﻿388 
  THE 
  OMAHA 
  TRIBE 
  [ETH. 
  ANN. 
  27 
  

  

  the 
  words 
  of 
  this 
  song 
  gives 
  little 
  idea 
  of 
  its 
  meaning, 
  but 
  to 
  the 
  

   Omaha 
  the 
  song 
  had 
  a 
  profound 
  significance 
  and 
  its 
  import 
  as 
  ex- 
  

   plained 
  by 
  the 
  old 
  men 
  is 
  borne 
  out 
  by 
  the 
  character 
  of 
  the 
  music. 
  

   The. 
  past 
  tense 
  refers 
  to 
  the 
  teaching 
  given 
  in 
  the 
  past, 
  to 
  the 
  fathers, 
  

   whereby 
  the 
  blessing 
  of 
  peace 
  could 
  be 
  secured, 
  and 
  this 
  blessing 
  is 
  

   now 
  brought 
  here 
  by 
  the 
  "tireless 
  eagle" 
  who 
  bore 
  it 
  from 
  the 
  past, 
  

   bears 
  it 
  in 
  the 
  present, 
  and 
  brings 
  it 
  to 
  the 
  "Son" 
  with 
  whom 
  it 
  will 
  

   remain 
  as 
  a 
  gift 
  from 
  Wako 
  n 
  'da. 
  Once, 
  at 
  the 
  close 
  of 
  this 
  song, 
  a 
  

   venerable 
  man 
  turned 
  to 
  the 
  writers 
  (all 
  had 
  been 
  singing 
  as 
  the 
  pipes 
  

   passed 
  around 
  the 
  lodge) 
  and 
  said: 
  "Truly 
  the 
  pipes 
  are 
  from 
  Wa- 
  

   kon'da." 
  

  

  The 
  music 
  of 
  this 
  choral 
  presents 
  points 
  of 
  interest, 
  particularly 
  

   as 
  indicating 
  what 
  we 
  term 
  modulation, 
  that 
  is 
  the 
  passing 
  from 
  one 
  

   key 
  to 
  another. 
  On 
  this 
  point 
  the 
  late 
  John 
  Comfort 
  Fillmore, 
  a 
  

   musical 
  scholar 
  of 
  ability, 
  wrote 
  in 
  1S92: 
  "The 
  song 
  begins 
  in 
  the 
  key 
  

   of 
  B 
  fiat. 
  . 
  . 
  . 
  the 
  original 
  key 
  is 
  kept 
  until 
  the 
  fifth 
  measure, 
  in 
  

   which 
  the 
  first 
  clause 
  ends 
  with 
  the 
  relative 
  minor 
  chord. 
  The 
  next 
  

   phrase 
  of 
  three 
  measures 
  is 
  in 
  the 
  key 
  of 
  E 
  flat 
  (subdominant), 
  the 
  

   third 
  measure 
  effecting 
  a 
  transition 
  to 
  the 
  key 
  of 
  F 
  by 
  means 
  of 
  the 
  

   chord 
  of 
  G 
  (over-third 
  of 
  E 
  flat), 
  followed 
  naturally 
  by 
  the 
  chord 
  of 
  C 
  

   (dominant 
  in 
  F). 
  The 
  last 
  clause 
  begins 
  in 
  F, 
  modulates 
  to 
  C, 
  in 
  the 
  . 
  

   second 
  measure 
  and 
  closes 
  the 
  period 
  in 
  that 
  key. 
  This 
  key, 
  the 
  

   major 
  over-second 
  of 
  B 
  flat, 
  the 
  original 
  keynote, 
  would 
  seem 
  to 
  be 
  so 
  

   remote 
  as 
  to 
  make 
  it 
  impossible 
  to 
  preserve 
  unity 
  within 
  the 
  limits 
  of 
  

   a 
  short 
  12-measure 
  period. 
  But 
  the 
  melodic 
  flow 
  is 
  so 
  smooth 
  and 
  the 
  

   harmonic 
  connections 
  so 
  natural 
  that 
  I, 
  at 
  least, 
  do 
  not 
  get 
  from 
  it 
  

   the 
  impression 
  of 
  anything 
  forced, 
  harsh 
  or 
  unpleasant, 
  nor 
  do 
  I 
  feel 
  

   the 
  need 
  of 
  a 
  return 
  to 
  the 
  original 
  tonic." 
  a 
  Much 
  study 
  was 
  bestowed 
  

   on 
  this 
  song 
  by 
  Professor 
  Fillmore 
  and 
  many 
  harmonization 
  experi- 
  

   ments 
  were 
  tried 
  on 
  Omaha 
  Wa'wa" 
  singers 
  during 
  Professor 
  Fill- 
  

   more's 
  visit 
  to 
  the 
  Omaha 
  reservation 
  in 
  Nebraska. 
  The 
  arrangement 
  

   here 
  given 
  met 
  with 
  the 
  expression 
  of 
  approval, 
  "It 
  sounds 
  natural," 
  

   when 
  it 
  was 
  played 
  to 
  them 
  on 
  a 
  reed 
  organ, 
  the 
  only 
  instrument 
  

   there 
  available. 
  

  

  <■ 
  In 
  A 
  Study 
  of 
  Omaha 
  Indian 
  Music, 
  in 
  Archaeological 
  and 
  Ethnological 
  Papers, 
  Peabody 
  Museum. 
  

   Harvard 
  University, 
  i, 
  295, 
  Cambridge, 
  1893. 
  

  

  