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Songs Of The Menominee

Recorded and Edited by Frances Densmore
Folk Music Of The United States Issued from the Collections of the Archive of American Folk Song L33
The Menominee is one of the few Indian tribes living in the locality where they were first visited by white men, three centuries ago. The present home of this Algonquian tribe is in central Wisconsin, adjacent to that of the Chippewa. Throughout its history "this tribe has been known for its friendship to the white man and its fidelity to its given word." They had 'the reputation of being a peace-loving people, slow to anger, but mighty warriors when roused to a just quarrel." They were friendly in their relations with the French, and it is estimated that they furnished about 150 men to the British in the Revolutionary War, they also joined the British in the war of 1812-1814. After this war they became loyal to the Government of the United States, and at the time of the Civil War considerable numbers of their young men fought in the armies of the Republic. It is said that in 1823 they were the only Indian tribe having a G.A.R. post.
Their material culture and general customs are similar to those of the Chippewa. Their medicine lodge is practically the same as the Midewiwin (Grand Medicine Society) of the Chippewa. A meeting of this lodge was attended and many of its songs were recorded but none are in the present series. Two ceremonies of the drum religion were also attended and their songs recorded. A special study was made of the treatment of the sick by means of magic and by the use of herbal remedies.
The study of Menominee music was made by the writer and its songs recorded in 1925, 1928, and 1929 in connection with her study of Indian music for the Bureau of American Ethnology of the Smithsonian Institution. Eleven singers recorded songs, six being included in their series. The number of songs transcribed was 140, many other recordings being studied and their characteristics found to resemble those selected for transcription.

Play song

Name

Performed by

Description

Native Words

Translation

Notes

I Paint My Face Red An intimate phase of Indian life is shown in the Menominee custom of adopting a person into a family to take the place of a member of the family who has died. This may be done on the day after a death but being observed when these songs were recorded in 1929.
Two forms of adoption dance were held by the Menominee, the more important being received from the east god and the less important from the south god. The east god is the only one who is represented as a man. The morning start is his little brother who always starts out with him carrying his bow and arrows. Both the sun and the morning start appeared to men in dreams. The power of the morning star was always used for help in any undertaking and it was he who gave the drum to be used in the east god's dance. The instructions for this adoption dance were received from the east god and the faces of the dancers were painted red, like the eastern sky in the morning. Four songs given by the east god were sung at every dance and all were recorded, only the first being presented. It was said that no one could help dancing when he heard this song. It was recorded by Cawunipinas.
Menominee
The Slender-legged Animals Peter Fish The use of packets commonly called bundles is widespread, especially in the Mississippi Valley region. These packets contain substances believed to give success in hunting or war and are distinct from the small packets of medicine carried by individuals for personal protection or other use. The origin of both the hunting and war bundles is attributed to the owl and it is said that every hunting bundle contains medicine revealed by the owl and four sticks representing the legs of the deer, which is the animal chiefly hunted by the Menominee. Such a bundle also contains medicine revealed to its owner in a dream. Certain songs belong to each bundle and are sung when the bundle is opened to renew or exert its power.
When on a hunting expedition the hunter opens his bundle, spreads the contents on a white buckskin, places a dish of food beside it and sings his hunting songs, accompanying them by striking together two short sticks. The next song was recorded by Peter Fish and is one of four songs used in this manner by his father and himself on hunting expeditions when these songs were recorded (1925). The words refer to the deer sought by the hunter.
When hunting I want to see the slender-legged animals Menominee
I Will See A Bear Peter Fish The following song was also recorded by Peter Fish and used by him and his father on their hunting expeditions. The characteristic motion of a bear is suggested by the small intervals and prolonged tones of this melody. Menominee
War Bundle Song Pigeon The contents of a war bundle differed from the contents of a hunting bundle though the general characteristics were the same. The writer's informants said that a war bundle always contained the skins of two sorts of owls and that other bird skins might be included according to the dream instruction received by the owner. The herbs and roots placed in a war bundle were believed to have particularly strong medicine power. The articles and herbs were wrapped in the soft tanned hide of a deer and around this was placed a wrapping of plaited rushes secured by a thong. The war bundle, like the hunting bundle, was distinct from the charms carried by individuals. A war bundle was carried by its owner when on the warpath and he might at any time give a feast to it in order to increase its power.
A group of four songs belonging to a war bundle was recorded by Pigeon who said they were received from the thunderers. These songs were sung at a feast to the war bundles and were intended to make its power effective. They were accompanied by a water drum and three gourd rattles. One of these songs is next presented. The words are in the Chippewa language. The song has a compass of 12 tones, beginning on the highest and ending on the lowest tone of the compass.
Menominee
Pigeon's Dream Song Pigeon DREAM SONGS

