uguna
native american style flutes - some sample scores
Here
are a few scores that I’ve transcribed for the flute using the tablature
devised by R Carlos Nakai. They are in the uguna flutes soing book. Clicking
on the title – or the equivalent if you’re using Windows –
should download a PDF-format file to your download area. The scores are
protected by copyright in this form.
Please
remember that these songs have great spiritual significance; they should
be played respectfully and with full acknowledgement of their origin.
White
Buffalo Maiden Song
The Lakota have a legend describing how White Buffalo Maiden – Ptesan-wi
- came to them to give the Sacred Pipe and to pass on knowledge about
how the People – and particularly the women and girls – should
conduct themselves, and to instruct them in how to live in harmony with
the Buffalo people. This song celebrates her visit, her gift of the Sacred
Pipe, and her wisdom.
Song
of the Pretended Search
A very important rite associated with the White Buffalo Maiden was the
Alo’wanpi – ‘he sings for another’ - ceremony,
in which a girl, wrapped in a white buffalo-skin robe, was adopted by
a second father. The Lakota culture places enormous significance on parenthood
and its responsibilities and the adoptive father – or itan’can
- started his guardianship by pretending to search for the girl’s
dwelling. He and his attendants looked through the village, singing this
song with the words, ‘Eca tukte tipi so’ – I wonder
where her dwelling is – and found the girl’s family tipi at
the fourth attempt.
Ceremonial
Song
The ceremony was completed by the itan’can presenting his adoptive
daughter - hun’ka - to the six sacred directions – the sky
above, the earth below, and then west, north, east and south. The final
phrase in this tune echoes that in the Song of the Pretended Search.
Those
Hills I Trod Upon
This is a traditional Teton Lakota song, one of those collected by Frances
Densmore early in the twentieth century. For anyone who has one of my
CDs with scores on, this is a corrected version of the mess I made first
time round.
|