Native American Music and Dance - Essay Example

Native American Music and Dance Powwow A powwow is primarily a celebration of Native Americanpeople to commemorate their Indian lineage. The celebration is held on a powwow land (Ellis & Lassiter 2005). The props required are beads and quilted war fedoras. The rhythms are yaps and drum beats. Basically, the powwow honors the community’s Indian legacy (Ellis & Lassiter 2005). Powwows, being a cultural display, are meticulously formed depictions, performances, or articulations of Native American past and contemporary reality as they want to express it. Organizing the occasion-- establishing the rules and regulations, registering partakers, and putting in order the activities (Heth 1992)— gives order and furnishes significance to this community gathering. The pan-Indian or supra-tribal feature of the powwow has encouraged scholars, especially anthropologists, to ridicule its recognition among early Indian cultures because they are anxious that it may displace culture-oriented rituals or practices (Heth 1992). Others perceive it as the only Native American blueprint evident in the life of several regional or ethnic groups. The Waccamaw Sioux’s powwow rites (Ellis, Lassiter, & Dunham 2005, 294) present a possibility of taking into account how performance and ceremonies characterize their identity in present-day American culture. Powwows are a vital link between non-Indians and Native Americans, even though numerous conflicts and issues should be addressed so as to build and sustain this cultural connection. Powwows are a quite intricate kind of communication on multiple extents, from the individual to the collective to the political (Ellis & Lassiter 2005). Intertribal arbitrations focus on symbolic practices that act out the divine, strengthening and building a sense of solidarity, connection, and community (Ellis & Lassiter 2005). Some scholars, in investigating the themes of powwow, consider the evolving demographics and of valuing regional or ethnic differences, which are indispensable facts of present-day Native American culture (Koskoff 2005). Intercultural communication focuses on how powwows build a complex system of inter-tribal respect and techniques that enable inter-tribal understanding (Heth 1992). Some anthropologists, according to Koskoff (2005), also deal with the themes of intertribal support, pan-Indianism, and diverse identity. There is unfortunately insufficient literature on Native American powwows and there is no scholarship which deals with the entire intricacy of powwows and their function in Native America. Even though there are more and more scholarly works proclaiming powwows of Native America and taking into account occasions, and there are currently several accurate children’s literature dedicated to the images and sounds of the powwows and the participants, and there are a number of pictures which comprise the issues of the subject (Ellis & Lassiter 2005), there is still inadequate systematic and critical literature on the issue. As stated by Toelken (1991) in his work Ethnic Selection and Intensification in the Native American Powwow (as cited in Stern & Cicala 1991, 137): “Perhaps because their participants seem to be having fun instead of playing to the white stereotype of Indian stoicism… the contemporary intertribal powwow, an increasingly popular vernacular dance expression among Native Americans, has not been given much attention by scholars, even though it has become one of the most common articulations of ‘Indianness’ among Indians today.” Kiowa Song As the language of Kiowa keeps on weakening in its commonplace usage, a song is surfacing as a leading representation for expressing the identity and legacy of the Kiowa people. However, a song cannot be deprived of its storyline perspective; specifically, for numerous Kiowa singers, narrative is entirely important for interpreting songs (May & Hood 1983). Without a narrative, a song is only a cacophony of sound; nevertheless, with a narrative, sound symbolizes an evocative past and recollection put into life through songs (May & Hood 1983). Hence, for Kiowa people, to communicate a song is also to communicate a narrative, and consequently, the procedure of interpreting a song requires the interpretation of the narrative. The storytelling performance illuminates and explains this sung realm of sound that Kiowa people have, by tradition, referred to as ‘daw-gyah’ or ‘catching power’ (Swann 2004, 350). One good example of a narrative that strongly involves this procedure is The Red Wolf Story. This story explains the history of a specific Kiowa song and dance custom nowadays referred to