It must be confessed that the impression of Indian music one draws from various sources is that it consists of whoops11, yells, and odd, guttural noises, but this is far from describing Hopi music. Between the light and airy Kachina songs and the stirring though somewhat gruesome chants of the Snake ceremony, there is a variety of compositions to many of which the most enlightened music lovers would listen with pleasure.
The Flute12 music is especially pleasing. In the summer of 1896, the writer had the good fortune to witness the Flute ceremony at the Hopi pueblo13 of Walpi. In the course of the ritual, which is an invocation for rain, a series of songs are repeated each day for several days. To one hearing Indian music for the first time [104] the sensation was quite novel. The chorus of priests, rattle14 in hand, sang in unison15 before the Flute altar, in a narrow, low, windowless room that greatly augmented16 the volume of sound. The time was set by the speaker-chief, who uniformly shook his rattle eight beats in five seconds for all the songs and for each day’s songs with the accuracy of a metronome. There were three beats in each measure. The pitch was low, the range limited, and the deep, vibrant17 voices seemed to portray18 the winds, thunder, rain, the rushing water and the elemental forces of nature.
The notation19 is chromatic20, not possible to be expressed on any instrument save the violin, or the five-hole transverse flutes21 which later accompanied the singing. These flutes were played in unison on the octave above the voices, and their shrill22, harsh notes marred23 the singing. In general effect the music is minor24, but frequently major motives25 of great beauty spring out of dead-level monotonous27 minors28. Sometimes a major motive26 is followed by a minor counterpart of the same. There is much slurring29, and an occasional reduplication comes in with great effect. A number of songs are monotonous, with once in a while a vigorous movement. The closing song is spirited and may truly be called beautiful. It consists of several legato verses, each closing with a turn, a rapid vibration of the rattle, and a solemn refrain. In structure and melody it resembles a Christian30 hymn31. The music reminds one of the Gregorian [105] chants, and to the listener some of the motives seemed quite equal to those upon which Handel built his great oratorios32.
It is a pity that the many beautiful songs of Tusayan cannot be written down and preserved but this will no doubt soon be accomplished33. Perhaps some genius like Liszt who gave the world the spirit of Hungarian folk-music will arise to ravish our ears with these musical expressions passed down from aboriginal34 American sweet singers.
While the music which most attracts our attention in Hopiland is that of the various ceremonies, there is still a cycle of songs, many in number, of love, war, or for amusement; those sung by mothers to their infants, or shrilled35 by the women grinding corn. The men sing at their work, the children at their play in this land of the Song Makers.
If songs are numerous beyond computation among the Hopi there are also more games conducing to their amusement than one finds among many other tribes. One may surmise36 that these games have been brought in by the clans37 that came from all points of the compass to make up the Hopi, and who must have touched elbows with other tribes of different lineage during the wanderings. All games seem to have been borrowed, and no one may, in the light of present knowledge, say when, where, and by whom any one of the typical games was invented, any more than the father of a proverb or a joke may have the parentage ascribed to him.
[106] But the Hopi are not disturbed by such philosophical38 considerations and adhere to the traditional and time-honored games they know without desire for innovation. With them athletic39 games are most popular, are pursued with whole-souled abandon, and are accompanied with a world of noise and rough play; but the races and games connected with the religious ceremonies are carried on with due decorum. Stout40 shinny sticks of oak brought from the north show that the Hopi know the widespread sport that warms the blood of many an American boy, but, alas41! there is no ice for its full enjoyment42. Among other athletic sports one may reckon throwing darts43, shooting with bow and arrow at a mark, or hurling44 the boomerang-like club, which is an ancient weapon, or even impromptu45 trials of skill in throwing stones or in bouts46 of friendly wrestling. The most amusing struggle game is the Nuitiwa, played by both sexes after the close of the Snake ceremony. Men and boys provide themselves with some piece of pottery47 or other object of value and run through the village crying “Wa ha ha! Wa ha ha!” pursued by the fleet-footed women who chase them and struggle for the prize with much laughter and shortness of breath. The men take the precaution to remove their shirts, if they value them, before they begin, for that garment is not worth a moment’s purchase when the girls reach for the prize held at arm-length above the head.
