The music of the Native American Indians consists mostly of songs and dances. They have songs for games, children, love, work and social dancing. But most of their music is associated with some kind of religious activity.

RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES

Before 1900 the Plains Indians performed the ghost dance. It was supposed to drive away the hated white men and help the Native Americans get back their land and buffalo. It consisted mainly of singing and dancing. Although the Native Americans do not do the ghost dance anymore, they still sing the songs.

Ghost dance songs are different from other songs of the Plains Indians. They do not go very high or very low, and they repeat each phrase of melody before going on to the next. The older songs of the Plains Indians start very high and work their way down to a low, long, drawn-out tone. These songs are accompanied by a drum played loudly and slowly.

Another religious dance of the Plains Indians is the Sun dance. The Plains dance around a pole in the summer heat, singing and praying for good hunting. The Arapaho and Dakota Indians sing some of their most impressive songs during this dance.

Music is also used in ceremonies to heal the sick. One example is the famous Yeibichai, or night chant, of the Navajo Indians – ceremony lasting 9 nights. In addition to prayers it includes dances and songs sung by men with falsetto, or artificially high, voices.

Another example of healing by music comes from Yuma Indians of the southwestern United States. People who are feeling disturbed go to a hut away from their settlement for a few weeks. Here they make up songs. They think that the songs come to them in dreams or from the god that created the world. When they return, they feel cured.

Characteristic of Native American Indian Songs

Although they have no harmony and few melody-making instruments, the Native Americans do use intricate melodies. In the eastern United States the Shawnee and the Creek tribes have songs in which a short bit of melody is sung alternately by a leader and a group. This kind of singing is called responsorial.

In many tribes, especially those of the Plains Indians, the singers put a great deal of tension of their vocal chords. The result is a kind of frenzied, intense tone. In some of the Pueblo tribes, singing in a low, growling voice is preferred. Elsewhere, singing in a high voice is heard.

Many songs of the Plains Indians are made up of two parts. In the first part the singer starts high and gradually works his way down the scale, singing only meaningless syllables, such as "hey-hey" or "ho-ho". Then he starts high again, singing the real words of the song. He ends on low tones, again with meaningless syllables.

A typical song of the Arapaho Indians has words like these: "Man, look up here, I am the bird," and "Young man it is good that you are going on a war party; when you become a chief, you will be famous."

TRIBAL MUSICIAN

Most members of a tribe participate in the musical life of the tribe. But there are usually no professional musicians. Often the people important in the religious ceremonies – the priests, shamans or witch doctors – are the leaders of the musical life. As in the vision quest of the Plains Indians, many young men make up songs.

Most members of a tribe can sing and know many songs, but not so many can play instruments. A good singer in one tribe may not be considered good in another tribe. Some tribes think the quality of the voice is most important. Others think it is the loudness.

Music as valuable treasures

Many Native American Indians tribes think of their songs as treasured possessions. They believe that a song belongs to a person. The owner of a song can give it away, sell it or pass it on his children. The Native Americans of the northwest coast buy and sell songs for large sums. They believe that music is something of the spirit and that a song has something to do with a person’s soul. So to give a song away, or even to let someone hear it, is to give away part of one’s soul.