as the ‘Gourd Dance’ (Swann 2004, 350). The Gourd Dance was previously Taimpego’s Ton-ga gkoon or Rattle Dance. The Taimpego is one of the warrior tribes of Kiowa which started to vanish by the early 20th century (Stern & Cicala 1991). Nevertheless, prior to and subsequent to World War 1 and 2, Kiowas practiced the dance to honor Kiowa soldiers. However, at the American Indian Exposition in Oklahoma in 1955, an assembly of Kiowa dancers and singers performed the Taimpego’s dance as a civic exposition (Stern & Cicala 1991). According to some Kiowa people that witnessed this performance, “this presentation brought back memories of our cultural heritage and there were tears and soft crying among the elder spectators” (Swann 2004, 350). At present the Gourd Dance is a plain dance. Women are dressed ordinarily with shawls. Men are usually dressed with bead bandoliers, moccasins, plain shirts, and slacks or jeans. They hold tin rattles and quill fans (Heth 1992). The dance’s movement is modest and controlled: dances move up and down in lieu of the rhythm of the songs. A lot of Kiowa people view the dance exceptionally essential; but most partakers of the Gourd Dance finally focus the essence of the dance, and certainly its core resurgence, on song (Ellis & Lassiter 2005). As military camps of Taimpego steadily disappeared in the 20th century, its music endured with singers who learned by heart the songs even after the disappearance of the dance (Swann 2004). Certainly, the resurgence of the dance after the Second World War would get its subsistence from singers. Without the songs and their singers, a lot of Kiowas believe, the resurgence would have been unlikely. Nevertheless, more than this, the survival of the songs during negative adjustments embodies the survival of a common recollection greater than the evident role of songs in dancing (Ellis & Lassiter 2005). The people of the Kiowa tribe frequently narrate the Red Wolf Story to discuss the history of the Gourd Dance and to convey the essence of Gourd Dance songs to the past and contemporary culture (Swann 2004) of the Kiowa people. Sneak Up Dance and Song Sneak up is the dance of reconnoiters. It is frequently chanted after the song of the veteran (Koskoff 2005). The dance is a narrative of the way a fighter would advance to reconnoiter the territory for the game or adversary. Several times the song is performed, beginning with an undulating beat as the performers try to reconnoiter their objective (Koskoff 2005). The song afterwards becomes a rapid stable beat that ceases abruptly. The performers should discontinue dancing on the beat or withdraw to retry. After the song’s last stop, the singers will carry on with the song until the finale (Stern & Cicala 1991). The sneak up is a very old narrative dance having a number of roots. In a particular rendition, a warrior performs a skirmish where the foe sees him, so he has to start the assault one more time (Koskoff 2005). Ultimately, he performs a triumph dance. In another rendition a huntsman hunting a deer is shown. The deer sees him, and he has to start all over again. A different rendition acts out a warrior in combat. He looks for an injured comrade, and upon locating him, he protects his comrade as much as he can (Koskoff 2005). Sneak up dance is acted out by men only, as it was a method of training young boys of attacking an adversary or a prey. When the drum beats are rapid, performers almost touches the ground to hide from view, and afterwards reconnoiter the territory, looking for lurking dangers (Koskoff 2005). Several Native American tribes pride themselves of their talented performers who are capable of performing a narrative dance with rings. The performer raises rings in a sequence, each ring accomplishing a new representation of the environment. The dance is an actual achievement of synchrony, as the performer should sustain his movements to the sound continually (Ellis & Lassiter 2005). Basically, sneak up dance, as discussed above, is an imitation of the act of ‘sneaking up’ on the warriors’ foes. Sneak up, in more details, begins with the performer in a stooping pose. As the song begins the performer starts to shake his lower extremities and starts to lower his body to the floor/ground as though hiding. As the song heightens the performers start to rise from the stooping pose and dance a crisscross path (Ellis & Lassiter 2005). Sneak up songs motivated warriors and victory in combat. In several cultures, warrior tribes performed songs and dances in rituals that requested for safety and victory in war. The women sing about the warriors in combat, and sing of their delight when the warriors come