Many of the sacred games are of an athletic [107] character. Of these may be mentioned the numerous races, including the kicking race in which stones are carried on top of one foot, and the sacred game of ball. One might include in the list the bow-women of the Mamzrauti ceremony and basket throwers of the Lalakonti ceremony, since it can be seen that games are closely connected with primitive48 religious beliefs and may all have originated as a form of divination49, or some other early attempts of man either to influence the beings or to spy into the future. It may be that some games are remnants of long-forgotten ceremonies, once of great import to early worshippers.
Of sedentary games there are a number. One like “fox and geese,” called totolospi, is the patoli of the Mexicans, which is said to be in turn the pachise of the Hindus, and the rectangular plan of this game may sometimes be found on the rocks near the villages. There is “cup and ball,” a guessing game in which four cups cut from wood and a stone about the size of a marble form the paraphernalia50; and there is a game in which reed dice51 with markings are thrown. A set of these dice was found in an ancient ruin near Winslow, Arizona, and they are represented on an ancient bowl from Sikyatki, a ruin near Walpi.
With all these games the Hopi are not gamblers and appear to have the same aversion to it as they have to fire-water, differing in this respect from the Navaho, Zu?i, and many other tribes of Indians. Most of their games, like those of the ancient Greeks, are [108] full of the exhilaration of life, the glow of physical training, the doing of something to win the favor of the gods.
In this account the children must not be left out. Imitating the customs of their seniors, they not only carry out the great games but also enter with abandon the childish sports of chasing, tag, ring around a rosy52, ball, and other juveniles53. Tops and popguns are not unknown, and if a boy has a pebble54 shooter made of an agave stalk with a spring of elastic55 wood he can go as far in mischief56 as ever Hopi children do, but he never fires away peas or beans, for they are too precious.
It may be well to recount here the endurance of the Hopi in their great national accomplishment—that of making long runs at record speed.
One morning about seven o’clock at Winslow, Arizona, a message was brought to the hotel that an Indian wished to see the leader of an exploring party. On stepping out on the street the Indian was found sitting on the curbstone, mouth agape with wonder at the trains moving about on the Santa Fé Pacific Railroad.
He delivered a note from a white man at Oraibi and it was ascertained57 that he had started from that place at four on the previous afternoon, and arrived at Winslow some time about the middle of the night. When it is known that the distance is sixty-five miles and the Indian ran over a country with which he [109] was not familiar, the feat58 seems remarkable59. It is presumed that he ran until it became dark and then waited till the moon rose, finishing the journey by moonlight.
On his back he carried a canteen of water wrapped in a blanket. He took only a sandwich, explaining that if he ate he could not run, and receiving the answer to the note, resumed his journey to Oraibi. Afterward60 it was learned that the runner reached Oraibi with the answer that afternoon, having been promised a bonus if he made the trip in one day. The distance run cannot be less than 130 miles, a pretty long course to get over in the time, and this Indian is not the best runner in Oraibi. There is one man who takes a morning practice of thirty miles or so in order to get in trim for the dawn races in some of the ceremonies, and it is said that he won in such a race some years ago, distancing all competitors.
Nothing in the whole realm of animal motion can be imagined more graceful61 than the movements of one of these runners as he passes by in the desert, his polished sinewy62 muscles playing with the utmost precision—nothing but flight can be compared with it. The Indians say that moccasins are the best foot-wear for travel over sandy country, as the foot, so clad, presses the loose sand into a firm, rounded bunch, giving a fulcrum63 for the forward spring, but the naked feet scatters64 the sand, and this, on experiment, was found to be true.
