The Jingle Dancer, her dress is decorated with small cone shaped bells, making a rythmic shling a ling sound as she goes through her paces... 'tis true magic to behold.... I asked an Elder a few years ago about the origin of the Jingle Dancer, and this is what she told me... In the early years of life on Turtle Island (North America), before the White Man came, the gathering darkness tried to take over and enslave the people. The only thing that kept the darkness away was the sound of a bell (usually made out of clay) and every tipi had one. One night, the darkness gthered some of it's forces of evil and tried to take over a village. It gathered it's strength hoping it would be powerful enough to defeat the bells. The night, the Medicine Man had his daughter go out into the gathering gloom, with a few of the bells attached to her dress... she danced at the front of the village and the sound of the bells on her dress as she danced drove the darkness away. The second night, the darkness tried again, this time with more evil in it's grasp.... again the girl went out and danced in front of the village, again, driving the darkness away. On the third night, the darkness gathered all the evil in the world for a final assault on the village, not willing to stop until the village was it's to hold.... This time the girl went out, her dress lined with every bell in the village. Even weighted down by all the bells, she started dancing, and danced, and danced... she danced all night long, the sound of the bells destroying the evil in the darkness... she danced and danced and danced until the sun rose, and drove the darkness away.... and she protected the village, her people, her land. Now, there is night, but not darkness... and that's the story I was told, and I'm sticking to it. comments welcome, please enjoy!