Passamaquoddy Ceremonial Songs: Aesthetics and Survival

Chapter 8: Aesthetics and Survival

172 172 EIGHT Aesthetics and Survival ❖ Performances of the ceremonies of the Wabanaki Confederacy at the Sipayik Indian Days are contrasted throughout this study with performances of the same protocols in other contexts. The Indian Day presentations differ from other contemporary performances in that they are reconstructions for a gen­ eral audience, with a primary purpose of educating outsiders about Passama­ quoddy and Wabanaki traditions. Adaptations are made for this purpose and to accommodate the public. Some elements in the Indian Day context, however, are similar to the pri­ marily ceremonial tribal occasions on which the same protocols are used, and there are demonstrable connections between the Indian Day and traditional contexts. The event takes place during the prime summer season in Peskoto­ muhkatik, a time when Waponahkiyik customarily camped on the seacoast, family bands gathered together, and allies visited each other. The contempo­ rary Sipayik Indian Day still contains the component of welcoming visiting tribes and leaders to a gathering on the shore. The presentation of the ceremo­ nial protocols by a master of ceremonies recalls the historical tradition of a Wampum Keeper publicly reciting Confederacy protocols from the wampum belts that encoded them in mnemonic symbols. The Indian Day can thus be understood as an important component in the process of transmitting these traditions to younger generations within the com­ munity. The transmission of traditions today is both frustrated and mediated by the conditions under which contemporary Passamaquoddy people live. This chapter will consider how the ceremonial protocols have been maintained un­ der these circumstances, analyzing the social factors that have influenced the adaptations noted in previous chapters. Modifications of the ceremonies have kept them functional in changing social circumstances. When analyzed all together, these adaptations appear A E S T H E T I C S A N D S U R V I V A L 173 as part of larger processes involved in the survival of Passamaquoddy culture and of Peskotomuhkatiyik as an identifiable group. An aesthetic is revealed underlying these processes which is based in traditional practice and can be understood as a cultural theme. The principle animating extemporization and recombination of stock melodies in song performance (discussed in chapter 3 and noted in the analyses of individual ceremonies) can be related by analogy to other domains of Passamaquoddy culture; parallel techniques for adapting to circumstances are evident in the traditional political system and in the language. The Transmission of Song Style The wampum protocols are public events, even when they are restricted to Native people or to members of the tribe. Those who lead them are mostly adults whose experience and skill is recognized by the community. These events transmit the traditions from generation to generation and are occasions of learning for younger people. All participants acquire skills, whether they sing, dance, give a speech, or just listen and observe. Transmission is essential to the maintenance of any tradition.Among Peskoto­ muhkatiyik today, transmission may be through face­to­face contact, through re­ cordings, and through formal instruction in schools or in adult study groups. But the contexts in which songs and dances are learned shape the meanings that they carry. Up to this point, the discussion has focused on specific ceremonial uses of songs and dances; the significance that these elements convey is multiplied and enriched by associations that extend outside ceremonies. A brief consideration of these is needed to support the analysis offered in concluding this study. In the past fifty years the Passamaquoddy communities have emphasized cultural transmission in public situations, including school classes and extra­ curricular drumming and dancing groups. But transmission within families re­ mains strong, as many of my contacts emphasized in interviews. Seemingly insignificant private genres such as lullabies and game songs acquaint chil­ dren with musical and linguistic principles of pronunciation, syllabification, and pitch inflection.1 These short songs, which like the dance songs exist as recognized “core” stanzas that are then varied to suit any occasion, appear among those recorded over the last century by collectors. They are well known in the community, passed from generation to generation, aural evidence of the intimate contact – and stability – that living together provides. The Role of Grandmothers Most of my contacts recalled that someone in their families had taught them the songs and dances that they knew. Grandmothers were identified as principal C H A P T E R E I G H T 174...