[110] While excavating65 at Winslow one day some of the workmen looked up toward the north and cried out, Hopi tu, Hopi tu, “The Hopi are coming.” It was some time before our eyes could pick them out, but soon three men could be seen running, driving a little burro in front at the top of its speed. These were Walpi men journeying to a creek66 some miles beyond Winslow to get sacred water for one of their ceremonies. Similar journeys are made to San Francisco Mountains for pine boughs67 and to the Cataract68 of the Colorado to trade with the Havasupai. The Spanish conquerors69 were struck with the ability of the Hopi runners, and they record that the Indians could easily run in one day across the desert to the Grand Canyon70, a distance which the Spaniards required three days’ march to accomplish.
Often a crowd of Hopi young men will go out afoot to hunt rabbits, and woe71 to the bunny that comes in reach! He is soon run down and dispatched with their curved boomerangs.
Though baseball, football, and many other athletic games of civilization have no place among the Hopi sports, of foot racing72 they are as passionately73 fond as even the ancient Greeks. Almost every one of the many ceremonies has its foot race in which the whole pueblo takes the greatest interest, for all the Hopi honor the swift runners.
This brings to mind the story of how Sikyabotoma lost his hair. Sikyabotoma, who bears the school [111] name of John, is the finest specimen74 of physical manhood at the East Mesa. John is not unaware75 of this gift of nature, as he poses on all occasions out of sheer pride.
One cannot observe that John got anything out of his American schooling76; he seemingly does not speak a word of English, and he is beyond all reason taciturn for a Hopi. It may be that John is a backslider, having forgotten or thrown over his early education and relapsed to his present state under the influence of Hopi paganism.
As runner for the Walpi Flute Society, his duty is to carry the offerings to the various shrines77 and springs, skirting on the first day the entire circuit of the cultivated fields of the pueblo, and coming nearer and nearer each day till he tolls79 the gods to the very doors of Walpi. It is no small task to include all the fields in the blessings80 asked by the Flute priests, since the circuit must exceed twenty miles. Each day Sikyabotoma, wearing an embroidered81 kilt around his loins, his long, glossy82 hair hanging free, stands before the Flute priests, a brave sight to behold83. They fasten a small pouch84 of sacred meal at his side and anoint him with honey on the tip of the tongue, the forehead, breast, arms, and legs, perhaps to make him swift as the bee. Then he receives the prayer-sticks, and away he goes down the mesa as though he had leaped down the five hundred feet, his long, black hair streaming. He stops at a spring, [112] then at a shrine78, and in a very short time can scarcely be distinguished85 running far out by the arroyo86 bounding the fields. John in this role is a sight not soon to be forgotten.
This brings us to the story of John’s Waterloo. At sunrise on the last day of the Wawash ceremony there are foot races in honor of the gods, and a curious condition of these races is that the loser forfeits87 his hair. Now the Hopi are like the Chinese in having an aversion to losing this adornment88. A bald Hopi is a great rarity, and the generality of the men have long, beautiful locks, black as a raven’s wing, washed with soaproot and made wavy89 by being tied tightly in a knot at the back of the head. Sikyabotoma entered the Wawash race with confidence, but when the runners came back on the tortuous90 trail up the rocks Sikyabotoma was second. A pair of sheep shears91 in the hands of his adversary92 soon made havoc93 with his locks. At the time this sketch94 was written John’s hair had grown again to a respectable length.
In making his toilet as Flute Messenger, to which the writer was a witness, John found it necessary to have his bang trimmed. This service was performed by an old fellow who picked up from the floor a dubious95 looking brush made of stiff grass stems, moistened it with his tongue occasionally as he brushed John’s hair, and finally with a pair of rickety scissors cut the bang to regulation shape.
Sikyabotoma, in spite of the drawbacks pointed96 out, [113] is one of the lions of Walpi by birth; he also belongs to the first families. Divested97 of civilized98 garb99, and as a winged Mercury flying with messages to the good beings, he is an object to be gazed on with admiration100, disposing one to be lenient101 with his besetting102 vanity.
