Indian Tribes of the Upper Missouri 67

Indian Tribes of the Upper Missouri 67

They now bent their course westward and after many days came to a

lodge inhabited by an old man and his family, from whom they begged

something to eat. He showed them immense herds of buffalo, apparently

tame, and all black except two, which were milk white. He told them to

kill whichever they wished, but not to destroy more than they wanted

for food or clothing. The good brother killed a fat cow, which, being

more than they wanted, he took the rest of the meat to the old man’s

lodge. The other remained behind and shot arrows into a great many

buffalo uselessly, for which the old man reproached him. After having

feasted they were about departing when the old man showed them a great

number of ducks and geese. “These,” said he, “with the buffalo, are our

life; treat them well.” On the old man’s leaving the Indian who had no

ears commenced killing the birds with a club and made great havoc. The

old man returned and said, “You have done wrong, you are a bad man,

evil will befall you, the Wau-wau-kah shall bar your road home to your

people. But your brother is a good man, has ears, and for his sake

some of my buffalo will follow him home to his people, and the white

cowskin shall be his fetish to remember me by.” They separated; the

travelers pursued their journey and encamped on the prairie at the foot

of what they supposed was a mountain, but which was the Wau-wau-kah

lying across their road. In the morning they advanced to go around

it, but, turn whichever way they would, the monster turned with them

and obstructed their way, so that the whole day was spent in useless

efforts to get forward.

 

The good brother proposed sacrificing some corn to appease it, but the

other became very angry and would not listen to any peaceful measures.

He collected immense piles of buffalo dung all around the monster and

set it on fire, by which the Wau-wau-kah was roasted alive. The smell

of the roast being savory he cut out a slice and ate it, offering

some to his brother, who, however, would not taste thereof. In the

morning they continued their way, the buffalo following at a distance.

At rising the ensuing morning the one who had eaten the flesh of the

monster said, “Look, my brother, what handsome fine black hair is

growing from my body.” The other looked and beheld the hair of the

beast. On the next morning he said, “Look at my head, my brother,

horns are coming out upon it,” and so it was. On the third morning he

said, “Look at my legs, my brother, fish scales are growing there.”

Each and every morning when they arose the Indian was assuming more

and more the shape and appearance of the Wau-wau-kah. In the course

of a few days his body was completely covered with hair, his head was

furnished with horns of a monstrous size, and his legs were growing

together in the form of a fish. They traveled on, the body and entire

shape of the Indian rapidly increasing in size and appearance to that

of the monster whose flesh he had eaten. They now proceeded slowly,

owing to the difficulty the one experienced in walking by the change

he was undergoing, and this impediment increasing in proportion as his

extremities gradually assumed the form of a fish.

 

In the course of time they arrived at the mouth of the Yellowstone

and encamped for the last time together. The change was now nearly

completed, and when they arose in the morning behold a complete

Wau-wau-kah was presented, who said to the other, “Depart, I am no

more your brother; I am no more a man; I am either your friend or

your enemy, according to the way you treat me. Leave. You will find

your people several days’ travel down on the banks of the Missouri.

Take them the corn. Yonder stand the buffalo you have brought; they

will follow you home. You will become a powerful nation. Each and

every year they must sacrifice some corn to me by throwing it into the

Missouri, or the wind shall blow, the rain fall, the water rise and

destroy your crops. As for me, I shall be separated here; my head will

go up into the clouds and govern the wind, my tail fall into the water

and become a monstrous fish to disturb it. My body will rove through

the Rocky Mountains; my bones may be found, but my spirit will never

die. Depart, you have ears and a good heart.”

 

At the close of this speech the winds blew, the thunder rolled, the

lightning flashed, and a terrible storm arose, amidst which the monster

disappeared. The other returned to his people, told them the story of

his travels, and to this day corn is sacrificed to the Missouri by the

Gros Ventres to appease the spirit of the Wau-wau-kah.

 

 

SONGS; MUSIC[60]

 

[60] For the recording and interpretation of Siouan music see Miss

Frances Densmore, Bull. 61, Bur. Amer. Ethn.

 

The construction of the Indian flute and music produced by it have

already been described, although we are not able to state in what

manner, if any, it resembles the Arcadian pipe.

 

Most ceremonies, dances, public demonstrations of joy or grief, and

other matters of general interest are accompanied by songs, which have

appropriate names, but these chants are for the most part only tunes

or modulations of voices in concert, with the introduction of a few

words in some of them. They are in fact a continued chorus consisting

chiefly in repeating the meaningless syllables “Hai-yah, hai-yah,

hai-ai-ai-yah-ah-ah, hai-yah, he-e-e-ah, hai-yah,” etc., fast or slow

as required by the nature of the song. Where words are introduced they

are composed of five or six syllables or three or four words, bearing

some relation to the event which is honored with the song, but are of

no consequence, so that all question regarding their rhyme or poetical

compositions may be passed over in silence. The tune is generally begun

by one person pitching it, who after singing a few notes, is joined

by the whole choir, or sometimes, as in the scalp song, the women add

their voices in the second part of the tune, where the name of the

warrior who killed the enemy is mentioned. The modulations are bold and

wild, by no means discordant or disagreeable, and they are remarkable

for keeping very exact time either with the voice, drums, or feet, and

where words are added they are so few, and the syllables so separated

to accord as scarcely to be understood or distinguished from the rest

of the chant.

