Abstract
MUSIC OF THE SAN BLAS INDIANS.—Advantage was taken of the opportunity afforded by the presence of Tule Indians of Panama in Washington in 1924, to investigate their physical characters and certain aspects of their culture. It will be remembered that the chief point of interest about these Indians, who were brought to the States by Mr. R. O. Marsh, centred in the question whether there was among them a truly ‘white’ element, as Mr. Marsh claimed. Observations on their music were made by Frances Densmore, and these are now published as No. n, Vol. 77 of the Smithsonian Miscellaneous Publications. The “official musicians,” with the chief and the doctors, are the most important people in the villages. Of these the chief may act as a doctor, but not the musician. There are four musicians, two “Chief” and two “Assistant Musicians,” in each village who know the songs and teach them for pay. Social gatherings, weddings, etc., are attended by one chief and one assistant musician, never more, for the entertainment of the people. In addition to the songs sung for entertainment there are songs with a definite purpose, such as the treatment of the sick, and songs sung as “charms” which are sold by the doctors. The principal instruments are the flute and the panpipes. The man from whom the songs in the present record were obtained was an amateur who had learnt his songs, some thirty in all, from the official musician. The first song he had learnt was that which brought success in catching a turtle. He also learnt the medicine man's songs, though not himself a medicine man. These include songs to make medicinal herbs effective, to cure headache and other ailments, and the songs that were sung after a man's death. The vocal and instru mental music of the Tule Indians is a form not hitherto recorded. It appears that though the substance of the words and the general character of a song is learnt, each performance is an improvisa tion. The tone is artificial and extremely difficult to acquire. It is very hard, with a pinched forced quality. The principal occasions for singing were the treatment of the sick, the scene after a burial, the maturity of a young girl and her wedding.
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Research Items. Nature 118, 317–319 (1926). https://doi.org/10.1038/118317a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/118317a0