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1
makers
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| n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式） | |
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humbly
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| adv. 恭顺地，谦卑地 | |
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instructors
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| 指导者，教师( instructor的名词复数 ) | |
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incentive
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| n.刺激；动力；鼓励；诱因；动机 | |
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dreariness
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| 沉寂，可怕，凄凉 | |
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6
tints
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| 色彩( tint的名词复数 )； 带白的颜色； （淡色）染发剂； 痕迹 | |
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7
tawny
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| adj.茶色的，黄褐色的；n.黄褐色 | |
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8
vibration
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| n.颤动，振动；摆动 | |
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prosaic
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| adj.单调的，无趣的 | |
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10
isolated
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| adj.与世隔绝的 | |
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whoops
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| int.呼喊声 | |
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12
flute
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| n.长笛；v.吹笛 | |
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13
pueblo
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| n.（美国西南部或墨西哥等）印第安人的村庄 | |
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rattle
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| v.飞奔，碰响；激怒；n.碰撞声；拨浪鼓 | |
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15
unison
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| n.步调一致，行动一致 | |
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16
Augmented
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| adj.增音的 动词augment的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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17
vibrant
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| adj.震颤的，响亮的，充满活力的，精力充沛的，(色彩)鲜明的 | |
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18
portray
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| v.描写，描述；画(人物、景象等) | |
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19
notation
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| n.记号法，表示法，注释；[计算机]记法 | |
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20
chromatic
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| adj.色彩的，颜色的 | |
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flutes
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| 长笛( flute的名词复数 )； 细长香槟杯（形似长笛） | |
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22
shrill
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| adj.尖声的；刺耳的；v尖叫 | |
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marred
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| adj. 被损毁, 污损的 | |
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minor
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| adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修 | |
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motives
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| n.动机，目的( motive的名词复数 ) | |
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motive
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| n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的 | |
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monotonous
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| adj.单调的，一成不变的，使人厌倦的 | |
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minors
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| n.未成年人( minor的名词复数 )；副修科目；小公司；[逻辑学]小前提v.[主美国英语]副修，选修，兼修( minor的第三人称单数 ) | |
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slurring
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| 含糊地说出( slur的现在分词 )； 含糊地发…的声； 侮辱； 连唱 | |
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30
Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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hymn
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| n.赞美诗，圣歌，颂歌 | |
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oratorios
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| n.（以宗教为主题的）清唱剧，神剧( oratorio的名词复数 ) | |
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accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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aboriginal
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| adj.（指动植物）土生的，原产地的，土著的 | |
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shrilled
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| （声音）尖锐的，刺耳的，高频率的( shrill的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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surmise
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| v./n.猜想，推测 | |
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clans
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| 宗族( clan的名词复数 )； 氏族； 庞大的家族； 宗派 | |
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philosophical
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| adj.哲学家的，哲学上的，达观的 | |
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athletic
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| adj.擅长运动的，强健的；活跃的，体格健壮的 | |
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alas
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| int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
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enjoyment
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| n.乐趣；享有；享用 | |
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43
darts
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| n.掷飞镖游戏；飞镖( dart的名词复数 )；急驰，飞奔v.投掷，投射( dart的第三人称单数 )；向前冲，飞奔 | |
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44
hurling
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| n.爱尔兰式曲棍球v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的现在分词 )；大声叫骂 | |
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45
impromptu
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| adj.即席的，即兴的；adv.即兴的(地)，无准备的(地) | |
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bouts
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| n.拳击（或摔跤）比赛( bout的名词复数 )；一段（工作）；（尤指坏事的）一通；（疾病的）发作 | |
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47
pottery
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| n.陶器，陶器场 | |
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48
primitive
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| adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物 | |
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49
divination
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| n.占卜，预测 | |
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50
paraphernalia
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| n.装备；随身用品 | |
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51
dice
