Yuman music
Encyclopedia
Yuman music is the music of Yumans, a group of Native American tribes
from what is now Southern California
and Baja California
. They include Paipai
, Havasupai, Yavapai
, Walapai, Mohave, Quechan
. Maricopa
, Tipai-Ipai, Cocopa
, and Kiliwa people. Folk songs in Yuma culture are said to be given to a person while dreaming. Many individuals who are in emotional distress go to a secluded area for a few weeks, there to receive new songs.
s, which can be made of gourd or tin cans.
filmmaker created the documentary, "Songs of the Colorado," featuring singers from Yuman speaking tribes in Arizona
and Mexico
. Of the music, Golding says, "The songs are all sung in the language, so if you're not learning and picking up the language, then you won't be able to understand the songs ... there are actually words telling stories..."
), and Dale Phillips, vice chairman of the Cocopah Indian Tribe are some of the foremost Yuman musicians today. Jefferson Lewis is a younger singer.
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
from what is now Southern California
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
and Baja California
Baja California
Baja California officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is both the northernmost and westernmost state of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1953, the area was known as the North...
. They include Paipai
Paipai
The Paipai are an aboriginal people of northern Baja California, Mexico. They occupied a territory lying between the Kiliwa on the south and the Kumeyaay and Cocopa on the north, and extending from San Vicente near the Pacific coast nearly to the Colorado River's delta in the east...
, Havasupai, Yavapai
Yavapai
Yavapai can refer to:* The Yavapai people, a Native American people of central and western Arizona, with reservations at:**The Yavapai-Apache Nation near Camp Verde, AZ**The Yavapai-Prescott Tribe at Prescott, AZ...
, Walapai, Mohave, Quechan
Quechan
The Quechan are a Native American tribe who live on the Fort Yuma Indian Reservation on the lower Colorado River in Arizona and California just north of the border with Mexico...
. Maricopa
Maricopa
The Maricopa or Piipaash, are a Native American tribe, who live in the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community and Gila River Indian Community along with the Pima, a tribe with whom the Maricopa have long held a positive relationship...
, Tipai-Ipai, Cocopa
Cocopa
The Cocopah or Cocopa are Native American people who live in Baja California and Sonora, Mexico, and in Arizona in the United States. The Cocopah language belongs to the Delta–California branch of the Yuman family. In Spanish, the Cocopah are termed Cucapá...
, and Kiliwa people. Folk songs in Yuma culture are said to be given to a person while dreaming. Many individuals who are in emotional distress go to a secluded area for a few weeks, there to receive new songs.
Singing
The songs are sung in particular cycles. Among Mohave people, a cycle could consist of 50—200 songs. Together thirty song cycles exists, all of which were initially dreamed by singers. A complete song cycle took an entire night to perform, which would be accompanied by gourd rattles or beating on baskets.Instruments
While singing is the focus of Yuman music, accompanied by rattleRattle
Rattle may mean*Rattle *RATTLE magazine, an American poetry journal*Bird-scaring rattle, a Slovene device used to drive birds off vineyards and a folk instrument*Ratchet , a percussion instrument*Death rattle...
s, which can be made of gourd or tin cans.
Documenting
Daniel Golding a QuechanQuechan
The Quechan are a Native American tribe who live on the Fort Yuma Indian Reservation on the lower Colorado River in Arizona and California just north of the border with Mexico...
filmmaker created the documentary, "Songs of the Colorado," featuring singers from Yuman speaking tribes in Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
and Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. Of the music, Golding says, "The songs are all sung in the language, so if you're not learning and picking up the language, then you won't be able to understand the songs ... there are actually words telling stories..."
Evolving musical forms
An intertribal marching band called the Yuman Indian Band dates back at least to the 1920s. Composed of Quechan, Mohave, and other tribal members, they changed their name to the Quechan Indian Band in 1981.Notable people
Preston Arrow-Weed, a Quechan elder and lead singer, Vernon Smith (QuechanQuechan
The Quechan are a Native American tribe who live on the Fort Yuma Indian Reservation on the lower Colorado River in Arizona and California just north of the border with Mexico...
), and Dale Phillips, vice chairman of the Cocopah Indian Tribe are some of the foremost Yuman musicians today. Jefferson Lewis is a younger singer.
External links
- Hokan Media Productions, documentaries about Yuman Music