The natives of America thought of the cosmos as a unit that was throbbing with the same life-force of which they were conscious within themselves; a force that gave to the rocks and hills their stable, unchanging character; to every living thing on land or water the power of growth and of movement... | While studying Indian life and thought through the sharing, as far as possible, of native conditions, I discovered Indian music... |
When the dance portrays a personal experience the dancer is allowed a freedom of invention not elsewhere permitted. Even in this case the dancer is obliged to follow certain conventional forms, as in the sign language; otherwise his story would not be understood... | These Dances in their purport and music are taken from the sacred rituals of the Omaha, the Osage and the Pawnee tribes. The richness and beauty of symbolism in the original language... |
The rituals and ceremonies from which this dramatic dance with its accompanying songs are taken have been handed down through numberless generations. They deal with the perpetuation of the vocations of the people and also with the duties of the warrior, who must so protect the people that these vocations can be pursued in peace and safety... | This dance is from the Corn Ritual Song and is a dramatization of a visit to the planted field after the lapse of a few weeks. Life has been stirring in the kernels of corn that had been hidden within the little hills, and the kernels now call to those who had planted them... |
This dance, taken from the Corn Ritual, represents a visit to the field later in the season when the harvest time is near at hand. The keynote of this visit is in a line of one of the many stanzas of the original Ritual Song, "I go in readiness of mind... | This dance represents the bringing of the "first-fruit offering" of the corn from the seven little hills that were ceremonially planted after the dead leaves of winter had been cleared away. The dancers who follow the seven leaders carrying the cornstalks represent... |
This dance is derived from a ceremony, observed among the Indians of the North Pacific Coast, in which the spirits dwelling beneath the ground are called to come and join those who are dancing. The dancer who calls the spirits moves with gliding steps... | These tribes had ceremonies relating to the maintenance of peace not only within the tribe but for the purpose of forming peaceful relations with other tribes... |
Like all Indian ceremonies, the Hé-de Wa-chi embodied a teaching that was for the welfare of the tribe, a teaching drawn from nature and dramatically enacted by the people. The Omaha tribe was made up of ten distinct groups, each one having its own name... |