MUSIC OF THE PLAINS ~ - ~RECORDED AND EDITED BY JOHN BEATTY)ASCH MANKIND SERIES 4252

MUSICOF THE
PLAINS
RECORDED AND
EDITED BY
JOHN BEATTY

SIDE I
Band 1Band 2 Band 3 Band 4 -A-CHI LOREN'S SONGS
Wolf Song
Turtle Song
Turkey Song
Puppy SongBand 5 -B-LULLABIESGo To Sleep Baby Boy

Band 6 Band 7 Band 8 Band 9 -C-PEYOTE SONGS
There Is Good Medicine
We Are In The Peyote Tipi
It I s On The Curved Mound
It Is Sure A Good Morning

BAnd 10Band 11-

D-CHURCH SONGSSon Of Our FatherJesus Is Standing In The Water

Band 12Band 13-E-DANCESONGS
Snake Dance Song
Buffalo Dance SongSIDE II
Band 1 Band 2 -F-HAND GAME SONGS
Four Hand Game Songs Sung SoloA Hand Game Performance

DESCRIPTIVE NOTES ARE INSIDE POCKET01969 ASCH RECORDS, 43 W. 61st ST., N.Y.C .• U.S.A.
COVER DESIGN BY RONALD CLYNE

ASCH MANKIND SERIES AHM 4252

FOLKWAYS RECORDS Album No. AHM 4252
© 1969 Asch Records, 43 W. 61st St., NYC, USAMUSIC OF THE PLAINS APACHE

Recorded and Edited
by John Beatty

GERTRUDE CHALEP AH

KIOWA-AP ACHE

during the Kiowa Sun Dance ceremony. At this timethey were incorporated into the Kiowa tribe as one I)f themany bands or sub-groups. But the Kiowa, perhaps inrecognition of the fact that these people were not members of their tribe, determined that a Kiowa and not a
Kiowa-Apache should be their cermonial leader. During
the rest of the year, the Kiowa-Apache lived independently of the other Kiowa bands and maintained an
Apachean way of life.
Today the Kiowa-Apache live in Oklahoma, in thevicinity of Anadarko, Apache and Carnegie. Many otherIndian tribes are also located in the same area. TheKiowa, Comanche, Caddo, Witchita and St. Sill Apache
can be found in this part of Oklahoma.
Almost all of these tribes have dances or pow-wowseach year. Members of the various tribes attend eachothers dances, and often Sing each others songs at thesegatherings. A great many styles of music can be heard.
The selections on this recording were all made in
the area of Oklahoma where the Kiowa-Apache live.
All the selections are Kiowa-Apache by virtue of thefact that they have Kiowa-Apache words, or are known
to have been composed by a Kiowa-Apache.

About 700 A. D. Indians speaking on Athabascan
language migrated from their original homeland in
Northern Canada to the Northwest coast. Some remained there while others, about six or seven hundredyears later, moved to the Southwestern part of what is
now the United States. As the years passed and thepeople spread throughout the area, each group encountered special environmental conditions and different non-athabascan tribes. Thus they became increasingly distinct from each other so that, by the time
the Spanish contacted them in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth centuries, they were separate tribes. But eachstill spoke a Southern Athabascan (or Apachean) tongue.
Today, these peoples are known as the Navajos andApaches.
The Kiowa-Apache (or Plains Apache) are an
Apache group because they speak one of the Apachean
languages and have a social organization which is quite
similar to other Apache groups. The name "KiowaApache" comes from their close association with theKiowa Indians of the great plains with whom they lived
1

SIDE I
A. Children's Songs

C. Peyote Songs
Today two major religious forms are practiced bythe Kiowa-Apache. One of these is Christianity, theother a nativistic movement known generally as theNative American Church, or Peyote religion.
The peyote ritual or meeting is an all night affair.
The people attending the meeting enter the tipi at sundown and remain there all night. During the course of
the meeting songs are sung by the men who are present.
One man and his partner perform the song. One man
sings the song while accompanying himself with agourd rattle, while his partner keeps a rapid rhythm ona small water drum.
After singing four songs, the men exchange instruments and the second man sings four songs. After hehas completed his four songs, the instruments are
passed on to the next men in the circle.
The texts of the songs are relatively short, andare surrounded by several lines of vocables or nonsense
syllables.
The four songs sung here, were recorded in
Anadarko, at the home of one of the Kiowa-Apache.
The singer was alone, and therefore the only accompaniment to the song is the gourd rattle; the water
drum was not used.

