Indian Games and Dances with Native Songs Part 3

Up springs our jointed stem, They call! They call!

Golden fruit shall grow on them.

_Refrain_: Hey hey they, Ah hey hey they, Ah hey hey they, They call! They call!

Ah hey hey they, Ah hey hey they, Ah hey hey they, Ah hey they.

In this stanza the promise of fruit is given. The dancers should show excitement not only at the wonderful spectacle they observe but because of the promise given.

They should still keep in groups as they move about and exult in the results that have come from the little hills where they left their "footprints."

In the original Ritual Song there are more than a score of stanzas in which the various occurrences of the growth of the corn are mentioned, mingled with symbolic imagery. "Footprints" represent both labor and owners.h.i.+p.

Those who planted the kernels look for these marks and rejoice over what they find. They had begun their planting "like a game," a venture; whether it would be successful or not no one could tell. But success had come. The action for the last stanza should indicate an abandonment to delight; hoes should be dropped as the groups mingle and act out pleasure not only at what is seen but what is promised.

A pause should follow, then the hoes should be picked up and the dancers gather by twos and threes in a line to return home; as they start they break into the same song which they sang on the return from making and planting the little hills:

[Music]

The dancers should keep up the song and rhythmic dance until their individual tents are reached.

DANCE IV

INTRODUCTORY NOTE.--This dance, taken from the Corn Ritual, represents a visit to the field later in the season when the harvest time is near at hand. The keynote of this visit is in a line of one of the many stanzas of the original Ritual Song, "I go in readiness of mind." The mind is a.s.sured, prepared to find in the place where the "footprints" had been made, where the little kernels had broken the covering of earth to reach "the light of day," that these have now grown tall and strong under the summer sun and are "standing in the fulness of day." This a.s.surance is justified, for the corn is found ready to pluck, and some of its ears are joyously carried to the people at home.

_Properties_.--The same costumes as those worn by the boys and girls in Dance II and III. The green scarfs used in Dance I will be needed in the latter part of this dance; these can be folded and carried in the pouches and pockets.

_Directions_.--The scene should be laid in the same place as the two preceding dances and the dancers should gather at the same spot whence they started to the "field" in Dance II and III.

The dancers, both boys and girls, should be discovered standing in an open group talking together in dumb show, evidently discussing the probabilities as to the ripening of the corn. They may have been saying: "Already the boys are shouting, The cattail is in bloom!" This was a sign that the time had come for the corn to be ripe. Some one whose mind was "in readiness"

makes the suggestion (in pantomime) to go to the "field"; to this all agree, and the group breaks into lines as the boy and girl dancers sing the following song:

Song

1

In readiness of mind to the field we go, Where we footprints made, there stately jointed stalks grow.

Loud rustle the long leaves, bright the ta.s.sels wave o'er each row.

_Refrain_: Ah hey hey hey they, Ah hey hey they, Ah hey hey hey they, Ah hey hey they, Ah hey they.

[Music]

The steps of the dancers must be in rhythm with the song and all movements should indicate a feeling of a.s.surance. When the "field" is reached certain motions of the feet should suggest a memory of the "footprints." The "field" is now covered by rows of tall cornstalks; therefore, when the "field" is reached the dancers should move in parallel lines, as if they were pa.s.sing between these rows. Some lines should cross at right angles, giving the effect of walking between high barriers, along pathways that intersect each other at right angles. When the dancers pa.s.s along these alleys, so to speak, movements should be made to indicate brus.h.i.+ng against or pus.h.i.+ng out of the way the "long rustling leaves" of the corn, and to point to the "waving ta.s.sels" far above their heads. This pantomime, with its rhythmic movements suggesting long lines of cornstalks, the brus.h.i.+ng aside with the hands of the long leaves of the stalks, should make an effective picture.

2

Strongly the ears shoot out, fill'd with golden grain, Up into the full light, life flowing in each vein, Sacred the corn now stands ready to give its strength full fain.

_Refrain_: Ah hey hey hey they, Ah hey hey they, Ah hey hey hey they, Ah hey hey they, Ah hey they.

The length of the original Ritual Song, together with the picturesque quality of the native language, permits the bringing out in full detail of this scene of the cornfield: the ears standing at angles from the stalk, and the husks full of kernels replete with life-giving power. Because of this power the corn has now "become sacred," filled with life from Wakon'da, thereby related to that great power and through it linked to the life of mankind. The idea of this unity throughout all nature, including man, is fundamental to Indian thought and belief. It is expressed in all his religious ceremonies and also in his vocations, both serious and playful. In the present instance it appeals to him through the planting, the growth, the maturing and the use of the corn, giving its life to man.

To convey the picture of the cornfield, and to suggest the thoughts that imbue the scene as expressed in the native rituals, will require some study, but the effort will be well worth while. These thoughts were vital upon this continent centuries before the land became our home. The maize in all its richness and beauty has become ours to enjoy, and while we accept this gift let us not fail to catch and to hold the lingering vibrations of its native teaching that aimed to lift the thoughts of the worker in the cornfield to the Great Giver of Life and Beauty.

In planning the pantomime for this stanza the dancers should not forget the rhythm of the song and to keep the lines as though they were walking between rows of tall cornstalks.

