-' .
His discussions of the
.\merican born' and'natu-
mere technique.' Musical
od therefore lustified), the
e of citizenshiP) legislation'
e introduction of new
music
It of a genetic lottery among
rural' or beYond the control
ri the genes; for the SuY6 it
is
;iery's individual evil trans-
r Plains Indian vision quest'
rion and fasting. The visions
!e Suy6 (Native American
something quite different' A
ril spirit. In a similar Pattern:
t spiritual iourneYs and were
other hand, was less comPlete
oliucal leader, and the fate of
sple said that his sPirit would
dv died.
re mind andbeYond thebod-v
ot peoples. This gives music
a :e study of music and performance genres more generally. Above all, this chapter focuses on
r'. The following chaPter wrl
aworld, and thus Part of the
rms, and ideals.
4 Singing as d, creatioe actiaity
In two preceding chapters we have investigated the distinctive features of musical form and
the transcendent origins of Suyd songs. But music is more than sound and cosmology. It is
performed by members of a community in certain places and at certain times, often with an
audience composed of other members of the community. Music is the entire process of
;onceptualization, realization, and evaluation of music. Each performance re-creates, re-
establishes, or alters the significance of singing and also of the persons, times, places, and
audiences involved. It expresses the status, sex, and feelings of the performers, and it brings
Iese to the attention of the entire community, which interprets them in a variety of ways.
The Suy6 village can be likened to a concert hall, its annual round equated with a concert
and its population equated with an orchestra. I will investigate these analogies by
'eries,
jiscussing musical space, musical time, and the social relations involved in musical produc-
:on. Then I will describe the musical expression of individual identity, and the kinds of
:iroices a singer might make during his performance. Finally, I will summarize some of the
- :.cent work on the ethnography of musical performance which provides a methodology for
;hat singing does for the individual, the social relationships he or she establishes, and the
---,mmunity as a whole. Far too few descriptions of musical traditions consider the broad
ttial and symbolic contexts of which music is a part. By situating singing in socially defined
r:ace and time, this chapter presents the sounds discussed in the previous chapters in their
,"-cial framework.
" he village as a concert hall: the sonic re-creation of spatial relationships
I:e Suy6 village resembled many others in lowland South America: it was small and sounds
.'.'eled easily within it. Native communities in the tropical regions of South America
::cally consist of small populations living fairly densely packed in a single house or in
separated from one another by large stretches ofgardens and uninhabited forest used
-rges
: runting and gathering. Populations of less than one hundred are common today, and even
-:le past settlements of over one thousand were quite rare. Although there are exceptions,
. r'illage is usually the most important social and political unit. Communities were (and in
-"e cases still are) composed of a single large house (the Northwest Amazon region,
,--cmami, some Tupi groups), or a circle of houses (the G6-speaking groups, the Upper
- -ru) some Tupi-speaking groups). Probably the best description of the space and time of
.:-''day life is to be found in Gregor's description of the Mehinaku (t977';. In these small
::aunities, sounds made in one part of the settlement can often be heard bv all of its
::bers. Vith its circle of thatched houses around the cleared plaza, the Suy6 viiiage
, nbled a theatre in the round (see Figure 4. r and Illustration r ). Orators circling the p1aza,
65
66 rilfhy Suyr{ Sing
Singing as crea:r.

:hild announced a binh -

.r ailing of
l.. , mourn.. *r.-.
.-tod idea what was ha::=
,lpposed to be public o
e:e
hunting trail rger, of lovers, and of x::;
.:d the euphoric, silen;e ;
, _,unds were to be heard. r,;;
_.:ir interpretadon.
alternately swamp
The villages of the Ge-s:
and grassy area . 'irature for the
claritv o;. ._l ,

by season _iological and cosmojo;_

::ser rggr: 66_go; llar
,nology are laid
i-
hunting trail
our hc::_z
..::h ofrhe central plrr,
-_. oasic
, -.
outline of socia.l re..:
.' .-,;h have
far more elabo:;:
_:ee designs. Inverselr..
alternately swamp c::
and grassy area : _-:rs and levels of the
skr. a::
with some r=\ -_-.-.r.eter
c see Viveiros de C;.
scrubby forest
JJ lee different village spa;e:
hunting trail ':--:eated.
This would occu-_
forest
:,:-.tted a ceremony.
A rin:i
,', ., :.lmost
possible to meas r::
'.-.e
plaza and the main
p:_
-.. certain dmes
of year rhe:
" ,:. .J
from August throush
__:r-e on long trips
\
to gatier .
: sather a lot ofhonev. ai:
. - .:ies were rare, and .,.-
swampy, scrubby forest hunting trail
,, -_: the circle of houses.ttre
Tae
: : :.a1oe_beaching area
also b,e:
,' - ., begin a general clearile -
. :: Lhe earrh on all sides. i.l
to canoe-beaching area - _ be widened und ,mon.-..
(path cuts ofl large oxbow)
l, r_; fiis clearing had
a pra;_;.
r : .sasons to keep large cie.:
Figure 4.r Suyd village and environs in tgTz
,'- :.zularly part of rimal a;.:,.
r r, ,-
,i a long period
witho:: :
*-_: a :.he cold dry
women mourning the dead inside their houses, and old men shouting from their hammwu, months oi I -
could be heard throughout the village by the entire membership of the society.
':: :
:;:l s house was in poor :::,:
':' a ceremony
Living as so many of us do in houses with solid walls, windows, and the soft noise of Hn, woutO
: _.--:ied three of them. __.
and running motors, it may be hard to imagine a society as acoustically transparent as -olr -
--:;:St.
Suyd village. One could hear what was made public (loud) in every house, but one could:x,,flnrl -"
: ;iaza was above all the
necessarily see it. Thatch and upright log walls hid quiet activities, but the cry of a new ::,r
.- : . aning meeting place
:ir,L]
_: :
---
Singing as creative activity 67

child announced a birth to the entire community, a shout indicated a successful hunt, the
wailing of a mourner might indicate a death. Lying in their hammocks the Suyrl had a pretty
good idea what was happening in their village. As a consequence, things that were not
supposed to be public were virtually always silently undertaken. Silence was characteristic of
anger, of lovers, and of witches. lVhile noise was characteristic of the public, the collective,
and the euphoric, silence was the mark of strong but socially disruptive emotions. When
sounds were to be heard, what they were and where they originated were essential features for
their interpretation.
The villages of the G6-speaking communities in Brazil are famous in the ethnographic
:-ricst literature for the clarity of their spatial domains and the importance of their village plans for a
sociological and cosmological understanding of their societies (see L6vi-Strauss r963b;
I
Seeger r98r: 66-8o; Maybury-Lewis n.d.; 56 r98z). Many of the essential features of GC
cosmology are laid out horizontally on the ground, in concentric circles from the hard-packed
hunr'lng trail earth of the central plaza to the nameless stretches of distant forest. Their village plan is also
the basic outline of social relationships. This is not true of all native Brazilian groups, some of
which have far more elaborate cosmologies with hundreds of spirits but far less significant
village designs. Inversely, compared to other language families in the region, G€ concepts of
spirits and levels of the sky are very little developed (for a comparison with the Tupispeaking
:-.;est -\rawete, see Viveiros de Castro rg86). Ge cosmology is geographic.
The different village spaces and their relationships must be constantly re-established and
hunting trail :e-created. This would occur each time the Suyd constructed a new village or planned and
l.-:est
rxecuted a ceremony. A ritually active village was one with clearly defined spatial zones; it
',r'as almost possible to measure the collective activity in Suyd villages by noting the condition

:'f the plaza and the main paths leading into it.
At certain times of year there was often little ceremonial activity in the Suyd village. The
:eriod from August through November was one of those times. Families were often out of the
Jlage on long trips to gather wild products, taking advantage of the low waters to kill many
a: ':.h, gather a lot of honey, and eat the eggs river turtles laid in the sandbanks. Communal
.:'.rvities were rare, and the village plaza literally lost its clarity. Clumps of grass grew up
":'.hin the circle of houses. The log racing track narrowed as bushes grew into it. The paths to
hunting trail :-: canoe-beaching area also became overgrown. One of the first activities after a ritual began
'.s to begin a general clearing of the village. Men and women in each house would clear and
;eep the earth on all sides. Virtually no grass would remain in the plaza, the racing path
,' lld be widened and smoothed, the paths to the canoe-beaching area would be cleared.
,n..e-beaching area :'rle this clearing had a practical aspect - the Suy6 mentioned snakes and spiders as being
r ;urs off large oxbow)
: , .1 reasons to keep large clear spaces around the houses and on the paths to the water - it
i; : i regularly part of ritual activity. The physical state of the men's house also showed the
..:t
of a long period without ceremonies. The men often burned the men's house thatch
" ---ng the cold dry months of July and August, leaving only the bare poles standing.
rVhen

:n shouting from their hammo'rlr ":. lten's house was in poor repair, or even non-existent, one of the early activities after the
,bershiP of the societY' ,--. of a ceremony would be to rebuild it. During the years I visited the Suy6 they
the soft noise of lan'' ,-:ucted three of them, two to the southeast of the center of the plaza, one to the
-ao*r, and transParent as :ulr . -:lvest.
as acousdcally
rm It was the location of
* .u.., house, but one coulcif:i: . ""e piaza was above all the domain of men and public performance.
a ne\\
,.aiurtia., but the cry of ::
-- ivening meeting place and the men's houses. Angry speech, everybody listens speech,
68 \7hy Suy6 Sing
Singing as crea:
slow speech, ceremonial recitative, and most songs were performed in the plaza. The plaza
river side where there :i...
had several components, a night-time meeting place in the center and one or two men's gardens, the acoustic
houses off to one side. In a large village there were two men's houses, one in the east and one in ;la:-:
barking ofdogs could
the west side of the plaza, each associated with a moiety. In a village with a small population
of birds and insects.
be :;
the two moieties shared a single stmcture on one side or the other. \[hen the plaza was Sn;e :
rufther from the vi.liage.
overgrown, there would be paths leading from the doors of most houses to the center of ::,
rartly replanted to maru..:.
the plaza. Around its edge another path would link the front doors of each house to the
.ruit trees, cut by trails
other. .:=
,-rhoStS were said to wal;3;
The plaza stood in vivid contrast to the largely female dominated kinship-based residence
The concentric ring
houses that surrounded it, and in a sense defined it. The houses were the homes of the oi.i-_
_ ifood. The
gardens R.eri .r:
primary audience - the women. In them people employed everyday speech, muttered 'bad
. r a very important
speech' (selfish gossip), mourned, and quietly performed invocations. !flhen men were space _ -:
..e result of an historic
performing in the plaza, women often sat in front of their houses, watching, or remained t;:.:-
..: from theirgardens, rr.h.s
inside and listened to them. Men did sing inside the houses, but only rarely, and either as a , rlage design. This was
prelude to leaving or as a collective group. Children spent much of their time in and around ajr:
.,-:ngu region where
their natal houses. Traditionally (before the t96os), every adolescent boy was removed from ther. ::
The forest was the
the house he was born in and slept in the men's house until he married and moved into the Oor,_-
.::mies and powerful
house of his wife's parents. Barring separation or death, he lived there for the rest of his life. mon.::
_:za was cleared
\When a couple's children were grown, their married sons would reside in other houses, and of a[ g].o,,;-^
- .. entirely ou..g.o*nl ,,._
their daughters' husbands and children would live with them. The result of this arrangement ','.:led individually
.:.;:
was that the core of continuity in the houses was provided largely by a group of women. - animals and theirand .or:=_,
Recent studies of the Northern GC groups - especially those by women - indicate that there
may have been a male-oriented and plaza-oriented bias in some earlier studies. They show
]is is no[ to say the Su,
' '-.: jflt homeland. Nor = ,

