The Indian had a song for almost every occasion. songs were a part of tribal life; there were songs for every public ceremony, as well as a song for each important act in the career of an individual.
Some songs had no word but were sung with vocal sounds, much like parts of cowboys' songs which go "com-ma, ti-yi-youpy, ya." But with eh Indian, once those vocals were set to melodies they were never changed.
Songs belonged to clans, societies, and to individuals. Clans and societies had special officers to see that the songs were sung properly by the members who had a right to sing them, and if anyone made a mistake in singing he had to pay a penalty. Also, when a mistake was made, the dance or ceremony was stopped and begun over again.
An individual had songs which often came to him during fasting and in his dreams, taught him, he believed, by his protecting spirit. Only the individual could sing his song, unless as was a practice among some tribes, the privilege was purchased by another. There was song for setting traps, courtship, playing games, and for facing death. The so called death song of an Indian was not one sung in defiance, but one sung as an appeal to his protector to save him.
During ceremonies dancers followed the beat of the drum, which usually differed from the rhythm of the song being sung. The beat of the drum was supposed to govern the movements of the legs, body, and arms, while the song, in a different rhythm , had to do with the feelings. At times there were as many as three rhythms, or a rhythm within a rhythm in singing, and a different rhythm for the drum.
When men and women sang together, the women usually sang in a higher octave than the men singers. Among the Cherokee and other southern tribes "round singing" was common, with sometimes as many as two or three hundred men and women joining in.
Women composed and sang the lullaby and spinning and grinding songs. among the Pueblo Indians, men joined in, while women ground grain and beat time on the floor or ground. Women also composed and sang songs to encourage warriors or hunters when they left camp for battle or the hunt.
Related Information within this Site
[ Dance ][ Drum
][ Musical Instruments ][ Women
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