The Project Gutenberg eBook of American Indian love lyrics and other verse, by Nellie Barnes.

The Project Gutenberg eBook of American Indian love lyrics and other verse, by Nellie Barnes

Produced by: Tim Lindell and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)

THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
NEW YORK · BOSTON · CHICAGO · DALLAS
ATLANTA · SAN FRANCISCO

The influence of American Indian song-literature has touched both the music and the literature of contemporary America. Those writers who use Indian themes are legion. Mary Austin has gone farthest, perhaps, among the writers of the day in relating her poetic work to the native rhythms of America.

These native rhythms pulsed through the songs of our Red Men for centuries before our Christian era. The very beautiful Aztec and the Inca poetry belong to the earlier and more highly developed civilizations. Since it is the purpose of this volume to treat of the more primitive forms of rhythm, it has seemed best to limit the illustrations to songs from tribes north of Mexico.

The late Mrs. Natalie Curtis Burlin’s collection of songs in The Indians’ Book makes that volume quite the most representative source book for the study of Indian lyrics. The original texts of unusual range in poetic patterns, the musical settings, the interlinear translations, and the accompanying narratives add a rich context to free translations of genuine literary merit.

Among other contributions to Indian song-literature,[6] the studies of Miss Alice Cunningham Fletcher, Mr. Carlos Troyer, and Doctor Washington Matthews hold a particular charm for the investigator.

Mrs. Austin’s notable work, The American Rhythm, an analysis of the primitive poetic impulse, with illustrations from her own translations, came from the press after the writer’s study of Indian poetic rhythms had been under way for some years. The conclusions for this volume have been limited, therefore, to those about poetic forms.

The writer is greatly indebted to Mrs. Austin for her generous interest in earlier work and especially for her helpful criticism of this study.

The student of poetry in America enjoys an opportunity, such as has never been practicable for the European student, to come in contact with the source and mould of poetic form. For in Europe, the overlaying of all native activity by the sedulously cultivated Greek and Roman preferences, the deliberate turning of scholarly inquiry from what was self-sprung and indigenous toward what had been perfected in another environment and upon other roots, left the whole subject of the origin of form dangling in the atmosphere of theory and surmise. To this day the most that we know of the high forms of poesy in Europe is owed less to authentic tradition than to the scholastic rehumation of native remains in dance and ritual, of what was once, in the interest of the classic ideal, discarded and buried, or at the least, permitted to survive only among the unlettered folk.

Fortunately for our general understanding of poetic form, the Greeks had no such snobbish scruples as arose later throughout Europe against admitting the origin of their most majestic poetic medium in the communal dance around the tribal[8] altar. Here in the United States we are, by a turn of fortune, undeserved and underappreciated, able to watch the evolution of poetic form from stages somewhat earlier than those recorded by Aristotle, going on as an indigenous type of human expression. We are face to face here with the evolution of lyric form out of the stanzaic act, ritualistically repeated; with the approach to the ode, along the path struck out by primitive man in the identification of himself with the sources of high states of being.

We confront these things as unselfconscious acts, rather than as fragmentary and over-annotated poetic remains. We are able to refer them directly to accompanying gestures, to generative social occasions, and the environmental matrix. And we have to guess or to theorize, where these things are obligatory, only in reference to minds whose movements are influenced by factors lying open to intelligent apprehension.

To point this out, by way of introduction to the first thoughtful attempt to put the material for a valid conclusion as to the origin of poetic form, in order for the unspecialized reader, is not to subtract anything from the difficulty of the task, nor to minimize the importance of the result. So careless has American scholarship been of our rich resources in this direction, that merely for Miss Barnes to have realized their richness and[9] to have collected illustrative examples of them from the widely scattered and occasionally obscure sources, implies not only a general background of wide literary knowledge, but a fund of literary intelligence and much industry. It also implies a quality of restraint not infrequently lacking from such undertakings, in not attempting to bridge the gaps and supply the missing links by even the most plausible theory. Such restraint in view of the usual American demand for a complete tabloid statement, an assumption that does away with the necessity for further inquiry, is so much the more unusual that some of the credit for making this inquiry accessible surely devolves not only on the University in which it could take place, but upon the publisher who ventures to present it.

Merely by collecting from authentic sources, by discarding doubtful examples and by intelligent grouping of the best translations of Amerindian lyrics, according to their formative tendency, Miss Barnes has done more than perhaps she herself realizes, to uncover the influences at work on the primitive poetic impulse, to crystallize it into forms best suited to the expression of a progressively higher poetic content. To one who reads her simple statement of the relation of sacred numbers, fours and sixes and sevens, to what Miss Barnes calls the “thought rhythm”[10] as determining the form of primitive verse, and reads it without other knowledge of Indians than is included in these pages, it will scarcely appear that the still profounder influence is the natural environment, determining the force of climate, landscape line, and food succession in the cultural life of the particular tribe. But to one familiar with environmental distinctions between Zuñi and Iroquois and Omaha, there will be distinctive pleasure in tracing relationships between verse forms and the known formative features of the given landscape. To such a reader there will also appear intimate relations between the repetitive pattern of formal elements, the range and interdependence of dance movements, and of decorative patterns of beadwork and textiles. It would, in fact, be very little trouble to accompany each poem in this collection with an appropriate design either of gesture or decorative elements, drawn from the life of that tribe, in which the distribution of formative elements would make a pattern recognizably that of the poem. As for example, in the Paiute Lament of a Man for His Son, the gesture of the first movement would be that inevitable to a man standing at the head of his son’s corpse, and striving beyond his grief to descry his son’s spirit walking the spirit road; the gesture of the second movement, the reverent, slightly swaying tread of friends bearing the body[11] on their shoulders over uneven ground; and of the last movement, the final tearing wrench of human affection. In the same manner, the Iroquois Hymn on the dissolution of the Great League, carries the gesture of up-flung arms, and the bowing of heads that dust may be cast upon them; while in the Navaho and Pueblo Rain Chants, there is the recurrent but always slightly variable motif of the landscape as the determinant of the verbal pattern, as you can see on any old Zuñi tinaja. It is the precision with which Miss Barnes makes these things appear to the initiate, without at the same time obscuring the more obvious conclusions for the average reader, which distinguishes what she has to say above all other writings on the subject. No one who reads her notes on Amerindian verse forms need feel the limitation of personal knowledge a hindrance to his æsthetic and intellectual enjoyment of the poems themselves.

I know of but one parallel to this achievement in the current descriptions of aboriginal culture in the United States. That is in George Bird Grinnell’s account of Cheyenne games, in which, without saying as much, the relation of all games to man’s aboriginal puzzlement about the world he lives in is convincingly brought out. Mr. Grinnell’s account should be read in connection with Miss Barnes’ work for the further light it[12] throws on the origin of patterns, social, decorative, or literary, in living human impulses. In so far as any study does this, and especially as it does it in respect to areas of literary activity all too scantily familiar, it constitutes an indispensable service to American scholarship.