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| n.骰子；vt.把（食物）切成小方块，冒险 | |
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52
rosy
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| adj.美好的，乐观的，玫瑰色的 | |
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53
juveniles
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| n.青少年( juvenile的名词复数 )；扮演少年角色的演员；未成年人 | |
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54
pebble
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| n.卵石，小圆石 | |
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55
elastic
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| n.橡皮圈，松紧带；adj.有弹性的；灵活的 | |
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56
mischief
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| n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹 | |
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57
ascertained
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| v.弄清，确定，查明( ascertain的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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feat
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| n.功绩；武艺，技艺；adj.灵巧的，漂亮的，合适的 | |
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59
remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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60
afterward
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| adv.后来；以后 | |
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61
graceful
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| adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的 | |
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62
sinewy
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| adj.多腱的，强壮有力的 | |
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63
fulcrum
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| n.杠杆支点 | |
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64
scatters
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| v.（使）散开， （使）分散，驱散( scatter的第三人称单数 )；撒 | |
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65
excavating
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| v.挖掘( excavate的现在分词 )；开凿；挖出；发掘 | |
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creek
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| n.小溪，小河，小湾 | |
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67
boughs
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| 大树枝( bough的名词复数 ) | |
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68
cataract
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| n.大瀑布，奔流，洪水，白内障 | |
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69
conquerors
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| 征服者，占领者( conqueror的名词复数 ) | |
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70
canyon
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| n.峡谷，溪谷 | |
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71
woe
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| n.悲哀，苦痛，不幸，困难；int.用来表达悲伤或惊慌 | |
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72
racing
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| n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的 | |
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73
passionately
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| ad.热烈地，激烈地 | |
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74
specimen
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| n.样本，标本 | |
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75
unaware
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| a.不知道的，未意识到的 | |
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76
schooling
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| n.教育；正规学校教育 | |
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77
shrines
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| 圣地，圣坛，神圣场所( shrine的名词复数 ) | |
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78
shrine
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| n.圣地，神龛，庙；v.将...置于神龛内，把...奉为神圣 | |
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79
tolls
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| （缓慢而有规律的）钟声( toll的名词复数 )； 通行费； 损耗； （战争、灾难等造成的）毁坏 | |
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80
blessings
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| n.（上帝的）祝福( blessing的名词复数 )；好事；福分；因祸得福 | |
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81
embroidered
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| adj．绣花的 | |
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82
glossy
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| adj.平滑的；有光泽的 | |
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83
behold
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| v.看，注视，看到 | |
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84
pouch
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| n.小袋，小包，囊状袋；vt.装...入袋中，用袋运输；vi.用袋送信件 | |
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85
distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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86
arroyo
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| n.干涸的河床，小河 | |
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87
forfeits
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| 罚物游戏 | |
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88
adornment
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| n.装饰；装饰品 | |
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89
wavy
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| adj.有波浪的，多浪的，波浪状的，波动的，不稳定的 | |
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tortuous
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| adj.弯弯曲曲的，蜿蜒的 | |
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shears
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| n.大剪刀 | |
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adversary
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| adj.敌手，对手 | |
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havoc
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| n.大破坏，浩劫，大混乱，大杂乱 | |
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sketch
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| n.草图；梗概；素描；v.素描；概述 | |
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dubious
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| adj.怀疑的，无把握的；有问题的，靠不住的 | |
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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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97
divested
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| v.剥夺( divest的过去式和过去分词 )；脱去（衣服）；2。从…取去…；1。（给某人）脱衣服 | |
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civilized
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| a.有教养的，文雅的 | |
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99
garb
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| n.服装，装束 | |
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100
admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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101
lenient
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| adj.宽大的，仁慈的 | |
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102
besetting
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| adj.不断攻击的v.困扰( beset的现在分词 )；不断围攻；镶；嵌 | |
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