that the houses are tremendously important social units with symbolic continuity through ri:,_
-::I WaS represented -_
individual names (for the Eastern Timbira see Ladeira r 98z; for the Kayapo Verswiiver 1985: -- - ;al transformadons, b,l. .::
Lea 1986) or house names (for the Suyri see Seeger r98r:73-7). This group was not exactly a ': amc:i
..JreSt as a place
matrilineage, since the whole concept of lineage is problematic in the region (Seeger r98ob: ,o ,.ar,,.
_.ment to and from
r27-r35, RiviBre 1985). Lea, however, has amassed considerable evidence for matrilines a I,,:=:
-,e Ceremofly, where on -..
among the Northern Kayapo (1986).
" -.e Suyri sang in forest
The circle of houses was enveloped by a zone of silence. The area directly behind the house= . : tne domain ca::
was called 'the dead side' or 'the black side.' This did not mean that people spoke in hushe: to the oti=--
-__ ::3or from what
voices there, but rather that things done there were private, not ceremonial, and were ofte. has bee:
- .r the Arawete
undertaken in silence. Men and women in seclusion bathed there, food not shared with tl: . ; :.n village and and rhe I,.
community was often eaten there, and some domestic work was done there. Invocations we:: forest. .\1:,
' I . : Jsually involve posse:):
performed there sometimes, to cure ill patients. Non-relatives seldom entered the arear _

behind each other's houses. Just beyond the cleared area behind the house were the tras"r :.': :984;
..ral,r
Viveiros de Cas:::
Suyd sang ir sp"_=
dumps, and a transitional zone of bush and a few plantings of pineapple or sweet potatoes Car:
:.-'.:- bv the sounds pen(.=.
thrived on the refuse thrown there. They were well picked over by the parrots, chickens a:,:
r: - - : .lf the circle of
dogs that wandered freely, as well as by the groups of children who played there. Be1'c:'r house, :.
:
the dumps people defecated and urinated, and perhaps met lovers on the maze of o'.'*. "... : - lses took on their s:::_,
clope of silence ,.r1..I.
grown paths. Music was never sung in the dead side. Ceremonial groups passed thro'"s -::i Bttd the
them in silence, as when the boys who had been singing in the forest camp on z9 Jan';r, forest .rnr. .
,Li ---),rn
- songs. These st"-
came to the edge of the village circle. In two years in the village I never saw a group r r,[ ,
,r-,:: jancing, and cere:r:.'.ii
,r
there. "
.,-. :tr-crea,io, of
The gardens lay beyond the private area, trash dumps, and defecation trails, except oi ,io. -_ . - .
ulrr
" " :.: . .t.r, ,na p".i;;.: ;
 Singing as creative activity 69

C in the Plaza' The Plaza river side where there was no room for them (see Illustration I). Entering the dense bushy
:r and orr" o' two men's gardens, the acoustic clarity of the village disappeared. Only gunshots, cockcrows, and the
. one in the east and
one in barking of dogs could be heard once a short way into them. Far more striking were the sounds
rewith a small PoPulation ofbirds and insects. Since the Suy6 cleared new gardens every year) and did so progressively
was further from the village, the point where the gardens began changed. Old gardens might be
her. When the Plaza
center of partly replanted to manioc, but they were usually overgrown with scrubby second growth and
* hour", to the
to the fruit trees, cut by trails leading to more distant gardens, hunting spots, or water sources.
oors of each house
Ghosts were said to wander in the gardens, and women usually went there only in groups.
:d kinshiP-based residence The concentric ring of gardens was not important in ceremonial activities except as a source
:es \\ere the homes
of the of food. The gardens were never sung in as suchl they were simply a place to cross on the way
d"t,P...h, muttered'bad to a very important space - the forest. I suspect that the unimportance of the garden space was
were
Nations. \[hen men :he result of an historic tradition: most Northern G0 villages were located on savannah, quite
.es. rvatching, or remained iar from their gardens, whose products were important but whose space was not part of the
a
onlv rarelY, and either
as lrllage design. This was almost certainly true for the Suy6 before they moved into the forested
.
o, ,i,.i, time in and around \ingu region where they could clear gardens at the back of their houses.
boY was removed
from The forest was the domain of animals and spirits; the more distant forest was the home of
;ent
the
ararried and moved into .nemies and powerful monsters as well. The forest stood in strong contrast to the plaza. The
of his life' :laza was cleared of all growth and was the place where adult men sang collectively. The forest
i*.r. for the rest

"i ,.ria. in other houses' and .'.'as entirely over8rown, where animals roamed, enemies lived, and where adult men usually
're result of this arrangement .:aveled individually and silently. It was also in the forest that humans became transformed
.:eeh' bY a group of
women' :to animals and their songs were learned.
, rrn*.n - indicate that there This is not to say the Suy6 were not quite at home hunting in the low, bushy forest of their
earlier studies' TheY
-rt*Soti.
re
shou' -:esent homeland. Nor should they be imagined as terrified wanderers in it. Instead, the
continuity through r:est was represented by them as a place ofunexpected encounters, unusual events, and
KrYuPo Verswijver r98 5
: -.lical transformations, among them the death of both humans and animals. Ceremonies used
,:t. -,: forest as a place to transform human beings as well, and a number of them involved
.1nit gr*P *" t'ot exactll' '
r98ob, . rvement to and from a forested area. This was the importance of the forest camp in the
i; ,n thJregion (Seeger
erabie evidence for
matriline' l:,use Ceremony, where on the final night the dancers were transformed.
The Suyr{ sang in forest camps, in the houses, and in the plaza, and danced (or sneaked)
uea directlY behind
the house- r 11 one domain to the other in very systematic ways. Their use of space was strikingly
* ,f,u, PeoPle sPoke in hushe: --:erent from what has been reported for some Tupi-speaking groups that lived nearby.
were otte- '-:ong the Arawete and the Kayabi, there is no alternation between houses and plaza, or
not ceremonial, and
ihere, food not shared.with '
r -':r.ve€D village and forest. Most of the performance occurs inside the house, and the major
rve::
;as done there' Invocattons =:ls usually involve possession and transition to a spirit realm above the village or house
L'jves seldom entered
the are"- ---.s r984; Viveiros de Castro r986).
the house were the
tr3:; . re way Suyii sang in space was significant. The different parts of their cosmos were
rehrnd
. prneaPPle or sweet Potatoes "::: : .-sed by the sounds performed there (or the silence observed). The empty space in the
',r". bv the Parrots' chickens '- -- :.lle of the circle of houses became a plaza when it was the stage for public performance.
ldr.., *ho PlaYed there'
Bef i:''; -' : :rouses took on their significance by supplying ornamented singers and the audience.
ct'-: *
of r :nvelope of silence sealed off the village activities from those outside, except for those in
,., iou.a, on the maze
'
thrt-.--r- ,: . - rest and the forest camp. The forest was the place for shouts and shout songs, but not for
temo.rial groups passed
rn rhe forest camp on
z9 lan--r u, -nison songs. These spatial domains were endowed with meanings and associations by

: r'i,llage I never saw a grou[' :-:u -":,:.s) dancing, and ceremonial activities. [n this way, singing and silence were part of the
: I .:rt re-creation of significant space. Everyday life tended to blur some of the distrncuons
-iu
c: ; -in plaza and periphery; ceremonial activity and song re-established them.
Lnd defecation trails' except
70 \fhy Suy6 Sing Singing as crear
Then the forma.l friends
The year as a concert: creating time through sound r,.,
season_songs now. In thc ri: .

The anthropological investigation of time has revealed it to be socially constnrcted rather than of rhe dry season w"
rrill .L_I-
I nen rl rs the dry
a universally shared concept. Evans-Pritchard's study of Nuer time as it relates to their season. I-
ecosystem and the needs of their cattle (rg+o) is a classic in the field. Yet time not only reflects
seasons, lives, and other processes, it imposes order on them. Time as a socially relevant It may have once been
.h:
experience is created by societies and individuals acting within them. Although the Suy6 recovered after the
Juruna a
could use the sun, stars) moon, and constellations to calculate time, its important social ground around
-.\ere
r9r5. A n..::
markers were imposed with song. Just as singing, dancing and other ceremonial activities never performed all.
clarified or re-defined certain spaces, so they re-established periods of time and some of the :ddition, more and
more L
relationships among them. :rany people, and thel.
ca:r:
The Suy6 regulated themselves with a social calendar, rather than an astronomical one. :eriod always follow
immee
The year was characterized by a wet and a dry season, and their musical year was also divided .'rvd men liked
to turn on --
into two parts: rainy and dry season songs. Yet the seasonal songs did not simply follow the :trhaps substituting
one ii::
vagaries of rainfall and drought, but rather established a change of season. \7hen the new r. the
Lr& endre.orn*ioiir.
rrrurg commurut\.
season's song had begun, it was really that season - whether or not the rains suddenly stopped : example after the
,".
ta:
fir;t .:.
or began to fall once again. The day, too, presented a continuum of dark to light in the .. rhe r97os and rggos
morning, the gradual movement of the sun during the day, and a change from light to dark in
t,r. ;
Leremonial periods
r.ane;
the evening. The Suy6 marked these gradual changes of day and year with musical events of r through the introduci:-:
distinct types) presented by distinct performers with distinctive styles. As in the case of _-2. fn 1976 the
Su1.a pe.:
space) the time when music was performed was part of the creation of the regularities they = annah Deer Ceremonr..
.

apparently marked. ' ::tJ[r]ed -:

The Suy6 talked easily about how ceremonial periods structure the year. I was often
a whole
- -sations
,.ri.. ll
between brorhers.
presented with descriptions of the annual cycle, the rain, and the ceremonies that were - : :ren and women. The
Su...
associated with them. A recording of Takuti was the most coherent presentation. -.:hen one that betongea r,
,

The men sing the dry season songs for a long time. The rain comes. Thunderstorms explode in the ski'.
_';per Xingu ceremonie.
;-
Then we begin to sing the rainy season songs. !fle sing the rainy season songs. One of the men walk, . :e Suyi{ did not
usualll. :;r
around the village all day singing his shout songs. A tough man sings all day, and in the afternoon tht - ' r sing rhe same thing
aU :_
men all sing a rainy season song. They sing the rainy season songs. They sing the rainy season songs" , . " -.rould
be performed rr.c,.-.
they sing the rainy season songs.* :r -...ed.
'Well, what shall we do?' the men ask each other. 'I don't know.' 'Let's race with logs.'f \fle finis: :.:h season
planting the gardens, and then ravel out of the village.f, had particul;: ;
\7hen the berry wai i6 sii is red on the banks of the river the men say 'Let's go back. Our corn is alrea:,
_ : be performed when
.-_
the :,
ss : the Mouse
ripe.' .
Ce.enr, ..

