Ojibway Ceremonies by Basil Johnston

Author:Basil Johnston [Johnston, Basil]
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
ISBN: 9781551995915
Publisher: McClelland & Stewart
Published: 2011-01-28T05:00:00+00:00

THE SACRED SONGS

Men and women now possessed medicine and ritual. Next, they learned the mystic songs that they were to sing in all their healing ceremonies. And to communicate their feelings, the Anishnabeg were to use a drum: a wooden kettle drum with bearskin casing. This was the Midewewigun – the sacred drum.

Only the drum possessed the special tones that would be suitable for the audience of the spirits. There was no sound, human or natural, to compare to it. What the drum imparted neither man nor woman could understand, for it transcended human comprehension, going beyond it in the form of an echo that could be heard only by spirits. It was a mystery; and therefore it was the best way for man to communicate with the spirit world. While he drummed, man chanted, so that his petitions were borne by the echo of the drum and transformed into the language of the spirits who dwelled above and below and beyond. Only the talk of the drum could gain the attention of the deities.

And the Anishnabeg learned and sang many sacred chants.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.