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alcheringa:1-3:havasupai_medicine_song [2021/10/28 00:12] – [Commentary] haleyelizabethrosealcheringa:1-3:havasupai_medicine_song [2021/10/28 00:58] (current) – [Commentary] haleyelizabethrose
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 This Havasupai medicine song was passed down to and sung by Dan Hanna. This Alcheringa entry was collected and translated by Leanne Hinton. She was helped with the translation by the singer Dan Hanna. The setting that the song describes in detail is the Grand Canyon, which is the region where the Havasupai have lived for generations.   This Havasupai medicine song was passed down to and sung by Dan Hanna. This Alcheringa entry was collected and translated by Leanne Hinton. She was helped with the translation by the singer Dan Hanna. The setting that the song describes in detail is the Grand Canyon, which is the region where the Havasupai have lived for generations.  
  
- +The original dreamer of this medicine song is unknown, but the song was passed down from an older relative to Supai Shorty, who had then passed the song down to Dan Hanna from whom it was collected, translated by, and later transcribed for this Alcheringa entry.   
- +
 ====== Context ====== ====== Context ======
  
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-Havasupai medicine songs are not composed with the goal of sharing them with others, but are almost always intended as the singer's personal song for their own healing. However, this particular song passed down to Dan Hanna was heard by many and was well-known because it was used in the Havasupai tribe's sweathouse curing ceremony, which was a social event and an affair that involved the whole community.+Havasupai medicine songs, sung by a few who dream their own songs, are not composed with the goal of sharing them with others, but are almost always intended as the singer's personal song for their own healing. However, this particular song that was passed down to Dan Hanna was heard by many and was well-known because it was used in the Havasupai tribe's sweathouse curing ceremony, which was a social event and an affair that involved the whole community.
  
 Many Havasupai songs, including this one, appear as long, descriptive poems. The singing of these songs can last for up to an hour due to some improvisation within the rhythm, notes and even the words used or repeated by the singer. The choices the singer makes during their recitation of their song depends on the singer's mood at the time of the 'performance.' Many Havasupai songs, including this one, appear as long, descriptive poems. The singing of these songs can last for up to an hour due to some improvisation within the rhythm, notes and even the words used or repeated by the singer. The choices the singer makes during their recitation of their song depends on the singer's mood at the time of the 'performance.'
  
 The original version of this song was sung in the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Havasupai%E2%80%93Hualapai_language|Havasupai–Hualapai]] language, which has two main dialects. One dialect is the Hualapai dialect, spoken along the Southern rim of the grand canyon, and the other, Havasupai, is spoken at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. The original dialect of this song was likely Havasupai, since the song was composed by someone living within the canyon.  The original version of this song was sung in the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Havasupai%E2%80%93Hualapai_language|Havasupai–Hualapai]] language, which has two main dialects. One dialect is the Hualapai dialect, spoken along the Southern rim of the grand canyon, and the other, Havasupai, is spoken at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. The original dialect of this song was likely Havasupai, since the song was composed by someone living within the canyon. 
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 +Another example of a Havasupai song, though not a medicine song, can be found [[http://www.ralphlevy.com/quotes/havasupais.htm|here]] and was also transcribed by Leanne Hinton. This example is a translation and transcription of the Farewell Song of the Havasupai and also features the repetition of lines and words throughout the piece. 
    
  
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 The comparison the singer makes of himself to a shaman or "medicine spirit" once again refers to the idea that these medicine songs were written by the sufferer of the illness themselves and performed for their own healing. Instead of having a shaman or medicine man visit and heal the sick, they would perform this ritualistic singing to heal on their own.  The comparison the singer makes of himself to a shaman or "medicine spirit" once again refers to the idea that these medicine songs were written by the sufferer of the illness themselves and performed for their own healing. Instead of having a shaman or medicine man visit and heal the sick, they would perform this ritualistic singing to heal on their own. 
 +
 +The singer repeats the descriptions he previously sang about the walls of the grand canyon, their various colors,  and the spring that runs through it. He also includes mention of horses that belong to him at the top of the canyon on a mesa and his journey back toward the canyon, his home. 
 +He says: 
 +
 +"Red rock wall        hey, heya
 +Going down the canyon hey, heya
 +
 +They are right there  hey, heya
 +Down in the canyon    hey, heya
 +
 +Many red rocks        hey, heya
 +Not very tall         hey, heya
 +
 +I am right there      hey, heya
 +I have arrived        hey, heya
 +
 +I go along            hey, heya
 +This is what I'm thinking  hey, heya"
 +
 +In this section of the song it seems that the singer is returning his attention from his imagination of the beautiful scenery of his home, both above and below the canyon walls, back to his home and 
 + (presumably) his thoughts and the subject of his song returns to his ailment. he finishes his song with 
 +
 +"Now my bleeding ends       hey, heya
 +It ends right there         hey, heya
 +
 +This is what I'm thinking   hey, heya
 +This is what I'm thinking   hey, heya"
 +
 +This ending of the song mentions that the bleeding, which was assumed to be connected to his ailment at the start of the song, had ended and it can be assumed that he is hoping that by finishing his song he will be healed of his ailment. By channeling the words he is repeating and his thoughts of healing he intends to cure himself of whatever his affliction may have been. Following the song's end in the Alcheringa entry there is a brief description of how medicine songs came about and why this one was so well-known. 
 +
 +Perhaps this Havasupai medicine song was chosen for the community curing ceremony because of the vagueness of the description of the illness of the original composer of the song. It may have resonated with each member of the tribe that attended the sweathouse curing ceremony no matter their reason for being in need of healing. Without the exploration and comparison of other healing songs of the Havasupai it is difficult to surmise why this was the chosen song for the community ceremony. 
  
  
 ====== Bibliography ====== ====== Bibliography ======
 +
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 +Havasupai Tribe, Supai. “Official Havasupai Tribe Website.” Official Havasupai Tribe Website, https://theofficialhavasupaitribe.com/. 
 +
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 +“Havasupai.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 4 Oct. 2021, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Havasupai. 
 +
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 +“Havasupai–Hualapai Language.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 15 Oct. 2021, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Havasupai%E2%80%93Hualapai_language. 
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 +Hinton, Leanne. “The Farewell Song of the Havasupai.” Havasupai Farewell Song, University of California, Berkeley, http://www.ralphlevy.com/quotes/havasupais.htm. 
    

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