, rly run during rhe rarr....

[I omit a description of the return]

The men race with logs for a long time. They only sing the rainy season songs. They race with logs u.:r
, - . rhe rainy season. Ta5..
: longs of the two seascrt r _
they begin the Gaiyi Ceremony. They do the Gaiyi Ceremony for a long time. They sing the rainy se-i:x . :: )p for all
songs and run many log races. Then they say 'Let's run the Gaiyi 1og.' They go on a long hunt, and br:nu
,
' '.-: ,rmed,
other cererno: :
the morning. ,_
fish and game back to the village. They arrive in the evening and the ngatu iardn soloist perform. mr
This seems to bea char:: ::
ritual instruction. The rest of the men Iook for a big log. [I omit a description of this particular :-,;:
-..onal genre agachi
- ng;*:
.'. . e seasons) and
* _ _.
nerr. ,
The use of repetition indicates repeated action over a period of time , and is a stylistic alternative to Iawekid : m'
of stretched syllables in the myth.
* ,. .ild begin after.o.i...l,
' , the men's
f This summarizes the moment when the men decide what ceremonies they will perform during a given >eu,mrn house ri.h;--:
{ Before steel tools, and since their introduction only when the gardens have not done well, the Suy6 left the ruuumr r ,, '.r'ould
lead the singui I
.

after planting the new gardens and returned only when the corn was ripe. ' -: :o the song.
 Singing as creative activity 7r
Then the formal friends paint each other's feet. The Gaiyi Ceremony is over. They only sing rainy
season songs now. In the rainy season we only sing rainy season songs. That goes on and on. At the start
of the dry season we still sing rainy season songs. ri7e sing them even though the Gaiyi Ceremony is over.
Llr-constrrtcted rather than Then it is the dry season. It is the dry season; and we sing the dry season songs. It is always thus.
dme as it relates to their
l. Yet time not onlY reflects
lrme as a sociallY relevant It may have once been thus; by r97o it was no longer. The Suyd ritual calendar never really
recovered after the Juruna and their rubber tapper allies raided and burned their village to the
rhem. Although the SuY6
ground around r 91 5 . A number of ceremonies requiring especially large numbers of people
dme, its imPortant social
were never performed after that, and the overall number of ceremonies diminished. In
o*ier ceremonial activities
l*]s of time and some of
the addition, more and more Upper Xingu ceremonies were introduced that did not require as
many people, and they came to dominate at certain times of year. Nor did one ceremonial
' than an astronomical one' period always follow immediately upon another. \flhen there was no ceremony in progress,
Suy6 men liked to turn on their radios at high volume from about
rusical Year was also divided 4:30 a.m. to about 6:oo,
the :erhaps substituting one form of music for another, observing the correct hour, and playing
es did not simPlY follow
\When the new -or the entire community to hear. Yet between the time an extended ceremony was initiated
l-e of ,.uson' -
: lr example after the first shout song of the Mouse Ceremony
it the rains suddenlY stoPPed - and the time it was concluded,
uurn of dark to light in the -: the r97os and r98os the days still passed as Takuti described.
change from light to dark
in Ceremonial periods varied in intensity and length, leaving considerable room for innova-
r
ot jon through the introduction of new segments. The Mouse Ceremony was fairly short in
d vear with musical events
:re styles. As in the case of -)-2. ln 1976 the Suyri performed a Mouse Ceremony, followed it immediately with a
:rvannah Deer Ceremony, and then a Small Bow Cerernony. In the middle of all these they
:edon of the regularities ther'
.':rformed a whole series of smaller ceremonies, each with its own name and specific
u.ture the Year. I was ofter :ligations between brothers, sisters, name givers and name receivers, the different moieties,
.--.d men and women. The Suyd would often perform a ceremony that belonged to one moiety
nd the ceremonies that were
.:.1 then one that belonged to its opposite. They would also sometimes insert several evenings
rherent Presentation'
- Upper Xingu ceremonies into the weeks of preparation for the end of a longer ceremony.
ski
hunderstorms exPlode in the The Suy6 did not usually repeat ceremonies in consecurive years. They said they did not
of the men walk'
son songs. One
,. all daY, and in the afternoon
th' -ie to sing the same thing all the time. Thus not every year was the same, and the decisions of
Thes sing the rainY season song: ' :at would be performed would depend on the membership of the ceremonial groups most
, '..olved.

'Let's race with logs''f \We firu': Each season had particular ceremonies that were appropriate to it. The Bee Ceremony
' . .ild be performed when the gardens were cut; the Garden Song when the men set fire to the
'Let's go back. Our corn is alrea:' .,ringsl the Mouse Ceremony when the corn was ripe and drying on the stalk. Log races
'r ::. only run during the rainy season. The Gaiyi ceremony was performed only at the very
:-: of the rainy season. Table 4.r summarizes the seasonality of Suy6 ceremonies.
. re songs ofthe two seasons - the rainy season songs and the dry season songs formed the
!r11 jongs. They race with logs u: - -
se"-' : ' . : sdrop for all other ceremonies. No matter what other
,ne time. TheY sing the rainY small ceremony was being planned
.' lit.y go on a long hunt,
and b-* " :erformed, the mornings and late afternoons were punctuated
by the seasonal unison
-t
$." ,gat"iorln soloist performs . s . This seems to be a characteristic of a number of the GB (see Aytai r
98 5 on the Xavante) .
,lesciiption of this particular
r=:: -:: se?SoDal genre agachi ngdre and kahran
r kasag ngdre were interchangeable during their
:ective seasons) and new ones were introduced fairly often to the repertory. The morning
rs a stylistic alternadve to lawekidr': 'ur
-; rvould begin after cockcrow, when the men either spontaneously went or were called
" : -Lv to the men's house where they sang facing the center of the plaza. The ritual specialist
se=i:t:
lev s-ill perform during a given v s -.-1v would lead the singing. Those who were not singing usually lay in their hammocks
re'not done well, the Suyd left the
:.-ing to the song.
nPe.
72
\U7hy Suyd Sing Singing as crea!

I was told there was

Table 4. r. The annual round and the accompanying ceremonies . s,::_
slnger would continue
.:-_-.
a men,s house
Agricultural Seasonal Agricultural UpperXingu Season-speci{ic .after
,the colle;:
sun is very low,
Season cycle songs cycle songs songs ceremonies ano -:,
The
soloist would ket
:ong.
April Dryseason Cutgardens Dryseason huruiardn judnti Beg;npebjitugu fiaal coda, he would
begins songs (garden recitative) and angrochingerc
ri.at
The men woUa
May mbenngire Arp..r.
w'ould return to
(bee song) the cenre. I
:obacco. This
]une was, g;;;.*.
:his time if he could
Iulv ayoid ::
.ne result of illness
xatnuncuma or an ,_,.,

August jawai ).eee:h of elders .e,,,,

and rhe
September First Burn cleared hurungi:re Endpebjuugu .i ould
sing then,
rains gardens & (garden song) rnd angrochingere and go on -:
:,me
of the elders wou.ld
plant sa,..
. -andoning
October the plaza ,;;. ,
Heavy rains Rainy season Certain rainy :_.appearing on
November begin songs season ceremonies
silent amc,::
-3 pre_dawn
may be begun. singing or :a_
Log races begin r ne days Were
not separi:=
December ,.I singer had perform.a
January Corn ripe amto ngire and Many rainy season
.:: next day. After .,.
other songs ceremonies that, one :i
terminated at ,. s e voluntary performan
; es
corn harvest. ,:tandysingingin
C)thers continue rhe air. Si
February : ::- u.ere in the state
March New sweet Rainy season -::-tony of eUli
:
potatoes ceremonies concluded, after another, am
f.a.
if not before this : :. and stayed
up late carou .
s:
=;E, batteries, or physical
The terms may be translated as follows: amto ng6rc: Mouse Ceremony; judnti: an Upper Xingu ceremony called :-, e:
:
the name of the hummingbird; iamuicuma a\ Upper Xingu women's ceremony; jawai :
an Upper Xir;-
<ept
-singing, huntrng. r_;
ceremony learned from the Trumai; pebjitugu: a traditional Suy{ initiation ritual (literally the black initiate. :- :::als for the ceremonial
angrochingere: a traditional Suyd male initiation ceremony (literally the wild pig song). .. .c:.
.--.ugh games
long after da:i
\ifhen it was light enough to easily, the men would stop singing and disperse, some ::
see
,..: : r. _rnies
tended to snow
ba]l -
bathe, some to hunt, some to the gardens) others to domestic activities. This was also the tir,* ' --- :uring which they
woulc ;
_ --
when the men would stop singing if they had been singing all night. Actual sunrise came lar{
.xt"

