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Mescalero Apache Spirit Dancer Headdress & Wands

Currency:USD Category:American Indian Art / Clothing - Regalia Start Price:250.00 USD Estimated At:500.00 - 750.00 USD
Mescalero Apache Spirit Dancer Headdress & Wands
Native American Mescalero Apache Spirit Crown Dancer Headdress & Dance Wands, headdress measures 32'' x 30'', the dance wands measure 22'' x 5'', the custom marble stand measures 23.5'' x 8.25''W, very impressive display, FYI: ''The Crown Dancers are the Gaan or mountain spirits. Apaches believe that Usen, the Creator, sent the Gaan to the Apache to teach them to live in harmony. There are five Crown Dancers, four masked dancers representing the directions of north, south, east, and west. The fifth dancer is the clown, who protects the others by driving away evil spirits with the sound of his humming bull-roarer, a thin piece of wood suspended from a string and swung in a circle. The dancers decide what symbols to put on their crowns. Symbols often honor forms in nature, and many crowns include the Apache cross to signify the four sacred directions. Some crown headdresses are adorned with eagle feathers, because the eagle is sacred to the Apache. Lightning, another sacred symbol, is often painted on the bodies of Apache Crown Dancers.''