KuRATH] IROQUOIS MUSIC AND DANCE 45 



Binary: 



7. Parallel composition, dwindling wavering. Eagle. 



8. Complementary composition, B with opposite contour of A. Fish, Raccoon. 



Ternary: 



9. Stepwise descent during A and B, return to original level of A or A'. Changing- 

 a-rib (final songs), Shake-the-pumpkin, Pigeon. 



10. Rise during B, return to original level on repeat of A. Tpwisas, Trotting, 

 Garters. 



The contours seem to transcend a purely artistic effect. There is 

 a relationship between level wavering and ancient, esoteric rituals, 

 between steep descent and newer, bolder compositions. Also, prove- 

 nience may play a role, as northern affiliations in 1-3, Algonquian 

 connections in 4, Plains influence in 5, and Southeastern origin in 10 

 (Kurath, 1961). 



TYPES OF ANTIPHONY 



There have been repeated references to interaction between a leader 

 and helper or helpers, or the singers and male dancers. The simplest 

 type is the initial and terminal echo during Feather Dance. More 

 complex is the series of monotone chants during the nucleus of Drum 

 Dance. These extensive phrases are stated by the leader and echoed 

 by the helper. The two singers engage in another kind of response in 

 the dance songs proper. The leader states the first phrase, the helper 

 repeats it, and both sing the remaining phrases together. Sometimes 

 the interaction produces brief harmonies, as in Coldspring Drum 

 Dances 8 and 9.^^ In ado'we' the chorus provides a continuous 

 harmonic background in the form of a drone. After the initial 

 ejaculations, the men hold a note and then gasp it, rhythmically, usu- 

 ally on the fifth of the song's scale. 



True antiphony takes two forms, monotone and melodic. Mono- 

 tone responses are limited to terminal positions, usually in animal 

 songs — Buffalo, Bear — but also occasionally in social rounds, as Shake- 

 the-pumpkin, and Fishing. In Bear Dance the responses are some- 

 times between the singers and male dancers, sometimes between dance 

 leader and male followers. All of these song cycles emphasize quartal 

 scales. 



Melodic antiphony is limited to agricultural and social dances of the 

 stomp type. Corn Dance lias only one antiphonal song. This is a 

 separate song in the Coldspring collection (Jones 2) , but it is attached 

 terminally at Tonawanda (Cornplanter 4). Corn and Bean Dances 

 lead into Trotting Dance by two transitional songs with monotone or 

 bitonal terminal responses, one song without accompaniment, one with 



" This is a characteristic of modern Oklahoma Round Victory Dance songs, and probably originated 

 among the Cheyenne and their neighbors. 



