Kdrath] IROQUOIS MUSIC AND DANCE 59 



since the figures and verbal descriptions provide a complete picture. 

 In ga'da§o-t the two kinds of stomp step are inserted at the proper 

 places, above musical sections A and B. Robin Dance is choreo- 

 graphed in full, but even here repetitions are not written in full. 



The choreographic symbols show the relationship of certain steps 

 and formations to certain parts of each cycle, and furthermore, the 

 synchronization of musical and dance sections when a change is cus- 

 tomary. Most stomp dances, eskanye and others, continue right to 

 the end of each song, but men's Feather, and crossover dances require 

 a different step with each musical section. The dancers are fully 

 aware of these connections and never err in rhythm or pattern. 



On the other hand, they never "interpret" musical quality or 

 phrasing in the manner of modern creative dancers. The combina- 

 tion of movement and musical texture is always appropriate, for 

 instance, to the expression of ursine clumsiness or birdlike pertness. 

 This is due to the fitness of traditional forms. 



Each dance type traditionally adheres to or departs from musical 

 forms, sections, and rhythmic units. In crossover types, the incipi- 

 ence of the main step and the action of crossing synchronize, that is, 

 the first notes of each section prompt the dancers to the prescribed 

 pattern. In stomp dances that involve a change, like ga'das-ot or 

 Robin, the first notes of each section likewise call forth the proper 

 change of step. But in continuous stomps, as in Bear and in the 

 beginning of all stomp dances and particularly in Feather and Drum 

 dances, participants commence the dance activity in succession. 

 After the interim of walk-around, the first notes of a new song galva- 

 nize the dance leader into action, the next few notes inspire the second 

 and then the third, and so on to the end of the line, like dominoes in a 

 string that collapse in quick succession after the first one is knocked 

 over. During a short song, it may happen that the children at the 

 end of a long line may have time for only a few steps. In figure 16 

 this process is indicated in simplified form by indication of three 

 groups — leaders, older men, and women— entering at a, h, and c as 

 marked in soilg 7. The vertical step pulsation is, however, perfectly 

 synchronized. 



Step combinations may follow musical rhythms, as in Robin 2, 

 where stomps correspond to musical accents. More commonly, there 

 is no intentional conformity to musical rliythm but rather counter- 

 point, accidental or conscious. Thus in Robin 3 and 5, fast two- 

 steps overlap figures of eighth notes and may even coincide with 

 musical rests. 



By these time-honored customary patterns and by permissible 

 individual deviations, both music and dance achieve variety within 

 unity. 



