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MEANING OF
THE WORD "POWWOW"
"Powwow was an Algonquin term, "pau-wau"
or "pauau", which referred to a gathering of medicine men
and spiritual leaders. "Pau-wauing" referred to a religious
ceremony, usually one of curing. In the 1800's the European
explorers observing these religious gatherings and dances
mispronounced the word as powwow. Jennings, The Invasion of
America, p. 241. In 1646 the Massachusetts General Court
decreed that “no Indian shall at any time pawwaw, or perform
outward worship to their false gods, or to the devil....”
~From William Marder |
