Much of the musical tapestry of the Eastern Natives in the 18th Century showcases the interactions between the new English colonists and the Native peoples still living in the region. In the mid-1600s there was musical cooperation between the colonists and the Native Americans. As Glenda Goodman writes, “Indian psalmody was part of an intercultural, interfaith conversation between missionaries and native converts.” [1] This quote shows that the new Christian converts among the Natives were adopting the psalms of the European colonists that missionaries were translating into their language, but also adapting them to better fit their own culture. This had mixed reception: “the visitors [missionaries] found the performance uncanny […] contrafacting English melodies with psalms newly translated into Massachusett […] resulted in unexpected changes to the melodies. Importantly, the new lyrics did not fit the old tunes, and resulted in changes to the meter and tempo of the psalms” [2] This new sound that blended the Native tongue with the familiar English psalms were a combination that the missionaries were not entirely satisfied with. And this led to missionaries of New England writing about Native American music in a very “us vs. them” way. One missionary even went so far as to label it as “howling” and write condemnations of Native American music and culture in his writings. [3] This shows that missionaries still saw Native tribes’ culture as a threat to their mission of converting the people in these tribes, and this animosity grew as the 18th century rolled around.
As for the music itself, a transcription by Claude Dablon in 1670 preserves a European interpretation of a melody from the Illinois Natives. This particular melody contains lines that start high-pitched and move downward, all resting on one base pitch. Additionally, the melody mixed three-beat and two-beat groupings to, as Richard Crawford describes it, “achieve a gentle, prose-like rhythm.” [4] Another account of a Chicasaw healer from 1775 gives another look at a different tribe’s style of singing: “he looked in a wild frightful manner, from the south-west toward the north, and sung on the same a low base key Yo Yo Yo Yo, almost a minute, then He He He He, for perhaps the same space of time, and Wa Wa Wa Wa, in like manner; and then transposed, and accented those sacred notes several different ways, in a most rapid guttural manner.” [4] This shows that complex vocal melodies were an essential part of Eastern Native American music. The account later goes on to say the purpose of the song was “the visitor’s way of proecting the trader’s house ‘from the power of the evil spirits of the north, south, and west.’” [4] This shows the spiritual power that music held for these tribes in this time period; it could ward off evil, disease, or other dangers.
This music went beyond the tribes, eventually integrating with some of the songs of the European settlers. Notably, a parlor song entitled The Death Song of the Cherokee Indians appeared in a play in 1787 and became popular among colonists. Though it cannot be considered accurate to Native culture: “As parlor songs are inclined to do, The Death Song of the Cherokee Indians removes a real-life event from its original context […] it is a product of European culture, inspired by Native imagery of the good Indian variety.” [5] This shows how the new United States of America had its own influence, making its own cultural works based off of European traditions and Native imagery. This additionally reminds us to be wary of European interpretations of Native cultures, for the artists of the colonial world picked and chose which images to include and what to exclude in their musical works. And accurate portrayals of Native American life did not often make it into such works.
[1] Goodman, “But they differ from us”, p. 795
[2] Goodman, “American Identities”, p. 100
[3] Goodman, “American Identities”, p. 102-103
[4] Crawford, America’s Musical Life, p. 11
[5] Crawford, America’s Musical Life, p. 14