The children's songs, are frequently sung by adults
to children. Children sing them too, and are encouraged to do so. The songs are usually about animals, andon occassion have animal imitative sounds following thesong. The songs heard here are the Wolf song, Turtle
song, Turkey song, and PURPY song. The texts are as
follows:
Band 1: Wolf SongThe wolves are howling
All are saying ''buta'' (translation unavailable)
He is eating something good.
Band 2: Turtle SongThe turtle is running on the side - runningin the dust
Every part of him is running in the dust.
Band 3: Turkey SongBaby turkey strutsI am going to build a fire
Scratching the ground.
Band 4: Puppy Song
Where did everybody move toI am all alone.

Band 6:

B. Lullabies

Band 5:
Lullabies can also be found in Kiowa-Apache culture. They are sung to put children to sleep. In thisrecording of a Kiowa-Apache lullaby, Mrs. Irene
Poolaw (nee Chalepah), sings the lullaby that she sangto all of her children. The words mean "Sleep, little
baby boy, sleep".

dizee yiskon
xosbeeiskon
xosnebiiskon

There is good medicine
In the peyote
In the morningxosbeeiskon
nabeeyiskon

We are in the peyote tipi
In the morning

Band 7:

IRENE POOLAW

2Band 8:
seena neeon
xos eeana

In addition the Native American Church members
believe that the references made in the Bible to certain plants are in fact references to the Peyote cactus.

It is on the curved moundthe peyote is lying

Band 9:yakonzrodee
yiskon

It is sure a good morning

Band 10:daxiiasee bizraaa
atleeyetse
godanxiizree
daxiiniikuahdaaiitla

D. Church Songs
Many Christian sects can be found among theKiowa-Apache. Methodists , Baptists and Holy Rollers
are a few of them.
Both religions have their own music styles; theChristian church music having relatively western
melodic lines, while the peyote songs tend to conformto the Athabascan Indian music style with its arc
shaped melodic lines and its relatively mild vocal
technique (especially when compared to the typical
Plains style).
The Christian church spread to the Plains via
missionary activities, while the Native American
Church is far more aboriginal in its origins, althoughsome Christian traits are seen in it. The impositionof Christian values as well as the name Christ had been
seen earlier in the Ghost Dance religion. Here, thename of Jesus appears in the texts of Ghost Dancesongs. For example one Kiowa-Apache song says :yinka eydonaxiizrii

Son of Our Father
will set up a cedar tree
Now he is calling to us
He's going to heal ourminds
That's why he is calling
to us

Band 11:jesus kosiizii
dinde ditla yinka
eekoseezi
jesus had dizrii
dinde ditla yinka
eekoseezi

Jesus is standing in thewaterHe wants us to get wellJesus is calling
He wants us to get well.

E. Dance Songs

Who was it who told it?
Who was it who told it?
Jesus told it,
He told of people coming down from the sky.

These are social dances done everytime there is agathering. They are melodically very unApachean.
These dance songs are performed by John BooneEmhoolah.