back (Ellis & Lassiter 2005). The Coyote Warrior Song of the Pawnee of the Plains (Curtis 1968, 111) area calls for security. Similar to other ethnic cultures all over the world, Native Americans perform dances and songs about warriors, depicting brave acts and significant episodes in their histories. Dances and songs may narrate about a great warrior, or commemorate someone who was successful in beating a large prey, or a shrewd ethnic member who outmaneuvered a wicked force. Through dances and songs, historical episodes and people celebrated and their tales are passed from one generation to the next. Native American Regional Styles Vocal and Instrumental Native American vocal and regional styles differ from region to region and ethnic group to ethnic group all over America. The vocal and instrumental styles are influence by the customs and circumstances of each ethnic group and are practiced for rationales ranging from medication to interpersonal relationship (Swann 2004). Spiritual vocal and instrumental styles are greatly revered and are normally practiced only at particular events. In many customs, performing with rattles and drums can be employed to summon spiritual forces to help in medication and other major effects (Stern & Cicala 1991). Social songs are publicly acted out for social celebrations, commemoratives, tributes, and thanksgiving. The emphasis of most American Indian music customs is vocal style. Although instruments fulfill different functions, the song and vocal passage are greatly valued. With hardly any exemptions, synchronization is absent in American Indian music (Stern & Cicala 1991). Numerous customs have a group and a leader, or an official call-and-response approach. Ultimately, songs are commonly founded on ranges of three to six notes (May & Hood 1983, 72). There are a number of wider regional differences that worth consideration. The vocal style of American Indian songs of the Plains, that comprises the Kiowa, the Cheyenne, the Crow, and the Sioux, is quite unique (Ellis & Lassiter 2005). Employing controlled, high-pitched vocal approach, singers chant songs that start in tessitura and afterwards increase an octave or higher to the highest confines of the leading voice without resulting in a falsetto (May & Hood 1983). The song afterwards drops in a ‘terraced’ line (Stern & Cicala 1991). Furthermore, the pitch frequently pulsates, particularly at the last of the expressions. In the Eastern Woodlands traditions like the Delaware and Iroquois, call-and-response is widespread and more casual as well, open melody approach (Heth 1992). Evidently, there are numerous other variations than can be summed up, even within traditions and regions. Regional Native American customs commonly use wind instruments, shakers and rattles, and drums (May & Hood 1983). Vocal instruments are confined to wind instruments like flutes and, in a few instances, horns. Flutes can be constructed from bark, bone, or timber. The most common flute is the one constructed from wood, also called ‘end-blown’ (Swann 2004). These flutes are simply discerned by the exceptionally ornamented piece of timber fastened almost at the peak that functions to reroute airflow (Stern & Cicala 1991). There is a significant diversity of percussion instruments, like rattles and drums. The most commonly used drum among Native Americans is the single-headed frame drum (Stern & Cicala 1991). It is clutched in one hand and thumped with a piece of wood using the other hand. The currently popular double-headed drums used at almost all performances of powwows seem to only have emerged in a small number of remote cases (Koskoff 2005). A number of anthropologists indicate that the bass drums of Europe were drawn from these drums (Swann 2004). One of the most common repercussion instruments in Native American traditions is rattles (Koskoff 2005). There are remarkably varied kinds of rattles. References Curtis, N. The Indian’s Book. Dover Publications, 1968. Ellis, C. & L. Lassiter. Powwow. University of Nebraska Press, 2005. Heth, C. Native American dance: ceremonies and social traditions. National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution, with Starwood Pub., 1992. Koskoff, E. Music Cultures in the United States: An Introduction. New York: Routledge, 2005. May, E. & M. Hood. Musics of Many Cultures: An Introduction. London: University of California Press, 1983. Stern, S. & J.A. Cicala. Creative ethnicity: symbols and strategies of contemporary ethnic life. Utah State University Press, 1991. Swann, B. Voices from Four Directions: Contemporary Translations of the Native Literatures of North America. Bison Books, 2004. Read More