.".:
often the morning mist made the sunrise difficult to discern. rvav^the Suyr{
related cl':
From sunrise until about 9:3o the village would usually be quiet. I was told that no un:i.:n
i" - ,.- performances.
If the da.,l
songs were ever performed until noon. All that could be heard was the sound of manioc be -"1
,r: - . ,ng; ifa solo singer
heg-_
grated, corn pounded, children playing, sometimes the distant barking of a dog or boorn , : .. '.nool group performar.:=
shotgun, the playing of a radio or cassette recorder, or the solo performance of shout sc- l : _:re tlmes
of Unisol r1,;-
Vhile there were never any unison songs at this time of day, solo singers used these hou-: :
.-".: i year dry season
-1.]e
sonr!
.<ason songs,
prepare themselves for all-day performances, sitting on their mother's or sister's be; ;:ru,
: - -_,:
.r.h p*l.-_
m.ight be performq;
singing shout songs while being painted by their female relatives. Then, at about ro:c,: ;rrrr .:-
solo singer would emerge from his maternal house (not where his wife lived), and be:-: rr . rrionship of perfo.rr...
_.
walk clockwise (if in the Kren moiety) or counterclockwise (if in the Ambdn moiety) a:: -uur . .rlusic. To say
.,,,, rhar r..= :
-
the plaza. As he left, his mother or sister would weep. Solo singers would continue to sr-: i.c COnCert. fn One :.._. i.,
..

entire day, stopping every once in a while to rest in the men's house - where they we:: : ,-.)on songs). Each
aIruri
tlm . : -:art_alreadysungc,: se",.,_
singing. They might sing a certain deceased relative's shout songs all day, or their - ,ln. : .
-rr--
Singing as creative activity 73

I was told there was sometimes unison singing at noon. I never saw any. Instead, the solo
singer would continue circling the plaza under the scorching sun. In the late afternoon, often
4 after a men's house collective meal, the men would comment 'It is already late afternoon' or
'the sun is very low' and they would meet in the men's house and sing another unison season
Season-sPecific
3: \rngu song. The soloist would keep walking around and singing until the men finished. Then with a
cetemonies
final coda, he would walk to his sister's or mother's house and sit down.
BezinPebjitugu The men would disperse once again, going to bathe, to eat, to talk with relatives. They
arrd angochingue
would return to the center of the plaza at dusk, carrying small wooden stools and often some
tobacco. This was a gathering rarely missed - no one remained in the forest or on the river at
this time if he could avoid it, and a man's absence would be remarked upon and was usually
the result of illness or an overnight excursion. This was a time of public oratory, the 'slow
speech' of elders and the 'everybody listens speech' of political leaders. Sometimes the men
wtama
@n would sing then, and go on into the night. Or they might sit around and srnoke and talk, until
Etd4ebiutugu
some of the elders would say 'I'm cold' or 'It's already late at night' and leave for their houses,
atdangochingere
abandoning the plaza to the young men who would continue talking, joking, shouting, and
disappearing on silent amorous pursuits. Silence, and silent activities, usually reigned until
Certain rainy
the pre-dawn singing (or radios) began the following morning.
season ceremonres
may be begun' The days were not separate, but linked through a series of interrelated performances. If a
Log races begm solo singer had performed on a given day, a solo singer from the opposite moiety would sing

ManY rainy
season te next day. After that, one from the first moiety would circle the village, singing to the rest.
ceremonies These voluntary performances could go on for some days until it seemed as though there was
terminated at :onstantly singing in the air. Shorter ceremonies were often inserted in longer ones. \trfhen the
cotn harvest'
:ren were in the state of euphoria that defines ceremonies, they would perform one short
Others continue
::remony after another, embedded in the larger ritual period. They were regularly up early to
,-ng, and stayed up late carousing. The men's energy amazed me, and I would usually run out
:: tape, batteries, or physical energy, and be left swinging in the hammock as day after day
-:y kept singing, hunting, finding racing logs and carrying them in, and assembling the
ffi1#ii:",i!i{#
,:::;T:lJitffirY the brack initiata-
-,terials for the ceremonial costumes of the final night. Night after night they would sing or
: 'v rough games long after dark. The more excited they got, the more energy they had. Suy6
r:-J Prg song)' .::emonies tended to snowball in complexity and enthusiasm, with occasional lulls, at some
disPerse't:t:-' r,: nt during which they would be harangued by the ritual specialist and they would start up
.p slnging and
':.;.:iJ;' This was also the tr : .: n.
sunrise came
la::: . re way the Suyri related one performance to the next turned both days and years into
ii*i,. - -,rcalperformances. Ifthedaybeganwithmorningsinging,itwouldendwithanafternoon
^.t*t
that no un:i : -:- : rn song; if a solo singer began to sing at 9:oo in the morning, he would finish at the end of
'Irt*t,. I was toldof manioc h'':: : =:ternoon group performance and be followed by another the next day. During the day
;: ,";;.';. sound
or boorn :-: were times of unison sound, of domestic work, of silence, and of individual song.
:;;';;'k*, of a dog of shout sc:i -:g the year dry season songs followed rainy season songs and were themselves followed
li" *tr"t*ance hor'
"

-:iy season songs, each punctuated by appropriate seasonal rituals and some 'free floating'
,r]. ."i" rirt.rs used these .
'ih.r, Dc- ' might be performed at any time of year.
mothtr's or sister's --L ' -hat
at about lo:c: : relationship of performances to one another should lead us to re-think the concept of a
,i.,tt.t' fnen' be - -
.. of music. To say that the Suyd year was a concert series is only partially correctl it was
nn *tfe lived)' and
"O.t. ftt a:. ;rt*.
. .lngle concert. In one sense, the year was a'piece' with two movements (rainy and dry
;.':; Ambd'nmoiet-v'
to ':i J"
. lnison songs). Each seasonal song was defined not only in itself, but also in relation to
i" .,"*.r. *"uld continue *e:: irr
:.;::;;".. - where orthevthei: ';-. r -.3r part
- already sung or as yet to be sung. In another sense, each season rvas a complete

il;;;;;t' all day'

74 rtrfhy Suyd Sing
Singing as crea
musical 'piece' in itself, with a clear musical beginning, duration, development (through a
described
in Table -r.:
series of cumulative ceremonies) and conclusion. In a narrower sense, each component of the
participate in the .\Iou,r
series of smaller ceremonies performed during a given season was a 'piece' and the season a
but not in the perforrra-_,
string of such pieces. In the narrowest sense, each individual unison or shout song perform-
Although rhere are L-:::
ance was a unit - structurally complete and performed in the space of approximately half an
rn Table 4.2 is berw.et:
hour. Each of these delimitations is correct, but each is incomplete by itself. Suy6 music iormers and women u.._=
:
consisted of small units that were conceptually (and in sound, gesture, and dance) integrated
into larger units that were often described to me as a succession of seasons. Both longer and
*'ho in fact listened
,nC .' l
-:nportant roles in almo::
shorter periods of time were marked through song. The musical units must be considered in :
;rample, young women .
all of their various lengths and the musical performances studied as parts of a long series of ",
re final afternoon. Ur.
such events. '.i
._
ithout dance capes, the.;
:
-,es downcast, steppir.t
:
Society as an orchestra: the vocal re-creation ofsocial relationships .-ovide food for their
bi
-.-ed, paint _
rWhat and how a Suyri sang was largely defined by membership in groups determined by age, them in th-_-:
-.:emonies, which ofter:
sex, and name set. IW.ho would sing what kind of song today, and who would sing tomorrow, .
,..ssificatory sisters
who would mourn for the dead and who would shout falsetto shouts was determined by group ancj :r.
::e and in-laws. Womc:
membership, rather than by 'talentr' 'personal inclinationr' or 'experience.' Suy6 society was 'r -
troductionr were de_em
an orchestra of voices whose characteristics were more limited according to sex and age than l.:
_::tain ceremonies,
their biologically determined characteristics demanded. tt,e m.a
. .unting trip, Ieaving
rhe:;
Different individuals or groups contributed different sounds to create a vocal orchestra. . _ :he adult women
Listen to the fairly complex sound of Example 4.r on the cassette, a selection from the rn .
t-he
:, eies involved a general
ie,
conclusion of the Bee Ceremony. After singing Bee Ceremony songs in the evening for weeks.
-.:)ton of ]abor and
marr:=
all the men painted elaborate designs on themselves and ran (like swarms of bees, they said -.'i's11sn,,
participation :::
from house to house, singing in each and in the plaza as well. This recording, just outside a ,,.:. learned from
house, captures not only the unison singing of the adult men, but also the sound of a young Uppe r i
-:::mpted
the public perfoi:
solo shout-song singer and the falsetto cries of an old man. In another house a woman was -
--. e they sang in unison.
crying over the memory of a dead relative who liked that ceremony especially, and in ye: . . .t
:rying.Adult women
another a different group of men was singing. Since thatch walls are not barriers to sound. c:::
:iremorated their dead
sounds can be produced simultaneously in a number of different places and still contribute tc re^
: :_- houses after
the whole. It is difficult to capture simultaneous sounds produced in widely separated place' being ado:r.
- .
nelodic sobbing). perr!r::
on a tape recorder. The human ear is far better equipped to hear and interpret simultaneo'r,
::'.vhat similar in fcrrm r,. ,
sounds with very different degrees of loudness than a microphone is able to recor: ' :_;':dual women)
them. bu, ,ar..r-
. *-in's collective
The excerpt from the Bee Ceremony may sound uncoordinated and anarchic, but u,l singrng ,r:
- -r who performed i t.
performance was creating and expressing a specific social order and community experien-. ai-. :
:: --,: son. you were
Our orchestras are comprised of a group of musicians who sit close together and play un::: sick an; :
.: -: ihese were
the direction of a conductor who coordinates their entire performance. No one in Suo L most ofrei :
.'. ,ns immediately afrc:
society, not even a political leader, had the control over other people's actions tha: ! . .
: ::r's6ng hgd a ,master. ,-:
conductor has over his orchestra. When the Suyd performed, each person would particiflrir
_;:d to individuals ancj . _
according to his own role, sometimes only loosely articulated with the particular meic,:,r" - : .le animal domain. Ce:_-,
movement and meter of the other singers, but intricately coordinated in terms of sex. a-Es-
.' : .-tght to refuse
performance style, and the space and time of the performance. Their soundS were c,:,,r" to au,:.. :.
: . , rr.ould always ask
rh::.
plementary, and together created the euphoria of community participation. The contr-:rri- :
rr',: : , -l]g by specific cere
I]l -
tions of different age-, sex-, and name-based groups to the orchestra were distinctive, anc nn
: ' of all the adult mer:
-
-
: r

