DENfiMOKK] 



TETON SIOUX MUSIC 



471 



be removed, a heated iron being commonly used for the purpose. 

 Ash and box elder were woods frequently selected. The open end 

 of the instrument was usually carved to represent the 

 head of a bird. Mr. Higheagle stated further that the 

 instrument was called si'yotayka (si'yo, 'prairie chicken'; 

 taij'kri, 'large') by the Teton Sioux. The instrument is 

 said to have had two uses: It was used in dances, espe- 

 cially in the grass dance, and also by young men as a 

 " courting call. " Plain bone whistles and bead-decorated 

 whistles were similarly used in dances; these also were 

 known as si'yotaylca. Three or four dancers might carry 

 these whistles, but the signal was usually given by the 

 recognized leader of the dancers. If the singers "came 

 near the end of the tune," and he wished the dancing 

 continued, he blew his whistle, whereupon they continued 

 their repetitions of the melody. 



In construction this instrument is a whistle, being an 

 open pipe with the usual whistle or flageolet mouthpiece 

 near one end. The pipe furnishes the series of harmonics 

 obtained from a bugle or trumpet. The specimen illus- 

 trated ^ is old, having been in the possession of Mrs. 

 James McLaughlin about 30 years, and could not bo 

 played, but a similar instrument, in perfect condition, 

 was obtained among the Hidatsa at Fort Berthold, N. Dak., 

 in 1915. The length of this instrument below the mouth 

 is 22f inches. The instrument was played by its Hidatsa 

 owner, and a phonograph record of the performance was 

 made. It was played also by Mr. E. H. Hawley, curator 

 of musical instruments, United States National Museum. 

 The following part of the long harmonic series could be 

 produced on the Hidatsa whistle, the tones being named in 

 ascending order : A flat (second space treble staff), D flat, 

 F, A flat, C flat, D flat, E fiat, F. 



The grass dance of the Standing Rock Sioux at the pres- 

 ent time (pi. 77, A) was thus described by Kills-at-Night 

 (Haqhe'pikte), a comparatively young man, who is a 

 prominent singer at the drum whenever a dance is hold : 



This dance came to us from the Omaha and at first all the songs were Omaha. The 

 melodies were repeated with care, and Sioux words were sung, but now we have many 



1 This instrument has been described as follows by Mr. Hawley, above mentioned: " Length 25 inches; 

 diameter, § inch. A straightstick of wood, its lower end carved to represent a crane with open beak and 

 its throat is the open end of the whistle. The bore appears to be from ^ to \ inch in diameter. A rec- 

 tangular opening i inch wide by 1 inch long, commencing 6\ inches below the upper end is made from 

 the outside into the bore. A little above the middle of this opening a dam of wax or pitch is placed in 

 the bore to deflect the current of air so as to impinge against the lip of the sound hole. The sound hole is 

 about A inch square. Its cap is a piece of split quill, its lower edge a trifle above the crest of the dam of 

 wax. The lip of the sound hole is also a split quill and is about i inch below the lower edge of the cap. 

 Both lip and cap are bound to the stick with red colored sinew. The instrument is a whistle." 



