FOLKWAYS RECORDS Album No. FE4523© 1967 Folkways Records & Service Corp., 701 Seventh Ave., NYC, USA

INDIAN MUSIC OF THE
PACIFIC NORTHWEST COAST
Collected and recorded by Dr. Ida Halpern
Introduction and notes by Dro Ida Halpern
This album was prepared for the CanadianCentennial Year, 1967, with the help of a
grant from the British Columbia Government
in 1966 to the Canadian , Folk Music Society.
In the compilation' Dr. Halpern was
assisted by Margaret Sargent McTaggart,formerly of the National Museum of Canada.
Ida Halpern received her Ph. D. inmusicology from the Unlversity of Vienna
in 1938 where she studied under Robert Lachand Egon Wellesz • She has taught at the
University of Shanghai, the University of
British Columbia and is at present an
Honorary Associate, Simon Fraser University,
British Columbia.
General Introduction
The Indians of the Pacific Northwest
Coast are aaong the most interesting andcolorful to be found north of Mexico.
Their tribes include the Kwak1utl, theNootka, the Tlineit, the H'3.ir:la, the 'i'simshian, the Bella Coola and the Coast Salish.
The highest cultural development occurredin the northern tribes, gradually diminishing
as one moves south to the Coast Salish.
The Kwakiutl occupied reserves in thenorthern corner of Vancouver Island, ranging
from Johnstone Strait to Cape Cook; it istheir music with which we are mainly concernedin this presentation.
In addition to music, the Kwakiutl
culture was greatll enriched by totem poles,
masks and costumes, and a var{ety of mythand legend which form a most rewarding study.
They express the.selves masterfully in theweaving of blankets and intricate basketwork,in carvings of wood and stone, and in the \OlOrkineof metal.
'(Dr. Halpern's study centered aroundthe ~wakiutl and Nootka tribe.o) While theIshowed no distinct political or~izatiQD.
both religion and society placed greate.phasis on prestige, rather than power.
~uch importance was given to wealth, family
possessions and the ownership of slaves.
Social cli.bing and the denigration ofrivals were strong motives. Of great impor-tance also were thejr ritual s and ceremonies,
kept according to strict rules, and resulting
in the exercise of medicine-man power, theacquisition of supernatural powers, theestablishment of direct contact with thespirit world, and the initiation of secretsocieties.
The nucleus for all these activities
was the celebrated potlatch, the tribal
ceremony which kept all the facets of life
functioning in high gearo The potlatch was
the cultural artery of Indian life.
In 1770, on the arrival of the whiteman, the entire West Coast Indian population
was estimated to be about seventy thousandpeople while the Kwakiutl population was
between seven and eight thousand. In 1882,
through infectious diseases the Kwakiutl
had dwindled to about three thousand, five
hundred. In 1924, there were slightly under
two thousand. Since that time, however, thetrend has been reversed, and they now
nUllber about four thousand, three hundred,(1964).
The political unit of the Kwakiutl
was the village, which was self-supporting.
Only luxuries, including slaves, were traded.
The chief, who lived in a great house, posessed those names which, with other rights,
titles and privileges, were handed down fromgeneration to generation. These might include
the ownership of a song, a crest, a special
seat at the potlatch, or the right to membership in secret societies such as the Hamatsa,
the so-called "cannibal society."
The Hamatsa originated with the Kwakiutl
and later spread to the Haida and Nootka tribes. Initiation was a great honor,
accorded only to those of high rank, andwas compulsory for chiefs.
The Hamatsa songs and dances are usuallyinterpreted and understood as "cannibal"~ces and Bongs.
Chief Billy Assu vasvery anxious to point out to Dr. Halpern
that these "cannibal" dances were only JDB.kebelieve, or illusions. The idea vas fora 10unS chosen man to be sent out into thewoods without food for a long period andthrough fasting to become one with nature.
Through meditation in that aeclusion, thischosen person was geared to recai ve super.
natural powers ~nd, on his return to thevillage, festivities, dances, and potlatches
were given in his honor. (For further
relevant information see the Hamatsa songs.)
The Kwakiutl were composed of four
phrfltries--Raven, Eagle, Killer Whale andWolf. They were allowed to marry outside
their own phratry. The child belonged tothe mother'. pbratry (aatrilineal descent)but later could change to his father's.
Human beings dressed in Raven dress but
were not considered deAcendants of the ~ven.

General Remarks on the Recordings

Dr. Halpern says of her collecting:"I started to collp.ct Indian folk music assoon as I entered Canada, in 1939. However,it took six years of intensive contactmaking before I was successful in convincing
the Indians that they should sing for me
their old authentic songs, known only to theold chiefs.
Chief Billy Assu was the first one tounderstand the importance of such recordings
when I pointed out to him that none of his
three sons were interested in knOwing theold songs, and that when he died, the songs
would also be dead.
He then invited me to stay with him
and his wife in his house on the Indian
reserve in Cape Mudge, where I recordedon disc 85 songs."

Every phase of Indian life is portrayedin songs and dances. The Indian has a songfor each occasion and endows it with great
importance. Four phases of their lives
were chosen for the respective four sidesof the recordings, which really can be understood as a part of a great potlatch, themainspring of Indian existence.
The songs on the recordings were selected
frOll a group of nearly three hundred, collectedby Dr. Ida Halpern during the years 19471953, at Alert Bay, Cape Mudge, Port Alberni,
Victoria and Vancouver.
The National Museum of Canada had themcatalogued for their archives, and thenumber shown after each singer's name corresponds to the catalogue number.
The rpcordings are in the possession of
Dr. Halpern. Research and transcriptionsof the material have been done by thecollector intermittently; also a contributionof three songs to a Columbia L P on Canadianfolk music, a paper on Kw~{iutl music, 1962
(International Folk Music Council), andnumerous broadcasts for the C.B.C, B.B.C, Ravag,
and R. I.A .S.
For authenticity's sake the words ofthe informants in the explanations of thesongs have been kept as close as possible
to their way of expressing themselves.
The explanations of songs and meanings
come directly from the singers and informants
themselves. Chief Billy ASBU, Mrs. ASBU,
Chief Mungo Martin, Mrs. Martin, Fred Louie,
Stanely Hunt, Dan Cranmer, Mary Wamiss
and Ella Thompson. All the singers are now
dead· with the exception of Mrs. Billy Assu,
who· sang unobtrusively with Chief Billy Assu,and Ella Thompson who sang with Fred Louie.
Some of the songs in these recordings
are transcribed into our musical notationand supplied with detailed analyses. Others
have shorter analyses with pertinent observations and specific information.

The songs on the rer.ordings are mainly
from the Kwakiutl tribe, along with Nootka
and Tlingit.

Information on the Informants
Chief Billy Assu was born about 1867and died in 1965, having been decorated by
two sovereigns for meritorious service amongst
his people, after a lifetime of almost a
century which encompassed two completely
different ways of life for him and his
people, the Kwakiutl.
His birthplace was Cape Mudge, on
Quadra Island, and he belonged to the Eagle
clan on his mother's side and to the Wolfclan on his fDther's. The matrilineal systemprevailed with his people.
In his father's time the Kwakiutl had
carried out raids, up and down the coast, tocapture slaTes. For the first two decadesof his own youth they continued their wars
and piracies intermittently. As white settlements appeared, however, changes came andloggers took over from traders.
At this point .any Indians, theirculture disintegrating and their numbers
deciaated by disease, alcohol, and delloralization, became extinct, or merged with thereaains of other bands. The proud andwarlike Kwald.utl, however, determined to
fashion a place for themselves and planned
accordingly.
Being intelligent as well as aggressiTethey knew the value of good leadership andlooked for one aaonset their chieftain ranks
who could be trained to lead th_ successfully
into the future.
Their choice fell on the young Billy Assu,
Bon of Chief Kem Kolass, poet and song-maker.
He was adopted by the old Chief Wuiss, withthe approT&! of the other chiefs, and wasintensively trained for the role he was toundertake.

In the scale illustrations, a whole note
indicates the tonic, or the most important
tone; a half note, the second most important
tone; and quarter notes, tones of lesser
importance. Notes without heans have uncertain
pitch. When whole notes only are used,
relationship was not determined.
None of the many linguistic phonetic
systems for transcribing Indian texts wereused here, with the sole exception of theGambling Song (Side 4, Song 7, transcribed)
which W&8 written down by Mungo Martin.
The vowel sounds commonly used andreferred to as the continental system,
according to Boas, were e.ployed in all
the other songs:'• . aa in bear--i as in feet-e. aa in fatherII _ill .oon..... a. in oh.... as ill feU.
2

He had to master the complex details of
all Kwakiutl social and ceremonial life with
its wealth of titles, crests, and prerogatives,
and the uses of the many ceremonial dances.
In addition? he had to learn the correct social
usages of everything belonging to the old
Indian ways, as well as working for, and with,the white man in order to learn and understandhis thoughts. Only when Billy Assu had
accomplished all this, in his early twenties,
was he ready to become the chief of the Kwakiutl.
He began his new post by enlisting theaid of the Indian agent through whom he obtained
a government grant to rebuild his village ofCape Mudge, which had fallen into disrepair.
LAter he repulsed rum-runners seeki!1g to .
sell liquor in the village, had a school built,
obtained a teacher for the children, andencouraeed his men to work at cR.nneries and flt
logging. Ris people benefited greatly fromthese activities and, with his knowledge of thewhite man's ways he was able to prevent their
exploitation.
In his early years as a chief he was noted
for the potlatches which he gave. Altogether theynumbered several hundred small ones, and two verylarge ones.
His father gave him, as a baby, a potlatch to
bestow on hia his first DaM YA-.KIN-AKWAS, whichmeant "give a ljUest a blanket." At fourt~en
his father gave a bigger one and he was given
the name MA-MA-SA-KA-MI, which was interpreted as"giving away lots of things."
One particular potlatch, celebrating thebuilding of his Big House was the most famousof all. It involved sixteen tribes, withover three thousand people, to whom he acted
as hQst for three weeks.
Hi. house, three hundred feet long,by one hundred feet wide, by fifty feet high,was packed with food and articles to begiven away, including &any gold and silver
bracelets and six thousand blankets.
Aa time went on and Christianity andgovernment control entered the picture heperceived that a price had to be paid fora transition to the new life.
He resolutely destroyed all the oldpotlatch houses, and collected a scow load oftotem poles, prized possessions, regalia,
rattles, masks, etc. which he sent to the
Rational Museum in Ottawa.
He gave in to the white man's ~whenever he felt he had to, but kept up his
moral strength and beliefs.
Billy Assu continued to work with theIndian agents, striving always to better the
lot of his people. He succeeded so wellthat he was twice decorated by royalty--in
1937 by Georee VI, and in 1953 by Queen
Elizabeth, "for meritorious service."
Be was a great chief withstrength,authority, firmness, and considered judgmeBt-surely OBe of the finest the coast haa
ever had.
Dr. Halpern relates ''Be told .e that heheld on to his ceremonial costuae eveB when

threatened with prison, and he was most
unhappy that the potlatches were forbidden.
In his wisdom he said 'There would not be
any harm to let them continue. Gradually
they will die anyway.' And hp. WRS right.
Potlatches were still given on a smallerscale, even when forbidden.
She adds, "When I was in Cape Mudge
in 1947, he predicted that he was quite surethat the government would revoke the law andagain allow !,",otlatches." (Whi.ch hal'l since been
cione. )Dr. Halpern saw him as a man of great
humor, with sparkling eyes, and always quick
to understand a jol~e or make one. She says,"A very distinctive attribute was his great
sensitivity and llnusual TJride and roisp.. I sensp.dthese qualities during my stay in his houseat the reserve and when I reacted to them wasalways rewarded by a great winning smileand laughter."
It is interesting to have an opinion ofBilly ASBU from a young exponent from the
Nootka tribe, George Clutesi: "Billy Assu wasa big king, not a chip.f; what tore down his
prestige among all Indians was that the white
people considp.red him a ~hief. The kine was
HAHWICHL. The chief was CHA MAN DA. He
was a king."
Mungo Martin, whose Indian name was
HANAGALASU, was not only one of British
Columbia's best carvers but also one ofits best singers of Indian music.
His totem poles are world famous, andone of his masterworks, completed oversixty years ago, was purchased by Dr. Marius
Barbeau for the University of British
Columbia e (See illustration.)
He was a member of the Kwakiutl tribe
but was frequently invited by other tribes
to assist them, through his great knowledge,in the performance of their own songs.
Until the time of his death in 1963 heretained his astounding memory, recalling
not only his own songs but those of departed
relativeso
Mungo Martin was born in 1882 at Fort
Rupert, at the northern end of Vancouver
Island and was a chief there.
When he w~s a baby, his mother wanted
him to b. a fine artist and singer. She
asked the famous carver YAKOTGLASAMI toenhance his artistic ability. Plucking
two lashes from the baby's eyelids, thecarver tied them into a paintbrush, adding
porcupine quills ceremonially. From thenon the young child used this brush,developing a special understanding of color,
foI'll, and line.
Later, in hi_ early twenties, hestudied carving with his stepfather, thewell-known Charlie James, and with his uncle.
(According to Kwakiutl tradition, the uncle
baa a great influence on the education oftlie nephew.)
He alway_ liked to tell of hi_ musical.
training hy his uncle who was a song-maker.
3

"When he was A little boy, his uncle put him
into the dr~m. (His mother told him so.)Four times he was put into the drum once aday. Old people knew how. Kw3kiut1's
grandfather on his mother's side taught him
to sing. Twice each day a song. He wasabout twenty years of age. Old OM HIT,
song-maker, he also taught him how. Hours
long he taught him. Three teachers in
singing during manhood. This was all donein Fort Rupert."
As a boy he lived a village life inwhich traditional art played a vigorous part.
The Kwakiutl still continued to paint family
crest symbols on the fronts of their houses,
to give potlatches, and to erect totem
poles, giving a carver much work to do.
As times changed and the traditional
life disappeared with the introduction 0:
Christianity, the demand f or carvings ceased
and he became a commercial fisherman.
The University of British Columbia asked
him to restore some of the fine but decaying
totem poles which had been brought in fromtheir original coastal sites in 1947.
Later on they were set up in a village on
university lands in a special ceremony,
highlighted by Mungo Martin's delivering aspeech in his ceremonial costume. (Seepicture.) From then on he was enga~ed by
the provincial government and the Provincial
Museum to carve new totem poles which now
form the Kwakiutl Indian house in Thunderbird Park, a prominent attraction of Victoria,
the capital of British Columbia.
During the years he was in Vancouver
he came weekly, with his wife, to the home of
Dr. Halpern, where he sang one hundred andtwenty four songs which she recorded on tape.
(Fourteen of these are included in thepresent album.)
When reproached by other chiefs for having
given away his songs he said "I was a sickman when starting to sing for her. Now
after the year's singing I sang myself tohealth and am well again."
He was fun-loving and had a great senseof humor, takine great pleasure in goingwith Dr. Halpern to symphony concerts.
His criticisms on our music were pertinent.
Unconsciously, he showed fine discrimination,
preferring the best-known conductors.
After a William Steinberg concert hesaid ''He knows huw. He good bandmaster."
When he died in August, 1963, great
ceremonies were held by both the B.C.
government and his tribe.
His body lay in state in Thunderbird
Park which he had built in 1953. Hia casket
was carved lartehly by his son-in-law, HenryHunt.
A Mourning song was played (a taperecording of hie own Toiee) and the family
danced 'The Woman's Dance' as is customary
at a funeral held for a Kwakiut1 nobleman.
His first wish had been to be buriedat his birthplace, Fort Rupert, but then hedecided on Alert Bay, Cormorant Island, inorder to be visited oftener by his friends.
With great pomp and ceremony his casket
was put aboard the Royal Canadian Navy
Destroyer Escort Ottawa to be shipped toAlert Bay.
The Canada Council paid tribute to him
by awarding him posthumously the Canada
Council Medal, given for outstanding achievement in the arts, humanities and social
sciences of Canada. He was the first Indian
to receive such a distinction.
In 1964 a memorial plaque was installedin Thunderbird Park.
Mrs. Mungo Martin, who joined herhusband in the singing, was a fine songmakerin her own right. Her Indian name was
TLAWITSIS but she was known to all as ABIA
(Mother of all). Her father was Chief
KLAGALGLAUKWA of Tumour Island, and hermother came from Tsawati, Knight Inlet.
Mungo taught her all his songs. "Onceshe heard them she knew them." She also made. some Winter dance and Hamatsa songs herself.
Mrs. Martin died in 1965, one year
after her husband.