The Menominee, like other Indians, receive songs in dreams that are connected with power or with success in their undertakings. Pigeon, who recorded the next songs, said that when he was a boy he sometimes fasted for two days at a time, abstaining from both food and drink. At last he secured a dream that gave him power to treat the sick, and said that his own advanced age showed the power of his dream. Two birds gave him songs in this dream. The first bird (a crow) was said to "come from the south when the weather begins to get warm," and the other bird (a raven) was said to "stay here all the year." In the first song the birds are speaking and the second was intended to be used by him in his treatment of the sick. The first song, recorded by Pigeon, is next presented. Dream songs of this sort were sung at gatherings of the drum religion.
Your tribe will come to you to be cured of sickness Menominee
Dream Song Cawunipinas The next song was recorded by Cawunipinas whose father received it in a dream of eagles. His name meant "From the eagles in the south," and the chief purpose of the dream was the securing of game. In the heavens a noise like the rustling of the trees Menominee
Song Of The Thunderers Cawunipinas Cawunipinas also recorded two songs received from the thunderers. The first is presented, and the people danced during the second song of the pair. It was said that the thunderers appeared as birds and also men, assuming only these two forms and changing from one to the other as they desired.

Other dream songs included songs received from the "spirit buffalo" and the common buffalo, the common bear and the great underground bear that was the traditional ancestor of the tribe. An interesting dream song is concerning the little conical cloud of dust that whirls along the ground. This was said to have the little bug inside it that gathers up the dust and whirls it around. The melody has a compass of 12 tones and words were freely translated "The little whirlwind says, 'One who whirls with the wind they call me, the spirits.'"
We are coming and will cover the heavens Menominee
Song Of A Juggler Cawunipinas SONGS USED IN THE TREATMENT OF THE SICK

Two methods of treating the sick are used by the Menominee, as by other tribes, one method depending entirely on the help of "spirits" and the other using herbal remedies. Persons using either method are designated by a term meaning "one who has dreamed of sickness and its cure." The method is in accordance with the instructions received in a dream. He or she who confers with spirits in treating the sick is commonly called a juggler, while he or she who treats the sick with herbs is called by a term meaning "herb person." Every home has its simple remedies but in case of serious illness or accident the first procedure is to send for a "dreamer." He may treat the case himself or recommend someone else who is also a "dreamer."
The treatment of the sick by a juggler is primarily an exhibition of magic to impress and mystify the relatives of the sick person. He erects a tall, slender tipi that shakes as though in a strong wind, while the people hear the sound of spirit voices, while the juggler is bound in the tipi. The writer witnessed the shaking of such a tipi at Grand Portage, Minnesota, among the Chippewa, in 1930, and was afterward told that a medicine man was talking with the spirits concerning his treatment of a certain sick person. Later she was informed that the sick person recovered, but the matter was not a subject of study.
Two songs connected with such a demonstration for the cure of the sick were recorded by Cawunipinas. These songs were attributed to the spirits as they were about to leave the juggler's tipi. The second of these songs is presented and words were said to refer to the spirits summoned by the juggler.
The inside of my house is full Menominee
Healing Song From The Spirit Women Amab Each juggler had his own source of power. Four of the "spirit women in the east" gave two songs to a juggler named Name 'konimit' (Feathers) who lived to be more than 90 years of age. The first of these songs is presented and is the song with which he began a treatment of the sick. It is soothing melody and mentions the mud turtle which was considered a source of "strong medicine." The song was recorded by Amab. I am going into the mud turtle's house Menominee
I Am Rewarding You Pigeon Pigeon, who recorded many Menominee songs, is an excellent representative of the Indian doctor who receives his power in a dream and who uses herbal remedies. He related the dream in which he received his power and recorded three sets of songs that he was using in treating the sick when this material was collected (1929). Pigeon also recorded two songs which his uncle received in a fasting dream and used when treating the sick. His uncle lived to old age and Pigeon received the songs by inheritance. The dream was concerning a bird with a white head that stays high in the air. These are the two songs next following. The power above said, It is I who am now rewarding you so that you will live to old age Menominee
The Heavens Help You The heavens speak and help you, and others will depend upon you for help. Menominee
Song For Men Who Prepare The Drum Amab SONGS OF THE DRUM RELIGION

