You can feel it in the drums. It starts in your feet and goes all the way through you and makes you connected. Men perform the gourd dance decked out in traditional regalia, usually a long-sleeve shirt and pants, a gourd sash or vest, and a rattle. Women, with colorful shawls wrapped around their shoulders, stand on the sidelines swaying to the drumbeats in traditional honor of warriors. The drums and singers are the voice, heart and soul of the powwow.
Vocables are sounds replacing words so singers of various tribes can sing together.
The drumbeat is considered the collective heartbeat of Native American Indians and the drum is a sacred object. A drum, a large instrument, is played by an average of 10 people - seven or eight men and two or three ladies, sometimes, all men. The drummers and singers performed a variety of vocable renditions during the festivities, including flag songs, victory songs, honor songs for World War I, World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War and Desert Storm veterans. The grand entry is a spectacular event. Then all the powwow dancers dance into the arena.