Dan Cranmer was a chief of the Nimpkishband, within the Kwakiutl language group.
He was born in Knight Inlet in 1882,
and died in 1959.
He married Agnes Hunt, the granddaughter of .
George Hunt who worked with Boas.
After George Hunt's death, Dan, himself,
worked with Boas. He compiled a dictionaryof the Kwakiut1 grammar, "a glossary of
suffixes" which was edited by Helen Jampo1sky,
Boas' daughter, in New York.
It was published by the American Philosophical Society, vol. 37, part 3, "Transactionsof the American Philosophical Society" December
19, 1947.

Fred Louie belonged to the Ucluelet tribe.
He was born in 1895 and died in 1963. He
was a Hamatsa and also a keeper of the songs
a professional singer used by the entire tribe
for that purpose.
According to informant George Clutesi,
the UclueJet tribe was part of the Nootka,"but many Indian people of the Barclay Sound
area felt badly to be called Nootka because
it might give the impression that they were
subjugated by the Nootka, which was not so."However, according to the classification
system of the white people they were called"Nootka".
Ella Thompson belongs to the Toquaht
tribe. She waa born in 1901. She is a
Woman Haaatea. She is still Singing andha. a remarkable yoiee.
4

Stanley Hunt was a singer of the Kwakiutl
tribe--a song keeper.
He was born about 1894 or 1895 and died in
1953 in Alert Bay.
He was the son of George Hunt who was
known for the work he did in collaboration
with Boas.
George Hunt's mother was a Tlingit, hisfather a white man and he married a Kwakiutl
woman from whom he got all the tribal informationof the Kwakiutls.
Stanley, therefore, was ~ Kwakiutl, i4 Tlingit,
and i4 white.
He was a fisherman and great hunter andgrew up with the Indian heritage.
George Clutesi, informant mentioned innotes, born in 1906 in A1berni, B.C. ,(Nootka Indian,
Seshaht band), is a well-known painter andteacher of Indian dances.
In his tribal life he was selected to
become a member of the G1ugwana, a spiritpower society entitling members to privilegesand ensuring freedom from want during their
1ifetiae, for which honor they were required togive a potlatch.
He received a Canada Council grant in1961 for teaching and developing Indian dances.
Mrs. Habel Stanley, informant on our
text translations, was born in Cape Mudge,
Quadra Island, and now lives in Ladner, B.C.
Her father was Chief Joseph Johnson of
the Das Nak Dwak tribe, and her mother chiefof the Salmon River and Knight's Inlet bandsof the We We ka tribe. She is a hereditarychief in her own right.
She is also related to both the singers,
Chief Billy Assu and Chief Mungo Martino
Mrs. Stanley is well educated and speaks
both Kwakiut1 and English fluently.
REMARKS ON MUSICThe music of the Kwakiut1 Indians, oneof the most important tribes of the PacificNorthwest, is based on strict sociologicalrules, which pertain especially to the perforaance and ownership of songs. For thesereasons, Kwakiutl mllSic has always presented
a problem to the collector.
Indian chiefs have never been impressedby the social or professional status of nonIndian people who come to hear them sing.
Ho collector couli obtain their songs without
first winning the complete confidence of the
Indians througb close personal association
aDd token. of genuine interest and goodwill.
Songs are li.t.~rlllly "p;iven," for theyare "owned" b7 indi vlduals or families who
han paid tor thea in full. The songs thenbecOlie haredi taT7, according to lIpecia! tribal
law.. Theretore, the collector who is peraitt~~ to r~cord this mURic r~ceiveB not on)y aslVea.t personal privilege, but an actual gift.
After the coming of Christianity, they
were reluctant to relinquish, or even reveal theirsongs, which were part of their true heredity,
along with er.lblems and possessions. -So strong
vias this feeling of possession, that no chiefor member of his family would sing a song
belonging to another; by doing so, he would
be treated as a thief, shamed and scorned byhis own people. The chief might inherit asong, acquire it by marriage or comission
it for some important occasion in order togive himself and his proud clan added prestige.
The songs originated with the scng-makersof the tribes and were conceived in a stateof spiritual trance, in visions and dreams.
The members of the tribes believed that inlearning the song and ritual they could reprodur::e the vif':i.on. Therefore one could
buy visions in bundles. One bought a ritualand a vision in beaver bundles, medicine
bundles, etc.
Dreams held great significance for the
Indian, especially on important occasions,and in cases of necessity or emergency. He
would, for instanc~, not Co hunting if
unfavorable dreams had been reported.
He derived great strength from his songs,
turning to them for superhuman help whenever
he felt the limitations of his own power.
Singing was, for him, no trivial matter.
Originally the power of songs was bestowed
only upon chosen people. Indian mythology
tells of many heroes who were given songsin dreams and visions as a special reward,
indicating that the song-maker ...,as an importantand highly esteemed individual. For thisreason, also, they were reluctant to allo"loutsiders to hear their songs.
A strict oral tradition was kept in theteaching of songs. If a singer were to makea mistake, the consequences would be very
serious for him. Mungo Martin said that he"would have to pay very much for one mistake.
At times cannot speak any more, only singgreat responsibility."
Songs were used in the treatment of thesick. The spiritual strength gained throughsong in summer or a g~ost song except at the time
cure people, for the dreams and visions
experienced gave mystic powers. Certain
songs were believed to ensure success inwar, in hunting, and for any purpose requiringsupernatural force. The Indian believed thatsupernatural power resided in man as well as
in nature, and that to be one with naturemeant a fusion of power into one being,
resulting in the creation of the Bong.
The people were, however, realistic!
They did uot depend solely on. the power ofsong. ben though a medicine aaan was taken
along on attacks against the enemy, warriors
were rigidly trained for fighting.
Indians were a Tery musical people.
They had a song for eTerything. They consideredcertain songs only fitting for specificoccasions. The7 would not sing a Winter dance

song in Summer or a ghost song except at the time form, for as long as people are still inof death. Love songs, crest songs, and somethe vocal stage, their scales show a downward trend.
Later on, as instruments are added, the scales
Hamatsa songs are of a hauntingly beautiful
begin to move upward. The range of the scalequality, while potlatch songs are declamator,r.
varies from a fourth to an octave or in someYet all reveal great dramatic impact and ancases to a tenth. (In the Gregorian chant
impeccable sense of timing. Indians were alsoof our own civilization the intervals did
masters of make-believe and showmanship;
not exceed a fourth. Even in old European
both are intrinsic in their dramatic ceremonies.
folk music (until about the 16th century),
Kwakiutl music is the most artisticallythe fifth was the ran~e limit).
important on the Pacific Northwest Coast, apart
There are slight polyphonic tendencies
from that of the Haida. According to informant
George Glutesi, Nootka and Kwakiutl music are
noticeable. However, to speak of polyphony when
there is a slight discrepancy of pitch forsomewhat related, with the Nootka in asubordinate and imitative style.
8bout a second should not be considered
The songs, preserved by oral tradition,
polyphony but an unintentional joining of
have one thing in cornmon. They are monodic,
voices. Some of the Nootka songs, however,unsophisticated, and essentially an amalgamation
have a truer polyphony than the Kwakiutl.
Most of the songs have a definite structureof words 8.1;ld melody, with a minimum of instruments
Most of them are interwoven with dancing andwith well-defined phrases. The melodic
dramatics and some have profound religious
material is worked out, enlarged and diminishedmeaning. The melody often consists of microtonic in variation and by rises, c~ng the pitch
by microtones, gradually. (See Side 3, Song
intonations and embellishments. In a sense
2, Hamatsa Songs, Assu N20.) The melody isthese are examples of heterophony (playing
with and around one tone, the use of glissandi,
repeated on -a, +a, b, c, +c, c sharpo
and ornamentation in smaller fractionso
A throughout-composed song can be heard on
In Indian songs of the Pacific Nort~west
Side 3, Song 6 t Little Woman Doctor song,coast one can always feel a certain tonic,
sung by Medicine Woman.
or predominant note around which the melodic
Our Western musical notation is notpattern is built. Tonality seems to exist but in suitable for the transcription of Indian
no direct relation to any specific existingmusic, for we cannot indicate through it
system. There are primitive patternso
the pitch of Indian songs. These songs, therefore,
were transcribed with the understanding of the
A few are pentatonic. Some scale formations
Ellis system (Cents), augmented by Dr. Halpern's
are quite similar to the pelog system, as
understood by comparative musicology. Therenotation, especially developed for the songs of~s the same clinging to the third, sometimes
the Kwakiutlo The transcriptions ~ be readA tetrachorda major, mostly, hO\.ever, a minor
and reproduced by singers and instrumentalists
as long as they can reproduce microtones.
can be established \dth a major or minor third
When a note is raised less than a semitone, it
above, and a semitone below.
This classical major third is used all
is indicated by a minus (-) sign.
over Java in what we now believe is Java's
The music may be considered melogenic(meloR-melody). Sometimes it is logogenic
oldest scale, the pelog, older than slendro.
(word-bound,-logos-word) as when the chief(See Gambling Song, Side 4, Song 7.) Slendro
softens China's pentatonic grades without
sings his potlatch song and recites somesemi tones by compensating whole tones,
parts. Sometimes it can be pathogenic
creating equal intervals of 5/4. Dr. Mantle(pathos-full of emotion) as in a medicine
Hood is doing further research on these scales oman's song. Often, however, it passes thesetwo primitive stages, blending already into
In West Coast songs one finds a strongthemelogenic style which is the style offeeling for the mediant (the third up or down)
our western culture.
falling into the octave. Different combinations
Each category of song has its own singing
of this device, in different rhythmic patterns,
style e.g., in a love song the tempo is always
are prevalento Semitones are profusely used inslow, the tone tender and soft; in a potlatch
their melodic patterns, with a jump into thesongthe tempo is animated, the tone is excited,third above or sixth below, resulting in a range
declamatory,
with recitative and melody interof a full octave. Some patterns show advancesrersed)0 The style changes within totem or in
by a semitone, a jump up into a third,
animal crest songs which are programmatic andplaying with it in variation technique
melodious.
as mentioned previously, occasionally
The individual songs are also characterized
falling into a sixth or the octave. Sometimes
by specific properties. One can distinguish thethe jump is more of a fourth, but always
various t~es of songs by the manner of singing,close to the range of the octave jump.
rhyt~, vo~ce quality, intensity, vibratos
An extensive use of 2nds prevails in theil;remolos, glissandos 0'
pattern of their melodies. We can evenspeak of "2nd clusters." These occur with
The tone quality of each voice issuch frequency that it could be considered
distinctive the attBck different. The ner
a main characteristic of this music. Someforming characteristics of the singers are
melodies are already in triad formation.
vl3.ried: Mungo Martin, brilliant, dynamic;
The scale should be written in the descending
Assu, more lyric and expressive; Fred
0

6

Louie, very dramatic;sonority.

repetitions show slight changes of pitch in apersistent upward direction.
In one song, a Headress song, the Singer
repeats the tune four or five times, but theentire gradual rise amounts tg only one tone,e.go it starts on a c sharp; next we have ac sharp, plus (+); next c sharp plus, plus(++); then d minus (-); followed by d; thend plus (+); and the d plus, plus (++); andfinally, d sharpo This raising of pitch is,
however, a common characteristic of primitivesong--one tone is held as long as possible
and the melodic pattern is raised by theincreasing excitement of the singer, while
diminishing excitement brings a lowering ofpitch, often resulting in a primitive
portaaento.
Kwakiutl music consists of melody withaccompaniment. The accompaniment is provided
by handclapping, drum-beating, beating withsticks, beating on planks, rattles, and shells.
In a song we have two d~finite rhythms
the rhythm of the accompaniment, which iscompletely different from the rhythm of the
melody 0 To try to establish a relationshipbetween them is impossible. The melodic
part of the voice and the accompanimenteach has its own rhythm. The general1,.
accepted belief of syncopated accompanimentis wrong. Parallelism of the two rhythms
results in incidental combinations o What
we find here can be understood as polyrhythm.
To express the rhythm and timing accurately
and adequately is an impossible, task. The
music is not measured by our accepted rules
and ca.nnot be indicated by time signature.
It was found easiest to express the rhythmicbeats with the help of modes, analogous toour modal notation, using stressed andunstressed beats. Thus it was found that therhythm of the accompaniments falls into thefollowing categories:

Stanley Hunt, beautiful

Typical styles and characteristics are:1.
2.

special voice production
manipulation and repetition with e~phasis 0n
single tones
3. glissandi
4. sharn contrast between long and short ~ones
5. forc~flll accents on sustained tones
produced by guttural prp.ssure on longnotes
6. lon~ sustained tones seI'arateci by pulsations
7. na8al quality, nc falsetto
8. ornamentati.on
9. unusllal simultaneous sounds, as though thesi.nger were producing two tOnf~S at once,
which in transcription mi.ght be expressedby two notes together, such as e,f (seeRaven Song, Billy ASSll, AS, Side 1, Song 6)
10. prolongation of tones at end of verse(Ex., Hamatsa, Side 3, Song 2)
11. beginning of polyphony in Grizzly Bearsong (Fred Louie and Ella Thompson, Side 1,
Song 3). Quite rare
12. octave leaps common, a]so leaI's into the '5th
and 6th
13. melody pattern based to a ereat extent on 2nds
14. extensive use of clusters of 2nds
15. an extensive use of vowels, in a way similar
to our vocalization, to be found in the mostimportant part of the meJodic material
Text of song on connective musical material
16. extensive use of microtones
17. clearly defined melodic lines
18. descending melody
19. microtonic rises in variation
20. intentional breath-taking as part of a
melody, and for descriptive purposes;a stretto in breath-taking
21. a slight variation of single tones inbeating (rhythm) or melody, when theoriginal subject is repeated
22. dramatic drum beat changes from many small
bea ts to slower beats wi tJ I some tremoJ 0
effects
23. changes in dramatic sense and intpnsity
built up also by drumming without sin~i.ng
and by singing without drumming

1.
2.

3.
4.

5.

