A Spiral Way: How the Phonograph Changed Ethnography

4. Performers and the Phonograph: The Box That Got the Flourishes

4 Performers and the Phonograph The Box That Got the Flourishes A dance had been announced for a certain night, and I made an early appearance on the ground. While I waswaiting for the festivities to start, a young mannamed Wolf-lies-down (asI found out later) accosted me amiably in fair English and was curious about my business.Was I trying to buy horses on the reservation? I bethought myself of what Ihad once read in Herbert Spencer's essays on education, to whit, that in teaching a child one should always proceed from the concrete to the abstract; and what held for children would surely be appropriate for aborigines . SoI answeredsomewhat as follows: "Well, I amhere to talk with your old mento find out how they used to hunt and play and dance. I want to hear them tell stories of ancient times. ..." But at this point young Wolf-lies-down, who had never been off the reservation, interrupted mewith, "Oh, I see,you areanethnologist." Robert H. Lowie (1959:60) One of the lesser known fables of Aesop recounts a meeting between a man and a lion before a vast mural realistically depicting a triumphant hunter, his foot on the neck of the vanquished king of beasts. Concerned about his companion's reaction to the piece, the man turns inquiringly to the lion, who merely curls his lip and shrugs, "So, who painted the lion?" Written from the point of view of the collectors , most accounts of fieldwork activity in which ethnographers appear at all tend to depict them triumphant—resourceful, adroit, accepted, even beloved. Reading these accounts, members of the communities in question might suggest, like the lion, that the scene could be repainted from another point of view. Few ethnographers 89 have shared Robert Lewie's willingness to depict himself in as unflattering a light asin his revealing encounter with Wolf-lies-down. Implicit in most early ethnographic collections are three assumptions concerning interactions in the field: the collector is in control of the event, the full cooperation of the performer is achieved without reflection or negotiation, and unsatisfactory recordings are owing to shortcomings on the part of the performer, or, when the phonograph was used, nervousness over the mechanical process of recording or malfunction of the device. The phonograph itself represented a kind of emblem of authority for the collector; as its operator, he or she felt securely in control of the episode. Frances Densmore's 1940 instructions to a neophyte collector exude a quelling impression of the lengths to which some collectors would go to achieve a technically accomplished recording: The psychology of managing the Indians so as to secure the best songs, sung in the desired manner, is the most important factor in the work, in my opinion. I will take pleasure in giving you the benefit of my experience in this regard. I hadto formulate my own method, but I find it gives equally good results in all tribes.... Before actual recording is begun, it is sometimes a good plan to have an "open house" where everyone is shown the apparatus, sees it in use, and, perhaps, some test records may be made at this time—so all curiosity is satisfied. This may be followed by a promise that everyone can come again, and hear the records, if they will keep away while the work is in progress. Only the interpreter and singer should be present when the songs are recorded unless they want a "witness" or someone to consult. Only one singer at a time, unless the records are for "exhibition purposes ," and to show concerted singing. An Indian drum does not record well, and a rattle does not record at all. A short stick on a pasteboard box gives the percussion without resonance, which is all that is wanted unless the records are for exhibition use Each song should be sung through several times, followed by a distinct pause. Singers should not be allowed to "run their songs together." It issafest to get information before recording the song. Translations can safely follow the recording. 90 A Spiral Way All yells must be strictly forbidden, if the records are to be transcribed . It is also a waste of space on the blank to let them "talk," and announce the song in the native language, etc. It does not pay to have them "rehearse" a song audibly—they should "run...