wikipedia30 | 100 The songs of the Indians
from the series 100 Photos - 100 Stories
Frances Densmore was an ethnologist and musicologist who made an important contribution to the preservation of North American Indian culture by researching it down to the smallest detail and collecting, among other things, audio material of their songs. A true sanctuary of the Indians! You can find out more exciting details about the history in this article.
Music as a gateway to culture
Even in her early childhood, Frances Densmore was very interested in Native American life and music. This was due to the fact that she lived on the banks of the Mississippi and heard the music and drums of the Sioux Indians at night. This aroused her interest in the people more and more. She researched numerous tribes of various Native Americans and learned about their customs and culture as well as their interrelationships. Densmore searched for the origins of the music, including the Igorot and Aeta groups on the island of Luzon, who were considered the most primitive tribe on the island. She also recorded the songs of the Indians using a borrowed phonograph (also shown here in the picture). She often transcribed or translated the songs by ear, as the content of the songs in particular revealed a great deal about the culture and customs of the Indians. She undertook more than 80 research trips to Indian reservations and recorded over 2500 songs using her phonograph. Through her interest, passion and empathetic nature, she gained the trust of Chief "?iya?ka" of the Standing Rock Reservation. He told her about his dream visions and sang the associated songs to her. She also received sacred information about the well-known Sun Dance, on which she subsequently gave numerous lectures. The recordings of the songs were then transferred to records and can be found today in the American Folklife Center of the Library of Congress.