J.cJ

Iambus u - orDactyl-vv or cJ J J
Trochee - V or.J
Anapaest VlJ- or J J d
and modified AnaJlaestvv'-or J

01

J' I
01

EYen beats in quick or slow succession could
be expressed thus: h.1 J .1..fJ nMost of the songs consist of recitativeand .elody. .I!'our types of recitati'Ye can be
distinguished. 1) excited high tone recitati'Ye, 2) natural speaking voice on mediua
tone; 3) fast recitatives, and 4) singing
recitatives.
In a spontaneous performance the recitativeis used in the following manner: the compoReror leader recites the text first, in order toacquaint the singers with the words they are
expechd to sing. The lI8JIle words of therecitative are carried o'Yer to the part ofthe song which has a .elo~.
In Kwakiutl ausic there is e~dence of a
distinct variation principle, not in oursense, but in an idiomatic Indian one.
After the first .elo~ has been sung the

J 0\ dNoteworthy were a seven-beat rhythm--U U uv- ~d a six-beat rhythm.
The beating never begins simultaneousl,.
with the singing. The 'Yoice sets in before orafter the beat. If a singer were to start on
the beat inadvertently, he would be considered
uneducated, uninformed, and ill-mannered.
Mistakes in cer_onial singing are punishable
by fines; the singer loses face, and the tribe,prestige.
'1'0 quote Mungo Martin, who always tried to
explain "the clapping never comes together
with the Toice. It comes before the voice
sets in or after. Beating can be quite regular,
even if the voice has different timing."
7

generally accepted understanding is that thesesyllables have no meaning or connection withthe song. On the contrary it was found thatthe syllables have a specific relationship to
the song. They represent part of the meaning
and content and are meaningful abbreviations ofwords referred to in the song.
The proof for this conclusion was derived
from the following examples:

Actually, according to Mungo Martin's songs
there are three different ways of beating
which can be summarized thus: (1) voice out,
beat after; (2) voice out, beat regular;(3) beat first, voice aftero In Women's Dances.
according to him, all the beats were even.
Drum solos could be ~uite elaborate, e.g.,j.I J 01. d. J1fJ J .\Billy Assu said "Clapping of the hands isaccording to the different songs and adapted
to the words, not the music. Proper clapping isarranged by the composer of the song."
Certain rhythms are used for certain songso
The Rhythm is abundant, often shiftingfrom one type to another with baffling swiftness
but in a fully disciplined manner.
In examining the stability of rising
pitches in variation and stability of microtones
the question may arise if this is a performance
characteristic of an individual singer ora basic trait. Experiments were carried out
b;r Dro Halpern in which Chief Billy Assu was
asked, after a lapse of one month, to repeat
a song which had previously been recorded.
The distribution of microtones was identical,
as were the rises in variations.
The melodic impact of the single repeatednote (this pulsating accented note) with its
hidden potential, has a dramatic impulse which
gives character and highlights the concept •.
This device is used extensively in Indian music.
A common factor is the tendency of the melodic
line to move towards one long sustained noteo
The musical material gravitates and climaxes
toward it. Specification of songs is not bytitle but by typeo One can distinguish andrefer to songs such as Hamatsa, potlatch,
love song, etc. but not, for instance, to a
specific Haaatsa.
The voice production of the native
Indian is noticeably different from that ofwestern man. Their intonation might appear
to us out of tune but is certainly not so.
It is not simuly a fixed intonation but,once begun, follows in strict melodic patternand variation. They yary their melodic material
by a sli~ht raising or lowering of pitch,a consistent feature of their singing. Thisraising of pitch continues several times in aBong, often three or four times, though it may,in our system, . .ount to only half a tone
altogether. We should never, however, assume
that they are out of pitch. (Experiment by
the collector has proven this.) These slightraises of pitch represent their variation
technique.
One of the characteristics of primitiveeonS- is the use of syllables instead ofentire words and texts. Usually the syllables
are referred to as meaningless or nonsensical.
In the Indian mu.ic of the Pacific Northwest
Coa.t one finda text and syllables interspersed.
During this re.earch an interesting and differing
conolu.ion was arrived at concerning the 80-called• e&Dingle •• and non.enaical syllable.. The

10

2.

3-.

4.
5.

6.

In Grizzly uear songs syllablp.s uRed are
NA-NA or HI-HO-HU o NA-NA means "grizzly
bear" in the Nootka and Kwakiutl languages.
HI-HO-HU is the sound the bear makes.
(See Side I, Songs 3 & 4.)
In Raven songs the syllables GKA-GKA are used
extensively. representing the cry of the Raven(similar to the crow). (See Side 1, Songs
6 & 7.)In Hamataa songs (songs of the Wild Man ofth~ Woods, sometimes referred to as Cannibal
songs) the syllables HA-HA, HA-MA-MAI are
related to "Hamatsa." (See Side 3, Songs 1,
2,3, & 4.)
In the Wolf songs the sound JI-HI is thedescriptive hOl...l of the wolf. (See Side 1,
Songs 1 & ?.)In the MOUI:ning songs the syllables A-NA-NA
and A-NA-NA-ll are derived from the word
ANANA which means hurt and is an expressionof sorrow and grief. (See Side 3, Song 5.)
In the Ghost song one hears JACHA-ANA-NEI,(See Side 3, Song 8.)
7. & 8. The same idea prevails in the Cradle andBaby songs. (See Side 4, Songs 4 & 5.)

Another proof to justify the viewpointthat the so-called meaningless syllables are
not really meaningless occurs in the Hamatsasones (Side 3, Song 1), when the syllables
HAMAl HAM are heard. HAM indicates for the
Hamatsa dancer, when the beak of the Hamatsa
aask should be opened and closed. Thus,
one sees also a direct relationship between
the so-called meaningless syllables and thecontent of the danceo
On the question of form, one finds very
well-balanced musical phrases and a clear-cut
strnctural organizlltion as, for example, in the
Hamatsa song. Exceptions also can occur, as in
the Medicine Woman song. (Side 3, Song 6.)
Here a rhapsodic looseness of form structureappears to express the function of that songmuch more magnetically than strictness ofform might. The fl~xibility of the songlends it.elf to expressiveness, just as
loosene.s in Roaantieism coapares with formal
di.cipline in Classici...
8

TOTDf POLES

golden age of the totem pole carving in
British Columbia appears to have been between
1830 and 1880. Captain Vancouver reports
having seen some totem poles as early as the1790's. But the exceeding vulnerability of
the natural material, the great trees ofthe Western forest, must be taken into
consideration.
' However, we are not concerned here withthe pros and cons of origin. We are concernedwith the study of music, and t his leads us t o
the conclusion that the totem poles are 80
deeply interwoven with mythology and withthat organic rhythm which governs the
Indian people, it seems doubtful that theywould have suddenly come into being.
Past opinions have been based on
mythology and customs. Now the added dimensionof music gives cause for further considerationof the subject.

S/DE /

Totem poles are an art form chara cteristicof the tribes of the Northwest Coast in
British Columbia and Southern Alaska. They
are eymbols of the social standing andachievement of the Indian nobility, demonstrating
their power and affluence. They tell thestory of personal accomplishment and historic
events, and are comparable to the coats-ofarms in European civilization. The totem wasthe ancestral tree with figures and emblemsof dozens of clans. Each figure had its own
song. The Indians did not worship the poles
nor did they consider the emblems on them asgods. They regarded them mainly as an historic
remembrance. a status symbol. Each new crest
added to the family tradition required a newsong. Whenever a chief acquired a new distinction
through war or marriage it was recorded on his
totem pole and in new songs. The Indians .
adopted various birds and animals which, l~ke
their family crests, were sacred.
Often there was competition between
crests. A person belonging to the pbratryof any crest could go to any other village
and be entitled to the protection of thoseof the same crest.
The Indians ascribed to the totem emblems
the power of manifestation in either human or
animal foI'll. Because of this versatility
the emblems were accepted, not as gods, but
creatures with magical powers who could
communicate with both the spirit and humanworlds. Thus we find on some poles a humanface embodied in the figure of an animal or
bird. (See illustration.)
The carvers of these poles were great
artists but were bound by tradition never toexpress themselves in free unrestrained form.
The most significant totems of theWest Coast are the Wolf, the Raven, theGrizzly Bear, the Eagle and the Whale, but
all these crests, once poss~ s sed by a family,
become hereditary. They might be acquired
through marriage, by conquest, or as a payaent
of debt. Kwakiutl poles express in highest
dramatic form and with extraordinary skill thosemythological figures they represent.
The origin of the totem pole is a matterfor conjecture. Some claim it ie of recent
origin, native to British Columbia. Others
point to the totems of New Zealand and of
the Polynesians. Opposing viewpoints on
the age of the totems are held by Marius
Barbeau, whn claims white man's influence,and by Wolfgang PaaJen, who believes they are
pre-white.
Undoubtedly the art of the totem i.
vanishing, although there are some attempts at
rediscovery of ancient tools and media, as
well as restoration, and Borne commissioningb;y aiver.itie., lIWIeum., and private
inM vidual ••The pertinent fact, however, i. that the

The Wolf-Alunem-Iord of the Land, symbol ofcunning and wisdom.
The Wolf crest is identified with hunters.
According to the Indian the souls of the hunters
go to different places. The land hunter'ssoul goes to the home of the Wolf, the sea
hunter's soul to the home of the Killer Whale.
The Wolf represents the genius on land
just as the Killer Whale represents the lord
ship of the sea.
Sometimes the Wolf is considered thehead chief of the mythical people in theirfaraway villages. He js always acknowledged
as an ancestor who gives his descendants manysupernatural powers and during the " winterinitiates new dancers into the dance.
On the totem pole the Wolf can be distinguished by long slanting eyes, ears laid
down backwards, many teeth, and an eleva~ed
nose.
The myth of the Nutlam sodality relates
that originally Wolf spirits kidnaped theancestors of certain extended families andthat when these ancestors returned homethey behaved like wolves, killing dogs
when angered. This was a definitive actof the Nutl. . associatee.
Side 1, Sone 1
Wolf Song, sling by Billy Assu

(A3)

Chief AS8U owned this song. "It was the songof WE-WAI-ItAI. WE-KAI was the first man ofCape Mudge. Married a woman of the Nootka
tribe. Nootka tribe is a Wolf tribe. You
only acquire these by heritage or throughurriage.
I~any people had this Wolf song.
Manytribes have it.
"WE-KAI is known allover the country.
He made a rope and predicted a flood. He
wanted to survive and ...de provisions.
A. boat to survive. One boat six thousand
years ago. The on.. tied to hi. boat
survived. Some drifted away but still speak
the language. WE-KAI had llany wi 'Yea in9order to set the crests and songs. Yougive a great potlatch and divorce the woman.
They dance to these songs with the mask.
Twenty women with masks. The women dancein rhytha with the tune. Wolf recognizedpeople. No other people could talk back to
Wolves. WE-KAI ahows the people that hemarried a woman of fine rank."

Northern Kwakiutl. According to theinformant, Mrs. Stanley is a Southern Kwa_k iutl,
the Northern have the more proper pronunciation than the ~outhern whose worde are
ehortened.

Instrumen ts-r.and-clappine.
At the beginning there is no clapping.
Melody consist. of 2nds and 3rds, sometimes
two 3rds in succeF.ision and an 'llls;;mented 5th
The syllables je hi hi are characteristic of
the Wolf song and are sun~ to minor 2nds with

Wolf Song, sung by Mungo Hartin(55)
According to Chief Mungo Hartin the Wolf
Society wa s powerful and important. There
were Wolf dances and Wolf songs.
In the Bella Coola tribe only women
were allowed to sing. "Man just sings alittle bit." In 80111e dances wOllen dance andmen sing with the Wolf mask.
Not long ago there were forty old Wolf
Bongs. Om-hit, an oldp.r Bong-maker and chief,
knew ten of them. Mungo only knew eight.
They were sung before the white man came.

Side 1, Song 2

beating.
The sparse hand-cla pping is in the iambic
form:
(u-).
Tense rhythmic even beats in the section
je hi hi in the middle of the song. Nasal
quality, forcing tone.
Rh.ri-hm:
J""Nobody lIIIlkes Wolf songs now. People
gradually sing them less and les8. Kwakiutl
and Kimkit had Wolf songs. At one time theydanced ~round counterclockwis e. If they went
the other way they were thrown out since it
was not allowed.
Only the men who poss ess ed the Wolf
power were allowed to 8ing -the songs.
Quiquit Indians ha d another Wolf dance.
Sometilles he (Mungo) used to get acoast singer LAS TOL to help Sing with him.
The Kwakiutl got the Wolf dance from
Fort Rupert.
One of the Wolf songs tells how the Big
Wolf had lots of songs. Bie Wolf came out of
the woods in daytime. He points his finger
the whole day towards the Quinquam, Quicha,
and Kwakiutl. He stands the whole day until
the sun comes out.
Big Wolf is WALASACHA A KMU and small
Wolf is KLU KWALA..
Long long ago the Wolf was said to have
had one hundred drums, and now only a few.
None of the informants knew what the Wolfsong's characteristic ending syllable Ji Hi
actually meant.
This song is half Nootka, half Nimpkish,and Mungo says in the song "He is coming
around, dancing."\J-U-U-::---v- v- u- - - - ---Je hi hi he hi hi
Range: about an octave. Intervals, 2nds,
3rds, 4ths, and 6tha.
Jump into 5th or 6th.
Song in several sections, lIIelodic line
descending.
Text: Je hi hi he hi hi twice.
The melodic tones are not in our systelll.
Sometimes they are raised or lowered to asmall degree-microtonal.
Danced with the thumbs up
He he ji (They go down on the floor whilethese meaningless syllables are
sung.)
He je he he
Ji ha ha i ha ha ji
Wa ka gin ko ko kelah
I am rocking from side to side
Ise lab in wa uk
With those are dancing with me
Gel
ea
kolah
I was first made to say
wa
la sala ju qin
I was . .de great
Que os oguala
There is no other (than me)
Wa
la
sa
lekua
glugwalah(this one pertains to spiritual greatness)
Spiritual power made great(Literal translation-great made, often
used in Indian songs)
Gal
sa KwlahijuhtlaFirst to be aentioned

Distinctive rapid loud drUIIII1ing, excited.
Then tne voice with text comes in.
He a hi ha (might be considered meanin ~ fulsyllables although usually referred
to as meaninglp.ss)
When he begins singing, the text shows nobeating.
He ha hi a, beating.
Text, no beating.
He ja hi a, beating
Alternative

An interesting pattern between -syllables
with excited quick be'lts, aJternating
several times with text without beating.
The sound of beating comes from two wooden

Billy Assu represents the Southern Kwakiutl
While the next singer, Mungo Hartin, is a10

For as many as three thousand ,.ears(the Indians claim) the Grizzly Bear has been
the tribal peacemaker. They believe that
his strength gave him the power to unite
his own people and make peace with other
tribes.
According to Billy Assu "The Grizzly
Bear was once a human beingo British
Columbia Indians have Grizzly Bear masks.
Grizzly Bear signifies the peacemaker.
Because he is strong he has the power behindhim. He made the people solid and unitedthea."On the totem pole the Grizzly Bear canbe distinguished by a round eye, large
paws and claws, large aouth set with teeth,
protruding tongue, large round nose and asudden turn from snout to forehead.
All Grizzl,. Bear songs or dances are
frOll the Ki tsuk-aht tribe. The Nootka did Bot
own thea but originally acquired them frca
the K1 tsuk-aht.
To the native Americans and Siberians
the Bear is not only an aniJBal but also aspirit: and stands above man-a semidivinity,
higher than all the other spirits. The
center of diffusion for such a belief could
be Asia, not America, and there may be ahidden or symbolic meaning behind theirrelated observances and ritualso

Larger than a 5th but lowest note indeterminate.
Intervals: 2nds, 3rds, 4ths
Melodic line descending.
Shape of song:
1st part-meaningless (1) syllables-beating- musical phrase twice.
2nd part-text-no beating-musical phrase hrice.
5rd ~o. rt-s'yllables-bea ting-musica1 phrase twice.
4th l'art-text-no beating-musical phra se twice.
5tp part-syllables-beating-musical ~hr a se twice.
6th part- text-no bea ting-musica l ~p rase twice.
7th part-syllables-be3tine-musical phrase once.

Bear ceremonialisa is explained, atleast in part of its area of diffusion, by
the native story or ayth of the young
Indian woman who was once changed into abear and bore twin cubs. This tale, inso
far as we know it, belongs to the T.iashiaD,
the Haida, the Tlingit, and other neighboring
tribes of the North Pacific Coast andNorthern Rockies of Americao The bears
concerned are grizzlies.