MY BARK CANOE (Ojibwa)

HER SHADOW (Ojibwa)

LOVER’S WOOING or BLANKET SONG (Zuñi)

PAPAGO LOVE SONG (Papago)

LOVE SONG (Dakota)

THE BRIDE’S SONG (Algonquin)

LONELY (Ojibwa)

WAR SONG (Dakota)

ONONDAGA HYMN (Iroquois)

LAMENT OF A MAN FOR HIS SON (Paiute)

DEATH OF TALUTA (Siouan)

WIND SONG (Kiowa)

BLUEBIRD SONG (Pima)

SONG OF THE UNHAPPY WIFE (Dakota)

THE SONG OF UKIABI (Cegiha)

A LOVER’S LAMENT (Tewa)

MY HOME OVER THERE (Tewa)

HUNTING-SONG (Navaho)

A SONG OF THE DEER CEREMONY (San Carlos Apache)

MOUNT KOONAK: A SONG OF ARSUT (Eskimaun)

THE COYOTE AND THE LOCUST (Zuñi)

KA-NI-GA SONG

CORN-GRINDING SONG II (Laguna)

SONG TO THE TREES AND STREAMS (Pawnee)

SONG TO THE MOUNTAINS (Pawnee)

RITUAL SONG (Pawnee)

WIND SONG (Pima)

A SONG OF SPRING (Chippewa)

THE DARKNESS SONG from the invitation rite (Iroquois)

(The chief of the Invitation Rite requests all the night folk of the forest to protect his people on their journey to the morning.)

THE INVITATION SONG

Part I (The Song of the Whip-poor-will announced by the flute.)

Part II (The Wolf and his mate are announced.)

Part III (Buck and Doe with cries enter the room.)

Part IV (The Bear and his mate have come.)

(The Hawk and its mate are announced, and all the rest of the forest folk. Finally, at dawn, the eagle is announced by the flute.)

Part V (The Eagle Song)

THE PLANTING SONG (Osage)

SONG OF THE RAIN CHANT (Navaho)

THE VOICE THAT BEAUTIFIES THE LAND (Navaho)

CORN-GRINDING SONG (Tesuque Pueblo)

SONG OF THE BLUE CORN DANCE (Zuñi)

CORN-GRINDING SONG (Zuñi)

CORN DANCE SONG (Zuñi)

KOROSTA KATZINA SONG (Hopi)

ANGA KATZINA SONG (Hopi)

HE-HEA KATZINA SONG (Hopi)

WUWUCHIM CHANT (Hopi)

A RAIN SONG OF THE SNAKE SOCIETY—I (Sia)

A RAIN SONG OF THE SNAKE SOCIETY—II (Sia)

CORN SONG (Pima)

RAIN SONGS (Pima)

A METATE SONG

FLUTE SONG (Hopi)

THE SUNRISE CALL (Zuñi)

HYMN TO THE SUN (Zuñi)

SUNSET SONG (Zuñi)

INVOCATION TO THE SUN-GOD (Zuñi)

A SONG OF GOTAL LIII (Mescalero Apache)

FIRST DAYLIGHT SONG (Navaho)

SONG OF THE DAWN BOY (Navaho)

THE MORNING STAR AND THE NEW BORN DAWN (Pawnee)

DAYLIGHT (Pawnee)

THE BIRTH OF DAWN (Pawnee)

SONG TO THE PLEIADES (Pawnee)

THE SONG OF THE STARS (Algonquin)

THE STARS DEHN-DEK AND MAH-OH-RAH (Wyandot)

SONG OF THE MASKED DANCERS (Apache)

A SONG OF THE MASKED DANCERS III (Apache)

EMERGENCE SONG (Pima)

THE WARNING OF THE FLOOD (Pima)

PROTECTION SONG (Navaho)

SONG OF NAYENEZGANI I (Navaho)

SONG OF NAYENEZGANI II (Navaho)

SONG OF THE HORSE (Navaho)

SONG OF THE HOGANS (Navaho)

WAR-SONG (Navaho)

ATSÁLĒI YEDADIGLÉS (Navaho)

MOUNTAIN SONGS (Navaho)

MOUNTAIN SONG (Navaho)

INVOCATION OF THE GAME (San Ildefonso Pueblo)

MEDICINE SONG (Apache)

PRAYER OF THE FIRST DANCERS (Navaho)

A PRAYER OF THE SECOND DAY OF THE NIGHT CHANT (Navaho)

PRAYER TO DSILYI NEYÁNI (Navaho)

DEDICATION OF A NEW HOUSE (Navaho)

PRAYER OF THE FOSTER-PARENT CHANT (Teton-Sioux)

HOLY SONG (Dakota)

INVOKING THE VISIONS (Pawnee)

RITUAL SONG (Pawnee)

MEDICINE SONG (Omaha)

SONG OF THE PRIMAL ROCK (Omaha)

INTRODUCTION OF THE CHILD TO THE COSMOS (Omaha)

SONG OF TURNING THE CHILD (Omaha)

SUPPLICATION OF THE TSÍZHU WASHTÁGE (Osage)

THE TRIBAL PRAYER (Omaha)

WAWAN SONG (Omaha)

THE MORNING SONG (Cheyenne)

POETIC FORMS IN AMERICAN INDIAN LYRICS

The true touchstone of primitive verse is familiarity with aboriginal life and manners. Let the observer sit among the American Indians under a starlit sky in the far spaces of the desert, or with his horizon bound by native forests, where only blazed trails penetrate the shadows—wherever these people sing, encircling a quiet fire. Not even the folk-songs of the colored race on their native plantations convey the sense of detached unreality that comes with hearing these evening songs of the red race.

When a thousand songs have beaten their way into his pulse, the listener may hope to understand both the form and the spirit of this verse. Only this certain recognition acquired by personal knowledge can direct him to sound judgments of the current pseudo-Indian verse. It is the only safe basis for comparison when studies lead far afield into the song-literature of many tribes. Many of us, however, cannot readily explore the remote places of aboriginal song. For such readers, fortunately, there is[152] an increasing number of printed studies and of records gathered by our great museums.

Even after wide observation and the close study of years, many questions will still remain to baffle us. To reconcile many apparent inconsistencies of Indian lyric verse forms, we must first understand the thought-movement of this body of poetry before we approach the whole subject of thought-rhythm, with the questions of repetition and of stanzaic and metrical structure.

In the mood of the poet, to be sure, lies the chief influence which shapes the poem and marks its larger formal characteristics of thought-movement and rhythm. There are the graceful, lilting verses that go swiftly to the golden melodies of some of the shorter lyrics, as in the Song of the Coyote and Locust; others which move in slow processional to stately chants, as in the odes of The Night Chant.

