Dance was a large part of art in Apache culture. There were various dances for religious purposes where the people would pray to their gods for certain things and worship them, and there were other dances celebrating rites of passage. War dances were religious; they were meant to pray to the gods for blessings during the next upcoming battle. Spirit dances worshiped the spirits they believed in for all of their blessings. Gods and spirits they honored were Ussen, their creator, the ga'ans, protective mountain spirits, the sun god, and other lesser gods from the creation story and other myths.
The sunrise dance was one of the very important dances celebrating a girl's entrance to womanhood in the Apache people's culture. Most dances lasted for four days, because four was a magical and sacred number in their religion (more on the sunrise dance in my religion post).
Stories and myths were another major part in Apache art. They were all sacred and were passed down from generation to generation. Many myths and stories were told to children by their grandparents so that they could learn from others' experiences, and the most important, ancient, and sacred myths were illustrated on pottery. These myths, like the creation story, were so well-known that the illustrations on the pottery would be all that was needed to tell the story. Pottery was both meant for every-day uses and religious purposes.
| The basket women wore on their backs. |
| An example of a star design artistically woven into the basket. |
Apache women created baskets. Baskets were mainly used, like pottery, for every day causes. When Apache bands migrated and set up camp in another area, it was the Apache woman's job to wear a large basket on her back containing every crucial provision for her family such as clothing, food, tools and weapons. Other baskets that stored less important items and were kept in the house were woven with symbolic shapes on them and sacred colours.
The materials that were used for artistic purposes in Apache culture were only what they could find around them in the environment. Baskets were made of cedar, and turquoise was a main material in their jewelry. The paints they used were dyes made from flowers and other colorful plants.
The drum was the only main Apache instrument. It was made from dried and stretched animal skins, and played only during powwows and dances. Devil-dancers played drums to scare away evil spirits(more about devil-dancers in my religion post).
Since survival was one of the main obstacles in Apache culture, they did not have a lot of free time, so they cleverly worked art into the creation of their everyday belongings. Pots and baskets were crafted by women and girls for the family, so the artists did not profit from their work.
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