The shortening of the last part with meaningless syllables seems to highlight the ending
with its abruptness.
Form is much more clearly defined than thatof the former Wolf song of Billy Assu.
The syllables JI HI are much less obvious
than in the previous song.
Once again the tones are not to be found in
our tonal system.

Side 1, Song 3
Three Grizzly Bear Songs, sung by Fred Louieand Ella ~ompson. According to a Nootka
informant, George elutesi, the Grizzly Bearsongs of Fred Louie are in the Kitsut-aht
language. His directions are "sing it again,
repeat, say this."Who kla-la in na se da-whol th ha wicktda-ne
si-tdaThose were always listening •.
Na atl ki ney(words not known)
Ha ha un ya kow

Be3r DanceThe Grizzly Bear-a chief and warrior inmyths-a powerful hunter.

Verse 1 contains only these directions in t~eOpening bars reminding the singer of the words.
Fred Louie himself said "Grizzly Bear Dance.
Nootka, Mutsuk. Finally handed down to ourtribe. Made by one of the biggest chiefs ofour family where 'ofe belonged once. Ucluelet
tribe. Eighty songs. Only remember a few.
HI-MI-KITSEM, Grizzly and Wolf. Know frommy fa tter's song. Very important."

The Indian name for the Grizzly Bear in
Nootka and Kwakiutl is Na Na.
The emblem of the Grizzl,. Bear is very
prominent on the totem pole. Might andpower are ascribed to him. He knows how
to fight and therefore can protect meB fromfear. As Mungo Martin said: "Sometimes aboy or man is frightened for no reason.
He is afraid of a whistle or a ghost but
the Grizzly Bear song helps his to fightfearlessly."

One w-umbeat before song, Hai hai hUe
Then small drumbeats (tremolo style). One
drum and sticks used. 'lbe drum is used as
an introduction in a soft treaolo, followed b,.
11

3. He starts with na na

the small sticks in qUiCK reeular beats
which overahadQw it 0 The two singers join inparallel motion, a 5th or a 3rd apart.
Bei-hei-hu. Syllables followed by the text
on a one-note description. It is a recitativeon one note with a few notes added-4th,
5th, and 2nd.
Next Bei-hei-hu
Rei-huThree last long notes sustained and accented
with siaultaneous dru.beats.
Interesting to note that the rhythm of thedrum is distinctly different from that of
the sticks and both differ from the rhythmof the aelodic line.

This is a very good example supporting the ne~lpoint of '!iew we took that \"e should not consider
such syllables nonsensical or meaningless. They
are part of the meaning of the song here-an
abbreviation of tr.e idea of the entire song.
He begins with the voice sineing, joined
later by the drum in tremolo beats. Melody
rises.
In tervals are 3rds and 2nds.
Range: a 4th
The first notes treated heterophonically, also
pushing out of the important tones-third,
fourth, ladderlike.
The melodic line is kept in small steps,
ladderlike-3rds and 2nds.

Three parts
druIIeSide 1, song 3
First note in song's embroidery goes up about asecond and below a third, where it gains
mOllentum.
Note the repetition on a rise.
Text consists of many syllables and fewerwords.

stickamelody-2 singers in parallel rhythmic
movement, a 3rd to a 5th apart. This can beinterpreted as polyrhythm. At the same timea distinct beginning of polyphony 0 It issung in unison by male and female. The intervals
used ~o not create an interesting melodic
pattern. The melody doesn't move forwardwith many interval changes. 1'here is areCitative, mainly on one note, but also
sporadically moving to other intervals, a
2nd, a 4th, and a 5th.
pitch:o-No tranelatio~ could be obtained. The
explanation given by informant George Clutesi
was that there were educated Indians and nottoo-educated ones. Only the educated ones
knew the words. They are now lost.

2. Hai-ai-ai
Start. with singing and see.s to be the Grizzly
Bear sound. Here again is a good exalllple of
the rare polyphony among the Pacific Northwest
Coast Indians.
'!'he .elodic pattern is quite complicated incontrast to the previoue Grizzly Bear Song.
Descending melody
Hai-hai
Again druaa and sticka.

Now the drums are• ore iaportant than the sticks.
In the aiddle is a recitative without any
accoapaniaent of druaa or sticka. They gain
iaportance later on when they .ark the end withaJl inteue iaabic beat. (u ). We han
the same distinct rhythmic drumbeats-iambicin the middle section.
Rhythmic pattern:
1. plain rhythmic beating
2. iambic
3. recitative-no beating
4. plain rhythmic beating and then at theend, iambic beating.
The form is that of two strophic parts.
Part one bas plain even rh1thaic beats and a.vong accented ending (iaabic) with the draa.
Recitative
Part two is aJl abridged repetition of the
fir.t with a like ending.
alb (reoitative) :a'fext appears to be a aixture of .yllables and wor3
12Side I, Song 4
Grizzly Bear Song, Bung by Mungo Martin (7)"SoIIetimes a boy or man is scared for nothing.
They are afraid of a whistle or a ghost.
Because the ghost can cut off the scalp •Grizzly Bear knows how to fight."
It begins with the sounds, Hi Hu. Then comesa spoken recitative followed by a melody
with stron~ accented beating in an iambic
pattern(U - )
Bei-oh-oh
Many interspersed recitatives.
Melodic pattern in 2nds (c, c sharp) with aleap to a 5th belovo Both the beginning andend lack stick beatine in the recitative,
while in between, twice, one hear8 recitativewith beating accompaniment and singing
Singing i. always accompanied with beating onlong sustained notes. After two recitatives,
the e1nger aakes a deliberate complete paR.e,
which i. aD intere.ting point.
There ari.e. a wavering between the two note.,e and c sharp, and b and b fiat, with a strong
accent on the b fiat.

to the heavy down-carved beak of the eagle.
!he Raven Cycle in the Pacific Northwest
begins with the Raven's birth, either as thechild of a faithless woman or as the unwanted
nephew Gf a jealous uncle. The uncle isoften identified as a powerful supernatural
being controlling earth, sky, and oceans.
He commanded that the Raven should become
the culture hero bringing benefits to man.
The Raven fought a contest of power in which
he had to prove himself worthy of the task oIn this way he acquired the supernatural
power.
Numerous stories tell about the deeds of
the Raveno Four important stories in the cycleoRange is approximately a 6th and pi tch is also
approximate.
Intervals: 2nds and 5ths
Recitative: tone is rather high.
Singing: two people
Recitative: one person
Recitative: without beatin~
Singing:
Recitative: with beating
Singing:
Recitative: _nth beating
Singing:
Last recitative: without beating

are:

10
2.

3.

We have an interesting rhythmic pattern. A
small iambic beat introduces and concludes
the different strophes of unaccompanied andaccompani~d singing.

4.

The singer is talking of the Grizzly Bear,describing his movements "and moods.

Raven's Journey in the Whale
Raven's Marriage to the Fog Woman
who made the first Salmon
Raven's Journey to the Sky where hemarried the Sun's Daughter
Raven's Journey beneath the Sea,
after IY'hich he told people how toutilize shellfish and mammals forfood.

The Raven i8 held in high estee. by the
Kwakiutl tribe. Nine different interpretationaof his role can be found on Vancouver leland,alone, one of which specifies that "he would
never tell a lie and could always recognize
the truth."Tales of the Raven are not confined to the
Pacific Northwest Coast but also appear in
the mythologies of other cultures.

Verse 1
Yes kee ga lee tla
You that will do it right away
Yek tso ta lise tla
And are angered everywhere
Verse 2Gli Ita la sa li "klaswimming along the beachRecitative
100 kom ga lis kla
Will be rolling aroundWhe wha ta l i kla
Wrestling aroundTsu da Ita la au kle
He will be feared by people
Tse pa aa la su kle
People will hide their faces
nan dzi-Big Grizzly Bear.

Side 1, Song 5
Raven Song, sung by Mungo Martin(6)"Raven is called GWAWIN o This song is overthree hundred years old. It is from Gilford
Island 0 QUI QUA SUTHANUCB (KWIKSITANEAU).
No white lien around then. Ravens are bad.
Ravens fought the waro"
Small beating beginso Then voice.
Kama ka-kei (Raven sound)
One part solo singing without beating.
Kama Ka Kei
with beating.
Recitative with beating
Solo vocal part without beating.
Kama Ka kei
with beating
And then at the end recitative.
The .yllables are of great interest.
To aark the transitiona between the recitative
and the solo .inging we have a change inbeats, frCIII even quick beating to distinct
slower iaabic beat..
I
Strophic .eparation after the iambic beat ci!he singing bep.ne with fast beating.
Recitative i. concluded with iambic beatfollo~ed , by singing without b.ating.
!U • -sine the beatins with singiq.
!hen the aext part i. introduced with the saM
iaIlbic beat and i. accOlipanied by quickeTen beating. At the conolua1oa we hay. apin

THE RAVEN-GWAWINE-Cultural Hero Bringing
Benefits to Men
The Raven is a cultural hero, subject ofnumerous legends which describe his supernatural power. and invention. in the·world'.
early daye-he liberated the daylight,
inTented fre.h water and river., broupt
ulIIOIl to hi. people, controll.d the tide,pTe fir. to the world, od eTen auppl1.d
haor with pruka and tricka.
OIl the tot. pole h. can b. 41.tiaglli.h••by eye. with white in the center, wi~gs
opt1~, ad a loae .tra1Pt beU 1Jl coatrut

J13

the one iambic beat. The next part is yoea!
singing without beating. Before thebeating begiRs you have agaia introduction
Dy i_bic beat and then ending with the samei_bic beat.
We have an interesting rhythmic patterna ..all iambic beat introduces and concludes
the different strophes of singing unaccompanied and singing accompanied.
Recitative throughout the song is on a higher
leyel.
Fra. the point of view of musical aesthetics
this is an interesting song because we havehere the two main factors of music aesthetics-unity and variety.
The .o-called meaningless syllables areof iaportance. We haYe here two different
ones-Hamai, ....hich is connected \...ith theHamatsa or any other dance, and the Ka Kei(sometimes Ka Ka as in the next Raven song),
which is connected with the Rayen.

from primiti ve. In it the man who has
acquired the crest of the Raven boasts of
his powers. He tells us they are so greatby comparison with those of other humans
that their meager po....er is no better thanfood for the Raven.
is • complicated song as far as pitch
is concerned. The sound of the note is best
expressed by t ....o adjoining notes.
The ability to produce more than one note ata time is a frequent quality among the Kwakiutl
and also the Nootka.
The melodic pattern consists mainly of 2nds
jumping into the 4th. There is a certain
dominant, subdol!linant relationship-a pull
between b and e fiat, and later a sharp andt-. There are clusters in 2nds with an occasional
jump into the 3rd or 4th. As far as pitch
and melody are concerned there is a definite
downward trend.
~s'l!onic-d sharp
Second tone-b and a sharp seem of equal
iIIlpor~ce.

MiDor 2nd of great illlportance, b to at bothin extended and in short note form. 4ths
. .d 3rda are present but not as important.. 2nds which moye frequently up and down.
With notes f sharp, d and e nat the playing
around is very noticeable.

Recitative: on a higher note
Intervals: 2nds, 4ths, 3rds, 6ths
Range: slightly over an octave
The interyal here as in Chief Assu gives
importance to the minor 3rd prevailing the 3rd
Pattern and rhytha not 80 c~plicatedas in the following Raven songs. We findsliding into different intervals, c, c+, c++,Intervals' 2nds, 3rds, 4ths, 5th., and 6ths,
2nda preda.iDating. First presentationof the subject includes notes f aharp, esharp, f and f-.

C sharp.

First motif consists of 2 parts, the second
a contraction of part one.

He ga la tsa klin
Right a ....ay he goes.
Mus gka mai amch day
He. traveled along with his goods for potlatchiJ leI gk....a-la kla'!here you DAtion.
lwa-wi-na nook 1. unt.
Ve haYe a Rayen"a-la nook la uts
Ve are told ". haYe the world
DA la ... si
VatchiDg oyer the world.

(cluster effect)
6th
0rig:lDAl aotif oonsists of two parts
presented once. A connective is built upof frapent. fr. the two parts. Thi.
ocCUZ's tour tilles. It appears that the
motif has distinctive syllables, and theconnective built up melodically from.
part of the aotit- has knoWll worda.
Quite complicated tone material-muchaore ad.ance4 than Pl"8Yioue song.
Slurring of augmented step-e flat tot sharp-reminds one of oriental quality(Hebrew, Egyptian).
Beatin~ quite scarce-starts without beating_aad carrie. em tor a long tiM vi thout
beatiDs. !o end the .trophe . e handclap
0.17. Apia solo yoic. only when repetition
Range:"aSide 1, Song 6
IaTO la"_, by 1111y un(A5)"Raven song is a very important thing."
man acquired the crest of the Raven.
Ie aid he i . eboviq this powr wh1cll 18
biav tbaa ~ .tllere. Ie can lin the
power• • t tile other. to feed the lann
(lIU'eaeIft). !Jae IaYen 18 in the cre.t ot
Cb1et un, .. ve:U .. the CJ'eat ot theVolt. !be 'fhunurbird ... powert1ll . .dolrta1aed tile oreat ot the Rana Mcaue Ile. . powert1ll.
~s

Nt. in.

One handclap again. Second time a bit
Iliper. IIAinly higher pitch repre.ents theftl'iatiGil. Occuioaal. leaTiD, eat of note••!lie ..lo41c cauaJ.1t7 of this Raven 80DI 18 tar
14

Slight time change in repetition. The holding
over 2nd and 3rd bar, beginning in the repetition. This time really only a repetition
with slightly higher pitch.

w

Verse 1gka represents the sound of the Raven.
La ams we la kl'a
You shall eat it all
Tlam kwa nawck klfa'
Swallowing
Glack . . di
You head person
G1 swa mack dei
Chiet betore and now
Ha ... l&i. kDl 118
The tood you ahall have, wondertul one
awa we ney k'a'a on
Raven voniertul one
Walas yala gelise k~s de
Big things you 8hall do, wonderful one
Ia la ge lise
All things doing
La am we la na kii
You shall take it all
Dd. ga ... tse
Big chietGkaelightl,. over an octave
Intervals: 2nds, 3rds, possibly 4tha
Very Iluch like A-5 in tone material, Badle
t~..olo on tones.
Minor triad toras soae 1l118ical _terial.
Tentative tonic principle. EYen if melod,slides up it ends near the tonic. i.e. starting
on f, ending on g flat.
Range IE sin gwa we nu eila si cia 111 kwa
I am not the Raven for the people
Gwa-we-nin kl'd sin ga ya am_ka_k'af la sua
I am the Raven tor the worshiped one.

THE POTLATCH

Ver.e 2SIDE 2The .ost important ceremony ot the West
Coast Indians, and one in which lIl18ic plays
a significant part, has always been the
potlatch. The word is derived tra. theNootka "patshetl," which means "giving" or"a gift." It was customary for the chief ofa tribe to call a potlatch and to distributeto his guests nearly all his possessions, withthe exception of his house. The Ilore hecould give away, the greater became hishonor and prestige. In return, he expected
to receive even more worldly possessions
at tuture potlatches given by rival chiets.
Such feastiag and gift giving arealaost universal. Similar customs wereobserved b,. the Ma:a and the Melanesiana;
the Ma,-a .considered it compul.or;y to givethe return teast, even in death. Kwak1utl~ried rivalry, and distributioa of property,
to a unique extre.e in that they would evendestroy possessions in order to indicate
suPerior wealth.
The potlatch was held in the fallwhen, after the long seasons of hunting andtiahiag, the Indian was tree to indulge
in winter dances and in the ceremonies ofthe secret societies. Occasions such as
marriage, birth, and death were marked by
the potlatch; but it might also be calle.
in vengeance, to save face, to repair insult,er even to establish rights to certaia dance.,.ongs, legends and crests, or co.tUlle••ft.e raising of a tote. pole, the buildins
ota hous., or the legalization of Dew
titles were considered worthy of the potlatch;
1t was held also to celebrate the acqaisitiaaof the "copper," that mystic symbol of' beateD..tal i.Jldicative ot the highe.t status.

