Cool Stuff: Indigenous Music In The Americas

The Siku/Pan Flute: How It Is Made And Played 

As a wind player, I found myself to be very interested in the South American wind instruments. I find the siku to be very interesting because it has multiple different holes to blow through, much like a harmonica almost. I wanted to find out more about how they are made by using only natural materials, and how they are played by Andean musicians. 

How They Are Made

According to discover-peru.org, the siku originated in the Andes surrounding Lake Titicaca. The pipes of the siku come from a reed material called songo, which grows on the banks of the lake. These pipes are then arranged in 2-3 rows of 6 and wrapped together with a string. 

More interesting information I found about this instrument is that the term siku is actually used to describe a medium-sized pan flute! There are other sizes with different names, with malta being the smallest and the toya being the largest. In between are the ika, siku, sanka, and semitoya. 

This video is a walkthrough of Wayra Ñan, an Andean instrument maker, creating a pan flute in his workshop. The process starts at around 1:15 as Wayra carves the songo into the cylinder pipes that make up the instrument. He has to be very detailed and intricate in the carving, with lots of polishing and editing to make sure that each pipe produces the exact sound that it is supposed to. After creating all of the different notes with separate pipes,Wayra then has to tie them together. He does this by holding them in place with wooden sticks and then slowly wrapping the string around them individually to connect them. The string also connects both rows of the pipes together to form one instrument, and then it is complete. Wayra guides the viewer through the process as well, but unfortunately Youtube auto-translated captions are not exactly the most reliable. However, having an extensive visual makes the instrument-making process a lot more clear!

How They Are Played

Below is a video by Youtube user Andean Style. In this video is a beginner's tutorial on how to hold and blow through the zampoña/siku. The position that he shows for blowing through the siku is very similar to the angle of a clarinet. It should not be directly vertical from the lips but should also not stick out too much. Of course the angle for the siku is a lot steeper than that of a clarinet, but the concept of a "sweet spot" semi to be universal through many wind instruments. The way he describes and shows the blowing technique is that it should not be forceful at all. Much like other wind instruments, the air needs to be focused and controlled, and should be blown directly into the designated pipe's hole. The embouchure and shape of the mouth seems to be very similar to western flutes, with the mouth forming a small hole in the center. What also makes the siku similar to other winds is that the embouchure must change when playing different notes. Andean Style says that lower notes must be played with a wider opening, and higher notes with a smaller one. A very interesting concept also mentioned in this video is that the siku is built in G major, but can be played in different keys by tilting the instrument to make the pitches more sharp or flat. It's very cool to watch a tutorial on it, and can also be very helpful for anyone who wants to learn!

Judging A Pow Wow Dance Competition

While watching the dance competitions, I couldn't help but wonder what the criteria is for competitive dancers, how they are judged for the criteria, and how the judges pick a winner out of each group. I came across a pdf of a Pow Wow guide  that explains the judge selection and rules of each dance competition. In short, the judges are chosen by the Pow Wow Committee based on their knowledge and experience of traditional dance. This guide listed a bunch of criteria that the judges must take into consideration, including footwork, style, staying in time with the drum, and visual presentation through dance outfit. Dancers may also be disqualified if they arrive not wearing appropriate clothing, drop any part of their outfit, or fail to stop when the drum stops, and can gain extra points by participating in the Grand Entry. 

The scoring system is also interesting to note. The judges of the dance competitions score each dancer in order from best to worst on a 6-point scale. This means that the dancer placed in first by a judge will receive 6 more points than the dancer placed in second by them. The scores from each judge are then added together to determine who the overall winner is. 

Other criteria for dancers include:

.wearing bells

.being sober from any drugs or alcohol

.being in full dress at least 10 minutes before competition begins 

Reading about the judging was very interesting because I didn't realize how strict the judging was for the dance competitions. I also find the point scale to be very interesting because it is used to avoid having any tied scores. The Pow Wows are very serious, meticulous, and efficient with their competitions. 

Buffy Sainte-Marie 

I wanted my last section to be about a more modern Native singer, and when I started searching I found Buffy Sainte-Marie. Buffy is not only a Native Canadian singer, but is also a social activist as well. Most of her songs mention issues that indigenous people experience and she actively works to educate others on Native American culture and livelihood. 

Buffy was born in 1941 in a reserve in Qu'Appelle Valley, Canada, but was taken into adoption from an American couple and ended up growing up in Massachusetts. She would later end up graduating from the University of Massachusetts Amherst with degrees in Teaching and Oriental Philosophy and earned a Ph.D later in Fine Arts from the University of Massachusetts. 

Because Buffy was taken as a child to be adopted by white parents, she wasn't in tune with her cultural identity until she was taken in by Emile Piapot at a Canadian Pow Wow in 1964. She currently resides in Hawaii and is considered to be friendly with the Bahá'í faith, a religion dedicated to teaching, understanding, and accepting all religions and unifying the human people as one. 

Although Buffy has taken many stands by starting education programs and writing about social injustices, she has faced many problems with sharing her music with the American people. Many radio stations censored her and blacklisted her music, making it almost impossible to produce anything popular. Buffy Sainte-Marie of course spoke up about these injustices within the music community, but it is very unfortunate that not many people know who she is today. 

Above is a video of Buffy Sainte-Marie performing her song "Universal Soldier" at the 2019 CBC Music Festival. At the beginning of the video, she gives a short but very cool speech about how wars are really started, asking questions about who is responsible for the international hatred and anger of the world. It's very thought-provoking, and makes a beautiful transition into her song. "Universal Soldier" is a song about how anyone can make a difference within their nation and community. Its message is made clear with her use of a single soldier by describing "him" as someone of different ages, nationalities, races, etc. This message of unity as one directly relates to Native American's sense of community and coming together. 

The overall music style is not so much Native American as it is American folk, but this is most likely because Buffy wasn't as in tune with her Native American side growing up. However, she is clearly wearing an outfit that incorporates Native American colors, styles, and natural materials. This proves that although she may not be super connected to her culture, she is still very proud of it. I am very glad I came across Buffy Sainte-Marie and I hope others can also see how important it is to publicize Native American musicians.