DENSMORE] TETON SIOUX MUSIC 363 



tagke' older sister 



hina'pig ' come outside 



na - and 



wagzi^ oyus'payo you may catch one of them 



Analysift. — This is a particularly lively melody, and is unique in 

 that all the do^vnwa^d progressions are minor thirds and major 

 seconds. These descending intervals comprise more than 76 per cent 

 of the intervals. Concerning the change of tempo, see song No. 5. 

 The song is melodic in structure and contains all the tones of the 

 octave except the second. See plot of this melody on page 419. 



The songs of the victory, or scalp, dance were many. These were 

 known as iwa'hici'pi 'scalp dance,' the equivalent for "songs" 

 being unexpressed, according to Sioux custom. This term, however, 

 is applied to a large number of songs the words of which do not 

 concern the killing of an enemy, and in this connection the term is 

 translated "praise song." The words of many of the praise songs 

 deal with a man's generosity, and the adaptation of the term 

 iwa'Jcici'pi is evident, the man being praised in the scalp dance for 

 his valor, and the song being used later as a means of securing gifts 

 from him; after he had proven his liberahty as well as his valor, 

 another set of words expressing that fact could be composed. In 

 this manner the term iwa'lcici'pi became applied to a wide range of 

 songs. 



The following song, in both words and melody, is a typical 

 iwa'Mci'pi in the original meaning of the word. 



Maka'-pezu'tawii) (Earth-medicine Woman) sang this concerning 

 her cousin, Pezu'ta-wakag' (Holy Medicine).^ She said that when 

 she was 13 years of age he went in the middle of the winter to "look 

 for Crow horses." Thirty Crows met them, of whom he killed one, 

 bringing home the scalp. ^ 



1 This is less imperative than yo, which appears ia other parts of the song. 



2 As already stated (p. 217) the full form of "Pezu'ta" is Pezi'huta, meaning literally " a root or herb " 

 but commonly translated medicine, it being understood to refer only to preparations of roots and herbs. 



3 Concerning the manner of removing a scalp, see Bull. 53, p. 86. 



