Cherokee Dance and Drama

Traditionally, the Cherokees dance to insure individual health and social welfare. According to legend, the dance songs bequeathed to them by the Stone Coat monster will assuage all the ills that the monster brought. Winter dances are to be given only during the winter, lest they affect the growth of vegetation by attracting cold and death. The summer dances are associated with crops and vegetation. The volume of dance customs and rites is very readable and beautifully illustrated.