DENSMORE] CHIPPEWA MUSIC II 47 



BEGGING DANCE SONGS (bAGOSAN'xIXGE'nIMIWIN' NA'gUMOWi'nUN) 



This group comprises Nos. 187 and 188 of Bulletin 45. and Xos. 

 114-118 of the present work. 



The begging dance, like the woman's dance, is said to have been 

 derived from the Sioux. In the writer's obsen^ation of this dance 

 among both Chippewa and Sioux the large drum is used; this is 

 carried by two or three men as the begging part 3^ goes from tent to 

 tent. This dance is described in Bulletin 45 (p. 171) and its tradi- 

 tional origin is given on page 228 of the present work. 



The percentage of these songs in major tonality is 72, the same 

 as in the Mide' and 4 per cent less than in the dream songs. Seventy- 

 one per cent begin on the dominant, resembling the Mide' songs, in 

 wliich 70 per cent begin on the dominant. Fourteen per cent only 

 begin on the tonic. The proportion of songs ending on the tonic 

 is 24 per cent below the average (see Tables 2 and 3), indicating a 

 slight feeling for the keynote. The percentage of songs beginning 

 on the ninth is almost double that in any other group. The ninth is 

 usually a tone of approach to the octave. The number of songs on 

 the five-toned scales and the number with the octave complete except 

 the seventh are equal. Only one song contains an accidental, and 

 72 per cent are purely melodic in structure, this being 6 per cent 

 above the average. The percentage of downward progression is 67, 

 the same as in the Mkle', and the largest in the entire series= The 

 percentage of ascending fourths is the largest in the series except in 

 the pipe dance. This interval has been found to characterize songs 

 concerning motion; it is considered in the analysis of song No. 22. 

 The average interval of this group is the same as in the Mide', and is 

 the smallest in the entire series except in the songs connected with 

 gifts. The percentage of songs beginning in double time is the largest 

 except in the pipe dance and the songs for the entertainment of chil- 

 dren, and the time is more steadily maintained than in any except 

 these groups and the unclassified songs. A small proportion of these 

 songs contains a rhythmic unit, the related groups being the woman's 

 dance and the songs for the entertainment of children. The num- 

 ber of songs having the same metric unit of voice and drum is the 

 same as the number in which the drum is faster than the voice. 



In the analysis of the Mide' songs a similarity between that group 

 and the songs of the begging dance was noted and some corre- 

 spondence of motive was traced. In the analysis of the begging 

 dance songs are found similarities to the songs of the pipe dance 

 and the woman's dance, the songs for the entertainment of children, 

 and the songs connected with gifts; and some similarity of motive 

 also can be traced between these groups. The purpose of the begging 

 dance was, of course, the securing of gifts. Underlying the other 