:
 Singing as creative activity 75

described in Table 4.2. The contributions listed in boldface indicate how those groups
ieveloPment (through
a
of the participate in the Mouse Ceremony. The others refer to their activities in other ceremonies
:. each comPonent
.'piece' and the season a but not in the performances of the Mouse Ceremony witnessed.
Although there are differences in performance style according to age, the biggest contrast
: or shout song Perlorm-
of apProximatelY
halt an in Table 4.2 is between men and women. In many Suy6 ceremonies, men were the per-
bv itself' SuY6 musrc formers and women were the audience. Shout songs were sung 'for sisters and mothers'
ere
who in fact listened and commented on their relatives' songs. Sisters and mothers had specific
*a dance) integrated
*r.rronr'
".. Both longer and important roles in almost all ceremonies, but they did not sing. In the Mouse Ceremony, for
rn example, young women whose names were part of a male name set accompanied the men on
rits must be considered
.t 0".,t of a long series of the final afternoon, but did not perform any shout songs. Painted with red body paint, but
rvithout dance capes, they accompanied the name set to which their name belonged with their
eyes downcast, stepping back and forth instead of stamping. Sisters and mothers might
provide food for their brothers or sons, receive food from them, hold their bows while they
elationshiPs raced, paint them in their houses, and so forth. \7omen were central actors in all Suy6
bY age' :eremonies, which often emphasized the relationships between a man and his real and
sroups <ietermined
,lho rvould sing tomorrow' :iassificatory sisters and his mother over other kinds of kinship ties, such as those with his
grouP and in-laws. Vomen in their roles of wives and lovers, although essential to physical
.is rvas determinedbY "vife
irerience.' SuY6 societY was ::production, were de-emphasized in ceremonies that stressed name-based relationships. In
-.ora*g to sex and age than :ertain ceremonies, the men took a few unmarried women for cooking and sexual services on
" hunting trip, leaving their wives at home. The women were called'wives of the group' and
.-l the adult women in the village were considered sisters, rather than wives. Many cere-
i to create a vocal orchestra
tht :onies involved a general realignment of relationships to de-emphasize the everyday sexual
,.'."..l taecdon-from weeks' - r'ision of labor and marriage relationships, and to replace them with natal family ties.
,"-lititt. *ening for
*. tt*.rnt of bees' theY said Women's participation in ceremonial life was not all silent. They had a ceremony of their
;in, learned from Upper Xingu captives, called Iamuricum6. In it, they aggressively
lfu, ,..orainB, iust outside =
. :eempted the public performance space) and chased the men out of the center of the village,
5ut also the sound of Young
a
\^'d:
r another house a
woman ' -ere they sang in unison. Another female contribution to the total aural effect of ceremonies
in r': ,':,s crying. Adult women often cried at the start of a ceremony, when they remembered and
,.*"tt esPeciallY' andsounc. . .:nmemorated their dead relatives who used to enioy it particularly, or when a brother left
;alls are not barriers
to
still contribute ': -:.u houses after being adorned for his solo singing. The traditional crying (as distinct from
,r, rlu.., and
..ii" widelY separated PIa"' : :-melodic sobbing), performed regularly by only a few older women during my sray, was
simultanet'- :ewhat similar in form to a shout song. It had a descending melodic line. It was sung by
.ear and interPret
*-t.roPhor,t is able
to rec':: .: -.r'idual women) but several of them might cry at once, creating a cacophony which recalls
: . nen's collective singing of their individual shout songs. The words were composed by the
but :' ' :ran who performed it, and usually referred to features of the dead. 'Oh, my grandson, my
rdinated and anarchic'
i':: : -.Json. You were sick and now you are dead. My grandson, my grandson' is an example.
ler and communitY eXP€tIe
,it and Plav
close together
ui-: '" ,:,: these were most often performed in the tremendously emotional and often volatile
'*riot**te' No one in - :
-::ions immediately after a person's death, I never recorded the group crying sessions.
,S

:r other PeoPle's actions trjl - , ery song had a 'master' or'owner,'which could be an individual or a group. Shout songs
:.ged to individuals and unison songs belonged to groups, although they both had origins
d. each Person would Paruc:;;':"' ' :, :he animal domain. Certain groups either had the exclusive right to sing a certain song,
mc"'-'
ated with the Particular
of sex' '$" " -:: right to refuse to authorize its public performance, in which case members of other
.oorairr"tea in terms
\t'erc -' - ::.- -:s would always ask them for permission to sing the song before doing so. Unison songs
mance. Their sounds
cLrn'j':- r-: lung by specific ceremonial groups, never by kinship-based groups. The groups could
rutt particiPadon' The a: : j-'
.trahartr, *tre distinctive ' : ,,: of all the adult men in the village (or women, or both), or a single moiety, or the
76 \[hy Suyd Sing Singing as c:_:
Table 4.2. Musical performances and Suyd groups defined by sex and age members of a single
::
something in commc,l _
Age grade* Types of musical activity season songs more
rap::..
MALE .Each name_based ;. ..
Ngitureyi (from 3-ro years ofage.f) might be brothers_rn_...,
short shout songs, no participation in seasonal unison songs, played at performing adult friends. The way ther.
ceremonies, on the periphery ofthe performance. r c-:
extreme cases when
Ngltuyi (from ro-I5 years) a ::.:
longer shout songs, participation in seasonal unison songs after voice change. Prepared come [o a head in
cere::.:
food for men's house meals, shouted bird cails in Jawari. op-en (lirerally into the ::_
Sikwenduyi (from r6-zz years)
long shout songs, solo shout song performance, unison singing, solo 'recitatives' (iarin), this
When the entire (o-:i.
:aneous sounds built
age group was most associated with all forms of singing. Active and intense participation in all th: *
ceremonies, with considerable laughing and enthusiasm. rf its parts _ as jn E.ran:-
Hen Suyap6 (l child to 3 children)
The importance of
long shout songs, unison songs, day-long performances ofsolo shout songs, occasionally ,.:__. _.
performed invocations. r even performed in
:_:
Hen Tumu (3 or more children to z grandchildren) jmerican music.
sang shout songs lower in the throat than sikwenduyi; sang unison songs; few solo
Somei.:
:aking the recordings.
performances of shout songs, but could orate; are considered to be knowiedgeable mlth tellersr .._
perform invocations. May choose not to participate in Mouse Ceremony after their name _raccustomed ears.
-:.ords frorn thc :__:
receiver is an adult, in which case they sit in the center of the village and watch. this regjon
\Wikenyi (more than z grandchildren)
:tusic.' These cries -
Gave characteristic wikenyi shout. Sang funny, obscene shout songs. Danced and sang in a hai.e. ^::
clowning style. Keened for dead; clowning pantomime. -nds. Their non_mu:r_:
-ere rhe technician haC s;:
FEMALE -. urs,
which were there;,:
Pureyi (from 3- ro years of age)
No specific musical activity. Might sing songs from other tribes, accompanied young boys in -,.pirg, and animal soLit:
the play performance of adult ceremonies. - liscovered this when
I ..,, .
Puyi (from ro years to first child) .-
known regiona.llr. ;. :.
Accompanied male dancers but did not sing. Silent participants in several ceremonies as i; '--.ssing sev"rrl
sexual partners, and took important roles in ceremonies of Upper Xingu origin. paaforraa-
Hen Suyap6 (r child-3 children) ..- l.ine of singers
Fully active in Upper Xingu singing. Performed female Suy{ songs, but did not lead them. '--.-.:lors,
were ih; :

rWere important as an audience for men's singing. Prepared food for Mouse Ceremony and
and boys on the i:.
- - -. rrher, and giggling.
other ceremonies. Br
Hen Tumu (3 or more children to z grandchildren) . - ,nsisted largely of rhe -
Led singing of both Upper Xingu and Suyr{ female songs. Told myths; keened for dead; : :_:ording -..
back to the Su,. .
performed invocations.
'Wikenyi (more than z grandchildren) beautiful, rhey sajd.
l. :,
r ney rnsrsted that
Old people's shout, elowning shouting and keened for dead. Helped in performances but I r:, _

without singing. rVere considered to be especially knowledgeable tellers of mythsl performe: _ _ no

--"5.
invocations.
; 5uld reaction to m\.._--
MOIETIES+
:r- ' .lnce of the different
a.:--
Ambinyi Sang more slowly, in east side of plaza, their songs name'good'animals, from edible specie: .. J rhyrhm being perr,
\Valked counterclockwise around the plaza when they sang all-day shout songs. .; -
.l.o inalu4ed the api:::.
Krenyi Sang more rapidly, in west side of plaza, their songs often named 'bad' or inedible animai
species. Valked clockwise around the plaza when they sang all-day shout songs.
Soikokambrigi Sang in east side ofmen's house or plaza and danced at the front ofthe line ofdancers.
Soikodnto Sang in west side of men's house or plaza and danced in the second part of the line.

* This table summarizes Suy6 sex- and age-based groups (for a full discussion see Seeger r98r:ro6-t.1- rm,
indicates their musical contribution to ceremonies. These age grades appeared not only in musical events. : :.: rl
economic and political life, in conversation, oratory, and myths. They were one ofthe fundamental orqj-jmu,
principles of Suy6 social life.
 Singing as creative activity 77

