Pow-Wow

Did you know that Native North American women used to gather once a week for a pow-wow?

A pow-wow is much like a chin-wag, and a chin-wag is much like a natter, except it can also include singing, dancing and all that fun stuff. Women gather to talk and discuss problems - they all share their knowledge and advice.

Another main difference between a natter and a pow-wow is that at a pow-wow if you’ve had the same problem for 3 weeks you are no longer allowed to discuss it with the group. At this point you will have had all the advice people are able to give, and it’s your turn to either fix the problem, or forget about it.

I think this is a good idea, because it creates a sense of personal responsibility when it comes to people’s problems. I’m not in favour of suffering in silence, not at all, but I agree with these very clever women – 3 weeks is a good amount of time, with the help of your friends, to get any problem you may have well on the way to being resolved.

And if you don’t agree... well you’ve still learnt an interesting fact today! Isn’t that lovely?