In comparatively modern times the Menominee have adopted a form of religion that is known as the drum religions and is characterized by the ceremonial presentation of a drum by one tribe to another. This "religion" lacks the esoteric elements of the medicine lodge and contains elements of Christianity. Persons seldom belong to both but may do so if they desire. Its origin is attributed to a Sioux woman who taught certain men to make the drum and who taught its songs to the singers. This is said to have resulted in permanent peace between the tribes. Two performances of the ceremony were witnessed by the writer, the first being in 1910 in connection with the study of Chippewa music and the second in 1928 in connection with present work. Both ceremonies were held at the native village of Zoar, on the Menominee reservation. On the first occasion two drums were given to the Menominee by the Chippewa, these being a chief drum and a warrior (or brave's) drum, each having its complement of officials. On the second occasion only a warrior drum was given. The donor on both occasions was White Feather, a prominent member of the Lac du Flambeau Band of Chippewa. The larger of the drums presented to the Menominee in 1910 was about 27 inches in diameter and about 12 inches in depth, and the drum presented in 1928, being a warrior drum, was somewhat smaller. The drum is referred to by a term meaning "grandfather" and a prominent Menominee member of this religion said, when referring to the custom of visiting the drum at the house of its custodian; "The Chippewa told us to talk to our grandfather if we are sick, to give him tobacco and ask him to drive away the sickness that we cannot see."
The large drum had two heads, painted in accordance with instructions received from the Sioux woman, and fastened together with thongs passed from one head to the other. The sides of the drum were elaborately decorated and when in use it was suspended between four curved stakes called the legs of the drum. These were designated as the head-singer stake, the east and north stakes and the wounded-leg stakes of the drum. Each stake had a song, and when it was sung in the ceremony, the man who sat at that stake of the drum rose and danced. The women joined in singing these songs, seated on the ground outside the circle of men and holding their hands or shawls over their mouths, in the manner of the Sioux. There were also songs for the owner of the drum, the aide, the man who lighted the ceremonial pipe and several others, all of whom danced when their song was sung. Twenty-four songs of this ceremony were recorded but only four are presented. All were recorded by Amab.
The first of these songs was for the five men who had charge of the drum. They danced around it, then held it near a fire to restore the resonance of the drumhead.
Menominee
Song For East Stake Of Drum Amab The two songs next following were for the stakes of the drum, the man seated at each stake rising and dancing when the song was sung. These, like the preceding song, were recorded by Amab. Menominee
Song For Wounded-leg Stake Of Drum Amab Menominee
Song For A Leader Of The Ceremony Amab Two leaders of the ceremony carried staffs about 3 feet long, wound with otter hide and having a crook at the upper end. One song was sung for each of these men, during which he danced. The following is the second of these songs, recorded by Amab. Menominee
Pawakone's War Song Pigeon WAR SONGS

Four classes of war songs were recorded among the Menominee, these being songs of individual warriors, general war songs, songs connected with the war against Black Hawk, and songs connected with the service of members of the tribe in the Civil War.
Two songs of an individual warrior were recorded by Pigeon, only one being presented. These songs belonged to Pawa'kone (Falling Feathers, as from a bird molting) who was the singer's great-grandfather. It was said that if he were living he would rise and dance when this song was sung, according to the tribal custom. The meaning of the words is not known.
Menominee
War Dance Song Cawunipinas Men and women danced in a lively manner during the next song which was recorded by Cawunipinas. The words have been forgotten. Menominee
The Queen Of England Agnes Sullivan The next song is very old and its history is forgotten. The Menominee joined the British in the war of 1812-14 and the song may have originated at that time, the present words being added many years later by someone lacking in historical knowledge. The song was recorded by Agnes Sullivan. The Queen of England wants us to fight against her enemies Menominee
Song Concerning A Captive Woman Cawunipinas The next song was recorded by Cawunipinas who said that he learned it when a young man and that his grandfather was in the war against Black Hawk. A woman belonging to Black Hawk's band was taken captive and this song was composed by the warriors when they were bringing her to their camp. She afterwards married a Menominee and lived in that tribe the remainder of her life. Menominee
Manabus Invites The Ducks To A Dance Pigeon A mythical character known as Manabus among the Menominee is known as Winabojo among the Chippewa and by various similar names among other Algonquian peoples. The stories concerning him are prominent in the folklore of these tribes. One of the most popular stories among the Chippewa is that concerning Manabus and the ducks. The story is practically the same as among the Chippewa but the songs are different. According to the Menominee version the ducks wanted to hear Manabus sing his songs. Manabus said, "I must build a brush house first. If you will all come and dance when the house is finished I will sing the songs." The ducks said, "We will come."
This is the song with which Manabus invited the ducks. This and the song next following were recorded by Pigeon.
Menominee
Manabus Tells The Ducks To Shut Their Eyes Pigeon By his magic power Manabus built the brush house "in no time at all." Then he said, "all right, friends, if you want to hear the songs you must walk in here." The house had only one little opening, but the ducks and other came inside to hear the songs. Manabus said, "now shut your eyes and I will sing my songs. If you open your eyes you will have little red eyes."
This is the song in which he told them to do this.
Menominee
Moccasin Game Song Mocihat MISCELLANEOUS SONGS

The manner of playing the moccasin game is the same among the Menominee as among the Chippewa and other tribes. Four moccasins are laid on the ground in a row and a bullet is slipped under each. One of the bullets is marked and the play consists in guessing the location of the marked bullet. The players are divided into two opposing sides that take turns in guessing the location of the marked bullet. Many songs are connected with the game, certain songs belonging to the side that is hiding the bullet while others may be sung on either side. The player hiding the bullets has an assistant who sings and pounds on a drum while the hiding is in progress, or he may have more than one assistant if he desires. The next song was recorded by Mocihat.
Menominee
Love Song Mocihat Six love songs were recorded among the Menominee, none expressing personal affection, though one has the words "I will keep on courting until morning." The words of the next song are taunting in character. Similar words were found in a Chippewa love song, and "teasing" is not uncommon among friendly Indians.
It was said that the flute was used in courting and that a man who played the flute for such a purpose always carried "love medicine," indicating that he used magic in connection with his music. Mocihat, who recorded the next song, was a skillful player on the flute and recorded two performances on that instrument. After one of them he added words to the melody that he had played. It was said that the use of words in love songs arose in this matter.
You had better go home, your mother loves you so much. Menominee