Arapaho music
| Indigenous music of North America |
|---|
| Music of indigenous tribes and peoples |
| Types of music |
| Instruments |
| Awards ceremonies and awards |
TheArapahoare a tribe ofNative Americansfrom the westernGreat Plains,in the area of easternColoradoandWyoming.TraditionalArapaho music,described byBruno Nettl(1965, p. 150), includessacredand secular songs. Traditional music usesterraced descenttypemelodic motion,with songs consisting of two sections, each with a range of more than anoctaveandscalesof four to six tones.
Sun Dance[edit]
The Arapaho Sun Dance, performed in the summer when the Arapaho bands come together for the occasion, is a ceremony performed in order to guide warriors on avision,receiving a guardian spirit. The vision is inspired by intense self-torture.
There are also Arapahofolksongs taught by guardian spirits, which are only supposed to be sung when the recipient is near death.
Secular music[edit]
Secular Arapaho songs include a wide variety ofround dancesin triplemeter,thesnake dance,therabbit dance(apartner danceintroduced after European contact) and aturtle dance,along withlullabies,children's,war,historical, andcourtshipsongs.
Ghost Dance[edit]
The Ghost Dance was areligion,introduced from tribes further west than the Arapaho in the 1880s. In 1891, the religion was outlawed by the United States, leading to a rebellion among the adherents and culminating in theWounded Knee Massacre.Music was an integral part of the Ghost Dance, and included folk songs that were retained long after the movement ended (ibid, 151).
Peyote songs[edit]
Peyoteis acactusfound natively inMexico.The buttons of the cactus, when chewed, act as ahallucinogenused in the ancientAztecreligion and continued by area tribes to the present. Peyote ceremonies spread north and east, reaching theApachetribes in the 18th century and then spreading to most every tribe in North America, along with someApache musicand Plains-Pueblocharacteristics. Peyote songs accompany the peyote ceremonies, and are mostly the same throughout the area of peyote'sentheogenicuse. These songs are most similar to traditional songs of the Plains area, but are characterized by a rapid rhythm composed of two note values, transcribed as quarter and eighth notes.Vocables,or non-lexical syllables are used, as are cadential and closing formulas.
References[edit]
- Nettl, Bruno (1965).Folk and Traditional Music of the Western Continents.Prentice-Hall, Inc.
Further reading[edit]
- Densmore, Frances (1964).Cheyenne and Arapaho Music.Southwest Museum.ISBN0-916561-12-7.