"
La ams we la nack kla
You shall take it all
Tlam ywa nask kt..
.vallowillg
CIl.a kuu. dzi

Big chiet
Gi pIIIlch dzi

Big chiet
Ha rna 1Ms kluse
Food, you wonderful one
Gwa wi na gu k~s
Rave. wonderful one.
Side 1, Son" 7
Rav.. Song, .ung by Bill,. A....u

1

(A6)

Ovned by WA~. Re is recognize. as headot allied tribe WEIll. I .. Rot just a
Raven ot people. I sa a serYaDt ot God.
S.e Indiana could URderstand the language
ot the Raven bird. !he Raven, the,. believe,
could alway. tell the truth.
It is .lightl,. dittereat in melodic
re.,ect to
It begins with three distinct
microtones leading to the sustained note.
!he .elod,- on repetition i. on a rise.
S,.llables aka Gka are uaed extenaivel,..
!here are tour diatiact .elodic part. leading
up to the last auetained note. Gka aka
ia ••ed at the .o.t ~ortant melodic parts.
The coanective material between the .elodiea
is aung with text. ~e .ong 18 tinishedwith an iaabic bandclap beat. The tones
which do not belong ia our tonal syste.,but _plo,. mcrotae. are particularly
noticeable ia thia .ong.

A,.

15

A chief might give a "feast" for the menof his household in order to ratify a new
decree or ordinance, but the whole community
would then unite in a potlatch to sanction
such new laws for the clan.
Within his own house, the chief could
celebrate minor occasions, such as the bestowing of titles on his children, throughthe medium of the potlatch. But when hewished such honors for himself, outside
chiefs must be called to the potlatch.
There was fierce competition for distinguishedtitles and honors; their acquisition had
always to be recognized through the potlatch,and in this way, a chief gained the approvalof his own house and the respect of others.
The greater the title, the greater the potlatch.
It was possible for even commoners toclimb the social ladder by giving potlatches,for no sharp line existed between chiefs
and commoners. Folktales contradict theassumption that only a chief could give a potlatch.
Titles were graded, the highest
belonging to that head man or chief who owned
more rights than others. Although he held
great influence and prestige, he had no legal
authority, except over slaves. His influence
over the people of his house? as well as theirsupport, were gained throuE'h the eivine of"feasts." But ·in honoring visitors, he depended
on the heIr of other chiefs in calling a potlatch.
Everything connected with the ceremony
had historical meaning and the most stringent
rules in dress and ceremonial were followed.
At funerals, significant objects were displayed
and people would pay for the opportunity ofseeing thell. at winter dances, SIIIall gifts
were given; sometimes they were true gifts,
but more often they had to be returned withadded value, according to set rules. Guestsof the potlatch were welcomed by the chief
and led, each to his appointed place, according
to rank and tribe. Each procedure was accompaniedby ceremonial singing, appropriate danceswere performed by the host chief and speeches
and orations were made glorifying his own position.
In the old days potlatches took fromfour to six months. '~erybody got reallyfat" as Mungo Martin said. In more recent
times the potlatch was rushed to two or three
weeks. Mungo remembered when he was alittle boy on Taina Island a chief calleda potlatch and he stayed six months. Then hewent away to another potlatch for anothersix months, being away altogether a wholeyear. tlThey bad dried aalmon, dried berries,
and dried clams, and sometimes five fires in
one house."
The only indulgence, in addition to food,
was tobacco, smoked in a pipe called "calumet."
Alcohol was unknown until introduced by
the white 1IBJl.
In potlatch ceremonies, custom demanda
that e..rything be repeated four timeseach aong sung four times, each dance
danced four timea--because four is a mysticalnumber. At the time of the potlatch,
16

families brought out all their crests toimpress the audience. Entertainment
played a major role and many theatrical
tricks were performed, Such as pretending
to burn a woman alive, or to behead thedancers. Such tricks were pure theatre,but, as Chief Billy Assu said,"The white
man misunderstood such tricks, and so
forbade them, thinking the Indians werevery cruel."
During their feasting they told of all
the glories of the past and present.
The Grease Feast was a very important one
during which they ~. away oolichan (fish)oil, one of their most highly valued
commodities.
On the very last night they took off
their headdresses and danced3.nd sanea last song, to declare that ~otlatch
over. The chief got up and started to singand then everybody joined in.
The potlatch was the social andcultural artery of their lins. In all
its aspects (and as a present-day chieftain has
aptly summed it up) "it was a cold war
between families, because one wants to
outdo the others."
Side 2, Song 1
Potlatch Song, sung by Billy Assu

(A9)

Belongs to KAI-AWT. ''He is singing ofrecognized leaders of his tribe. No otherpeople could equal them. A more recent
leader might appear but he speaks about
his forefathers. They can never be equaled.
He is gi Ting the history of his tribe."
In most potlatch songs the beat is causedby the hand-clapping of the singer and is
not a defect on the record. The rhythm of
the hand-clapping depends on the singer andis adapted to the words and not to the music.
Main material consists of a perfect 5th,b fiat to e fiat. Dominant-tonic polarization. An excellent example of economy
in notes which still are able to accomplish
intensity and impact. The perfect 5th isplayed with, back and forth, with anoccasional adding of the 6th which can beunderstood as the augmentation of a 2nd,
the 2nd added to the first interval.
Range:

6th

The song begins with worda and the longsustained notes are vocalized "ob oh"with pulsations.
The first phrase consists of part of amel ad: with words, the other part
vocalization, only one-tone vocalization.
Melodic material (first on one phrase).
Then follows a recitative part. Afterwards
appears a repetition of the original phrase.
In recitative there is a tonic-dominant movement.
The .elodie phrue appears. It is again
aubdivided between worda to the firstmelodic part and vocalism to t '1e sec(Jndpart. This variation occurs four times,
finishing with the initial melodic phrase.
The subdivision between the repetitions isdistinctive for the interpolation of the samenote in succession.
In t he recita tive t he va riati on of thenumber of times the tonic leaps into thedominant shows a distinctive melodic
pattern: 4,6,7,7,6 (7), 7, 6 (8).
Rhythm: \J U UAll of a sudden there is a dramatic suspense
when the c which is the added 2nd to the
5th is given importance from being a mere
passing note to becoming part of the basic
material. Repeated 6 times in succession.
From then on other irregularities happen
such asse nat twiceb nat
a b nat
An extension·
An inversion of tonic, dominant, dominant,tonic.
M~re re petiti on of r est in endi ng wi t h th e
melodic phrase a.
Potential impact and melodic strength of
the single note.
Rhythm is even beats with the occasional
iambWl(U - ) .

Wa ja su las
You go ahead
E a ka gee-lee sa
And have a good time allover the world
Gk-ik-eus ta 11 sa la
Chief allover the -;#orld
Nik kus to la
Shouting out
Kin glaw wies k~B owa
Wonderful way I standGik sis ta Ii sa la
Chief allover the world
viti k8.s u las
Go ahead Wonderful one
Kin has ~s owa wa
Oh Wonderful one
Ya wa-mis ~s awa
You Wamiss (Chief Wamiss) Wonderful one
Ya gin Wa-mis lU.s awa
Mine Wamiss Wonderful one.
Side 2, Song 2
Potlatch Song, sung by Billy Assu

Beloneed to Salmon Ri vero· "When he ".ives a
potlatch he must exhibit all the crests.
Sixteen tribes came some time fifty years
ago. Fed them all for three weeks.
Distribution of: 100 ft. long full offood, silver bracelets, 6000 blankets,
canoes, money_ On hiG crest al l the ani mals
above included WAIKAI." eo• We have the repetition 6 with exclusion of'! n~t, b flat, b fl a t, an extension.

IIal'";'-·This song belongs to Mrs. Billy Assu because
she belongs to Salmon River. She brought thesong into the marriage.

i pr bo
L

(AIO)

j

" 'NATKAI is the f i rst man of Cape Mud ~e.
Syllables are sung with the melody-important text in the connectiveso

It nuctuates between b nat and • nat, withmore weight being given to e nat which may
thus be considered the tonic with b nat thetone of aecond importance.
Intervals: 5th, 2nd
Total range: major 6th
Variations of b nat, b nat +• nat, • nat +Sleah ja leah jao ha ho 0 ho hOG

on the melody.

They vocalize on the melody.
The recitative-like part is developed fromthe one or two-tone material.
The melodic motive starts on aeaningles8
syllables. The recitative on c follows
the melody.
At the .nding there are the syllahles Ho ho ho bo.
There is a predotDinating iambic beat (u-)
intermingled with straight beats. ( - - )An interesting common factor of potlatch
songs is gravitation towards long sustainednotes.

He begins with worda. On long sustained notes
h. vocalizes on "0" with pulsations. The
first phrase consists of part of the melody
with words, the remainder Tocalization on
on. tone ~lWl vocalization of the melodic
material (one phrase). Then follows recita tive.
It seems as if he enumerates something for
four beats on • nat, and then, on the fifthbeat, jumps up to b nat. This pattern leadsback to phrase a four times.
1. intentional breath-taking part of melody,a stretto in breath-taking.
2. repetition with emphasis, when repeatine
the original subject a sli~ht variation
in beating.
3. an enlargement of the tonic, dominant,adding the 6th which was slurred before.

J~

L

Range:....l

Sl i r,htJy over a.n f')ct~ve
2n1A, 3r1s, 6ths

Interv~ls:

17

0-&

Ya la gya
Well, go on
La tse mas klas dwok a klata
Now you shall see
Kwo mushs a gahk kla
The wealth will comeGahk hus tu la kla
Reason of you growing up in popularity.
Gwom mu gjuse tu laGrowing up in wealth.

Side 2, Song 3
Headdress Song, sung by Hun/1'o Martin

AJ'"\r---,J

1. ~-\(-VU...

A

.'.

r
.....

- ..

L.

rJ

\

•

h

J

Side 2, Song 4
Feast Song sung by Mungo Martin (34)
Two hundred years old. "Do not come out.
Don't look in the house. Don't get outof the house. Sisiutl is around." (Sisiutl
is the sea serpent.)(~2)

Starts with voice only.
Melodic structure in intense movement within
the range of a 6th, with intervals of 2nda
and 3rds.

Tsonoqua song, Tlingit song in Tlingit
language. "Nay or may not be good."(Tsonoqua ie the wild woman of the woods
with protruding lips.)

La kHa e kiJ.a

Then even beating begins:
Even beat, fast doublebeat, then caesura.

It is Mrs. Martin's song. She got it fromthe Tlingit, as hp.r grandmother-in-law comesfrom there. The blanket came from Alaska,
brought by Mrs. Hunt (the original Mrs. Hunt)
who was the mother of the George Hunt,
who worked originally with Boas. Hardly
anyone would be able to understand theTlingit language. As a dowry it came down.
The translator is not I3.ble to Ilnderst"md it.
Only a chief could wear a head dress. It
was an elaborate headgear made of wood,
set with sea-lion whiskers and with streamersof ermine down the back. In addition
objects of great value were displayed on it,such as eagle down, insets of abalone shelland large animal carvings. A rattle withan~ carvings accompanied the dancer.

J J J t jJ(.\ ~ )

Triple beat on the next melodic strophe.
Recitative plus three strophes.
He ha ha ai je he
Je he haistaccato
Ho je he hastaccato
Female voice joins in faintly. Male voicechanges the tones terrace-like.
Different melodic structure with different
beatR-double beat •Different .elody, triple beats.
Voices only, without beats o In recitativeon many tones.
Slow recitatiye on one tone with slow beats.
Then recitative with text on several tones
with even beats. A complex song with changesof beat, melodies, recitatives, and tonal
range.
Recitative and melody same beating on theword Ekila, interspersed with a small recitative on one tone. Second melody followed
again by a small recitative on one tone •Change of rhytha in double beating brings thefirst part to an end with a caesura inbeatinf, and sin~ing-Hoi!
Then follows a small recitatiYe.
New part begins with beating three times
as fast as original, and a new melody.
The next part, 8010, yoeal singing, joined
by woman, without beating.
Ho je je-a few slow beats and then again
faster beating on recitative-like singing.
The part on the meaningless syllables
je he ha is vocalizing, followed on onetone recitative with beating, followed again
by recitative-like singing, with even beats.
The long recitative-like singing i8 interrupted again with je he ha vocalism. There
are seyeral repetitions of this pattern.

Beating with sticks begins with emphasison the first beato
He he ja ha, two voices, mostly meaninglesssyllables. Occasional rest in beating.
The yoice is used in pushing tones, contrasted
with legato sustained tones. Within thesmall range there is constant movement
downward and upwards, using intervals of• ostly 2nds, with an occasional 3rd or 4th.
In the second part the recitative is built ona pendulUll move.ent, leaping down approxi.Jaa.tely
a 4th. For Indian music this is an unusual
melody, progressing stepwise upwards three
tones and back one.

This 18 a Tlingit song.
RRnge: About a 6thIntervals: 2nd13, 3rds, 4ths

I\.

Rhythaic pattern:

__-

or:

Range: Slightly over an octave.
Intervals: 2nds, 3rds, 6ths.

.\ J J' .'. Sitt... j 01

18

u-

In the old times the potlatch took from four

In short, we have here three noticable,
distinct parts:
1.

to six months. '~verybody got really fat
after this great celebration." Everything
has to be done four times over. Now theyrush it in two to three weeks. The chiefgets up and sings it. Everybody joins in.
Mungo Martin is the only one who knows it
completely. Chief Jimmy Knox, Fort Rupert's
chief, owns this song, having inheritedit through generations. After his death it
will belong to Peter Martin, one of Mungo's
grandsons.

Singing of melodic material by one or
two people plus vocalism on meaninglp-ss
syllables.
Straieh t recita t i ve on one tone by man
alone, on a hi gher spoken tone.
Singing r e citative on more than one
tone with male voice joined by female
voice.

2.

3.

Three distinct rhythmic patterns:

Recitative and singing-Mrs . Martin joinsin later.
Everything was done, blessing by the sonsin SOWASH language (old language of theKwak1utl).
Blessings-everybody gets the craving toparticipate in the feast. In recitative,
blessings spoken out "That is our blessing
to you, we had no argument, everybody had
a fine time."
The little people speak in the recitative"E',en if we do not parti cipate and are not
not allowed to, we are still enjoying it andbeing blessed."
The little people are not given the same
gifts.
The songs speak to the wealthy andimportant people and later to the little
people.
It starts with an expressive spoken
recitative. Melody begins with thefollowing text:

Wa mintla k& u laThere feed to fullness
Wa mentl lizi la
Feed in fullness, Big one
Ka sa Ku's-la dzi da KWs-la
Walk a lot you wonderful one
ew am tli. gkuse towk sise ta lackI'll not be looking around (watching)
Wa tla ise gee la
Till you are so heavy with foodHa va las Jck!s ouise la ouse tlank gwa kas ova
Your feast dish is so heavy
The second part, in a different tempo,
has a similar text -and meaning.

Ka sa Kas-la dzi ki cia
Walk fast you that has the greatness.
Ow am tlis kise duk tai-sa lack
Just don't look aroundA tlas cia douck ki na
Or else you will accidently see (the Sisiutl)Hei 1i Ii i kalaHei eaa lie .mHalikala
Ha 1a Iii ka laNow, praise to the host
Mungo eings in a wailing kind of yoice inthe range of a 4th, using 2nds and 3rds.
Rhythm: There is one consistent rhythmic
pattern through the song. It could beinterpreted as J

'ttl la see ci ya ka gwe kwi 1M la
He has a copper in his possession
Kinta nu lac la gka mai
Our Elder
Tlas la-will tse nuch
Or else you will never get out(If you continue fea8ting)
ExplaDation calling people

Jd .1 dJJ7 l J7 JJrdorPolyrhytbaic quality between ae10dy andacca.panying beating is particularly
noticeable.
Recitative durine the song-one tone
ainging, e nat, approxillate1y.
The explaining voice in the middle is
Mungo Martin's grandaughter Helen Hunt.

eaR ou tlas he kas a lise ~~Tou nghty one8 do i t right away again~aSi.de 2, Song 5
Finiahing Song, sung hy Mungo Martin (11)Both Feast song and Finishing song may beconaidered functional eongs. The initial..lody i8 often repeated rather literallywith alight Yariation8 on the ending noteand playing about the second. '!'he amall
recitative8 interepereed are related to theeong in melodic 8tructure, sung on thehigheat note of the melody. Ooe phra8e
consieting of the gena motif in three!his 18 the ending eong of all feasts andcelebrations (Tzi-tza-ka song).
~t two hundred yeare old.
After the potlatch, on the yery laat night,
they talce ott their banda. Eyerything
1e oyer. They etand up and 8ing and dancea laet eong to let enrybody know that the
potlatch 18 oyer and they can go home.
19

As we the wonderful ones are comfortable
Kas gin nuch ghu gwa lab
As we have the spiritual power obtained.

repetitions, the first two ending on c,and then the third ending on b as a hometone.
The first two motifs lead on to athird whose end tone is longer in duration
and repetition. Then follows a connecting
phrase, twice repeated, leading into thesmall one-tone slIne r Acitative. The singAr comeRout of the recitative with the connecting
phrase material and then follows the motifs
as above. This pattern is repeated several
times with small microtonic deviations.
Connective material is on
he em he em.
Melodic phrase material is on hei Ii Ii Ii kalaSame rhythm throughout on the stick beating.
The English-spoken recitative belonging
to the song introduces an entirely newmaterial in a one-time presentation in therange of a 5th, with intervals of a 2nd,
3rd, and 4tho

2nd melody:(After Helen Hunt says a few words in English
the following is heard)
Hei Ii ka la(these are the syllables usedfrom Hei Ii ka lich la)
Hei li ke lis la genuch
As we are comfortableo

.=
~ bOn

Seal.
1st melody:

S~eDuring the Tsi-tza-ka song (Finishing song)
each person entering the hall is given acedar headpie ce, long at first, but thencut in a length to go around the head andbe tied. (Ced~r headband.) Only one person
has the right to cut the pieces of cedaras the people enter the house. This is ahigh honor and privilege.

IN ()~TEp..t-'\ ,NI\IE

CEREMONIAL RITES~.dt~~O~<~J--------------------H(fj~==-~L-...,09--0-=--~------

This is the big finale of all the festivities.
It is called the Tzi-tZl-ka song (Finishing Song.)
Wa ga kint din-id-da
Now we shall sing
Gla kwa tla
You stand up
Atl rna owck ya a
It is not just made (meaning the song)
Kints gwe gka la sa'!'he words we are saying
Ia me sins wa gklt
Now we shall do it.
Ia IDa as se la-way
There it is out
Cha la chi daThat
Gwa tla-la &II eta a cha eta sins gwils gwil d's.

Which our elders had made (ready for us)
Ia ad la-way da gla-gwk kaw

The cedar headpiece is out (is shown)
Kints ma-ya-in tla
Which we have honor and respect
La mi sin ts wagatl
Now we shall go ahead
He-la-to clhla galla gin kwathkiul gin-me
Now listen attentively as I am the Kwakiutl
Bach gin ou gwa ma lise sa gin ha sa nauch na-la
As I am the foremost of the world.
(All the preceding is the recitative)
Song properz
Be I i ICas-lach
Be comfortable, wonderful ones
Ka nouch ha Ie k&s-lack
20

SIDE .3

Ceremonial rites were strongly interwoven
with religious and social functions. The
Indian believed in a supreme being who wasneither moral nor immoral. The source ofboth good and evil , came from the same spirit.
The great power did not mix with individuals;
but the spirits of animals had the supernatural
power to enter into, and disappear from, thebodies of medicine men, Hamatsas, dancers,
and all participants in different ceremonial
functions.
The Indian believed in a close contact
with the world of nature. His relationshipwith the animal world was a personal one an.
could be improved by offering sacrifices
and gifts. The animal world provided theIndian with food but there was no animosity
between hunter and game; the animals permitted
themselves to be killed in order to feed
the Indian. In gratitude, therefore, theIndian prayed over the dead body of the animal.
After a salmon had been eaten they cast away
a bone, believed to regenerate the salmon.
"If you killed a bear you just took theskin and threw back the Boul."
The "Baaatsa" was a secret society
composed of men who had come under theprotection of the cannibal spirits. They
were called Wild Men of the Woods (Bamatsa)
and in their ceremonies were mistakenly
referred to by white men as Cannibal Dancers.
In their ceremonies, dances and songs wereused extensively. The secret society, ascribedto the Kwakiutl, was held in higheat esteelland given the greatest prestige within thetribe. ODe ~st first have the hereditary
right to belong, and beyond that, must be
chosen and ilrltiated. Every chief had tobe a HamatA, and the achievement was arigorous and d••anding ordeal.
An eligible young man was sent alone
into the woods where he .ust stay for fourAnapaest: U u Beat in this song: U U

years. (The time varied in different
descriptions, sometimes as little as fourmonths.) Then he was sought out and broughtback. On his return he jumped at people
and bit at theao Everybody pretended to beafraid. He then started to dance, getting
wilder, and wilder.
The ceremony obliged him to dance aroundthe house four times, and to climb the polefour times. At his first appearance hewore nothing but parts of fir trees. At thesecond dance--the initiation--the Hamatsa
wore a mask, like the head of a bird
painted in strong colors, and growled insteadof speaking because he had lost the power ofspeech through _his lone ~tay ~n t t e woods.
The first part of the initiation was secret,the second part, publico
Sometimes there were women Hamatsa(s)oThe rank was hereditary and a woman, being
the only daughter of a Hamatsa, had to abideby the rules and remain in the woods just as
a man would have done.
There were three Hamatsa costumes(1) a headdress with a l ong beak which
opened and shut (see picture and song 1,
side 3, Billy Assu, Al4);(2) no he~ddress. Hamatsa clad in ced~r
only, on naked body (see So~g ?, Side ?,Stanley Hunt, 8); and(3) the com~lete attire (Aee Sone 4,
Side 3, Mun ~o Martin, 73).

The flavor of this song is conveyed by adistinctive combination of intervals-a 2nd somewhere between a major and minor
2nd, followed by a 3rd larger than a major
3rd but less than a 4tho Range: between a
4th and a 5th.

Mama! helllH. is known
Wak see ta lis
Allover the world.
*Hem is the place where the beak of theHamatsa NaSk is being opened and closed.
Side 3, Sone 2
Hamatsa Song, sung by Billy Assu (H20)~ief Assu together with WIKWLI SMEKA (cousin)
Owned originally by Jimmy Smith, Campbell
Rivero ~UO QUO DA CHA 10.

Very close 2nd relationship. Melody moves
in 2nds with one jump into the 4th and withan a.ded 3rd. : In repetition the added 2ndchanges into a 3rdo
Original phrase consists of two partial motifs,
x, x'. y is a partial motif from xo
The two part motif is repeated twice .xactly,
starting on an a-. Then follows motif x
alone three tillles on raised tone a+. Thenfollows another rise to tone b, with melodic
lIIaterial x' and enlarged with new materialo

Side 3. Song 1
Hamatsa Sone, sung by Billy Assu (AI4)
He gives the follol.,.ine explanation:"Fifty years last time. The Hamatsa
must dance around four times the big house.
He climbs up four times the Hamatea pole
to attract the people and make the poles
sway. When he first comes out he wears nothing
but the fir tree. He must stay four years
in the woods. P.ople go there to round
hi_ upo He juaps down. Fifty feet. He runs
away again. This is done to attain a higher
standard among the people."

Then follow. original motif x which isrepeated four times on tone b. Motif x'material in its enlarged form then follows
in exact repetition (which mi ~ht be interpreted as B). Then again A- another rise
to c+ (consisting of x material in 3
repetitions.) On finishing with x'
another rise to c sharp with material x and

x' •The dancer to this H~mat8a song wenrs a headdreBs "lith a very long beak.

A

JJ 'a

x' is at first identical.
Then a slieht reduction.
Then x' in enlareed
form twice. Then xfour times, then risefrom c+ to c sharp.

cc+ rising to c sharp.
Stated once.

Th. .... haunting ..lody goes up approximately
a 2nd and th.n aov•• downward a 2nd (aprox.)'l.nrl moveR 'l.round mainly in microtones.
!b. ~in, (clapping hand.) i. a bit
unuaual and coul~ be int.rpreted u:
J /":0.
~an anapaest witho 0 oRa pau•• b.for.
the longer b.at.

JB

x,x' twice
rises from - to ++ (3 times).

Diaini.hed .tep••
A very di.tinctive quality of timbre.
Hand clapping.
A iTeat variety of diminished and augmented
int.rTal8 within a small range, mainly
di_inished and augm.nted 2nds and minor 3rds.
Ha aai--..riation ris••
Rhythal U U \ OR.
oR

J J -()

I

Range:

Major 6th

It b.g:ina on the tonic, ending a 5th b.low

the tonic.
Please note the logical sta tement of the firstphra.e, which b.sin. on the tonic (a)and encla on the fifth (d) with the la.t

JIg

21

Side 3, Song 3
Hamatsa song belonging to Blunden Harbor,sung by Stanley Hunt (8) and explained byhila. "That is the way it is. HIKELESgood word-old man, when he comes out of thewoods he jumps up on a pole--he is the firstman of the olden days to be a Ramataao
Hamatsa gives to his own tribe, but he doesn't
know the words any more. HIKELES, old manfrom Bl1mden Harbor he knew how to makethat songo It is the first Hamatsa in theworld. Pole, when first come out of thebush o Dance. Got pole in the midst of thecommunity. He climbs up on pole. Called
HUMPS PIK. The word is in song. Firstman to be Harnatsa in olden days. Next
verse--he gives the Hamatsa to all tribes
who want ito"statement of the same subject in raised
position, c sharp, f sharp. the general direction of melodic movement is downwards.
The form could be considered three part ABA.
A consists of the following sentence-main motif x (two bars) follow~d by a two
bar extension of x caJlen x' (formin~ theinitial phrase).
This is repeated (x, x') and the sentence
is concluded by x which appears 3 times.
B consists of x' plus more material, Yo
This is followed by lllain motif x
repeated four times. Then appears
x'y. Afterward x is repeated three times
and then, finally, x'Yo A reappears thistime with x, x', repeated twice.

Tom Om Hit lllade the song.

l t .I J 1"

Beat prelude: J
Augmented 2nd, microtonal effect predominatesin tonal structure. It seems as if heproduces his voice in a way different fromsome of the other singers. There is a similar
quality in timbre between this song and thatof Billy Assu (A14)
Ha JIIB. ha is sung in a natural voice-therest in a differently produced voice, withthe occasional interruption of ba.
The special quality of this song . is.a!eo
based on the augmented and diminished interTals. A 2nd is diminished and then moves
into approximately a minor 3rd.
There is a beautiful legato effect, a smoothglide from tone to tone.
Rhythm: Mainly without beating, although
it appears sporadically with small even

Within this frame there is the additionalrise of pitch in the following pattern:AB

x,x' (tone a-)x (tone a+) 3 times(stated 3 times)x' (rise t~ b) inenlarged form twicex 4 times, exactly
x' in enlarged form
twice.
repetition on c or c~Crise to c sharp
x, x' stated once
The song is introduced with syllables
One cannot callthem meaningless syllables because they
have a relationship to the snne (e.g.,
Hamai-hamatsa song).

Ham-han-hamai ai-ai.

Typical falling pattern.
end of phrase.

:::,rlt th£'b!j;Extended beats at

Range: 6th
Range:

Approximately a 3rd

Ka. vao

Wonderful one
Hias ba
Would be the one to blow the Hamatsa whistle
Noo gva 1m tla
It will be lie
Nu gva am guvatla
I am the one that's already the one.

o
(WfTH F\ISE. )Clapping of handa--rhytha--mostly iambic
with occasional rests.

Stanley Hunt was a true Singer with a
Tibrating quality in his voice. For thissong the dancer does not wear the beak mask
and cedar attire.

Ke lea kla _ kli
They viII be afraid
Sa aim ain new what
Lit tle children
011 ja kla an kli
They will worship the Hamatsa
Glu gew 1& leas u
As be viII get the supernatural power.

Side 3, Song 4
HaJaat .. song, sung by Mungo Martin (73)
"HAMAH-first in set.
Song belongs to
CHO SAM TAB. He was a Hamat.. and this was
hia sone. QUIQUAM tribe. He is deRd now.
He cOlies in and starts dancing at night time.
22

He does this for four nights and every night
he sings the same songo Every Hamatsa has
four songs."

This could also be interpreted as a Cedar
Bark dance performed in Cenar B3rk dr ~ sR.
A woman may participate in this dance.

The Hamatsa is explained according to Mungo
Martin:Kin kawa ya
Why wonderSus kID WID so mut ta sus
Things you think too small
Sus glaw la a sus
On aC90unt of your magic touch.

"Before the Hamatsa comes out the drums
are vibrating quickly. His wife has given
him one Hamatsa song which she brings into
*he marriage. Mungo will give it to his sons.
His wife inherited it from her uncle, Johnny
Klaotsi, from Teina Island, which is fifty
miles from Alert Bay.
"The Hamatsa song, 'Mosquito' 0 This is
an initiation song. Mosquitoes come from theashes which are blown out of the chimney
before the Hamatsa arrives. Therefore
mosquito bites come from the Hamatsa.
When the Hamatsa approaches, the chimney
pipes are blowing. The smoke scares themaway. The smoke has different colors withdifferent meanings: white smoke, mountaingoat, brown smoke, grizzly bear.
"After the spirit talks the Hamatsa issometimes paralysed for two years. HAGHAQUACANUSIWI. Whenever he tries to enter, thedrums announce hilll. He tells about all thechanges. The women and children in thevillages are running about, announcing thatthe Hamatsa is here. There are feast songs
for the Hamatsa. Nobody likes the Hamatsa.
A small Hamatsa accompanies him. Old
people believed in small Hamatsa(s). It
was called Hamasanos (small people).
"When the Hamatsa is dancing everybody
is told to be quiet and to watch. One
man stands up. There is no more talking.
He wants to try to talk. The young man who
is a Hamatsa cannot talk. Only an old man
who is a Hamatsa can talk. He no longer
swears, and he is not angry any more."

Side 3, Song 5
Mourning Son g , sung by Munfo Martin (36)Mungo Martin explains such songs thus:"It is sung when a chief dies. Mourning
rite is four days long. For three days
after the chief dies all the people go
in. In three days he tried to get everybody
together for singing. After four days
everybody comes in to listen to the song.
Three old songs and one new one. Aftercrying song the potlatch song is sung-women are dancing, sometimeR Hamatsa,
sometimes potlatch song. He is not in abetter world.
"Each tribe has one mourning song
performed in a specific order. Kwaklutl,
Fort Rupert. sing first. Mamelilikala
second. Nimpkish third and Wawitchis
fourth.
"If one chief dies they come to(':ether
and each tribe sings one song. The
Kwakiutl have a very long song, one hourlong."
Indians are highly attuned to theworld of spirits. Everything has anemotional concept. There is a reluctanceto mention the names of deceased people.
When the names of dead persons have notbeen given to other persons evil can comefrom .entioning them. If the names are
bestowed again i t is all right to speakthem.
The Indian is a fatalist. He has
little concern for the afterlife.
Therefore his prayers are for blessing inthis life, not the life hereafter.
Mungo Martin did Dot want to sing
Mourning or Ghost songs at an imappropriate
time.
Song 5 is a Kwakiutl Chief Mourningsong. The drUIl beat is.

