Listen to the Drum

[ysabetwordsmith]

I was fascinated by this article about powwow drums.  I knew, for instance, that the music went with particular dances or other activities.  I didn't know that some of the songs are narrative lyrics rather than vocables -- the drum songs I've heard at powwows were either rhythm only or vocables.  So it is vitally important for people to learn those songs and their meanings, to keep the tradition alive.

And now I really, really want a copy of the six-song series "When the Battle Happened" about the Battle of the Little Bighorn, preferably with bilingual liner notes.

Comments

[aldersprig.livejournal.com]

Vocables? "And our next song will be wey-oh-hey; our song after that, wey-OH-hey..."

(Joke heard at a powwow in http://www.ganondagan.org/; Dad's AA experiences led to a lot of time spent at powwows when I was in my late teens)

*laugh*

[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

In a tonal language, that's hilarious, because changing the tone on a word often make for a totally different word. There are many pairings that are funny or vulgar, so tone-based jokes are common in many tonal languages. I know some Native American languages are tonal (such as Dine/Navajo).

Re: *laugh*

[aldersprig.livejournal.com]

*grin* I hadn't even thought of that part of it! (And was relieved you were amused, because posting after too-much-rum is never a brilliant idea).

I grew up in Iroquois/Five(Six) Nations land, but I know the powwows used to bring in people from all over the country.

Re: *laugh*

[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

Let's see, Illinois was/is home to a combination of Iroquois, Illinois/Illini, and Potawotami off the top of my head; and I think there were others too. I've been to powwows in a couple different places here, and I think one or two elsewhere. I wish we could afford to do more.

[zeeth_kyrah]

I really liked this article. It taught me a few things I hadn't quite grasped, since I've only experienced one actual powwow. Thank you for linking to it.

[xjenavivex.livejournal.com]

Thank you for pointing me to this.