DENSMORE] TETON SIOUX MUSIC 231 



WORDS 



ate' father 



maki'lowag yo sing to me 



wana' , now 



hibu'' we I come 



he in tliis 



ta'ku thing 



aiye'dir) be reasonable 



Anah/sis. — This song is minor in tonality and lacks the seventh 

 and fourth tones of the complete octave. (See song. No. 26.) The 

 rhythmic unit is lengthy and continuously repeated, giving little 

 opportunity for taking breath. • Between the renditions of the song 

 wore given the high calls which frequently interrupt Indian singing, 

 but in these calls, or cries, the tempo of the song was maintained, so 

 there was no break in the time during the entire performance. This 

 song begins on the tweKth and progresses steadily downward to the 

 tonic at the close. 



Wlien Si3^a'ka was on the warpath the sacred stones were invoked 

 by HeKa'ka-na'zir) (Standing Elk), who sent them on their cus- 

 tomary search, and then said to the warriors: 



In the early morning you will meet one man and kill him. You will meet a wolf 

 coming from the north before you see tliis enemy. Let each man pray to the wolf, 

 calling him "grandfather" and asking that he may get a count. ^ You will also meet a 

 large crow flj'ing toward you from the north. Let each man make the same prayer to 

 the crow. After seeing the crow you will see one enemy coming also from the north. 



Everything came to pass as the stone had predicted. They met 

 the wolf and the crow; then they saw one man and killed him. The 

 man was a scout, but the Sioux did not know this. The war party 

 of the enemy, follomng the scout, made a charge on the Sioux. There 

 were 19 in the enemy's party and 4 brave Sioux stood against 

 them and drove them back. The enemies were Arikaree and Mandan. 

 After peace was established the Sioux talked with them about this 

 battle and learned that the name of the scout was One Feather. 

 Siya'ka was one of the four men who drove them back and won a 

 count at that time. He said that the following song was used by 

 Standing Elk in making his request of the stones. No drum was used 

 with this song. 



1 The right to wear a war-honor feather in the hair. 