~AYMOND (Ace) CHALEPAH

3

SIDE II

coat - somewhere where they are out of sight - andplaces one bone in each hand. The object is not to let
the members of the other team see where the markedbone is. Some people are said to have a great deal ofpower, and are able to conceal the bones in theirhands without covering their hands in any way.
As soon as the bones are hidden the team whichhas possession of the bones begins to sing, accompanied by drums. The members of the team whohave hidden the bones bring their hands out in front ofthem and begin swinging their hands in circles. The
other team members do likewise while yelling andotherwise attempting to distract the person on theother team who is trying to guess which hands conceal
the marked bones.
The guesser, who is on the opposite team guesses(or tries to guess) which hands hide the striped bone.
The guesses are made by way of hand signals.
The scoring procedure is extremely complex, andis done by means of shifting several groups of sticks.
In addition to using one set of sticks for scoring eachguess, each team had a net of four sticks. These''team sticks" may be won or lost. As a team loses a"round", one of these "team sticks" is given to the
opposing side. A game is over when one team has alleight team sticks.
The first three hand game songs heard on thisrecording are sung first by a single singer. These arefollowed by seven songs sung by a team of hand gameplayers. Under normal circumstances this would
never be done, since no individual player would eversing a song alone. Usually the drummers start a song,and the rest of the team joins in. Some texts deal withthe game itself; one song says "I am winning back thesticks". Another says, ''He is looking at me, but hecan't tell where I have hidden the bones". Other songs,
have words that do not deal with the hand game.

F: Hand Game Songs
The hand games are guessing games which arefound with variations among many Indian tribes fromWashington across the Prairies. They are games inwhich one team plays against another team. Moneyis bet on each game. In the past, the betting ofblankets and horses was known. It is also said that
there is a certain amount of "Medicine" or power
involved in guessing.
The game is played as follows. Two teams areformed with many people on each side. The numberof people on a team is optional and the teams need nothave equal numbers of players.
Before the game starts, each player contributes
some money to a team "pot". This constitutes hiswager. When all the money is in, each team counts
the amount that has been bet jointly by all the members of the team. If the pots are not equal, the sidewith the smaller pot attempts to raise the difference.
If the attempt is not successful, some of the moneyfrom the larger pot must be returned to the teammembers. Once the pots are equal the game canproceed. The equalization of the pot insures thateach player will receive twice his investment if hisor her team should win.
The hand game performed on this recording wastaped in the winter of 1966 near Apache, Oklahoma.
The game is played with four small bones. Twoof these are marked with a red stripe, while the othertwo remain unmarked. A pair of bones consists of one
marked bone and one unmarked bone.
Two players on one team are chosen to hide thebones. Each person chosen receives a pair of bones(i. e. a marked and unmarked bone). He hides hishands either behind his back or under a blallket or

Associate Editor, Michael!. Asch

Asch Mankind Series
AHM 4126 - THE FOUR VEDAS. Introduction andNotes by Prof. J. F. Staal. Recordings by John Levy
and J. F. Staal.
Consists of a body of hymns (the Rgveda) sacrificial
formulas (the Yajurveda), chants (the Samveda) andmagical formulas (the Atharvaveda), which together
constitute the four Vedas. The whole of this broad
anthology has been handed down by word of mouth.
Rgveda, Black Yajurveda, White Yajurveda,
Samaveda and Atharvaveda, The Nambudiri Tradition,
and Vedic Ritual. English and complete transliteration, illustrated notes.
2-12" LPs
ARM 4210 - SONGS OF THE WESTERN DESERTABORIGINES. Recorded by R.A. Gould.
Kangaroo Cycle-Bloodletting, Novice, Mimicry,
Dance Songs Kangaroo & Dingo, Sacred Songs, Rainand Tingari Cycle Songs, Women's Songs. Complete
illustrated notes.
1-12" LPARM 4212 - MUSIC OF GUATEMALA. Recorded andEdited by Jacques Jangoux. From San Juan Laguna,
Chirmia and Drum. From San Pedro Laguna,Marimba and Clarinet, Chirmia and Drum. FromJocotan, Small Marimba. From Todos Santos,
Whistling and Children's Songs, Humming, Marimba
and Songs. Complete Notes.
1-12"LP4

LITHO IN U.S.A.

~IS'