Audio file
Title: Anne Chapman and Alan Lomax discuss recordings made of the last surviving members of the Ona tribe of Terra del Fuego (part 5)
Date recorded: 1966
Contributor(s): Contributor: Kiepja, Lola; Contributor: Chapman, Anne; Contributor: Grauer, Victor; Contributor: Lomax, AlanBelongs to: Chapman/Lomax, 1966
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Date recorded: 1966
Contributor(s): Contributor: Kiepja, Lola; Contributor: Chapman, Anne; Contributor: Grauer, Victor; Contributor: Lomax, Alan
Subject(s): Cantometrics; Ethnomusicology; Anthropology; Ona Indians
Genre: interview/commentary
Culture: Arctic Siberia, Ona
Location:
Physical form: Reel to Reel
Tape number: T1980
Track Number: 2
Archive ID: T1980b
Note: Lola speaks poor Spanish. Sings a song about "Kula," a spirit who descends from the sky. She was indignant when shown photos of the initiation ceremony. Ceremony not for white eyes. Victor Grauer: We are seeking cross-correlations with Murdock's cultural analyses. We are not looking for things that only a musician would notice but for features a layman would pick out immediately. Lola is one of the best informants Grauer has heard from a disappearing culture. Usually such an informant has only a few songs. Lola still heals people. Description of how shamans journey to the moon during eclipse. Moon predicts who will die in battle. "Enemy" are neighboring families (lineages?). Bird and animal imitations. Importance of birds and egg gathering in Ona economy. Lola could imitate any bird. Bird hunting on cliffs. Birdsong fragments used to construct songs. Alan Lomax: We also have recordings of bird imitations from Scottish Hebrides. Other important amimal is the guanaco, related to llama, which provides skins for clothes and tents. Seasonal migration to coast to gather seafood during winter. Men hunted, women fished. Men always on guard. Enemies were other families (lineages, probably). Women did the steady work and carried burdens in continuous migrations. Mourning songs composed by women, sung for three months after a death. Formerly one song for each person, finally so many died that the same song was used for everybody. Women made song for each son in puberty rites. Anne Chapman believes they sing all the time. Group songs sung at puberty rites. Sexual relations. Lola married at age nine because her mother could not support her. Husband waiting until she was fifteen to consummate marriage. Had other wife. Dances. There was a dance to keep away the snow. Women did not dance. Shamans used gestures. Spirits had distinctive gestures. Lola evaluated songs on aesthetic criteria. Chapman usually agreed with her judgements.
About the session: Anne Chapman and Alan Lomax discuss recordings made of the last surviving members of the Ona tribe of Terra del Fuego
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