In an earlier blog post, I wrote about Native American classical music by stressing the significance of cultural representation. Allow me to expand upon that thought by adding that the diversity of musical genres and influences is equally imperative when considering specific Native American tribes. For instance, take the Cherokee based in North Carolina and Oklahoma. Through my recent travels to the southeastern region of the community, I initially observed instances of musical instruments and procedures used for ceremonial purposes. These ranged from drums and rattles to myriad facemasks and ceremonies used to represent aspects of social life: be it celebrating corn harvesting, or foreshadowing events. Concerning that last part, some facemasks and ceremonies, like the Booger Dance, functioned from a religious standpoint to determine a person's health. It also foretold the coming of foreign colonial invaders from Europe. Thinking within the context of how these colonizers brought diseases as they conquered the New World, and within the contemporary context of the COVID-19 pandemic, such a name makes logical sense.
The music of the Cherokee today extends well beyond ceremonies, many of which are restricted to the public out of privacy concerns. One must also take into consideration the influences and adaptations of cultures outside the community through the incorporation of the fiddle, bluegrass, and (in certain instances) Christian hymnody. That latter aspect goes beyond the scope of this brief post, and the historical imposition of European Christianity on Native American communities proves to be a controversial topic: one that I will not address here. What matters for this post is that the Cherokee incorporate the use of phonetics from the Cherokee Syllabary (the linguistic system developed by Sequoyah in 1821) and shape notes via cultural memory In this respect, recent editions of Cherokee hymnbooks from the 2010s function as forms of linguistic and cultural preservation.
The music of the Cherokee today extends well beyond ceremonies, many of which are restricted to the public out of privacy concerns. One must also take into consideration the influences and adaptations of cultures outside the community through the incorporation of the fiddle, bluegrass, and (in certain instances) Christian hymnody. That latter aspect goes beyond the scope of this brief post, and the historical imposition of European Christianity on Native American communities proves to be a controversial topic: one that I will not address here. What matters for this post is that the Cherokee incorporate the use of phonetics from the Cherokee Syllabary (the linguistic system developed by Sequoyah in 1821) and shape notes via cultural memory In this respect, recent editions of Cherokee hymnbooks from the 2010s function as forms of linguistic and cultural preservation.
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