But the thought-movement is the more immediate influence upon the structure of a poem. The pre-eminently characteristic movement of the Indian lyric is recessional.[1] It perceptibly intensifies the haunting, melancholy effect in which the lyric usually finds voice. The motif appears at the opening of the song, with the emotional intensity or emphasis gradually dying away toward the close. This movement commonly[153] occurs in the shorter songs which are entirely repeated several times. This recessional movement is effective with its musical accompaniment, repeating the melody in a descending scale, and ending on a low note. Thus pitch and accent, as well as varying quantity, mark the repetitions and lessen their monotony.

As a modification of the recessional movement, there is the poem which opens with the motif and repeats it at regularly recurring points throughout, concluding abruptly without the refrain. There are some stanzaic units in this group. Whatever may be the gain in emphasis and in organization, there is a distinct loss in atmosphere. This type is interesting as a transitional stage.

The second type of thought-movement has influenced a third group of songs which shows wide divergence from the first. In this last group the major emphasis always opens and closes the song, though it recurs at intervals, as at the opening or close of each stanza. This is the most finished lyric in design, the most completely thought out, with stanzaic units distinct. Mood and idea join to create a beautiful form.

To a less extent, the processional, or forward, thought-movement appears in lyric form. It may progress toward an emotional climax at[154] the end of a song or a sequence. In the songs before sunrise, as the Daylight Song in The Hako, the intensity increases toward the close as dawn appears. The forward movement finds its most natural place in the ballads and in those ritualistic poems which anticipate dramatic gesture or action. This dramatic relationship, whether in formal ceremony or in vocational songs, shapes the thought-movement in direct contrast to the characteristic order.

There are other poems which carry the thought forward to the close, rounding with an effective summary, sustaining the heightened interest, yet showing the fine intellectual perception of form in relation to thought which appears in Mount Koonak: A Song of Arsut. In characteristics, this type approaches the lyric which Doctor Moulton has classified as the free sonnet.

Whatever variations appear in the sequence of thought, it must be remembered that the use of the recessional movement is a primary law of Indian lyric art.

There is within the lyric a sense of symmetry, of poetic consistency, which cannot be measured by Anglo-Saxon rules of prosody. The Indian poet achieves this symmetry in structure by using varied patterns of thought-rhythm; that is, by means of infinitely modified forms of repetition which are as distinctively characteristic[155] of his genius as parallelism was of the ancient Hebrew or as the variations of rhyme and of stanzaic pattern are of the English lyric genius of the last four centuries. The subtle relationship of patterns of thought-rhythm to the whole movement of a poem is often so fugitive as to escape analysis. One origin of these patterns is the most obvious dramatic association which may also determine the direction of the entire thought-movement. Although the dramatic motif shapes both aspects of thought, there is no apparent connection between the progression of an idea and, let us say, the alternating rhythm, except when the alternation becomes incremental. The determining values of pitch and of melodic repetition are also important external factors. Where these influences end, it is difficult to say.

So far as this study has proceeded, five characteristic patterns of thought-rhythm appear in Indian lyric poetry. The iterative rhythm appears in the simpler poems, of which the Navaho Mountain Song and The Omaha Tribal Prayer are particularly fine in spirit. The iteration is not always pleasing, sometimes beating with the steady monotony of a kettle drum; but, contrary to reasonable supposition, it does not necessarily indicate a dance song.

The alternating rhythm offers the Indian[156] poet some æsthetic relief. It creates a graceful lilt in his verse and often accompanies the quicker movements. This is a universal pattern; but some Katzina Songs of the Hopi and songs of the Zuñi and Pima Indians have markedly achieved this freedom of movement. The elasticity of this form provides an infinite variety of uses, from carrying a pleasant refrain to providing a choric response for the support of a dancing soloist. It has a place in the vocational songs, as well as in the ritual songs of a tribe. There are many variants which employ alternating patterns of thought at the opening and close of a stanza, or with dramatic pose and gesture, as in the Zuñi Invocation to the Sun-God, in singing which the Indian mother appeals to the sun, moon, and stars to guide her sleeping infant. Mr. Troyer marks the values of pitch as heightening the rhythmic movements of this song.

Balanced forms of thought, that is, forms in parallel structure, do not appear commonly. Perhaps it is more exact to recall that pure iteration and alternation of thought approximate the effects which parallelism may contribute, especially when the repetition is sung in a different pitch from that of the key thought. The infrequent occurrence of sharp contrasts of imagery, or antitheses of thought, may explain[157] the rare use of parallelism. The ancient lament of the Onondagas, preserved in The Iroquois Book of Rites, remains one of the most beautifully wrought poems of this type brought down to our time.

The interlacing design of thought is one of the most graceful as well as one of the most difficult. This pattern shows skill and delicacy in poetic construction, as the interlacing repetitions frequently carry from one stanza to another, as from first to third and second to fourth, found in The Morning Star and the New Born Dawn, from The Hako. This device carries the thought forward. It is, therefore, definitely related in purpose to the form which is universally the vehicle of the ballad—incremental repetition. The Indian poet uses this form both for narrative and for descriptive purposes. The Navaho Song of the Horse shows a studied picture, framing each detail with repetitions; while the same incremental use of repetition carries forward the narrative in the Navaho Rain Chant.

There is a further structural use of these forms. If we can point to a single prototype of the lyric stanza, we must find it in the unit of thought-rhythm. As it assumed different aspects, enlarging itself with repetitions, there appeared the first conscious step, the stanzaic germ with varying possibilities of structure. This æsthetic[158] origin of the stanza appeared before the intellectual recognition of unity of thought. In this song recorded by Miss Fletcher, there is a stanzaic germ of typically primitive quality. It is lengthened, possibly, for singing. The composer shaped three words into the form of a stanza by the use of repetitions and the addition of vocables.

In countless song-poems, however, the compactness of thought and swift unity of impression have evolved stanzas with complex and studied patterns of thought-rhythm.

Other distinct influences over the varying patterns of the stanza are the mystic numbers and the dramatic element in the ceremonials, the former more often determining the length of the stanzas and the number of such divisions in a song. The ritualistic use of the numbers two, three, four, five, six, seven, and occasionally of multiples of these numbers, determines the number of stanzas and repetitions in ritualistic songs. It is rather unusual to find distinct[159] tribal preferences in the number of song divisions; although the Taos Pueblo uses two parts and the Blackfoot tribe often seven. Orientation to the world quarters has almost universally established some use of four stanzas and four repetitions in religious songs. Dramatic influence emphasizes the fourfold division, especially in the ritual.

The length of the stanza at no point appears as fixed as the number of stanzas and repetitions. The stanzaic pattern repeats itself exactly more often in a ritual song than in a secular. Many of the odes have extremely long stanzas, some units of thought reaching to one hundred lines, as the Prayer of the First Dancers in the Navaho Night Chant. The length of the stanza in other songs may range from the distich to the sixteen line unit, although little stanzas of three to six lines appear to be the most pleasing to the Indian poet. The longer stanzas commonly employ preludes and refrains and at times resort to repetition of matter.

