dance and the women soon join them

They dance around the drummers with more people joining

When the correct number of revolutions around the drummers have been taken and the ceremonial procedures completed they start out for the next point on the circuit.

By now many more dancers have joined the line and follow on to the next point

The drummers are the last to leave and bring up the rear of the line playing as they walk.

The leaders are nearing the second point as they walk by teepees and a horse

The leaders  are continually dancing as they head into the second area

They begin to dance the circle with everyone following

The dancers wave as a greeting that can mean hello or good by

 

The circle is fully formed and the dancers wait as ceremonial issues are completed

There is a final dance around the circle

Participants are deeply moved during the ceremonies

They leave the second point to journey to the third

By now there are a huge number of participants as more and more join the journey. The  weather has been threatening since the start of the ceremony and it is approaching the dancers with high winds and the threat of rain. A few sprinkles have  started and the temperature has dropped significantly.

At the third point the rain is closing in from the right, just over the crest of the low hill. The dancers continue and the circle is becoming very large as all the dancers fill up the circle. The wind is becoming much stronger and there is a sense of heightened drama as if the weather feels the need to join with the ceremony.

The rain broke and as the celebrants journeyed to the fourth and final point, umbrellas came out for those that had them and others continued on disregarding the rain

The ritual greeting is offered

The drummers following never missed a beat, the sounds of the drum holding everybody together.

At the final point of the ceremony the drummers set up, the pipe has been lit and passed among them as it has been at every stop of the ceremony, the circle has formed and the rain is ignored as it falls harder.

The participants stand quietly in the downpour listening and watching the final moments of the ceremony. This only happens once a year and it is happening now. Everything is very real in what could be a surreal experience. The ceremony, the rain, the feeling of connection with the earth and each other is a feeling felt by everyone participating, dancers and viewers alike. This is one of those experiences that has been etched on my soul. The Crow and others tribes have retained something important that I believe we have lost. A sense of community and family that transcends weather and adversity and even time to create a bond that is reinforced by these gatherings. When they leave this ceremony and go their separate ways they are not apart, they are not alone, they have their tribe, their culture, their heritage and each other. They have a real feeling of belonging. Something that is disappearing in our culture. I envy them.

With the final ceremony completed and the rain letting up a little everyone dances a final circuit of the circle then it’s over. The 2015 Crow Fair is done for this year.

After the closing ceremonies are over those members of the tribe that live some distance away begin the task of taking down their lodges, tearing down the rest of the camp and heading home. it is a bittersweet moment to see the bare lodge poles sticking up. But as they say, There’s always next year.