DENSMOBK] CHIPPEWA MUSIC II 11 



whole (see No. 132); third, it is repeated continuously except for a 

 middle section, which contains the words and is in a different rhythm 

 (see No. 1); and, fourth, the repetitions of the rhythmic unit are 

 freely interspersed with measures having no rhythmic interest 

 (see No. 118). There are also five songs in which the rhythmic unit 

 is continuously repeated except at the close of the song (see No. 4). 



In addition to the use of the rhythmic unit in repetition, there is 

 an equally important use of it as a basis for the rhythm, the unit 

 appearing either in separated phrases or with a change of accent 

 (see No. 90). This change of accent or other modification sometimes 

 produces a second or (in one instance, No. 157) a third rhythmic 

 unit which is repeated several times. Songs numbered 17, 47, 121, 

 and 123 contain two rhythmic units, the second being formed from 

 the first and constituting an answering phrase. A similar structural 

 peculiarity was noted by Fillmore, who states: ''Having invented 

 his original motive, which is commonly striking in its rhythmic 

 form and highly characteristic, the Indian composer proceeds to 

 build his song out of modified repetitions of this motive." ^ 



Among the 191 Chippewa songs containing a rhythmic unit there 

 is only one duplication, Nos. 192 and 195 in Bulletin 45 containing 

 the same unit. In the 20 Sioux songs of the Drum-presentation 

 Ceremony the percentage is much larger, as the second rhythmic 

 unit in song No. 73 of the present series is similar to the unit occur- 

 ring in No, 77. There is, however, a division of a count fjj which 

 occurs in Chippewa songs recorded on a reservation showing Sioux 

 influence, and which is found also in Sioux songs. This division of 

 the count occurs in 15 ])er cent of the songs recorded at Waba'cing 

 (Nos. 131, 153, 157, 159, 161, 163), and is found in only five other 

 songs of the entire collection. The same phrase is found in 10 per 

 cent of the Sioux songs of the Drum-presentation Ceremony (Nos. 

 54, 62), and also in about 10 per cent of the Sun-dance songs of the 

 Teton Sioux recorded by the writer at Standing Rock, North 

 Dakota, in 1911. The Chippewa at Waba'cing are in frequent 

 communication with the Sioux of North Dakota, parties from these 

 tribes visiting each other at their various festivals. The Chippewa 

 at Waba'cffig are also composing music at the present time to a 

 greater extent than those on other reservations. It is interesting to 

 note that the correspondence between the music of the Chippewa 

 and the Sioux, which may be attributed to contact of the two tribes, 

 is rhythmic, not melodic. 



Further evidence of the rhythmic unit as a nucleus of Chippewa 

 song is found in the fact that some songs were repeated in sections, 



I John Comfort Fillmore, Primitive Scales and Rhythms, in Memoirs of the International Congress or 

 Anthropology, Chicago, 1894, p. 175. 