The oral lyric makes certain special demands of the composer. There must be devices for marking off the stanzas. In addition to certain formal patterns of repetition, these devices include tag endings, such as conclude the scenes in Elizabethan drama, endings with a sharp contrast in pitch and care in enunciation. The drop in pitch appears at the close of the unit of[160] music corresponding to the unit of verse. There may occur, also, a complete change of rhythm and a distinct change in thought from stanza to stanza. Cycles of short songs, or song-sequences with fixed repetitions in the ceremonials, give the effect of stanzaic divisions. We must conclude that the lack of written or printed forms appears no hindrance to the development of stanzaic patterns.

The question of rhyme schemes invites more attention than some other markers of the stanza. It is, to be sure, a relatively unimportant factor in Indian rhythms: although the wide use of assonance commonly approximates rhyme, and elaborate schemes of repetition serve a like purpose. Various schemes of rhyme are used in the songs of The Night Chant, particularly in the internal and end rhymes. In the Song of the Meal Rubbing[1] the second element in the internal rhyme scheme binds the lines together:

A simpler and more characteristic internal rhyme scheme is found in the Prayer of the First Dancers,[2] aaa bbb, in lines 14 to 21:

Two further illustrations show the Navaho command of end rhymes. In the Daylight Song,[3] there is easy inversion of pattern, abba:

In Slayer of the Alien Gods,[4] the rhyme aaaaa achieves a definite tone color, rounding with a full open syllable:

We must keep in mind that these uses of rhyme serve only a secondary purpose in drawing together the elements of the pattern within the stanza.

The stanza of Indian verse, it readily appears, is flexible in form—both in length of line and in length of thought-unit. The rapid tempo employs a short line, as in this Maliseet Dance-Song:[1]

The short line does not merely accompany rapid movement. It appears a measure of severe economy in some prayers in which the Indian catalogs his daily needs for seventy or more lines! The formal invocations, however, commonly use the longer line and the slower movement.[163] Long, slow, even lines breathe the lament of the Death of Taluta and the reflective cadences of Mount Koonak: A Song of Arsut.

The variation of the lyric line shows technical skill. The Dance-Song just quoted beats out only a simple alteration of long and short lines. The Song of the Coyote and the Locust begins with long flowing lines, but snaps off with a gay quick ending:

When the shorter line falls within the stanza, there is greater play of mood and thought, with the elasticity of the outward swing and return in the rhythm of the thought as we feel it through the succession of stanzas in The Song of the Rain Chant. The line of verse sweeps outward and the thought recedes at the ebb, as clearly as a Hiroshige wave crest lifts and the waters return to their level.

Within the silhouette of the verse are indisputable metrical patterns, some structural, some decorative. These patterns frequently occur in phrases; and these phrases, in turn, fall into a larger pattern which may be repeated or may be[164] interchanged with other patterns of corresponding values. They are sometimes of amazing complexity, yet form a compact unity of design.

Few correspondences appear in the versification of the white race; but the Indians’ use of pitch[1] for marking off rhythmic units is similar to such a use in Chinese poetry. For analysis, we must observe native singers and study phonographic records. The printed verse gives little opportunity for the study of meter except through musical accompaniment, when the phrases of the music and of the verse coincide, as few notable investigators have set down accent and quantity. Only phonographic records show the use of pitch in rhythm, an element most familiar to any one who has ever heard the Indians chant and sing. Two related arts explain the unique character of Indian lyric measures, the musical setting and the oral rendition of the poem.

Miss Natalie Curtis once asked an Indian singer, “Which came first, the words or the music?”

We must accept that explanation for the choicest lyrics: yet we cannot, in that way, account for some performances of remarkable ingenuity. A singer with the art of a counterpuntist may subordinate the iambic word-rhythm of his poem to an alternating three-four and two-four rhythm of the melody, while he dances[165] at the same moment to the unaccented rhythm of the drum. The whole question turns again in his next song in which he faithfully sets the lilt of his verse to the corresponding rhythm of the music. Any first hand comparison of the word-rhythm and the melodic rhythm proceeds with the greatest difficulty. Since the Indian invariably sings the lyrics, often many times, before dictating the words, he tends to employ the melodic rhythm in speaking the lines.

It is possible, of course, that the shifting of natural speech stresses to adapt the verse to the music marks the distinct composition of words and of music, with the latter as the earlier effort. There can be no doubt that, in aboriginal life, music is more generally persistent than words, and that new verses sometimes replace forgotten songs. On the other hand, it is equally certain that many of these misfit songs are only inferior compositions, hobbling in their meter just as the white poet’s lyrics at times go haltingly in their rhythm.

Whether the Indian poet composed his lyric and melody simultaneously or composed the verse to the rhythm of the melody, he conceived his song as an oral expression which should set free his mood through an interpretive accompaniment. That some melodies have changed their verbal associations in the history of centuries[166] may indicate that new experiences have informed their characteristic rhythms. If the original words have been lost, it is entirely possible that the new poem is perfectly adjusted to the music as a genuine re-expression of the rhythm and sweep of the melody. We have a notable instance in English in the poetry of Burns.

Indian lyric poetry has, we have noted, the qualities of oral verse. It employs a number of devices to mark off rhythmic units: stress, accent, range in pitch, quantity, and effort in enunciation. Stress and the higher pitch coincide almost universally. The dramatic and the musical influence require some use of quantity. Aside from its main use in the tag ending of verse or stanza when stress is not used for that purpose, effort in enunciation appears to be an accidental rhythmic element, depending upon the use of the high, close vowels, as e, and the aspirated, closed, and guttural consonants. It is, therefore, least useful when it coincides with the other devices of rhythm—lost, as it must be, in the use of stress. Indian poetry makes a sharp distinction, it must be observed, between accent and stress, the latter requiring definite bodily effort, even explosive enunciation.

The oral rendition of a poem brings us to some unexpected turns in versification. A scholar observes that one must have an Indian throat[167] to sing these songs. This physical control is two fold: unique control of the breathing and contraction or pulsation of the glottis, especially in measures of unusual length. In Indian verse, there is a lengthening of the metrical unit beyond the ordinary limits of European verse in feet of six, seven, eight, and nine syllables, with but one syllable prominent in stress, pitch, or quantity. The Indian sings and speaks on for hours without apparent weariness.

The elemental two and three syllabled feet appear universally in Indian poetry, but commonly in phrases with the longer feet of five to nine syllables, as in the Pledge Song of the Chippewa: nín-da-ca-mi-gog | éya. Another pattern has the recurring metrical phrase of three, six, and five syllables: í e ba | bá-pi-ni-si-wa-gûn | gé-non-de-ci-nan. A rhythmic group of five and one may be varied by the substitution of a three syllabled and a two syllabled measure for that of five syllables. A song may carry a two syllabled rhythm consistently, even when all repetitions of line are disregarded:

A Papago harvest song, for instance, balances high and low pitched measures in rising three syllabled rhythm, which suggests a dance with gesture or swaying of the body. In each phrase of the song, the foot of the higher pitch carries the heavier stress. This double use of pitch and stress, or accent, in phrases of two measures runs throughout the song, showing the regularity of metrical pattern to be expected where the lyric accompanies action or ritual observance. Such definite schemes of short measures do not appear as commonly as in English lyric poetry. In many Indian lyrics there is a tendency to avoid such emphatic rhythms—a tendency toward the free rhythms, though the sense of measure is never lost. On the whole, Indian lyric poetry is highly rhythmical in structure, although not closely metrical.

The most interesting metrical patterns are the long units which almost escape the ear as they die away in the low pitched glottal vibrations of a glide. In these measures, liquid consonants frequently combine with open vowels; though a Chippewa singer may take b, t, g, and k in one long unit. The singer finds the feet of eight and nine syllables easiest when they are made up of vocables or of elongations of a syllable, as e-ye-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-, receding in delicate sound waves and requiring no effort in enunciation.[169] These sound waves may occur as a scarcely perceptible double pulsation within the long unit, in such syllables as e-ya, ai-ya, which require little articulation. The poet can sing them indefinitely, as they fall into the rhythm of respiration. This syllabic group is the irreducible unit within the foot; if we eliminate the lengthening of a vowel, a device for the singer rather than for the poet.

The function of the vocable in the metrical design is nonessential from the intellectual viewpoint; but there is a clear value, from an æsthetic viewpoint, in the full rounded vowels of many syllables. They give tone color to the whole song, and enrich the metrical design.

The range in metrical patterns gives infinite variety and freedom to Indian verse. The poet varies even his repetition of rhythmic phrases by using different degrees of pitch. By far the most notable element in Indian versification, in fact, is this art of combining dissimilar rhythms and of playing one against another with the effect of many instruments.

All the subtlety of charm and melody in the verse evades analysis in the study of rhythms; yet poetry is no less beautiful because we catch the grace of a flowing line and the play of assonance through open syllables, as in the Zuñi Sunset Song; the contrasting gaiety of light,[170] quick, staccato movement; or the faultless symmetry of antiphonals. It is extremely difficult to interpret in terms of occidental prosody the poetic genius which arose from an alien civilization. We must constantly return to our cultural backgrounds for explanation.

It is not an incidental play-motif that the Zuñi children sing in the Hymn to the Sun, “Listen, just listen,” as they hold spiral shells to their ears. Mr. Troyer wrote: “The primary aim seems to be to develop early in life, by mechanical aids, the perception of solar vibration, which later in life becomes a natural gift.” A critic whose hearing is less sensitive than that of the Red Man will remain wholly unaware of many delicate nuances.

These subtle changes in Indian lyrics can scarcely be said to follow metrical laws, yet cannot be thought accidental. The shifting influence of pause is negligible. There is slight use of quantity except in vocalic and consonantal interplay, and that is most elusive. Subtleties of mood and thought in the line may turn swiftly from the flowing movement to the staccato with corresponding shift in measure. A distinct influence appears in the cluster-rhythms of holophrastic compounds. This element becomes especially noticeable when the singer pauses to dictate the words of his song. The[171] crest words or syllables in a line, particularly in the recessional movement and in descending pitch, may also shift the metrical emphasis. In the Zuñi song Lover’s Wooing, the crest words are most distinct: blanket, maiden, awaiting, alone, walk, come. The rhythm bends to them.

To one who has listened to countless Indian songs, there remains another logical influence over the exquisite variations of these lyrics—mimesis of elements of the natural world. The rhythms of nature float through the rhythms of Indian verse. The winds are imitated in the oral rendition of many poems: the minor key, the little rushes of wind, the full swell of sound, the gradual dying away. Curiously enough, the Plains tribes call their songs in recollection of the absent “wind songs,” in true appreciation of their minor key.

The steady patter or downfall of rain sings a welcome rhythm to the Indian of the plains and of the southwest. There is an insistence in the rhythm of many rain-songs that is mimetic, not only in the total effect of rain but distinctly so in the character of metrical units. “I like those songs,” an old man once said to me quite simply, his face quickened with a smile. His songs had just measured the summer rain, then dropped away through gliding syllables to a whispering echo—the wind and the rain!

It is the natural, joyous response of the Red Man to his surroundings that catches up these free rhythms of the out-door world and shapes his gesture and thought in measure with them in his improvisations. In the subtlety of its rhythms, Indian lyric poetry cannot detach itself from these external influences; for no race of the modern world lives more intimately with nature, sensing its most delicate expressions, its most exquisite sounds and movements.

These natural rhythms, though constantly recurring, may appear largely incidental; yet there are elemental laws at work determining lyric rhythms, laws we must seek behind the poetic impulse. One law is that poetic art, as all other arts, shall be rooted fast in the physical surroundings which temper the race. Any effort to wrest an art from that traditional environment breaks it off at the tap root.

21. Burton, Frederick. American Primitive Music. Part II, p. 1. An interpretation. Moffat, Yard. N. Y. 1909. (Now published by Dodd, Mead, N. Y.)

22. Ibid., Part II, pp. 29-30. An interpretation. The Princess Tsianina includes this song in her repertory.

23. Troyer, Carlos. Traditional Songs of the Zuñi. Theodore Presser. Philadelphia.

25. Austin, Mary. The American Rhythm, p. 88. Harcourt, Brace & Co., N. Y. 1923.

27. Leland, Charles G. Algonquin Legends of New England, p. 318. Houghton, Mifflin. Boston. 1884.

28. Burton, Frederick. American Primitive Music, Part II, p. 11. An interpretation.

30. Hale, Horatio. The Iroquois Book of Rites, pp. 153-154. Library of Aboriginal Literature. Philadelphia. 1883.

31. Austin, Mary. Harper’s Magazine, Vol. 143, p. 78. (June, 1921). See also The American Rhythm, p. 84.

32. Eastman, Charles A. Old Indian Days, p. 32. McClure. N. Y. 1907. (Now published by Little, Brown, Boston.)

35. Riggs, A. L. Dakota Songs and Music: Táh-koo Wah-kán, p. 462. Boston. 1869.

36. Dorsey, J. Owen. The Cegiha Language, p. 611. Bur. of Amer. Eth. Washington. 1890.

37. Spinden, H. J. Home Songs of the Tewa Indians, p. 78. The American Museum Journal. Amer. Mus. of Nat. Hist. N. Y. vol. XV, no. 2.

41. Goddard, Pliny Earle. Myths and Tales of the San Carlos Apache, p. 62. American Museum of Natural History. N. Y. 1918.

