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By: Alexis Bliss
The Apache Crown Dancers are White Mountain Apache Tribe members who reside in Whiteriver, Arizona. An old and ethereal dance style is crown dancing. The Apaches learned how to dance as a form of therapy from the mountain spirits, according to legend. The Crown Dancers are the Gaan, or mountain spirits. The Gaan were sent to the Apaches by Usen, the creator, to teach them how to coexist peacefully.
https://ideastream.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/natam.arts.dance.abapache/native-american-culture-about-apache-dances/
The dancers circle a fire as they approach the dance area to get ready for the dance. When the signal is given, singers and drummers start the music, and the dance starts. The Gaan dancers sing and keep the pace on the last night of the Sunrise Dance ceremony. The Gaan dancers lead the crowd around the plaza as they chant and move in time with the girl's steps.
http://nativeamerican-art.com/apache-legend2.html
https://www.arizonamuseumofnaturalhistory.org/explore-the-museum/exhibitions/athapascan-way/apache-gaan-dance
The Gaan dance serves as a ritual of rebirth and healing that guards the Apache against disease and intruders. The Mountain Spirits (the Gaan) are embodied by the performers; they become them.
https://www.arizonamuseumofnaturalhistory.org/explore-the-museum/exhibitions/athapascan-way/apache-gaan-dance
Mountain Spirits hold ceremonies at night for two or four nights in a row. The dancers' torsos are painted with various motifs before each performance. An iconographic image of the "four sacred mountains" is shown descending at an angle across the dancers' chests and backs. This picture shows one of the four "Crown Dancers" for each group, who are similarly attired and constructed each night. The four dancers are understood as embodiments of the four directions.
https://archserve.id.ucsb.edu/courses/rs/natlink/apache/apa_cerem6.htm