members of a single name set within a moiety. The songs of a given group often had
something in common - or were said to share a trait by Suyd. One moiety (Kren) sang rainy
season songs more rapidly than the other (Ambdn). Their songs also named different animals.
Each name-based moiety or plaza group had its own songs. The people who sang together
might be brothers-in-law who never spoke to each other, political opponents, or the best of
friends. The way they felt about each other had nothing to do with the way they sang except in
adult
pla,ved at Pedorming extreme cases when a man might refuse to sing entirely. Factional disputes did sometimes
come to a head in ceremonies because suddenly what had been covered up came out in the
ler voice change'
PrePared open (literally into the open because it was displayed in the plaza).
When the entire social orchestra was mobilized, a number of distinctly different simul-
raneous sounds built through juxtaposition to create an entirely different effect than any one
ff "f,J::T.j;::,i':ff]'*i' of its parts - as in Example 4.r on the cassette.
The importance of simultaneous sounds that are not necessarily rhythmically coordinated
oecasionallY or even performed in the same place has been largely unrecognized in lowland South
0lo shout so[gs'
American music. Sometimes these 'extraneous sounds' have been carefully avoided in
making the recordings, or edited out when the recordings were turned into a record. To
"iH',:; J:I'il'i'nn'"0""' unaccustomed ears, the simultaneous sounds are distracting. Anyone who has listened to
,Y,, ff
. C.r.*onY after their
name :ecords from this region has probably wished the shouts and cries didn't 'obscure' the
: riliage and watch' 'music.' These cries have, in the past, been called 'incidental,' 'extraneous,' or 'non-musical'
and sang in a .ounds. Their non-musicality, however, was sometimes over-emphasized in recordings
ihout songs' Danced ''.'here rhe technician had set the recording level to the level of the singing rather than the
::routs, which were therefore distorted in the subsequent recording. Yet shouts, cries,
...eeping, and animal sounds are an essential part of the musical performance.
boYs tn I discovered this when I was trying to make the best possible recording of an Upper Xingu
accornpanied Young
=bes. . ng (known regionally as the jawai) the Suyd were performing in August 1982. After
as : ::nessing several performances of a given song series, I knew the adult men in the center of a
ceremonies
:;:I'anrs in several
l L-PPer Xingu
ortgtn' ",s line of singers were the only ones really singing the unison melody. The young men,
-.:helors, and boys on rhe ends of the line were imitating bird calls, shouting comments to
lead them'
l '., sonss, bu1 did not and ,.:t other, and giggling. By using a directional microphone, I was able to make a recording
;:i::t?."'il;Je ceremon, :=: consisted largely of the unison singing. This was, to me, the'music.'But when I played
, :ecording back to the Suyd that night, they were terribly disappointed with the result. It
for dead;
:. Told myths; keened ',,r'r beautiful, they said. It wasn't euphoric. It excluded an essential part of the perform-
-. -:, They insisted that I record the song series again, to get it right and make a'beautiful'
. :ding.
::t.l;i$i,::.T#fr :[::':*" . .,e Suyd reaction to my recording was one of the clearest statements I obtained about the
: : - :rance of the different parts to the total sound. The melody line - the clearly organized
: , .nd rhythm being performed by the older men - was only part of the desired total effect,
from edible spe;:- r.-: also included the apparently irreverent calls, shouts, and giggles. Every age group
-p'orrod' animals'

i*{mr;}i.'j,',',L'u'*,.,,'n'
i':nl",H,'jt"'"'Xliit^t*:'- : ::es in this table are approximate. Young people were classified according to their size, while older people
:'.1"'il";;;ir"1"t99 , :.assified according to the number of children or grandchildren they had.
'.=son there are two pairs of moieties is that they appeared at different times, and have different membership.
.,tbdnlKrm pair appeared in some ceremonies, the SoikokambigilSoihodnto pair appeared in others. The
ir.:ussion see Seeger
r98r:roo-::- '''r''
- :.J Ambtin name sets were mixed together in each of the SoikokambigilSoihodnto parr. This ts one of tle
- -x aspects of G6 social organization, where cross-cutting ceremonial ties bound all members of vrllage
.il**:';lrm;[*:r:'.', ' ':: in sevetal different wavs.
 Singing as crea:,
78 rUflhy Suy6 Sing
discs inserted in the lob
my
contributed to the total effect, if not to the melody, and they were all important' I suppose
es :
a wooden disc inserteci ..
the strings in the performance of
recording sounded a bit to the Suy6 as if I had recorded only
brasses, percussion and ;erson's ears were pier;c:
Beethovin's Ninth symphony, and ignored all of the woodwinds, .,r.ere
the major bod1. o::.
=

voices. jepopulation,
and the
The lesson to be learned from this is that our recording techniques can often be inappro-
cjea-*
nitiation, and the end of ea:
priately selective. \flhen, for example, we use particular microphones and set them up in
a
:s they were used b1,adu-:
particular place, we are in fact making assumptions about the music itself. Selective record- Ear discs were assocla:=:
ings have their place. If one intends to analyze drumming, it is important to have the Ihe Suy6 maintained thal
drummers clear and underplay the vocalists. If one wants to study the bird call imitations, it
is ;"
with
lne verbs .to hear, lmba
distracting to have the men singing. It is essential, however, to evaluate the recordings ":.:
. reflexive form. Thev sa--
the people recorded. \flhen the Suyd obtained cassette tape recorders, which were ubiquitous ,,.uld behave.o....,lr.
in the r98os, the tape recordings they made were different from mine and very instructive as r_,
:itSOnS Oratory WaS
SO L::
to the parts of the singing that were of interest to them' ::aking and Iistening w,
A Suy6 participated in a ceremony according to who he or she was: what sex, what age, and ;;
:eech, in Chapter 2, repea:.
what nami group. Of the rhree, only an individual's age could change. Thus each time a -iowed the speech, anci
person ,".rg h. or she reaf{irmed (or established for the first time) a certain age status. A :r:
-{ll adulrs must listen. he=:
yorrrg boy might learn a long shout song for the first time. An adult man might begin not to both sexes. young mer ;
--
ior"" hi, uoi.e as high as before. An older man might begin to clown before he had more than a : :ntually had a child and
single grandchild, or an old woman might retain the sober demeanor characteristic of a E::
_- :lnse. Before
that age.
yorrrg.i woman. Every ceremony was thus an opportunity to reaffirm not only what one was ', :mportance S:,,.:
of obedien;.
i, *"t. and a member of certain groups) but what one believed one was or wantedastowell. be.
: . : _sarions of
kinship rela,i c,:-,
=

Every performance of a ceremony re-established social relationships in other ways

,.., ihe age when
both sexes
A dramatic example of this occurred in certain log races, where each man received a little food lhe ear was also imporr.r.
from all of his biological and more distant 'sisters' in the way Suy6 {igure relationship : - '::ed the
ear and rested i_n :.
(classifying parallel cousins as sisters). Sexual relations with distant sisters were not publiclr'
-' *'hen it was learned. a.
accepted, but they appeared to gain piquancy and allure from the public approbation, and . .ies is associated u.irh
.

p"opl. who had addressed each other as brother and sister sometimes took each other a-i - :.e who found .:.
learnirg r:i.:
ior..r. At the next log race) however, the sister-turned-lover was not supposed to give food tc ' .-. Ln theirears.'
the man, nor should he ask for it. The possibility that certain men might not receive food
from
' _,,rrect behavior.The ar]. r...
women from whom they had taken it in the past made that episode in the log races a dramau; lip disc was associare: :
one for revealing often hidden sexual relationships. The Suy6 watched everyone very care- --:
rad their lips pierceJ ,-_
:
fully. This occasion was iust one more example of how ceremonies made public what ha: :=:rce
in the men,s house.
been private, and clarified some (often intentionally) ambiguous relationships. Performance: ' i ;.ere al_l
established and re-established important relationships between groups and among ini- clear in
, . ,.:pposed to singthe acu.,.:
consla.n:_
viduals in verY concrete waYS. -
er lip, and to engage _
rr
: :
: - "- -lhe identity. They ri.e:; ;
The body as a musical instrument , - l public occasions but ;:
: :ait ilserted new ear ,it::,
The body is involved in music in several ways. The performer learns the song, performi i -
with accompanying body movements, and an audience hears it. The significance of
':u *:::tr!'Olnament.
with thes-
tlouth was the princin-
faculties of hearing, speech, and movement, as well as the body parts associated .... :-:r. krnds of insfuctior.
.

are emphasized through ornaments. The decoration of the body is never arbitrary; cer--e!r lt',r. - - ,:r'les resricted
.__

to cer.: .*
body parts are singled out for attention because they are important. rul_: :eech: there are
no poli;c :
The most important Suy6 body ornaments were those associated with hearing, speaknm l,-: _: coercion. They relr.
and singing, and dancing. Earlier in this century, both men and women used to wear L:ryu ::
---
Singing as creative activity 79

discs inserted in the lobes of their ears. In the r97os the older men wore the ear discs as well as
important.l suPPose mY a wooden disc inserted in their lower lips (these are clearly depicted in Illustration 4). A
of person's ears were pierced around puberty; a man's lip was pierced several years later. These
*t ]'n t,fr. Performanceand
. irrtt.t, Percussion were the mafor body ornaments of the Suy6. Contact with Brazilian national society,
depopulation, and the death of most of the older men, resulted in the abandonment of full
ues can often be inaPPro- initiation, and the end of ear and lip piercing. What follows is a description of body ornaments
uP ln a
ones and set them as they were used by adult men, and had been used by the entire population before 196o.
.o irt.ff. Selective record-
-i, Ear discs were associated with hearing and the moral qualities of proper social behavior.
*rot,"ttt to have the The Suyi{ maintained that people who heard well also knew, understood, and acted properly.
imitations' tt rs The verbs 'to hear' (mba) and 'to behave morally' (af,i mba) are very close, the latter resembling
the bird call
rrir.i. the recordings with a reflexive form. They said that a person who listened (mba) to the speeches of the elders
ters. which were
ubiquitous rvould behave correctly (afii mbai mbechi). The moral component of hearing was one of the
nine and verY instrucuve
as
ieasons oratory was so important: if hearing and behavior were associated, then both
speaking and listening would be tremendously significant. Kaikwati, in the example of 'slow
and
ras: what sex, what age' speech' in Chapter z, repeated over and over again that the elders 'listened to the speaking,
I change. Thus each dme
a
:ollowed the speech, and behaved correctly.'
A
i*., "-..*"in age status' to All adults must listen, hear, understand and behave. Adolescence was an important phase
begin not -or both sexes. Young men were initiated and entered the men's house, and young women
rdult man might
than a
rrn b.for" ht had more :r'entually had a child and married. It was a time of life in which moral teaching was especially
of a jrtense. Before that age, Suy6 were quite lenient with their children and did not emphasize
a.-.ut o, characteristic was
sns :e importance of obedience as much as they emphasized the irnportance of sharing and the
:affum not onlY vtltrxl
to be'
.a on. was or wanted , rligations of kinship relations. In addition to being a time for moral instruction, adolescence

nr-rrt iP. in other waYs as well ";as the age when both sexes traditionally had their ears pierced.
';;;;;"."eived a little fooo The ear was also important in the physiology of knowledge. The Suy6 said knowledge
** i"va figure relationstuP ::tered the ear and rested in the 'ear hole' (mbai kre kdm naw). A song was said to 'lie in the
irJnirir,.* *ttt
not Publiclv :.:' when it was learned, as did a weaving pattern. Knowledge, some of which in other
an: . ;ieties is associated with the eye) was for the Suy6 consistently an aural phenomenon.
l the Public aPProbation'
foo,.ti*.. took each other a-' ::cple who found learning difficult were said to have 'swollen ears' or, more lightly, to have
suPPosed to give
food:: : rgs in their ears.'The ear was the conduit of knowledge and moral understanding, essential
r"."*o,
receive food fro=
*"tti."t : correct behavior.
".,
iroae itt ttt. log races
a drama'r: The lip disc was associated with public speaking, song, bellicosity, and adult manhood.
very -:n had their lips pierced shortly before they left their mothers' houses and took up
va rvatched everyone 'a:-
h,: -rj:dence in the men's house. The association of the lip disc, the removal from home, and
.*""i.t made Public rryhat --=
rous relationships'
Perlormal ' -s were all clear in the activities of young men after they entered the men's house. They
among m;* ;::e supposed to sing constantly, to make larger and larger lip discs to insert in the hole in
t$'een grouPs and
.: .: lower lip, and to engage in few subsistence activities. The lip disc was a central symbol of

