Music of The Americas
When learning about the culture of Native Americans, I was mesmerized and fell in love with the Powwow ceremony because there’s many aspects of their culture that relates to my own culture and it made me feel like I was at home (Disclaimer: I was born in Charleston but, still). I was fascinated by the dancing and was curious to learn more about the different types of dances in Native American culture. I took on my own curiosity to explore the many dances and discovered a dance that intrigued me: the Grass Dance. The Grass Dance is actually one of the oldest dances to exist in Native American culture. The dancers imitate the swaying of the grass when the wind blows and they dance purposefully to make the grass flat, as a preparation for a ceremony. The video below is a Grass Dance performance that took place in North Dakota. As you are watching the video, you can see that they have jingles on their regalias, which acts as an idiophone.
Music is the heart of the Native Americans. They incorporate music into their everyday lives and it brings them together as a community. When we were listening to the music of the Native Americans, we could hear the powerful drums and the intensity of the shakers but what really intrigued me was the soft sound from the flute. I delved deeper into the flute and discovered the history of the Native American flute. It is said that the history of the Native American flute is not very clear. As we know, there are no written records of their music so everything is passed by rote. It is possible that there were many different types of flutes that could’ve been used from the beginning of their time and there weren’t any records of the Native American flute until the 19th century. The article also delves into the research of the flute under Dr. Richard Payne and how it changed over the years into present day. Below is a video of a flute solo performed by R. Carlos Nakai. As you're listening, just close your eyes and enjoy the sound of the Native American flute.
This was a very insightful and authentic blog post. The music is beautiful. Everything about their culture and music is beautiful too.💜💜
ReplyDeleteTisha, what a great post! I found the bit on the Grass dance to be very interesting. I wonder how the first Native American settlers created these dances. Were they inspired by visions, brainstorming, or just a love of nature and a desire to express that gratitude? It would be cool to find out :)
ReplyDeleteThe Native American flute has such a comforting and restful timbre to it, it can put me to sleep! However, the second flute he plays near the end is super high pitched and not near as peaceful and calm.
ReplyDeleteWow! I never knew about the grass dance! The outfits when they move in the winds, the tassels, really looks as if they are parts of the grass themselves, which totally fits in with the theme of nature within their culture. Thank you Tisha!
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting that not only is the Grass Dance symbolic in their movements to imitate the swaying of the grass, but it is also useful in the way that it flattens the grass to prepare for an event. That is so clever! I would love to see a before and after picture of what the dancing would manage to do to a field of grass!
ReplyDeleteTisha you really out did yourself on this blog post it is awesome and informative. I too have Bolivia on my bucket list. Let's make that trip together!
ReplyDeleteThat grass dance is incredible! Isn't it amazing how so much of their culture is rooted in nature?
ReplyDeleteI absolutely loved the flute video!! I actually saved it to my "watch later" playlist because I know its calming sound will come in handy later.
That festival in Bolivia looks so fun! Those costumes are certainly impressive, especially the orange ones with the black masks. Every single outfit makes me want to ask what the story is behind it, if there is one.
Wow! Thank you for sharing what you have learned about the Oruro carnival! Did I see a marching band as well!!! Awesome!! My favorite costume have to be from the Tinku San Simon, what was yours ?
ReplyDelete-KG