Music of Acoma, Isleta, Cochiti, and Zuñi Pueblos - Flutopedia.com

DENSMOBB] PUEBLO MUSIC 103
Free Translation
At the rainbow spring the dragon-flies start and fly over the rain priests'
houses to bring rain to the Indian village. There are blue, red, yellow,
white, black and spotted dragon-flies.
Analysis.—The pitch of this song was gradually lowered a whole tone during a
few measures, the repeated phrase being sung on the lower pitch, the next phrase
raised to the original pitch. These changes are not indicated in the transcription.
Margaret Lewis, a Zuni (cf. pp. 7, 20), was questioned concerning this peculiarity
of pueblo singing in 1939 and stated that the Zuni intentionally raise the pitch
level during the songs for rain but in no other class of songs. While her information
does not correspond exactly to the song under analysis, it indicates a change
of pitch in Zuni rain dance songs. This is the only Zuni song of the Rain dance
that is major in tonality throughout its length.
Another Rain dance song was recorded but not transcribed, as it
contained long passages on a monotone. The words were translated
as follows:
On the flower-mountain the clouds will be seen at sunrise, and by noon they
will be on our crops, says the sun priest.
CORN-GRINDING SONGS
At Zuni, as at Santo Domingo Pueblo (cf. Densmore, 1938, pp. 112-
118), a distinction is made between the grinding of corn for ceremonial
use and that intended for household use. In both pueblos the flutes
are played during the grinding of corn for use in ceremonies. The
songs here presented are sung during the grinding of corn for household
use. This takes place in winter, and it is customary for the women
to grind a few days' supply of corn at a time.
The women generally
work in shifts, 3 or 4 grinding at a time. The women who are
grinding the corn may sing as they work, and the women who are
waiting their tm-n may sing while they are waiting. All the corngrinding
songs grow slower at the close, as shown in the transcriptions.
The women have charge of the seed corn, as at Santo Domingo, and
also of all the corn after it has been brought into the house.