42. Rink, Henry. Tales and Traditions of the Eskimo, pp. 68-69. Blackwood. London. 1875.

44. Powell, James. Mythology of North American Indians, p. 23. Bur. of Amer. Eth. Washington. 1881.

50. Densmore, Frances. Chippewa Music II, p. 254. Bur. of Amer. Eth. Washington. 1913.

51. Converse, Harriet Maxwell. Myths and Legends of the New York State Iroquois, pp. 180-183. New York State Museum. 1908.

56. La Flesche, Francis. The Osage Tribe, pp. 295-296. 36th Ann. Rep. Bur. of Amer. Eth. Washington. 1921. In this poem, each line represents a complete stanza in the original—a stanza built up of repetitions and vocables.

59. Matthews, Washington. Navaho Legends, p. 27. Houghton, Mifflin. N. Y. 1877. For the American Folk Lore Society.

60. Corbin, Alice. Red Earth, pp. 27-28, with note on p. 57. R. F. Seymour. Chicago. 1920.

69. Stevenson, Matilda Coxe. The Sia, p. 124. Bur. of Amer. Eth. Washington. 1896.

70. Ibid., p. 124. See also Mrs. Austin’s “Rain Songs from the Rio Grande Pueblos” in The American Rhythm, pp. 92-94.

71. Russell, Frank. The Pima Indians, pp. 333-334. Bur. of Amer. Eth. Washington. 1904-1905. “The first songs ever sung to bring rain. Ho-oni was the name of the Corn God who left the Pimas for many years and then returned to live at the mountain north of Picacho, Ta-atûkam, whence he sang as above.”

73. Ibid., pp. 331-333. The vivid imagery of the original is lost in the translation. Compare the phrases from the free translation with the more literal rendering:

In stanzas III and IV, when the phrase Hitciya yahina-a stands alone as a line, it has been inserted. It appears in the original, but was omitted by Mr. Russell in his translation. In fact, it concludes every sentence in the song. Observe that the introductory phrase is the same for each stanza. Mr. Russell does not use the full repetition of the original.

75. Lummis, Charles. The Land of Poco Tiempo, pp. 49-50. Scribner’s. N. Y. 1902. A corn-grinding song, relating to the birth of the corn.

78. Troyer, Carlos. Traditional Songs of the Zuñi Indians. Lines 1 and 2, 8 and 9, 15, 20, and 21 are given as echo calls.

84. Goddard, Pliny Earle. Gotal—a Mescalero Apache Ceremony, Putnam Anniversary Volume, pp. 385-394. This is the fifty-third song, sung at sunrise on the last morning of the ceremony.

85. Matthews, Washington. The Mountain Chant, p. 463. Bur. of Amer. Eth. Washington. 1887.

86. Matthews, Washington. Navaho Myths, Prayers, and Songs, pp. 27-28. University of California Publications, vol. V, no. 2. Beauty is synonymous with happiness in the Navaho songs.

93. Barbeau, C. M. Huron and Wyandot Mythology, pp. 318-321. Dept. of Mines. Geological Survey, Ottawa, Canada. 1915.

This song-sequence begins with the death of Mah-oh-rah. Seeking to bring her back from the spirit world, her father rides in pursuit across the sky. The Grandmother, guardian deity of the Wyandots, transforms the flying group into stars, Dehn-dek’s three stags becoming the stars in the Belt of Orion.

Line 6. Our Grandmother was the daughter of the Mighty Ruler of Heaven. The Creation myth relates her accidental fall from heaven, her rescue by the Swans, and the creation of[178] the Great Island (North America) for her home. In her subterranean city, she ruled over the Wyandots with her fiery torch given by the Thunder God. After the Wyandots came out to live on the earth, their spirits visited her on their way to the Land of the Little People.

95. Goddard, Pliny Earle. From the literal translation of Song V, The Masked Dancers of the Apache, Holmes Anniversary Volume, pp. 134-136.

“On their emergence upon the surface of the earth, the Nether-World people danced together and with Elder Brother sang this song.” Since this is an archaic song, with its theme of the beginning of the race, we may consider it, in the original, an example of the earlier rhythms.

The last four words are added, in Mr. Russell’s own words, to show that the original song closes with a repetition of its opening. The complete version, in seventeen lines, uses the opening group three times. This song is archaic; and its rhythm is undoubtedly one of the earlier types.

101. Matthews, Washington. The Night Chant, pp. 280-281. Amer. Mus. of Nat. Hist. N. Y. 1902.

104. Ibid., pp. 357-358. Sung to consecrate the hogans, or dwellings, of the gods; and in later times, to consecrate the hogans of the Navahos.

110. Curtis, Natalie. The Indians’ Book, pp. 354-356. Each song is sung four times, with the substitution, in the sixth line, of the name of another mountain.

117. Curtis, Natalie. The Indians’ Part in the Dedication of the New Museum, pp. 31-32. Art and Archæology, vol. VII.

119. Curtis, Edward S. The North American Indian, vol. I, p. 37. The North American Indian, Inc. N. Y. 1907. Stenatliha—woman without parents—goddess of creation.

“This prayer is addressed to a mythic thunder-bird...; but the bird is spoken of as a male divinity.”

Stanzas II, III, and IV vary chiefly in the first two lines: the conclusion repeats four times, “It is finished in beauty.”

129. Mindeleff, Cosmos. Navaho Houses, pp. 504-505. 17th Ann. Rep. Part II. Bur. of Amer. Eth. Washington. 1898.

136. Fletcher, Alice C. The Omaha Tribe, pp. 586-587. Bur. of Amer. Eth. Washington. 1907.

138. Ibid., pp. 557-558, p. 573: “In the ritual, the primal rock, ... that which rose from the waters, is addressed by the term ‘venerable man.’ His assistance is called to the ‘little ones,’ the patients about to be administered to.”

146. Fletcher, Alice C. The Omaha Tribe, p. 130. See also A Study of Omaha Indian Music, p. 39. Archæological and Ethnological Papers, Peabody Museum, Harvard University. Vol. I, no. 5.

148. Curtis, Natalie. The Indians’ Book, p. 153. This Cheyenne song was sung by the old men, often from the summit of the hills at dawn.

152. The recessional movement appears in The Song of a Wolf in Miss Densmore’s Teton-Sioux Music, p. 190. Bulletin 61. Bur. of Amer. Eth. Washington. 1918.

154. Moulton, Richard G. Literary Introductions: Modern Readers’ Bible, pp. 1457-1458.

160-1. Matthews, Washington. (1) The Night Chant, pp. 282-283. (2) Navaho Legends, p. 269.

164. Mr. John P. Harrington is one of the few investigators who have taken account of the use of pitch in an Indian language. His discussion of this element in the Tewa speech may be found in his study of the Tiwa Language, Dialect of Taos, New Mexico, page 15. Papers of the School of American Archæology, number 14; also in American Anthropologist, volume 12, number 1. 1910.

