DENSMORB] TETON SIOUX MUSIC 161 



WORDS 



maka^ta the earth 



e'tog war) yo behold 



lena^ all these 



iuta''wa yours 



ktelo'' will be 



maka^ta the earth 



e''togwai) yo behold 



lena^ all these 



nita'wa yelo' (are) yours 



Analysi<i. — The opening of this melody is unusual, consisting in a 

 descent from the fifth to the second of a minor key. In the third 

 measure the third of the key appears, the tonic enters in the sixth 

 measure, followed hy five measures in which the tonic and third are 

 emphasized. Two descending fourths (A-E and E-B) carry the 

 melody dowTi toward the tonic in the lower octave, which is given 

 as the closing tone. The melody comprises all the tones of the 

 octave except the seventh. It will be noted that the opening 

 tones of the song contain the beginning of the rhythmic unit, w^hich 

 appears in complete form in the succeeding measures and occurs 

 three times in the song. 



Cont inuing his narrative, Lone Man said : 



Before the riders in the cloud went away they gave me a charm (tvo'tahe), which 

 I always carried. If I were in great danger and escaped alive I attributed it to the 

 charm and sang a song in its honor. The song relates to the swallow whose flying 

 precedes a thunderstorm. When I sang the song of my charm I fastened the skin of 

 a swallow on my head. This bird is so closely related to the thunderbird that the 

 thunderbird is honored by its use. The action of a swallow is very agile. The great- 

 est aid to a warrior is a good horse, and what a warrior desires most for his horse is that 

 it may be as swift as the swallow in dodging the enemy or in direct flight. [^] For 

 this reason my song is in honor of the swallow as well as of my charm. 



I See footnote 3, p. 71. 



