Question about Jingle Dresses...

[Pawnee Scout]

My question is how many rows of jingles are there, traditionally, to a jingle dress. Also, what do the number of rows represent? There is a lot of information out there that is conflicting to me, and I would like what everyone else has to say.

Ah-Ho (Thank you)
:)

[Baker Bay Bead Co.]

On the whole it is up to the dancer's taste and design. Traditionally there are 365 jingle cones on a dress but they can be in any order or number of rows. It can take 250 to 500 jingles for a good dress... depending on the dancers size, taste and if your bending your own cones. Some make their jingles quite large while others like them smaller, slimmer and delicate. Note: that the smaller sized jingles will cover less space. The sound is from the cones touching so the closer the cones are together the better the sound.
I hope this will help you in your decision process. If we can be of any help, please give us a holler.

Baker Bay Bead Co.

This book is a great resource for history and creating regalia BK82 Pow-Wow Dancer's and Craftworker's Handbook

We also carry the cones:
BR197 Toddler Jingle Cones

BR198 Small Jingle Cones

BR200 Adult Jingle Cones

[soopashinaab]

Not to burst your bubble but 365 cones is a hoax, a made up notion, it's non existent in Ojibwe culture. The very same culture that the jingle dress originated from. There is no plausible reason to have 365 cones on a dress, I don't know who started that whole lie, but plain and simple it's a lie. Please do your research on the dress, some people say the 365 is in honor of the 365 days in a year. We didn't live our lives by a calendar, we lived by the seasons and the lunar cycles. The Roman calendar has a leap year to account for the extra 1/4 day a year, that would mean you have a 1/4 cone on your dress, and you wear a dress with 366 cones on a leap year?? You can have as many or as little cones on your dress as you see fit.

[soopashinaab]

As for the number of rows.. don't get lost in the "meaning" a lot of things have been allowed to be morphed into some new age BS. Contact the one called Ojibway Sweetie she would have good answers for you. Good luck