The Stomp Dance is Cherokee tradition of immense significance.  The preparations for such a dance were made purposefully and carefully to preserve the rich heritage of this sacred act.  A fire keeper and his assistant begin early dawn lighting the sacred fire.  The fire is very sacred to traditional Cherokees. It is built at the bottom of a pit below the ground, and burns constantly. There are seven arbors encircling the sacred fire. Each arbor represents the seven clans. Wolf (a-ni-wa-ya), Wild Potato (a-ni-go-ta-ge-wi) also known as the Bear Clan, Paint (a-ni-wo-di), Bird Clan (a-ni-tsi-ss-gwa), Long Hair (a-ni-gi-lo-hi) also known as Twister or Wind then the Blind Savannah as known as Blue (a-ni-sa-ho-ni). At sunrise, the men gather to discuss political issues while the women prepare a meal for the day that consists of traditional and modern food.

Sermons are held in the Cherokee language in the early afternoon.  After the sermon, a stickball game is played (an ancient Cherokee tradition that resembles the American La Crosse).  Following the game, sermons resume to fill the afternoon hours.  When the sermons have ended, each clan member takes turn by taking seven puffs of the old ceremonial pipe.  The Chief, medicine men, and elders hold a meeting at which point they call for the first dance. The first dance is by invitation only, tribal elders, elders, medicine men and clan heads.

The Cherokee gather to visit, feast and dance far into the night. The ceremonial gathering place was constructed in the shape of a square. The people arranged themselves an the four sides according to clan or position of authority within the tribe. It is a holy place to worship Unetlanv (the Creator, or God). Rules are written in the Cherokee language and posted on a board hung up for the public. No littering, liquor and rowdy behavior is acceptable.  The dance participants include a leader, assistants and one or more "shell-shakers" who wear leg rattles traditionally made out of turtle shells filled with pebbles.  Today, some Cherokee use cans filled with pebbles to provide rhythmic accompaniment while they dance around the fire. The ceremonial observance involves sacrifices made by the ceremonial leaders, prayers, taking medicine and going to water or river for ritual cleansing, and smoking of the pipe.

 

There are two reasons that it is called a stomp dance. One is the dance style or step itself. This is a slow shuffling stomp of the feet, one after the other (Stomp right, stomp left, stomp right, stomp left, etc).  The second reason is that all dances, whether they are a stomp dance or not, usually use the stomp step. Hence, all dancing is generally categorized as "stomp dancing". The dance usually follows a pattern of choreography as follows: the song leader dances in front, followed by the head shaker (a woman wearing shell or can rattles attached to her calves), behind them come the rest of the singers and shakers, these followed by everyone else. The dance goes around the Fire in a counterclockwise direction, with the heart and left hand toward the Fire, everyone following in the steps of the person in front of them, forming a spiral of dancers.