Table of Contents
Interview with a Seneca Songman - Chronicle
Original pgs 82-93. Alcheringa 1-3
chronicle-_interview_with_a_seneca_songman_pages_from_alcheringa_1-3_winter-1971.pdf
Overview
Jerome Rothenberg interviewed a Seneca Song Man and transcribed their interview, which took place over a series of weeks in August of 1968. He interviewed Richard Johnny John and asked him mainly about his life as a songman of the Seneca Tribe, located in western New York State. Richard Johnny John spoke mostly about how he became a “maker of songs,” how deeply his ancestry intertwined with music and songmaking, and how the process of the composition of his songs took place. He also included some commentary about why the style of his newer compositions have not strayed far from the 'old' songs, which had much to do with the intentional mimicry of older songs to keep the traditions alive, yet alter it in very subtle ways to update them, much like a memorial to the times, tribe members, and songs of the past.
Context
Richard Johnny John was one of the lead songmakers of his tribe at the time of the interview, and, like his ancestors of whom he makes mention of, he played an important role within the Allegany (Seneca) Reservation because of his involvement in traditional songmaking and poetry. He also took part in composing traditional songs with the “heh-non-deh-not-ha,” also known by the title of the “Iroquois Singing Society.” During the interview, the topic of “woman's dance” songs was mentioned often, which referred to songs for popular social dances that still take place present day. These specific songs written for the dances are still composed using words, as opposed to the majority of other Seneca songs, which mainly make use of sounds and use only a few true words of the Seneca language.
Commentary
Bibliography
“A Conversational Seneca Language Page.” Seneca Language, 26 Aug. 2021, https://senecalanguage.com/.
Johnny John, Chauncey, and Albert Jones. “Folk Music of the Unites States Album XVII.” Edited by William N. Fenton, https://www.loc.gov/folklife/LP/SenecaSongs_L17.pdf.
“Seneca People.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 19 Feb. 2022, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seneca_people.
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