Indigenous Americans and Their Music

    There is much to be learned from the musical culture of Native Americans. There are many aspects of their musical styles that apply to a lot of the music we listen to and create ourselves. It is also intriguing to learn more about how they use their music in their traditions such as dances, religion, etc. I would personally like to share the process they go through to create their instruments, how music is used as medicine, and a certain dance that is performed known as the Ghost Dance. 

So without further delay!

1. As much of a fan as I am of listening to and playing instruments, I always love to know the process that takes place to create them. The reason I get so excited about this in the context of the Native Americans is due to the presence of how much manual labor they have put into crafting their drums and shakers. After doing some browsing, I found the following article from TeacherVision that provides a good view on how they go about their craft (link here). Drums are instruments that range in many sizes based on what ceremonies or events they are used for. The typical drum will either be constructed from pieced together wood or a hollowed out log wrapped with an animal hide for the drum heads. Things get a little more creative with the shakers. Though the concept of some kind of shell with seeds raddling inside is simple, Native Americans are creative with how they customized their shakers. The shell could consist of either animal bone, gourd, or even actual turtle shells. To give further visualization of how the drums specifically are made, I have provided this video that shows the step by step process on how the wooden frames are made and how they wrap and weave the heads onto the wood. 

2. Medicine is a topic I love to learn about, and Native Americans are known for having very interesting methods and rituals for how they treat the ill. Music plays a big role in this process, but there is a lot more to it than just playing a few notes. The role of the Medicine Man in Native American Music was a fascinating article I found that does not just explain the actual treatments used, but the process of how one would become a healer. The article stated that Natives who dreamed and had visions of healing would often be chosen to play the role of the Medicine Man. It is thought of more as a power than a skill. Music also plays a part in how they gain that power to heal. After all, music does have power itself. There would be private and public sessions of healing where the healer would tell stories, chant, sing, etc. While performing such music he tended to wounds using herbs and tobacco. Medicine is not just treated as a physical act, but as a ritual that only certain people could perform. The video below shows the process one must go through to become a healer, and it is explained through the words of an actual Medicine Man. He explains that it varies from tribe to tribe, but ultimately it is a gift you are given when others can see that you have the power to be a healer.

3. Finally, I wanted to discuss something more for a bit of fun. It is well known that different tribes of Native Americans all have different traditions, but one commonality is they all dance. The dances have different meanings behind them, but one I find especially interesting is a dance known as the Ghost Dance. Khan Academy explains that the Ghost dance originated from a Native American named Wovoka of the Northern Paiute Tribe. He created the dance after claiming God appeared in front of him giving him visions of a beautiful land of peace. He figured it would unite other tribes and banish all evil from the world so they could live in such peace. During the dance, it is thought that the living are being reunited with the dead, hence the name "Ghost". It was very difficult to find good footage of the dance, but I was able to access a recording from 1894. The Ghost dance itself can be seen at 0:44 in the video. It is difficult to see, but notice how the natives are bent over marching in a circle. As they march, they take large steps and stomp their feet. Accompanied by a single drum, they all sing in unison with quite an intense timbre while marching in the circle.  

There is so much that can be learned from these people's culture, but these are the aspects that catch my attention best. Music plays a very spiritual role in the lives of Native Americans, so it is understandable why we take this time to learn about it in depth and appreciate their use of music.

That is all for now! I hoped you learned something new :)