18 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 187 



Songs. — Compositions by individual male singers but sung by group 

 of six or eight or more men seated face to face on two benches. Instru- 

 ments: drum, horn rattles, heel bumping on the floor. Melodies ap- 

 parently bold and free in rendering, but constructed on traditional 

 lines, by extension of range, expansion of phrases made up of simple 

 rhythmic units, by interpolation of additional themes, and by long 

 terminal extension on the ground tone. Melodic themes sometimes 

 adapted from White men's tunes, such as "Little Red Wing" (com- 

 posed by Willy Stevens in 1913). Rapid percussion beat in somewhat 

 free relationship to melody and in steady acceleration and crescendo. 

 Thematic and percussion relationship as follows: 

 Aab^ — soloist, even drum and heel-blimping 

 a^ — chorus, drum and rattle tremolo, even heel-bumping 

 bBcb^ — chorus, even instrumental beat 

 Aa^ — chorus, drum and rattle tremolo, even heel -bumping 

 bBcb — chorus, uniform instrumental beat or else: 

 Aa — soloist, drum tremolo 

 b — soloist, even beat 

 Aa — chorus, tremolo 

 b — chorus, even beat 

 B — chorus, even beat 

 A, B — chorus, even beat 

 Aa^ — instrumental tremolo, heel-bumping 

 b, B — even beat 

 Remarks. — Some humorous textual references inserted among bur 

 den syllables, such as "Barney Google," "automobile" (Lyn Dowdy, 

 Ed Curry, 1933), for pleasure at "sings," not for dancing. 



Corn Dance (oneot?6eno' or corn song): 



Function. — Worship of corn spirit, at present mostly a social dance. 



Occasions. — Sequel to Midwinter and Green Corn Festivals, at 

 ceremony called "gaingso'i'oh" or songs of all kinds, at Coldspring 

 on evening before bowl game and agam afterward if game not com- 

 pleted; at Tonawanda on evening of day following bowl game, also 

 a week after Midwinter. 



Songs. — Two dance and song leaders at head of line, striking horn 

 rattles against palm of left hand. Two recorded versions are: 



Coldspring. — 1 introductory chant and 5 dance songs. 



Tonawanda. ^ — Same introductory chant and 8 dance songs, partly 

 the same as Coldspring; Coldspring songs 4 and 2 combined into 

 Cornplanter's 4 (Tonawanda). All songs pleasing and flowing, in 

 five-tone melodies and smooth rhythms livened by occasional synco- 

 pation. Each song developed from single theme in various skillful 

 ways (see Analysis). Occasional antiphony. 