Melodically the song is in our tonal
structure and rhythmically quite complex.
Rhythm:U UUU u - V

U-' L.J LJ-VVUUV- U L ) UUULJU ·--UUUvU ·-

UU-

J d•

This Hamatsa song has • very rare 6-beatrhythll. Light staccato effects, along with• few text words. the syllables Hama1 predoainate.
Melody has one phrase consisting of twoparts; tonic predominant

Mungo Martin eaid "CaDox first. Cape
MudS-. Bella Coola Indians. Bella bella
once. Quinquaa. In the lIourning song hetells how many potlatches the chief gave,
6 times one tribe, 3 tribes, West Coast
Nootka. other tribes gin potlatch thenfor the dead chief and tell how many otherpotlatches he ~ve. If. chief dies his
son orders mourning."

I N DE:TEo; ~ I Nf.-reRange' between a 5th and 6thIntervals, 3rda

23

Some singing on syllablea--onl7 one recitativewith spoken worda.

Rhythll of beating I

e

(1\1
d.

.0.A\

accomplishing definite results. Wheneverthey felt a limitation of their own humanpower they looked for superhuman help andfound it in their songs. Singing was nota trivial .atter. They uaed it whentreating their sick people. Through thestreneth ot a aong the medicine man cured
the people.
Medicine aen correspond to our priests
and physicians and acquired their mystic
power through dreams and visions.
They used their songs to secure
successes in war and the hunt and foreverything which needed some supernatural
power. This supernatural power, they believed,
was in. Man as well as in nature. To become
one with nature actually me'lnt an infl1sionof power into one's being and the result
was the creation of songs.
But the Indians were also realistic.
They did not depend only on the power oft~eir Bonr~s.
When p;oing into battle thewarriors were rigidly trained for fighting
although they never went without a medicineman, called Anon Alak.
A medicine bundle along with a song
and a vision was believed to come from aguardian spirit and it was hereditary in
the North. This practice was adopted from
crests which had myths attached.
Billy Assu asserted that otten womenare doctors, that doctors cannot be killed,
and that sometimes they posneRR thA power tosee into the futureo
Mungo Martin tells of an old man who
owner] a Medicine Bong. "Ovl<r t hirty years
ago th~ old man who owns t his song, he washurt, he got the supernatural power telling
him to sing that Bong and he got welloThe supernatural man tells him what songto get well. The supernatural power asks
him to tell him who made this world andhe told him. After the 8up~rn a tlJra] cameto him he knew he could make men well.
Nobody could be a medicine man after'
smoking, or else that power was taken away."
The training of a medicine woman wasquite rigid. "They take the girls, treat
them to be dancers, close them up until they
get into the state of mind where they arephysically and mentally affected--quite
hYf'teric'3.1." In doin[ 8 0 t hey mCide
thelll receptive to the supernatural power.
(There is an analogy in African mus:ic, Ghana.)

I

Sustained note is embroidered by a aelodic
turn ~t in our senae.
Noticeable raising in pitch of the same
melodic material.
The first . .in •• lodic phrase begins withstick beatin~. Then Mrs. Mungo Martin
joins in. Beating continues, sustainednotes are repeated and embroidered.
Legato effect from sustained tone--tonic oEnds on high tone.
Ha ke Ita ... nai

Na ne keiah
Nek
La1. .aguala
Rajala ne
A na nai a na1

a nai naiya ya
a na naiyaa na na1
A--aa--nai are the most predominant syllables
besides the text. Ana nai means I am hurt.
Anana = hurt (expression of hurt).
Ananai comes trom the word "anana" whichlIIeans hurt.
Melody falling segmented, first part includes
leaps ot 2nd, 3rd, and 4th. Second part,leaps of the 3rd and 4th on]y.
Recitative is on a high note.
The song ends on a high note, spokeno~i± i'a t ('

~

l

...Q-

1

indeterminate notefor syllables ja-ha
Range: 7thIntervals: 2nds, 3rds, 4ths.
A klus ta kele
They will go beyond
Recitative

Ghana) 0

Ga la de si

Amongst the Kwakiutls the head of thevarious houses and clans maintained careful
control at all public ceremonieso Medicine
men of the Northwest Coast Indians neverdeveloped the powerful priesthood authority
one finds in other levels of civilizationo
They exercised their power by beat i n~drums, shaking rattles, and mostly singing
songs, helped along by amulets and charms.
Some tribes did not believe that the
medicine power was hereditary but adhered
to the individual who was endowed with thepower of vision and dreams. These visions

The first one
Tzi wi ga Ie 1!8.
To be known allover
eha gi ga mai ya
The chief.
Side 3, Song 6
Little Homan Doctor Sone, sung by Mary Wamiss(Billy Assu, Nl9)
The Indians used a song as a means of
24and dreams could be acquired as the "medicine
bundles" by purchase, which, combined withfasting and predisposition of the individual,
would ultiaately make him a medicine man.
Concerning song 6: During Dr. Halpern's
stay at the house of Chief Billy Assu andhis wife, her hand bec&JBe inflamed frOilclapping a~ she accompanied hill in singing
and beating. They called in the medicine
woman, Mary Wamiss, a cousin of Billy Assu,and daughter of great Chief Wamiss. This w.s
the song she used to heal Mrs. Assuo

4mhair short or scratched their faces, and had
to be ceremonially bathed to remove theinfluence of the ghost.
The West Coast Indians believed that thesouls of the dead walked amongst them intheir villages, unseen, and could enter and. leave whomever they wished.
They also thought that a being diedbecause hie soul did not hold together
his body.
When a II&D died his soul went to thesouls of the salmon and when they died in
the rivers, after spawning, their souls
went home to the outside of the world.
They also believed that a soul neverslept. During the day it stayed with man
and kept watch over hia but at night it left
and went away. The sleeping person thendreamt of the place where his soul hadgone. When daylight approached, the soulcUie back and sat on top of his head. If
it went too far aw.y and didn I t get backin tt.e the mu was dead.
Mungo Martin adds that "at the dancing
of a Ghost Song the dancer does not lift up
her eyes. Head down. She only sees her
hands 0 Blanket has pieces of hemlockbough stuck in, just as if she had been
lying in the woods 8JIIong branches."
According to Mungo, Song 7 is a very
old Ghost song. HACHA MAMAI. Old people.
He made this song for the potlatch of his
brother. "I am going down-HIL CHEI SELA
YOU. Ghost is going down dancing. His
father's daughter was the woman dancer.
It was a slow dance--with her own hair-dances alone. Ghost goes first. and she
after himo There are only dances for fournights. Only some potlatches (Wintertime
potlatches) have dances. Only some menknow the story of the Ghost Song." Mungo
does not know it anymore.
He begins with one beat, the jachja hai ha JBa:1 mai ja hal. Both Ghost
songs have the same rhythmic beat,

DO bG

The polarity relationship is between two
notes a 3rd apart. Minor 2nd strongly
evident with polarity between 3rds.
There are two 3rds in successiono One
might term them "triad". There are also
3rd and 2nd, giving a 4th feeling.

~ ;'3"''' I £"'0 1
\....

yl~

\

This is a rhapsodic piece with a yery strong
intensity at the ending--six long tones.
The pulling out of the last six tones gives
dramatic impact to the ending.
It appears that the medicine woman uses
meaningful words throughout. The w.il-like
quality of the last six notes have amysterious quality of incantation.
In the six long notes ending the song
there are sustained accents on each note.
'!'he last two haYe glissandi downwards as well.
Method of .in~1 here is w.iling.
Je je we wesyllables

/'

V-I_-

Mrs. !ioberh, senior. was originally Mary
Waaish, Billy Assu's cousin.

It is a modified anapaestor (lJ U ' - )After the two lighter ( LJ\J ) metricbeats there is a little rest ( I )and then the long strong beat ( - ) .
Often the first light (LJ ) one has
an emphasis. ( - )This beat is interspersed with several eyenlong beats ( )Wahk-ma-gin-na ner-i-ea-laThough I am concerned.
La gin lea ge la Iea-Ia-au hela la gi klutl
I . . trying to kill the illness in you.
Side 3, Sone; 7Ghost Song, Bung by Muneo Martin (38)When someone died, fe8r of hiB ghost was
yery strong. '!'here fore wakes were heldand dirge. were sung.
Amongst the Kwakiutl and Nootka it
waa customary to place the dead in wooden
boxes high up in a tree, or el.e in a cave,or in the grounds.
Personal pos~eBBionB were buried with him.
burned, or giyen away at a potlatch.
Aa a .ign of srief ••ourJler. cut theiruoRange. 6th
Intervals: 2nds, 3rds
The general meaning of this song is "We
haYe been honored by the decea.ed person."

2S

Ta lak din we nu deWe han been doing all the tiae
Le 1a i . . 1a ju
been taken aroundI.e 1a kwa 1a uk cia wa klotse cia
so great was he we are afraid to mention
their name.
Yo lach din nu'ch la ee sa la
We had been alway8 going north.

the grooa's parents to tho.e of the bride.
In sOlIe tribes, the young huband served
hie bride's parents until after the birthof their fir.t child.
I f a aarried Indian de ....loped anintereat in another aarried woman thehwtband and the rival fought with fistand spears. The winner got the WOlllaJl andhad to pay for her according to oustOli.
So that oCcaAlionally aarriages beoaae not
only a . .tter of bU8iness but of aentiment.
Northweat Coast tribea were diYided
into groups controlling aarriage and descent.
Amongst the Haida, one was born into the"RaYeD" phratry or the ''Eagle'' phratry
and had to IIIIll"ry into the oppoai te group.
WheD a JIIall waa a "Raven" his wife and children
were ''Eaglea'' because of matrilineal descent.
With the Kwakiutl the object of IIIIll"riAge
was to acquire clan crests, privileees,
and songR, which the wife brought in as adowry and handed down to the children •Marriage with a alaye woman was
forbidden. If she had a child it beeaae
a alave.
The Indiana of the Pacific Northweat
Coast were very class-conscious. The
upper clasa had acquired knowledge by
instruction and knew how to behave. The
lower class. not haYing this privilege,loet the knowledge of their paat. '~owing
their paat would make them high caes."(The Maori cling to the same belief.
Certain peraona have a right to apeak,knowing the past.)(In this .ong one has to realize the lIIourner
is telling of the achieye.ent. which thedead per80n W&8 doing for his family.)Side 3, Sone 8
Ghost 'Sone, BUne by Mungo Martin (39)
Blunden H!3rbor BOne. qUACffA tribe. HAMA
MAA MET are the Byllables. NAQUATA BOne.
Beatine introduces the r~citative which beeinsin a low-medium 8peakine voice.
•Ja ha mai ja ha ha mai
J~ ha ha hai tsonoqua
The recitative has its own metric rhythm inwhich a pause is combined ~/ith the modified
anapaest. ()
Parallel rhythm.
In this melody there ifl a "perpetual mobile"
quality. Ber.ause it doesn't end on the expected
final note hut on one higher, it gives theimpresflion of continuation. There are many
repetitions with small tonal variations.
Scale:

Range:Side 4, Song 1
Love Song, sung by Mungo Martin

Loye song made by Mungo Martin for Mrs.
Martin and translated by hill.

5thIntervals:(16)

2nds and 3rds.

"Oh what you .ean to me
It hurts an awful lot

Lak das sa la uk din much

We were taken (or traveled) from place to ~lace(We traveled from place to place means potlatching)
Le 1a wa kluse da tsa tsa ka la yuse da
Always having (tsa ka) a potlatch
Jacha an nei' (crying '!lords based on Anana (hurt).
EVERYDAY LIFE

SI DE. 4

The love songs of the Indians are
poetic, charming, and quite witty.
They were not courtship songs, as theymight be with us, for courtship was non
existent in Indian culture. Marriages
were arranged by parents and based on
statU8 and family stature, not on the romantic
sentiments of the young people.
Often such unions were planned when
the children were mere infants. The bride
was bought by the parents of the bridegroom
and presents were sent as payment trOll

I am mourning what you mean to me
I am not mounrl ng aloudI am just grumbling about it no~ and thenI am crying, really crying
But I am not crying aloudI am crying to myself
I am not crying for the one I do not love
I am crying for the 'one I love
I am not crying for the one I don't love
I am lonesome for the one I love
I am not lonesome for the one I don't love
I wish I could be ueed .. a pillow for theone I love
I wi8h I could be tucked under the pillow."This ia sung by Mungo Martin together withhis wife. A complicated melody with wide
range--descending. Numerous repetitions of
melody with varied text. Each has a very
short refrain with ayllablee a je a ha o
It ie interesting to note that the melody
ends on the lowest note of the scale (c)26Indian men honored and respected
their wives o For instance, during a potlatch,
if the wife was in charee she was not considereda female but a male, equal to any man, witha man's name. (According to Mabel Stanley
who is a female chieftain of a Kwakiutl tribe.)
tribe.)
Three steps ascending, very affirmative.
Pendulum movement, about a 6th.
Hu hei ja hu hu hu
Rhythm throughout is iambic: V -v-V-U-

Rangel 9th
Intervals: 2nds, 3rds, a 4th.
Main beat: U U l _ _Can also be shown as

J J'1 .I old; J i '1 J J.

p
,
,
J r

be

Ya-as ~s gwe-ma-la ka~ ous gee y
Klu II&S chan-tla sis gwe 11& 18 sa ous
Ya 1& II&S gwa-tla ka
Eis gi ya ous
Eis klas ha-sa-lathOu sa tUn
Ya kee las hasila tla gwa-tla lachOu 8111 tlis bpn-ka lath-gee ya u
Ka ese gee ya ous
La min gwas sa ka in gkie ya aya
K1 u _ 8JIS kl u 1118.
Gleee klin ha sa lack gwa sa 1a
Ou IIin va nanuchl tlah
Ya gkeese klin gwa-sa-tl
Ita nath kin guya ya
E sa 1& tlin
Kuee klin kwio sath ka an gi ya ya
Kuse klin tsi-kwi1 ka an gi ya ya
He ga aJIl klin gwa sa gU th kt1in gi ya ya
Kin na tla
Kin awal 1a tla gwil 1a
He gwa am klin-sa ghichtl t ghichtl klingi ya yao 1& klin on tsila •W. na vha an
La nack vay ou u lie ta 1a gi ya
La guva wach die 1a kin gi ya
La guva vach die 1a ld.n gi ya
Yu la nach-vhay ou lisu l~ sa
La boa ••• ta 1 •• sa la kiD gi ya y.

~I

J-Jo

:::::r~

The melody leads up to the tonic on asustaining noteo This note changes its
pitch microtonally. He ja ho.
'He find here the highest note, the tonicsustained note-embroidered and closely
associated with the tone nearly a 2nd
below.
The melody appears four times with amixture of text and meaningless syllables.
Some phrases have a mixture of text andsyllables, while others are entirely syl1abies.
The main melody is built on three consecutive
noteso Each time it has a very shortrefrain with syllables. There is only one
singer.
r-=
Scale:

,PeP

l

0

~

about. 6th
Interval. I 2nda and approxiaately a 6th

Range IYa la min gwa gwa la la sus sin ai dzi kav Ius
In a huable way I am asking yoa, great on.
Y. la mus kva kva gi la au.
Y. 1. ... gw gwa ki la aua
kla-kva us
Ya la aa glu-!'f&la
You are the one that has copper in your possession
as your dowry.