-,,culine identity. They were worn day and night by the men who had them; ear discs were
; :n on public occasions but were ofien not worn in the domestic sphere. In all ceremonies
:: alen inserted new ear discs and lip discs whose bright coloring contrasted with the
rmer learns the song' Perfor=r-:: ,rday ornament.
c: :e mouth was the principal means of instruction. As we have seen, the Suyrl had many
hears it. The significance .
associated with
u.':- - .':rent kinds of instruction. In native South American groups there is often a variety of
o"ttt
''ooio e::.-
rc bodY is never arbitrarYl : -;h styles restricted to certain social roles. Leaders have few institutional resources other

: mDortant' :-_. speech: there are no police forces, immediately applicable punishments, or other clear
with hearing' sPe-i-:- =s of coercion. They rely on exhortations. When many members of a village no longer
"rso.i"ted to wear 'rxr
oan ,nd women used
8o ttrflhy Suyd Sing
Singing as crea:
follow their suggestions, they are no longer chiefs. Kinship ties and exchange relationships were significant in the pa,-
provide the underpinnings of political leadership among the Suy6 (discussed in Seeger moral features that rvere
r98r:r8o-zo6). In terms of publicly accepted leadership behavior, however, speech is the x

primary activity. Among the \tr7estern Suyd, the brothers of a political leader are called
The concept ofperson
'political leaders who do not speak.'
Given the importance of the ears, hearing, and morality and of the mouth, speaking and The concept of what a per
masculinity, it is easier to appreciate the importance of instruction, oratory, invocation, and very important for unders;
song. To a certain extent, the interrelationship of this group of concepts relating to speech person in different socieLe.
and hearing also explains why the Suyd had not developed much of an interest in instrumental .{.merica the concept u.as
t
music. The voice was their most important musical instrument, and the main object of critical commonly associated nirh
evaluation, and the word (embodied in song) was an essential part of knowledge. Even though The Suyd concept of pen
the Suy6 had known of the Upper Xingu Indian flutes for over a century, they did not adopt B'irh the individual,s parenr
flutes or flute music as part of their permanent repertory the way they adopted Upper Xingu irom a more distant relaiir
singing. Nor have they adopted any non-Indian instruments. enrirely individual.
The only kinds of musical instruments regularly played by the Suyd were rattles. Vith a The Suy6 said ther bo,Jre
rarrle the body itself becomes an instrument. Rattles were held in the hand, tied behind the ieir mother,s womb and l:
knees, hung on belts, and worn down the back. They were made of animal hooves, fruit pits, :iraintain a kind of phr.sicj,
gourds, brass shotgun shells, and small metal bells. Attached to different parts of the body :Jtrvlty resuictions on the
c.
they all sounded quite differently. A rattle shaken by a hand was very regular and controlled; :ad a fever, none of fus cn_
a leg rattle sounded when the leg moved, even when that was not in the rhythm of a song. A :ed-fleshed animals becaust
woman's hair could be adorned with empty brass shotgun shells that rang occasionally when ::lative and raise his fer.er
r
they hit each otherl a man could wear gourds hanging on srings from his neck that clashed
against rattles tied to his knees in a totally different pattern from the rhythm ofhis steps. ,:sed on kinship and ph1.s:;
!:ecifically, a man woulci sr
Rattles made a variety of sounds according to the material they were constructed from, the :€rween a man and the ,rc
way they were attached to the body, and the movement that propelled them. The Suyd :":emonies were those basec
managed to create considerable variety in each of these. -\n infant received
.::.m its so.l
Percussion instruments can only be played through movement, and dance is therefore an a member of the group,
essential part of musical performance. The Suy6 described their ceremonies in a number of '::ra]e.
Name sets were not kr
ways, but one way differentiated between the kinds of movements involved in them. 'Up and ..zbdn moiety
names for rher-
down' (Iaflindicated that the dance was an up and down leaping movement, characteristic of , . :ld give his names. That
certain animals - mice and deer among others - and the ceremonies associated with them. c
-t:s. Names conferred ,.esll
Thus the Mouse Ceremony was leaped. Other ceremonies were simply'everyone together' ' :-;e, songs to sing, ornametr
(wudn ru;,$. Descriptive phrases were used for movements of groups of dancers a line - ,::-t olld both covered
and al
across, a long double line, and a movement in a circle - as well as for many kinds of arm ::_rediate family. The so:ra,
movements. It appeared that a number of the more complex dance movements were no longer ;,r::gns (for an excellenr
practiced. In a number of cases only the old men could perform them, and the young men a;l
:"c,t . The name_based
idenn:
were ashamed of their own attempts. The two sexes never danced and sang in a single line. Il l::ipr that some individuai o
they performed together, it was as two parallel lines of dancers. \trflhen women ioined men i:r a ;:,: body ornamentation rre:
line of dancers as at the Mouse Ceremony they did so in silence, accompanying the
- - q --,'ated.
movements of the dancers but without song and without rattles. lie third component of rhe
Suyd body ornaments and rattles created a socialized body that expressed fundamenta- ': :: or shadow,
alreadv pc.,se
aspects of correct behavior for adult men and women - speaking and singing for the mer,. ::: :arents) nor affected br. _.:
listening and correct behavior for both sexes. The initiation rites that accompanied biologrca- ":,:, The spirit usually star._
growrh shaped the moral person just as they shaped the body by piercing the ears and lows : ;he sickened (and mrg:
lip. Although body paint, leg and arm wrappings, and other ornaments donned in ceremonieu _
:-: ..ed [o the east, climbe;
::
 Singing as creative activity 8 t

were significant in the parts of the body they covered, the permanent ornaments indicated
I exchange relationshiPs
in Seeger moral features that were physically expressed.
.'1 discussed
is the
. however, sPeech
leader are called The concept ofperson
"frrr..f
and The concept of what a person is, the makeup of the biological and social individual, can be
rhe mouth, sPeaking
invocadon' and very important for understanding social processes. A number of studies of the concept of
lo."atv,
to sPeech person in different societies have appeared recently, and it is quite clear that in lowland South
,r..p" t.f"ting
in instrumental America the concept was especially important due to the lack of other social institutions
,i io'r.t.t,
commonly associated with tribal societies such as descent groups.
[i. m"i" otiect of critical
Eventhough The Suy6 concept of person had three components. One of these was the body, associated
iLo*r.ag"'
adoPt with the individual's parents. Another was the social identity which was received with names
rnrLrrv, theY did not
Xingu from a more distant relative, and the third was the 'spirit' or 'shadow' (mlgaron) that was
hev adoPted UPPer
entirely individual.
\tr(ith a The Suyd said their bodies were formed from their fathers' semen, which accumulated in
: Suv6 were raftles'
the their mother's womb and formed the fetus. Parents, children, and full siblings were said to
, ,i,. irna, tied behind
mainrain a kind of physiological identity throughout their lives, signaled by dietary and
:f arumal hooves, fruitPrts'
-a-rit.t.n,
the bodY activity restrictions on the others when any one of them was sick. For example, when a man
Parts of
had a fever, none of his children, his siblings, or his parents were supposed to eat certain
u'Il .. g"r"' and controlled ;
A red-fleshed animals because ingesting them would have a direct heating effect on their
, rti""tt v,ttm of a song'
relative and raise his fever even higher. Many aspects of interpersonal relationships were
,l"it^ng occasionallY when 'lased on kinship and physical identity. Yet only certain kinsmen were important in song.
;;;;fi' neck that clashed Specifically, a man would sing for his sisters, and ceremonial activity intensified relations
his stePs'
"Lt.the rhYthm of from' the
:m
rerween a man and the women of his natal household. Most relationships stressed in
.""."ucted
The SuY6 :eremonies were those based on names.
, ,t"O.ff"a them'
An infant received its social identity through the names it received shortly after birth -
an ::om a member of the group of mother's brothers if it was male, or father's sisters if it was
:ot, &rld dance is therefore
of emale. Name sets were not kinship-based groups; parents took care to alternate the Krer and
o'..t.**its in a numberand .

-.mbdn moiety names for their successive sons when they selected the mother's brother who
it *""r".a in them' 'UP o[ groups for the rest of their
^ ould give his names. That put their sons in opposite ceremonial
l-.r.rn.r,, characteristic to paint and
;;;.t associated with them' -'.'es. Names conferred (especially on males) an entire social identity - ways
together' ::nce, songs to sing, ornaments to wear, and so forth. This social identity was painted on the
I.' t*rt,' everYone and borh covered and altered the unique identification of the physical body with the
.i -.""nt of dancers - ofa line
arm
-<ra
family. The social identity was most often represented by various body paint
;;[;t fo, m"'Y kindsno longer -mediate
:.signs (for an excellent article on Northern Kayapo body ornamentation, see Turner
,.. -ouaa"ntswere metr -5g). The name-based identity was passed intact, it did not change as the child grew older
,rm th.m, and the Young
iii il;g in a single line.' l: ::r:ept that some individual nicknames might be added to the name set. Singing, dancing,
men rn " -: body ornamentation were the most important ways the name-based groups were
,- \flh.n *o*en loined
the ,., ivated.
, J rii""tt, accomPanYing
The third component of the person was entirely individual. Every person had a differenl
attles.
l',1 ri,., exPressed fundamenti
. ;t
or shadow, already possessed by the unborn fetus. This spirit was not itself forned :''.
mec' ,:: parents, nor affected by the names) and was located inside the bodv. apparen'Jr' :: ----=
,rlirr* ,"a ti"ging for the .-:,t,Thespiritusuallystayedinthebody.Vhenitleft(orwastakenfrom
apts:s-:'tt":,.'..
il ii"i r.""mPanied bioloeua-
ears and Io$= r:: rShesickened(andmightbecomea'personwithoutaspirit')ordred..\lle::=-:-.-::):--:
i''1" ,i"*i,g the ;e": .:: I ::;:j: - -- '
to the east, climbed to the sky, and traveled to the village of the
o-.*ant,t aonned in ceremolli*
. .'..eled
8z \7hy Suy6 Sing Singing as crea:

