by Leah Flowers
15 September 2024
There are many rich and beautiful traditions from around the world and throughout history in which dances are used as a moving supplication. As one can imagine, rain dances are likely to be a part of any culture where rain is not abundant, such as the Wu shamans in China (Marshall), the Khoisan in Southern Africa (“Calls For Removal”), and Romanians of Eastern Europe (Dion and Florescu). In North America, the Ohlone in central California practice a rain dance; and the Hopi in Arizona are known to practice a dance that is an intercession for rain, but it is called the Snake Dance (Forrest).
The Ohlone of today dance for rain in drought-stricken California. In 2014, one Ohlone woman, interfaith minister Ann-Marie Sayers, felt a flash of inspiration to invite as many people as she could, anyone in the town, to join in on a rain dance ‘for the good of Mother Earth,’ she said, “In the moment when the dance begins, when the intent is pure, there is power in collective energy. My mother told me that when ceremony and dancing end, the world ends. I believe that,” (Marcum). Her ex-husband, Chief Sonne Reyna, also a minister, invited his parishioners that day to “Join the circle. Take your place. We are all tribal people.” Young and old alike formed concentric circles, resting a hand on the shoulder of the person before them, and danced around and back, chanting, “Mak-et tcite. Amani auye tura. Amani, amani, amani,” (We dance for you. Rain awaken thunder. Rain, rain, rain” (Marcum).
The Hopi still perform their rain ritual today, but outsiders are not invited to watch or participate. Accounts from the 1800s tell of dancers holding live diamondbacks and sidewinders in their mouths, “the snakes are believed to be messengers that will carry the prayers of this desert tribe to the gods of the underworld to send rain and to inform their deities that the Hopis still live in the old way of their ancestors. The ‘underworld,’ which is beneath the earth’s surface, is the Hopi heaven” (Forrest).
Now, while there are many rain dance rituals, the Sioux people are not among those with such a tradition (“Rain Dance”). The Sioux are a conglomerate of different tribal groups, which are themselves divided further (“Sioux”). The tribe at the heart of The Minutes are the Miniconjou (whose name translates as “planters beside the stream”) (Rosebud) of the Lakota Teton Sioux. Even though the Lakota do not have a rain dance, rain still has significant meaning to them.
The Lakota’s sacred Medicine Wheel is a symbol of knowledge, power, and the elements. To them, rain is associated with the Western aspect: “It is this direction that is connected with the power of the rain and of the water, which is used to purify. Joy and growth always follow the rain and a release from ignorance. West is the home of the powerful Thunder-being who flies in the midst of the thunderstorms as a huge bird. His wings produce the thunder, and the lightning flashes from his eyes. It is in this being the one who stands against evil and ensures the respect of the others” (“Lakota Medicine Wheel”). The color and animal spirit guide are not consistent across different tribes, however the Medicine Wheel meaning is consistent and, indeed, sacred to the Lakota.
In The Minutes, rain is mentioned time and again. At the top of the play, Peel enters “soaking wet” from the rain. When he says the invocation, he comments that there might be too much rain. And at one point, Oldfield says, “Listen to that rain. They’ll have to build an ark to get us all out of here” (Letts). It’s possible that Letts took inspiration from Lakota belief – writing the play such that the rain has come to purify the town of Big Cherry and that the animal spirit guide associated would symbolically stand against the evil that persists in the town. However, there are many meanings for rain in U.S. mainstream culture that could be equally as likely to have influenced Letts’s choice to set the meeting during a heavy rainstorm. [Spoilers to follow]. Most obviously, rain symbolizes sorrow as seen in The Piano (1993) when Ada McGrath loses her finger and in the funeral scenes in Batman Begins (2005) and Dragon: the Bruce Lee Story (1994). It can represent secrets being washed away, as seen in Pride & Prejudice (2005) when Mr. Darcy declares his feelings for Ms. Bennet and in The Notebook (2004) where Allie Hamilton learns that Noah Calhoun actually did write to her every day. Lesser thought-of associations are almost more powerful, such as when rain represents determination as seen in The Truman Show (1998) where Truman Burbank struggles to find his way out of the studio and in The Last Samurai (2003) when Nathan Algren keeps fighting even when there is no hope of winning. Finally, and maybe most importantly, rain can represent freedom, as seen in Shawshank Redemption (1994) when Andy Dufresne finally breaks free, he opens his arms to the rain and celebrates.
There are various meanings to rain and all of these associations are relevant. As with any art, it is open to differing opinions. For me, I like the interpretation that the rain in The Minutes is like the presence of the animal spirit guide looming – through its determination truth will come, freedom will come, and the dirt of a horrific past will be washed away.
Sources:
“Calls for the removal of Khoisan illustration on Namaqua wines.” Youtube, uploaded by SABC News, 25 September 2020, https://youtu.be/VQVz8LX74uI.
Dion, Sonia, and Florescu, Cristian. “Papapruda: Ritual dance from Moldova, Romania.” SoCal Folk Dance, https://socalfolkdance.org/dances/P/Paparuda_A_Romanian.pdf.
Forrest, Earle R. “The Snake Dance of the Hopi Indians.” Westernlore Press, 1961, Palms Trading Company, https://www.palmstrading.com/the-snake-dance-of-the-hopi-indians/.
“Lakota Medicine Wheel.” Lakota Culture, Akta Lakota Museum & Cultural Center, https://aktalakota.stjo.org/lakota-culture/lakota-medicine-wheel/.
Letts, Tracy. (2023). The Minutes. Acting Edition. Samuel French.
Marshall, Alison R. “Engendering mediumship: When youths performed the rain dances in Han dynasty China.” Sage Journals, March 2023, vol. 32, no. 1-2, https://doi.org/10.1177/000842980303200105.
“Rain Dance, Correcting the Myth.” Partnership with Native Americans, 18 APril 2017, https://nativepartnership.org/blog/history-culture-justice-category/rain-dance-correcting-the-myth/.
Rosebud Sioux Tribe. “History and Culture.” https://www.rosebudsiouxtribe-nsn.gov/history-culture.
“Sioux.” Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America, Rebecca Crown Library, Dominican University, 8 August 2024, https://research.dom.edu/NativeAmericanStudies/sioux.