166. See Dr. E. W. Scripture’s discussion of oral verse, Die Verskunst und die experimental Phonetik, Wiener Medizenische Wochenschrift, 1922.

Acknowledgments are due to the following persons, societies, and companies for their courteous permission to quote poems on which they hold the copyright:

The Iroquois Book of Rites. Library of Aboriginal Literature, Philadelphia. (Mrs. Daniel Brinton.)

The Sunrise Call, Hymn to the Sun, Sunset Song, Invocation to the Sun God, Lover’s Wooing, or Blanket Song. From “Traditional Songs of the Zuñi.” Theodore Presser Co., Philadelphia.

Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will be renamed.

Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project Gutenberg™ electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG™ concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you charge for an eBook, except by following the terms of the trademark license, including paying royalties for use of the Project Gutenberg trademark. If you do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the trademark license is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and research. Project Gutenberg eBooks may be modified and printed and given away—you may do practically ANYTHING in the United States with eBooks not protected by U.S. copyright law. Redistribution is subject to the trademark license, especially commercial redistribution.

START: FULL LICENSE

THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE

PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK

To protect the Project Gutenberg™ mission of promoting the free distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work (or any other work associated in any way with the phrase “Project Gutenberg”), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project Gutenberg™ License available with this file or online at www.gutenberg.org/license.

Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg™ electronic works

1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg™ electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property (trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works in your possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project Gutenberg™ electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.

1.B. “Project Gutenberg” is a registered trademark. It may only be used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg™ electronic works even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project Gutenberg™ electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg™ electronic works. See paragraph 1.E below.

1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation (“the Foundation” or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an individual work is unprotected by copyright law in the United States and you are located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project Gutenberg™ mission of promoting free access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg™ works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg™ name associated with the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project Gutenberg™ License when you share it without charge with others.

1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project Gutenberg™ work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any country other than the United States.

1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:

1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg™ License must appear prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg™ work (any work on which the phrase “Project Gutenberg” appears, or with which the phrase “Project Gutenberg” is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, copied or distributed:

This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this eBook.

1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg™ electronic work is derived from texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (does not contain a notice indicating that it is posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work with the phrase “Project Gutenberg” associated with or appearing on the work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the Project Gutenberg™ trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.

1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg™ electronic work is posted with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked to the Project Gutenberg™ License for all works posted with the permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work.

1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg™ License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg™.

1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project Gutenberg™ License.

1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg™ work in a format other than “Plain Vanilla ASCII” or other format used in the official version posted on the official Project Gutenberg™ website (www.gutenberg.org), you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original “Plain Vanilla ASCII” or other form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg™ License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.

1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg™ works unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.

1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing access to or distributing Project Gutenberg™ electronic works provided that:

• You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from the use of Project Gutenberg™ works calculated using the method you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg™ trademark, but he has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the address specified in Section 4, “Information about donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.”

• You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg™ License. You must require such a user to return or destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of Project Gutenberg™ works.

• You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of receipt of the work.

• You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free distribution of Project Gutenberg™ works.

1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg™ electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the manager of the Project Gutenberg™ trademark. Contact the Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below.

1.F.

1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread works not protected by U.S. copyright law in creating the Project Gutenberg™ collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg™ electronic works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain “Defects,” such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by your equipment.

1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the “Right of Replacement or Refund” described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project Gutenberg™ trademark, and any other party distributing a Project Gutenberg™ electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.

1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further opportunities to fix the problem.

1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you ‘AS-IS’, WITH NO OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.

1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions.

1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone providing copies of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works in accordance with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works, harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg™ work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any Project Gutenberg™ work, and (c) any Defect you cause.

Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg™

Project Gutenberg™ is synonymous with the free distribution of electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from people in all walks of life.

Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg™’s goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg™ collection will remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure and permanent future for Project Gutenberg™ and future generations. To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 and the Foundation information page at www.gutenberg.org.

Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation

The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non-profit 501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal Revenue Service. The Foundation’s EIN or federal tax identification number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state’s laws.

The Foundation’s business office is located at 809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email contact links and up to date contact information can be found at the Foundation’s website and official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact

Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation

Project Gutenberg™ depends upon and cannot survive without widespread public support and donations to carry out its mission of increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be freely distributed in machine-readable form accessible by the widest array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations ($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt status with the IRS.

The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any particular state visit www.gutenberg.org/donate.

While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who approach us with offers to donate.

International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.

Please check the Project Gutenberg web pages for current donation methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. To donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate

Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg™ electronic works

Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg™ concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared with anyone. For forty years, he produced and distributed Project Gutenberg™ eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.

Project Gutenberg™ eBooks are often created from several printed editions, all of which are confirmed as not protected by copyright in the U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition.

Most people start at our website which has the main PG search facility: www.gutenberg.org.

This website includes information about Project Gutenberg™, including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.