.i.

Side 4, Song 2
War Song for Marr1ap, eung by Billy MSU (Ml3)
Indi~nR considered marriaee as a basis forconl1u'O!st between two families. Therefore
they used w~r Bongs for marriages. In themarri~~p. c'O!rp.mony the bridp. was brought by
her fsmily to the eroom's house or village
by canoe. Thp. movements of the paddlers canbe heOlrd in the syllllbJes He ja ah uh, imitatingth~ p~ddJe movement.
"AlwllYs rMrrip.d on the w~ter," according
to Chi"r 81..11y Aft"".

Side 4, Song 3
Paying for Daughter Song, sung by Billy Assu (Nl4)

Mr..
27

Stanley refer. to this eong as •The followin~ is Mungo Martin '8 explanation:"Redeelling" song and in her own words shede.cribe. it as BUch. "Redeeming song is
ODe in which the bride's family give a
potlatch in r .e taliation for the potlatch
which was given by the groOlll' s family.
When the 'redeemine' potl a tch ,''l S I:iven
she was no lone~r a poss ess ion of the croom
whose faaily had originally given a potlatch
in her honor, in marriaeeo Now the bride's
faaily had the right to take her back i f
she were not treated properly by the groom's
family."This happened at the time of thebirth of the first child. Clan privileges
were formally bestowed, along with property.
Payment annulled the marriage, the father
had redeemed his daughter. She could thenleave, or stay with her husband. Often
the husband, to renew his claim on her,would make another payment. This entire
transaction was usually part of a big Winterpotlatch.

''YA SSLLA-cra dle song . YA'1'LE:LA-rocld.ng .

It comes from the Qulquasutima tribe •."Mungo Martin ill half Kwaklutl. half Qulqwurutima,
hence knows it.
"You can he~ the child cry. (imitative)
Drm't cry-Tsonoqua. C'rsonorlua iA the
hairy being of the woods.) Three men use
eagle feathers. One man scares him.
Second man holds the cradleo In the earlymorning when the baby is born all people
come to the chie f' F3 hous e. T13onoq11a maskUHOO TlfENAI."
This sane belon ~s to Mun .~ () Hartin's e;r!3 nddaughter. It W3.S his grandfather's grandfather'ssong. "Don't cry. Nobody hold the cradle.
He will run away for a long time. He isgoing to smoke, to make fire so they can see.
HITAM. Running away from. He looks after
baby. He is going a long way. Nobody will
look after you. Nobody. He is going along way. From some other tribe coming tolook after baby. BABAWAY. SOllIe hiding.
Do not cry. Nobody will look after yourway. He is gone long time ago. Hamatsascared t he baby."

Rhythm-even bea ts throughout. Long melodystarts upwards, then descends as usual andends on a low traditionally prolonged note.
The first two notes of the melodic beginning
are in our scale, ascending , the thi rd one
deviating. An extensive playing aroundwi th:in a 2nd on the main tone.
Sca)e:

:!

r--1

~~~

Descriptive programmatic song.
!Iaj haj uh-imitatinc t he rocY:ing of the haby.
(There is a big cradle and a man is pulling
the rope.) Ha haj uh.
Rhythm: •I ,,~I I J . . . . _ even beats.

!/

ij Fcr:j8 l gWd

Mungo is joiaed by Mrs. Martin.
Syllables imitate the content of the song
(baby cry). Nasal-quali ty singing.
Oscillation on the main tone which may befound on different levels. The main tone
seems to move. Syllables are on notes
about a minor 2nd apart. Occasionally there
is a jump a 4th above or a 5th below.

Sometimes he sings b
Sometimes b flat.
Intervals:

2nds, 3rds, 4ths

Now I am giving the potlatch in honor of
my oldest daughter. It is frightening
because it is so big. So great is the
potlatch. (Feast is part of the potlatch-feeding.)

Kwa kwas sus da

There, don't cry.

Tau nu qu dzi
dzi-big
Giant being of the woods
t su nu qua=hairy person
La maus tsu nu qua ka ja tlach
Now we have the giant on our crest
Quaus 0 IDa qui-Ish owk
For our child we have made er eat
La arns kla dzi kks kla
You will be getting much
Ou-ma sa las gke ni ya sese ki-detl as ouse
How great your honored daughter· is
La. ams dagagla i thaI
You are bringing in the wealthLa. mins din dack sil lath ou-ma i noi
as sins gkie-dethWe will sing praises to our honored childo

Side 4, Song 4

Side 4t Song 5
Baby Song, sung by Dan Cranmer (11) and
explained by him.
"When you have a baby sitting on your lap
you sin~ this song. Cradle song to putbabies to sleep. When you put the baby in
the cradle you sing. I'm going to sing thesong they sang to me when I was a baby.
When we lived on the original reserve on
one side of the hill the people on the otherside had the right to the top of the hill.
They say , "Don't play on t he t aD of t he hil l.
You play on the bottom." Second verseYou are very strong. You did overthrow(name of fellow)."
Rhythm: even beats
Two distinct melodic sections.

Cradle Song, sung by Mungo Martin (105)28

The first

consists of material in 4thal the second has
3rde up and down. Slight melodic changes
to fit the text, such as doubling of on.
melodic note and identical rises. After
numerous repetitions of the main melody,a second melodic section appears, repeated
only once more between appearances of themain melody.
Sc ~ le:,SO""'''' "'.

Only one man in a tribe is allowed to do
this. It is considered a great honor.
OM HIT, (Muneo's uncle) gave out the cedar
bark."
Every person who enters into the hallis given a piece of cedar which is originallyquite long but is cut to a length sufficient
to go around the head and be tied into acedar hea dba nd. (I1r s . Mabel St anley)
Again according to Mungo Martin,"In the dance they sing four time Ai-,
four times U--, four times uip---,and four times ha ba ba ba."
His description of a typical Cedar&rk dance wj t h i ts proper protocol is thus:"It happens in one ni~ht. First, enters
Maumtakela--Kwakiutl's daughter. Second,
Ha melilika Ja -Wil s on Isla nd Indi a nl3. 'l'J:i rd,
Nimpkish-Alert Bay. Fourth, SlawitzisT::mna I s l and . Fi f th, Denakdowo-Nance
Inlet Indians . As each daugh t er of ea chchi ef ent er s , a s0n ~ i s s ung. They comesingly and withdraw and next daughter enters.
Sixth , H~~ i Ap i tri h~ -are ~o in g t o move i nto
t he Sawit ch ' s pl ace . Se venth, Nakke wa clowsBrand.on Ha r bor Island . Eigh th, Kwa t s ula:::rd t h ' s I nl e t I ndians . Ni nth , NoowitiKlateseekwa Indians.
"Four rT!en :) n (~ f OUT wome n d.J.nc e foreach tribe. Some man come in, call Hamatsa.
T ~ eJ w~ t ch th~ clock-some t i mes si ng f or
three or four hourso""The Cedar Bark dance is strictly a
Wi~ter dance.
Women dance it clad in Cedar
Bark dress. Men made songs for women in
the Kwakiutl tribe.""Fort Rupert is the place where
many of these dances were held. One, two,or three women would dance counterclockwise."

WO'c SF-=1Q!V

~

r

o

Range: 8thIntervals: 2nds, 3rds, 4ths
"Don't play in my playground, your playet'oundis there."
Tlo-kwe-ma dzi
I wrestled with other children.

(dzi-big)

Side 4, Song 6
Cedar Bark Dance Song, sung by Mungo Martin (33 )Cedar bark was of great importance to the
West· Coast Indians. There werp. threevarieties-whitp., red, a nd yelJow. They
used it for firewood, clothing, ropes,
towels, mats, baskets, and for l a.s hing wood.
In addition to the daily uses, it played an
important part in their ceremonies andbeliefs.

Song 6 was the Winter Dancine Song of Mrs.
Martin. It was an old song, for Chief Tom
Johnsons, her brother.

One of the ceremonial practices wast he so-called Cedar Bark dance. It had
specific rules which regulated when thewhite and when the red cedar bark was tobe used. The White Ceda r Bark dance
preceeded the Red Cedar Barl'.: dance.
During the dances noises were madewith a whistle in the house (as was customary in a vli nter dance). "Fonr times t hey
use tr.e cedar bark in winter. They dye t he
four nights in a row."

Rhythm: Even beats mixed with modified
dactyls 0 Dactyl, modified: U u-v0--

I....}U-

V.U

Timbre-tone color-dark, somewhat sombre .
Here again as in a few instances before
we hqve a distinctive minor quality, res\llting from the juxtaposition of minor
3rd, minor 2nd, and major 3rd.

According to Mungo Martin "They only
use the cedar bark in Winter. They dye thecedar bark a.."ld make it soft, making a maskfor everybody, boy or p;irl. One dancer i s
in the house. Sometimes one man dancesin the house, sometimes two. One old man
calls in to distrjbute the cedar barko
This particular old man is in charee of ito
In the stmmertime he prepares and dyes it.
He dances while distributing it. Sometimes
after the dance they give him back thecedar bark and next year he gives it out again.

1st time-l singer-even bea. tine;-ha rna rna maio
2nd time-2 singers-even beating-ha ma rna maiContrast-2 sin gers-drummin ~ pa ttern( UU t _ ) -wi th t ext, on blO notes r; and f
sharp, possibly a d (indeterminatp).
3rd time-2 singers -even bea t i ne on first two
ha-ma-mai, then pattern (-- UU'
on remainder.
4th tirne-2 singers-even beating on first h :oha-me. -mai, t lo en pattern '--UU,)
on remainder.
29

6~de-14 all together.
Before was 10 on eachside-20 all together. Salish people played
it with 10, Kwakiutl witt 7 to 14 sticks.
Before the game starts they sing thesong and after the first bone is won thewinner sings. "One man knows how to get
the bone." The song says: "Try a chance to
get the bone. You once missed--you twice
missed--you three times missed it--youfour times missed it! You try your chance
wi th the man who knows how."Lahal songs have few or no words,
only music and vowels.
Song 7 is in the Chinook jargon,
according to Mungo, who commented that theshouting became interesting. Mrs Martin'3.dded, "You can never be'3.t the Kwakiutl."
In this song the Kwakiutl are playing
against the Musqueam tribe.

Spoken recitative with mixture of beats
5th time--like 4thContrast?r&Titr::Range: approximately a 6thIntervals·: 2ndR, 3rds
Ha kil las kils glu guala !&is ou
There you that have received the spiritualpO\;rerBack back wil nuch da
Having the power of the mythical being
Ka ke kala am klin nuch
We shall build up the fire.
Ka ke kala yu di sis gwk-me-nai
As to how you built your fires in your wealthAs ghi gwala ~s ous
You great one in your spiritual power.

Three beats at the beginning.
R.1-).ythmically straiGbtforward. It mi eht
appear that melody one has a pentatonic
scale structure but at closer scrutiny
one realizes that b is actually b- anda is a+. The distance bet.ween them is lessthan a tone but not as small as a semitone
and therefore it would be a misinterpreta t
ion to call it the pentatonic anhemitonic
scale • .
Text: 0 hoi ha he heja a hoi ha hee
primi ti ve portamento: (l(Bach baquala is the spiritual power ofthe Hamatsa. Ttis power, a mythologicalbeing, transforms into the Hamatsa.)
This could be considered a Hamatsa dancesong in cedar bark dress.

n n ()I

Microtone raises are marked by - and +.
Melodic phrase is repeated several times inthe different rises, between a semi tone
and a tone, beginnine on e Rnd ending on f.
In the melodic pattern the main interest
is on 5ths and 4ths, the latter falling
into the major 3rd.
The second part of this two-partgambling song (representing the two playing
parties or tribes) has a wider range-a 10th.
The first motif moves in 3rds and 2nds o
The first phrase consists of two distinct
melodic motifs, each of which is built up
on 3rds and 2nds, a 4th apart. Noteworthy
is the occurrence of two 3rds in succession
and the jump of 7th. Typical descending melody
with its pitch rises. Rhythm is in evenbeats, almost in double time, but notcoinciding with the melodic beats. Meaninglesssyllables are connected with meaningful
text (see transcription).
Scale of first melody:

Side 4, Song 7
Gambling Song, sung by Mungo Martin (20)This type of song shows the humor andtemperament of the Indians, and their great
inclination to g,amble which sometimes tookthem to extremes. They were known togamble away their possessions or more thanthey owned. In some British Columbia
tribes they forfeited wife and children.
Their favorite g,ambling g,ame wasa-la-huoi, or lehal t or slahal. It was
played with sticks made of bone. Two parties
were formed of two tribes "'hich played
against each other. Alternately, eachman would hide the stick and the otherwould try to guess where it was. If rightly
guessed, the winning side got the stick. If
not rightly guessed it was lost. The playcontinued until one side or the other had
all the sticks.
A delightful little legend is connectedwith this game. It tells that this game
was already a favorite before the Floodand that since all hUJl\ans then spoke thesame language their play involved only one
stick. After the Flood, however, humans
became dispersed. They began to speak
different languages and required more
sticks for this game.
Today, according to Mungo Martin,"It is played with seven sticks on each

4;
Range:

~

e

t2

2

~t:5

0
Scale of 2nd melody:

6th

D

30

*

9

cj

bo 0

0

CS

-U-

Range:10th
Melody two: The whole two-part phrase
appears three times. On second appearance
aotif one is slightly extended while motif
two is a literal repetitiono In the lastappearance we have an extension before theending of two thirds in succession, which,by notes, form a triad leading into theraised main toneo

Melody one: Simple melody, repeated twice, forming the first phrase; small finishing part
built up of whole tone. Range is a 6th, small
finishine part one tone below 5th. It
appears three times, leading into the simple
melody again. A gradual rise appearso Main
melody appears four times altogether.
Rises:
10 e,b2. e,b
3. f,c4. f,c+MAP OF B. C. INDIAN TRIBES
I

I

/

I

I

\

"-

A

/

"\

I
l

./

,/

/

/'

o

SCALE OF MILES
100

5.0

'?

Iqo

Speci.ally prepared by Dr. K. C. McTaggart, Geology Dep't., U. B. C.
31

SIDE 2, SONG 1, POTLATCH SONG, BILLY ASSU (A9)of'

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SIDE 3, SONG 2, HAMATSA SONG, BILLY ASSU (N20)c ~ \ · G' I' • J, to ~ J J-.
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SIDE 3, SONG 6, WOMAN MEDICINE SONG, MARY WAMISS (BILLY ASSU, N19)1-) r"p"'o.d-tr"",d...----

t 5 I f r ~ t; tl ~f l' tlEt Pr I f' r PEll' F is I
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SIDE 4, SONG 7, GAMBLING SONG, MUNGO MARTIN (20)""".....,ji j I; ~ >'< ~f ;! J r I: ;

35

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GAMBLING SONG (Continued)

I

J

~

t ........ 'if+

I, WF I r r r 4
f·

•

-.-

I J

I~, Err/"""\ .

r...,.
........... '"!::-t:---t't C '0· i r 1 8ft r r~ I ~ r 4 r I J j j J I $;l J JJ\J~~l'l11l I J111\)) JI \3 JGambling Song.
"ayux-sala~us q-amc~kus

to guess the bone, it's your chancemissed thr~e times Tour chanc.

missed one time Tour chancemissed four " tidies TOur chanc.

luk ~ a~ pan ~iX-U8 q-amcekus~issedtwc times your chance

Transcription is roughly the same as th at us ed by Sapir and Swadesh
in thiir Nootka texts.

36

UTHO IN U.S.A. ~ ".
~