 

The songs are measured, accents occur at fixed and regular intervals,

being mostly the same in beats as the Scotch reel time. The effect

intended is produced by action, energy of voice and motion, costume,

and the wild intonations of the time, not from words repeated. These

songs are suitable to the occasion, and the whole when well got up has

a decidedly unique appearance, singularly correspondent in all its

component parts. These chants are very difficult for us to learn and

scarcely less so to describe, but are preferred by them to any music,

vocal or instrumental, of white performers yet presented to them. The

length of a tune is about equal to eight bars of our common time, and

the syllables to each beat vary from four to eight, but in some of

the medical songs the intonation is so rapid as scarcely to admit of

being counted. Songs for dancing, medicine (that is, the practice of

healing), and on other assemblies are generally accompanied with drums,

bells, rattles, flutes, and whistles, of all of which the drum is the

principal instrument, for though on some occasions all of them and

several of each kind are used, yet there are none in which the drum is

not used, but several where the rest are dispensed with.

 

Independent of public songs, singing is a very common amusement for

the young men at nights, principally to attract the attention of the

females, and often intended as signals for secret assignations.

 

Subjoined is a list of most of their songs, in reading over which it

will be observed that there are none denominated “Hunting songs,” that

employment not being celebrated in song in any way, either for success

or failure, unless the incantative song by the Master of the Park to

bring the buffalo toward it would be construed in that light. The uses

of the others can be traced in their names, taken in connection with

what has already been written concerning their ceremonies. The words

“do-wan” attached to all means “a song.”

 

SONGS OF THE SIOUX, CROW, AND ASSINIBOIN NATIONS

 

-------------------------+-----------------------+--------------------------

Indian name | Interpretation | Occasion, etc.

-------------------------+-----------------------+--------------------------

Wah-kit-tai´ do-wan |Scalp song |More than ten different

| | kinds.

Chan-du´-pah do-wan |Incantation Pipe song |Two or three varieties.

Tah-tun´-gah do-wan |Bull song |In the Bull dance; also

| | used in the park.

Te-chagh´-ah do-wan |Incantation Lodge song |Religious.

Cong-ghai´ do-wan |Crow song |In Crow dance and before

| | starting to war.

Pai-hun-ghe-nah do-wan |White Crane song |Incantation—in the song

| | of that name.

Nap-pai´-she-ne do-wan |Song of the Braves |In the dance of “Ceux qui

| | sauve pas.”

Ah-kitchetah do-wan |Soldiers’ song |Used at the soldiers’

| | dance.

To-kah-nah do-wan |Foxes’ song |In the dance of that band.

Ah-do-wah |Diviner’s song for |About 20 different kinds.

| the sick |

At-to-do-wah |Tattooing song |Sung while performing

| | that operation.

Opah-ghai do-wan |Gathering of the kins |Called also the thunder

| | song (incantation).

Och-pi-e-cha-ghah do-wan |Buffalo Park song |Incantation.

Shunga-tunga do-wan |Horse song |In the whip dance.

Shunk to-ka-chah do-wan |Wolf song |Sung on starting to war.

To-shan do-wan |Drinking songs |More than ten varieties.

We do-wan |Sun song |Religious.

We-chah-nauge do-wan |Song to the dead |Lament.

Hoonk-o´-hon do-wan |Song of thanks |Several.

Wah-ghunh´-ksecha | |

do-wan |Bear song |Medicine.

We-coo-ah |Love song |About 10 varieties.

Nap-pai-e-choo do-wan |Hand gambling song |

Hampah-ah-he-yah |Moccasin gambling song |

We-hhnoh´-hhnoh |Incantation song and |

| feast |

Tsh-kun do-wan |Women’s dance song |Where women only perform.

Opon do-wan |Elk song |Medicine for elk,

| | religious.

-------------------------+-----------------------+--------------------------

 

Their drums are of two kinds. The most common is made like a tambourine

without its bells, the skin forming the head being stretched over the

hoop while wet and kept there by sinews being passed through it and the

hoop a few inches apart. (Pl. 80, fig. 1.) The inside portions of the

skin have cords made of sinew extending across from several places,

meeting in the middle and forming a handle to hold it up by (2). It is

held up in one hand and beaten with a stick by the other, no more beats

being made than are necessary to correspond with the accents of the

notes, thus preserving the time.

 

The other kind of drum is made of a piece of hollow dry tree about

2½ feet long, scraped to a shell and smooth inside and out,

resembling in shape a staff churn (3). The head or skin is stretched on

the smaller end with a hoop, which is retained in its place by sinews

passed through. The other is left open. When beaten but one stick is

used, the drum being set on end. Both are often painted with different

devices. The rattles, wag-ga-mó (Sioux) or Chi-chi-quoin (Cree), were

originally and in a measure still are gourds dried with the seeds in,

or after being dried the seeds, etc., are taken out and pebbles put

in (4). Others are made of the rawhide of elk stretched over a slight

frame of woodwork while wet and dried in that shape, pebbles being put

therein at holes left in the top or in the handle (5 and 6). No. 7 is

the rattle used by the “braves” in their dance. It is made of rawhide like the rest, but in the form of an open ring.