	PAGE
PART ONE
Indian Love Lyrics and Other Verse selected from the songs of the North American Indians.
I SONGS OF LOVE AND FRIENDSHIP
MY BARK CANOE	21
HER SHADOW	22
LOVER’S WOOING, OR BLANKET SONG	23
PAPAGO LOVE SONGS	25
LOVE SONG (DAKOTA)	26
THE BRIDE’S SONG	27
LONELY	28
WAR SONG	29
II SONGS OF GRIEF
ONONDAGO HYMN	30
LAMENT OF A MAN FOR HIS SON	31
THE DEATH OF TALUTA	32
WIND SONG	33
BLUEBIRD SONG	34
SONG OF THE UNHAPPY WIFE	35
THE SONG OF UKIABI	36[14]
A LOVER’S LAMENT (TEWA)	37
MY HOME OVER THERE (TEWA)	38
III SONGS OF NATURE (Secular)
HUNTING SONG	39
A SONG OF THE DEER CEREMONY	41
MOUNT KOONAK: A SONG OF ARSUT	42
THE COYOTE AND THE LOCUST	43
KA-NI-GA SONG	44
CORN-GRINDING SONG (LAGUNA)	45
SONG TO THE TREES AND STREAMS	46
SONG TO THE MOUNTAINS	47
RITUAL SONG	48
WIND SONG	49
A SONG OF SPRING	50
DARKNESS SONG (FROM THE INVITATION RITE)	51
THE INVITATION SONG	52
THE PLANTING SONG	56
IV SONGS OF RAIN
SONG OF THE RAIN CHANT	57
THE VOICE THAT BEAUTIFIES THE LAND	59
CORN-GRINDING SONG (TESUQUE)	60
SONG OF THE BLUE CORN DANCE	62
CORN-GRINDING SONG (ZUÑI)	63
CORN DANCE SONG (ZUÑI)	64[15]
KORASTA KATZINA SONG	65
ANGA KATZINA SONG	66
HE-HEA KATZINA SONG	67
WUWUCHIM CHANT	68
A RAIN SONG OF THE SNAKE SOCIETY I	69
A RAIN SONG OF THE SNAKE SOCIETY II	70
CORN SONG	71
RAIN SONGS	73
A METATE SONG	75
FLUTE SONG	77
V SONGS OF THE SUN, MOON, AND STARS
THE SUNRISE CALL	78
HYMN TO THE SUN	79
SUNSET SONG	82
INVOCATION TO THE SUN-GOD	83
A SONG OF GOTAL, LIII	84
FIRST DAYLIGHT SONG	85
SONG OF THE DAWN BOY	86
THE MORNING STAR AND THE NEW BORN DAWN	87
DAYLIGHT	88
THE BIRTH OF DAWN	89
SONG TO THE PLEIADES	91
THE SONG OF THE STARS	92
THE STARS DEHN-DEK AND MAH-OH-RAH	93[16]
VI SONGS OF DEITIES AND HOLY PLACES
SONG OF THE MASKED DANCERS	95
SONG OF THE MASKED DANCERS, III	96
EMERGENCE SONG	97
WARNING OF THE FLOOD	98
PROTECTION SONG	99
SONG OF NAYENEZGANI I	101
SONG OF NAYENEZGANI II	102
SONG OF THE HORSE	103
SONG OF THE HOGANS	104
WAR SONG (THE FLINT YOUTH)	107
ATSALEI YEDADIGLES (WIND BOY)	109
MOUNTAIN SONGS I-VI	110
MOUNTAIN SONG	114
MOUNTAIN SONG	116
VII SONGS OF INVOCATION FOR WELL BEING
INVOCATION OF THE GAME	117
MEDICINE SONG	119
PRAYER OF THE FIRST DANCERS	120
A PRAYER OF THE SECOND DAY OF THE NIGHT CHANT	125
PRAYER TO DSILYI NEYÁNI (LORD OF THE MOUNTAINS)	128
DEDICATION OF A NEW HOUSE	129
PRAYER OF THE FOSTER-PARENT CHANT	131[17]
HOLY SONG	132
INVOKING THE VISIONS	133
RITUAL SONG	135
MEDICINE SONG	136
SONG OF THE PRIMAL ROCK	138
INTRODUCTION OF THE CHILD TO THE COSMOS	142
SONG OF TURNING THE CHILD	144
SUPPLICATION OF THE TSÍZHU WASHTÁGE	145
THE TRIBAL PRAYER (OMAHA)	146
WAWAN SONG	147
THE MORNING SONG	148
PART TWO
Poetic Forms in American Indian Lyrics	149
NOTES	173
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS	183
INDEX	187

PREFACE

FOREWORD

CONTENTS

AMERICAN INDIAN LOVE LYRICS

PART ONE Indian Love Lyrics and Other Verse selected from the songs of the North American Indians

MY BARK CANOE (Ojibwa)

HER SHADOW (Ojibwa)

LOVER’S WOOING or BLANKET SONG (Zuñi)

PAPAGO LOVE SONG (Papago)

LOVE SONG (Dakota)

THE BRIDE’S SONG (Algonquin)

LONELY (Ojibwa)

WAR SONG (Dakota)

ONONDAGA HYMN (Iroquois)

LAMENT OF A MAN FOR HIS SON (Paiute)

DEATH OF TALUTA (Siouan)

WIND SONG (Kiowa)

BLUEBIRD SONG (Pima)

SONG OF THE UNHAPPY WIFE (Dakota)

THE SONG OF UKIABI (Cegiha)

A LOVER’S LAMENT (Tewa)

MY HOME OVER THERE (Tewa)

HUNTING-SONG (Navaho)

A SONG OF THE DEER CEREMONY (San Carlos Apache)

MOUNT KOONAK: A SONG OF ARSUT (Eskimaun)

THE COYOTE AND THE LOCUST (Zuñi)

KA-NI-GA SONG

CORN-GRINDING SONG II (Laguna)

SONG TO THE TREES AND STREAMS (Pawnee)

SONG TO THE MOUNTAINS (Pawnee)

RITUAL SONG (Pawnee)

WIND SONG (Pima)

A SONG OF SPRING (Chippewa)

THE DARKNESS SONG from the invitation rite (Iroquois)

THE INVITATION SONG

Part I (The Song of the Whip-poor-will announced by the flute.)

Part II (The Wolf and his mate are announced.)

Part III (Buck and Doe with cries enter the room.)

Part IV (The Bear and his mate have come.)

Part V (The Eagle Song)

THE PLANTING SONG (Osage)

SONG OF THE RAIN CHANT (Navaho)

THE VOICE THAT BEAUTIFIES THE LAND (Navaho)

CORN-GRINDING SONG (Tesuque Pueblo)

SONG OF THE BLUE CORN DANCE (Zuñi)

CORN-GRINDING SONG (Zuñi)

CORN DANCE SONG (Zuñi)

KOROSTA KATZINA SONG (Hopi)

ANGA KATZINA SONG (Hopi)

HE-HEA KATZINA SONG (Hopi)

WUWUCHIM CHANT (Hopi)

A RAIN SONG OF THE SNAKE SOCIETY—I (Sia)

A RAIN SONG OF THE SNAKE SOCIETY—II (Sia)

CORN SONG (Pima)

RAIN SONGS (Pima)

A METATE SONG

FLUTE SONG (Hopi)

THE SUNRISE CALL (Zuñi)

HYMN TO THE SUN (Zuñi)

SUNSET SONG (Zuñi)

INVOCATION TO THE SUN-GOD (Zuñi)

A SONG OF GOTAL LIII (Mescalero Apache)

FIRST DAYLIGHT SONG (Navaho)

SONG OF THE DAWN BOY (Navaho)

THE MORNING STAR AND THE NEW BORN DAWN (Pawnee)

DAYLIGHT (Pawnee)

THE BIRTH OF DAWN (Pawnee)

SONG TO THE PLEIADES (Pawnee)

THE SONG OF THE STARS (Algonquin)

THE STARS DEHN-DEK AND MAH-OH-RAH (Wyandot)

SONG OF THE MASKED DANCERS (Apache)

A SONG OF THE MASKED DANCERS III (Apache)

EMERGENCE SONG (Pima)

THE WARNING OF THE FLOOD (Pima)

PROTECTION SONG (Navaho)

SONG OF NAYENEZGANI I (Navaho)

SONG OF NAYENEZGANI II (Navaho)

SONG OF THE HORSE (Navaho)

SONG OF THE HOGANS (Navaho)

WAR-SONG (Navaho)

PART ONE
Indian Love Lyrics and Other Verse selected from the songs of the North American Indians

PART TWO
Poetic Forms in American Indian Lyrics