3

Where'er we look wide fields wait harvest to meet; Ripe are the ears we pluck, juicy the corn we eat; Filling our arms, we go homeward, happy hearts there we meet.

_Refrain_: Ah hey hey hey they, Ah hey hey they, Ah hey hey hey they, Ah hey hey they, Ah hey they.

The action requisite for the interpretation of this stanza by pantomime is comparatively easy, as looking over the field ready for harvest, and plucking a few ears of the corn. Care should be taken not to appear to touch the row where the seven hills were made, for the product of these are to be used as the "first-fruit offering." During the singing of the first line of the third stanza a few of the dancers should slip behind some of the others and there take out their scarfs from the pouches or pockets, make each scarf into a loose bundle and carry it upon the folded arms as though it was filled with ears of corn. In this way, a few at a time, the dancers can secure their scarfs, and arrange them to look like bundles of corn to be taken homeward.

All the lines that have been moving as between rows of corn should now come together and form a long line and with dancing, rhythmic steps, and arms filled with corn, return to the starting place, and from there wind about the camp ground singing the refrain, which can be repeated _ad lib_. until they finally disperse and go to their tents.

DANCE V

Introductory Note.--This dance represents the bringing of the "first-fruit offering" of the corn from the seven little hills that were ceremonially planted after the dead leaves of winter had been cleared away. The dancers who follow the seven leaders carrying the cornstalks represent the people in triumphal procession in honor of Corn as "Mother breathing forth life."

Both words and music of the song for this procession are taken from a great religious ceremony of the p.a.w.nee wherein Corn is spoken of as A-ti-ra, Mother, with the prefix H' signifying breath, the sign of life. "H'A-ti-ra"

("Mother breathing forth life") is repeated over and over and is the only word used in this song. The repet.i.tion is not an idle procedure but an awakening of echoes in the native mind, of all that Corn has meant to his ancestors and race during the centuries. The repeated words imply contemplation on the subject. This song when heard sung by a hundred or more could not fail to impress one with its majestic fervor. The beautiful, bountiful maize giving its life that others might enjoy life, on another plane, is here reverently and joyously proclaimed "Mother."

_Properties_.--Green and other bright colored scarfs or mantles, as many as there are dancers, boys and girls, also wreaths made of long leaves like those of the cornstalk; these can be manufactured from green paper. Tall yellow plumes, similar to the ta.s.sel of the corn, and fastened to the wreath in such manner that when the wreath is worn the plume will stand above the forehead. Seven cornstalks, or wands so wound with green as to appear like the stalk of the corn with its ta.s.sel.

_Directions_.--All the dancers should be wrapped in their mantles and have on their wreaths, the erect ta.s.sel plume standing directly over the middle of the forehead. Boys and girls must mingle in this dance. All dress as before, with the addition of the mantles. Implements, pouches and bows and arrows are not used. Of the seven who are to lead, four should be boys and three girls. When leading the procession and carrying the cornstalks, the first line of four should be a boy, two girls, a boy; the second line of three should be a boy, a girl, a boy. These seven must wear green robes or mantles and hold the cornstalks, with their hands draped by the mantle. The other dancers can wear green or other colored mantles or scarfs. The boys must sing the songs, for the volume of sound must be full in order to produce the true effect of this impressive ceremony. The seven dancers who have been selected to act as leaders should stand in a group by themselves in front of the other dancers, who are in loose groups at the rear. On the s.p.a.ce which heretofore in these dances has represented the "field," the seven cornstalks or wands should be laid in a windrow on the ground. When ready to begin the dance the dancers should be discovered in the two groups as already described, talking quietly in dumb show.

The seven leaders, who are in the front group by themselves, appear to consult together; then, led by one of their number, sing the following song:

Song No. 1

1

Golden on ev'ry hand, Waving, the cornfields stand, Calling us thither; Calling us thither, First-fruits to cull and bring Our sacred offering To great Wakon'da, Giver of Corn.

[Music]

During the singing the seven leaders stand together wrapped in their green mantles. All the other dancers are grouped at a little distance back, still talking as at first in dumb show. At the third line they stop talking, at the fourth line they give attention to the seven leaders, at the fifth line they join in the song. During the singing of this stanza there should be no change in the relative positions of the two groups, but during the singing all who sing should keep up a gentle rhythmic swaying of the body.

2

Now to the field we hie, Where stands the corn so high, Calling us thither; Calling us thither, First-fruits to cull and bring Our sacred offering To great Wakon'da, Giver of Corn.

The seven leaders, at the beginning of the first line of the second stanza, slowly fall into line and with deliberate rhythmic steps move toward the "field," reaching it by the fifth line, and while singing that line they should pick up the cornstalks and hold them, with their hands draped with their green mantles, high to the front.

At the close of the first stanza the other group of dancers should resume a dumb show of speaking to one another until the third line of the second stanza, when they change their att.i.tude and give attention; at the fourth line they join in the song, and at the fifth move toward the "field" where are the seven leaders. By the close of the second stanza all the dancers should be in one group at the "field."

All the dancers stand there at the "field" a moment in silence. Then the seven leaders sing the introduction to the following Processional Song: