The Hako Song, Pipe, and Unity in a Pawnee Calumet Ceremony

Fletcher, Alice C. & James R. Murie & Edwin S. Tracy & Helen Myers

ISBN 10: 0803268890 / ISBN 13: 9780803268890

Published by Bison Books, 1996

About this Item

A Good Read ships from Toronto and Niagara Falls, NY - customers outside of North America please allow two to three weeks for delivery. ; 6 X 0.82 X 9 inches; 390 pages.

Seller Inventory # 194715

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Hako Song, Pipe, and Unity in a Pawnee Calumet Ceremony
• Publisher: Bison Books
• Publication Date: 1996
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0803268890
• ISBN 13: 9780803268890
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: Near Fine

About this title

Synopsis

One of the more complex and widespread rituals practiced by Native American groups focused on the calumet, a sacred pipe with a feathered shaft. The Calumet Ceremony was a powerful ritual through which members of another tribe were adopted. It also promoted social unity within tribes and facilitated contact and trade between them.

Perhaps the most detailed description of a Calumet Ceremony was recorded near the turn of the century by ethnographer Alice C. Fletcher. Fletcher witnessed the Hako, a version of the Calumet Ceremony practiced by the Chaui clan of the Pawnee. With the invaluable assistance of Tahirussawichi, a Pawnee Ku’rahus or ceremonial leader, and renowned Indian scholar James R. Murie, himself a Pawnee, the author describes in marvelous detail the intricate rhythm and structure of the ceremony. Each song of the Hako is transcribed, translated, interpreted by the Pawnee Ku’rahus, and later analyzed by the author. Fletcher concludes that the Hako promised longevity, fertility, and prosperity to individuals and worked to insure “friendship and peace” between clans and tribes.

The Hako, was originally published in 1904.

About the Author

Helen Myers, an associate professor of music at Trinity College and the ethnomusicology editor of the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians.