120 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 53 



No. 38. Scalp Song (Catalogue No. 366) 



Sung by Odjib'we 

 Voice J= 160 



Drum Jr;104 



( Drum-rhythm similar to No. 2 ) 



^ • -^ -^' 



-C- hS-"' ^ -#- -#-• 



"ir 



It 



'^m 



m^ 



'-^-- 



:t= 



-(2- 



:\=r- 



Go - ni - ge - ta - gi - na a - ga- d6n - da-mo - dog o - ma - mi-kwe 



nr 



ir 



i 



-i^-#- 



we gi- kic - ki-gwe - jGg 



gonige'tagina'' I wonder 



agaden''damodog^ if she is humiliated 



Oma'mikwe' the Sioux woman 



gikic^kigwejug' that I cut off her head 



Analysis. — This is a song of derision, and in that respect it resem- 

 bles No. 14; comparison of the two songs is therefore of interest. 

 Both are minor in tonality, begin on the octave, and, as is unusual, 

 have the descending fourth as their first progression. Both end on 

 the fifth, the compass being from the dominant below the tonic to 

 the octave above it; a more common range is from the tonic to the 

 twelfth above it. Both songs are melodic in structure and neither 

 contains an accidental. With these features the resemblance ends. 

 No. 14 is in double time with two triple measures, begins on the 

 accented part of the measure, and contains no rhythmic unit; while 

 the song under analysis is in triple time throughout, begins on the 

 unaccented part of the measure, and contains a short rhythmic unit 

 continuously repeated. These points of difference show the individ- 

 uality of the two songs. The derision in No. 14 is subtle and tan- 

 talizing and the rhythmic swing is long, without a clearly defined 

 unit; while in the present instance the derisive idea is more direct, 

 the taunting more keen, finding expression in a short, crisp rhythm. 

 Five renditions of the song were recorded, the rhythm showing no 

 variation. 



Gifts were distributed to all the people by members of the war- 

 rior's clan; for instance, Odjib'we's do'dem (clan animal) was the 

 bear. When he returned bringing a scalp, all the men and women 

 belonging to the Bear Clan danced around him with their arms full 

 of presents, after wliich they distributed the presents throughout the 

 village in his honor. 