lived forever in that huge village. The spirit was unique, and its misadventures caused some meaningful with referei
:.
of the individualizing tendencies of Suyd life. Nflhen a child's spirit left its body, it could be patterned in communi-::
:
found and brought back into the body by a 'good' witch. Or a bad witch could steal someone's The concept of perrc,:::
spirit in anger, causing sickness and eventually creating a new teacher of songs. out that there are ambts_:.
\7hen an infant was born it already had a body and a spirit. \flithin days it was given a social genres. Members
oi a s:,
identity. From that time on, it grew and devoted more and more time to activities associated ances (in which case .-....=
with its social identity - with painting, dancing, and singing. Suy6 song emphasized the social 'playing around,
and ..i-: :
identity of the participants. Vhen Kaikwati made fun of the young men in one of his public '!owcr; only an .,hrrl=_
speeches by saying that they no longer painted themselves or wore arm and leg bands and thus rvhether formal
or inlo:::.
had arms and legs like storks, he was pointing up the essentially creative and socializing Jegree of public evaluaLc
aspects of body paint. Wearing the ornaments was said to thicken the limbs. To 'become a :o discuss what
:
kinds o, -*
Whiteman' for the Suy6 in the r97os meant to stop painting the body, to wear clothes instead Gerard B6hague ,r*-...
of body paint in rituals, and to refuse to participate in ritual life. Being a Vhiteman, like being
a Suy6, was a question of ornamentation and what was on the skin. A person's biological
-:eaily, then, the stud""- of m
identity was given, as was his or her spirit. \[hat had to be constantly affirmed and reaffirmed ::acdces or products -,-:
throughout life was a person's social identity. shou: :
::rdcipants, and the
ru.les o: -, ,
Every ceremony was a re-affirmation of the social identity of the name-based groups, as ._ _ asion.
well as of certain age- and sex-based groups that otherwise rarely acted together. Every
ceremony involved different details that identified the groups and provided some of the Behague is righr.
Thar s ;_,
differences and interest (for the Suy6) of their social identity.
r
..-.1 what is ,extra_musi.oi
,,..n1
,.
lo which perforrn<r_:
rbtrshed. Most of
Studying music as process rhe
.. on the performance, co:.:=-
g1j
If music is to be studied not sounds but as the production of sounds, approaches to musical
as :-.;tice. This entire _;
book ls i
performance must provide a great deal of ethnographic data in order to present the social --: creation of social .life
as
processes of which music is a part. The last decade has seen the publication of a number of ": .-uonships ":
through the ce:_.:
articles and books on the ethnography of musical performance (for examples see Herndon -:.: contexts. Other authois.
and Brunyate 1976; Seeger 1979 and r98oa; Herndon and Mcleod r98o; Stone r98z; and -ae imRossibility
_, of separ::
B6hague t984). To a large extent these studies were inspired by linguistic and folklore :. pornts made
here for n:,:.
research into performance (described and illustrated in Bauman and Sherzer 1974) and the . .-.e analysis of
musical pe ::.
writings of Erving Goffman (rgl). \flhile most authors agree that until recently the conter ' ,.rlier paper (Seeger g
in which music is actually performed has been ignored in favor of structural analysis of what i. :r': r ::.
WaS to dissect it s,-.:.::
performed, they recommend different ways to reconcile the form of analysis with the naturr _ .:: _toflSt ,what,
where, ho,,r,. ;
of the object. :: :, ach is that anyone .:,ei
can
Norma Mcleod and Marcia Herndon have repeatedly emphasized the importance of th: ,-_ .1e data so produced
a:=.
notion of performance for ethnomusicology. Norma Mcleod conceives of performance as Lii -:-' ons.
'real behavior' of the specific musical event, not only its ideal behavior. Real behavior is r:,: . .:n asked ofsuyd song. _::
result of the interaction of players among themselves and with the audience and inclucl:: - -,,. Table
4.3 summarizc. ::
mistakes, dissatisfaction or satisfaction, and so forth. Too often the reality of performance. I ir"- " + on the cassette),
a L:,.
ignored in preference to describing the ideal; what a performance aspires to, or how it rela::r ' - ::rance,
which include. __:
to some ideal (Herndon and Brunyate ry76: z-E). This may recall Platonic philosophy, bu: I , and why?,
is closer to the distinction between langue and parole in language and cuhure and actior. w.
_:.
-: 5uld men
said ther. 51-._ i
social life. Mcleod proposes that ethnomusicologists study actual performances rather r:,ffi - When I asked
the ideal to which they may aspire. The suggestion is developed further by Richard Baunm
thln : =-
iang them.
They rr.e:.._. .
who describes the act of performance as 'situated behavior, situated within and rende::l : Lndividual. He sanS
:. .. ;
---
Singing as creative activity 83

some meaningful with reference to relevant contexts. Context is another way that performance is
rJventures caused patterned in communities' (in Herndon and Brunyate ry76: 3).
be
,eft irs body, it could The concept of performance can itself create difficulties, however. Frisbie (rg8o) points
:h could steal someone's out that there are ambiguities in the concepts of 'performance' when applied in music to all
.cher of songs' genres. Members of a given community may consider some musical events public perform-
i.tlt i, *rt given a social ances (in which case they and the ethnographer agree) while other events are considered
oilo associated
".tiritits the social 'playing around' and not performance (contrast an aria in a concert hall with one in the
Io*.*Ptt,ti'ed showerl only an ethnomusicologist might insist that both were performed). Contexts,
;;; ; one of his Public
whether formal or informal, are defined by each society and isolated in time, space, and
rm andlegbandsandthus degree of public evaluation. $7e have not only to define the concept of performance, we have
\' .reative and socializrng to discuss what kinds of performances occur in any society.
a
, rt. ti-U.. To 'become Gerard B6hague summarizes the study of musical performance as follows:
;;:;";.r' clothes instld
rne aWhiteman'
likebeng
I*al. o o..ton's biological Ideally, then, the study of music performance as an event and a process and of the resulting performance
reaffirmed practices or products should concentrate on the actual musical and exua-musical behavior of the
,il.fnt*.a'nd participants, and the rules or codes of performance defined by the community for a specific context or
as occaslon. (B6hague rg8+: 6)
rie name-based grouPs'
Everl-
uelv acted together'
B6hague is right. That is where the investigation should start. The issue of what is 'musical'
l'*i ptoriaed sorne of the
and what is 'extra-musical' remains problematic, as we shall see below, and the issue of the
3xtent to which performances are the result of fixed rules or make the rules must be
:stablished. Most of the contextual studies of music have focused on the influence the context
:as on the performance, and on searching for the extra-musical in{luences on the performance
to musical rractice. This entire book is an argument that the musical performance is as much a part of
lunds, aPProaches re creation of social life as any other part of life, and that the creation and re-creation of
il;;.;i; present the socia-
::lationships through the ceremonial singing creates a social context which influences other
I pruri.",iol"f " "YT:::::
see Herndo; ,uch contexts. Other authors, among them Herzfeld (1979), have made a similar argument
- i"t .*r*rles an; . rr the impossibility of separating context from text in general. The context is part of the text.
.'r-.oa r98o; Stone r98z;
and folklor' - re points made here for music are applicable far more broadly to social life.
;-;; Iinguistic tL' The analysis of musical performances as events is easier to suggest than to accomplish. In
*. .-lii*tzer t974) and conter --. earlier paper (Seeger l98oa) I suggested that one way to approach the context ofmusical
',t rt until recentlY the
I of what -' :.intS wBS to dissect it somewhat arbitrarily into the answers to the basic journalistic
,1i.,r".,".u1analYsis
the narr: : -estions: 'what, where, how, when, by whom, for whom, and why.'The advantage of this
onn of analYsis with
-:;roach is that anyone can begin an ethnography of performance without great difficulty,
of ':: i
.- the data so produced are far richer than we have been provided for most musical
rc,hasized the imPortance
otPerformance a' '-:' --.litions.
i.on..iu.t :"
Real behavior i:
']'hen asked of Suy6 song, these questions reveal important contrasts among the different
^ii.i."i"t'
il;,h. audience and incl-': ": -res. Table 4.3 summarizes data on performance practice for a shout song (Examples r. r

,ttn the realitY of Performan;-

: -:: r.4 on the cassette), a unison song (Example r.3), and an invocation (Example 2.3)
".:::ormance, which includes the answers to the questions 'what, who, how, where, when, to
to' ot how it re''':
,tri*t
"*aa Prr*,ic
lrL"it PhilosoPhY'
b - : ,- - . m, and why?'

ccl:-" : - re Suyd men said they sang shout songs for their sisters (described at length in Seeger
*i"*" ar,d culrure andrathei :J ., :b). Vhen I asked them for whom they sang unison songs, they responded that they
t .1r"""r Performances Bs'-:; :, :iv sang them. They weren't for anyone. A man did not sing a unison song as a brother,
i"""Jiut,t.r bY Richard ,:. or individual. He sang it as a member of a group, whose identity was partly established
and rer';--::'
i"i.- ti,"r,ta within
84 \7hy Suyd Sing Singing as cre;

genres _ but the paucr.:

Table 4.3. ''Vhat, who, how, where, when, to whom, and why?' Shout song, unison song, and
inoocation compared effective even when
t:e."
Invocations suggei: x.i
What? Shout song: \ndividually sung with loud, high, tense voice, at a variable tempo according to the body to be heard and unders:
t.:
movement, accompanied by a rattle. Strophic form, characterized by descending melody contour. performance, and
Structure of two halves, each naming a different animal and presented with a clear progression.
to sc,:::,
aural reception of
Unison song: sung with a group in a low, usually quiet, unison following the cues ofa song leader the s,:.-
who established the tempo, often with a rattle. Strophic form characterized by a terraced melody not faked: they were
rea
contour. Structure of two halves, each naming a different animal and presented with a clear which were employed
progression.
ri : .
more than a very feu.
Invocation: performed by an individual without accompaniment in a very quiet voice. Non-strophic 3s
form characterized by a flat contour with use ofglissandi. Parallel formal structures that progressed Shout songs were pu'5_.
from blowing through referring to an animal trait, to naming the animal, to ending with further itrie and a number oI
:Iri_
blowing. .teard. Unison songs
\uho? Shout song: performed by boys, adolescents, and men (not women or old men). Taught by adult men !1e:.
and women, usually people without spirits.
:t usical feaures encouia gi.
Unison song: performed by men whose voices have changed (not boys except for Mouse Ceremony :.hvsical body more
rhar:=-_
unison song), men and women together, women together. Taught by people without spirits. Led by
-rem. Alrhough the erhr,:;
a ritual specialist.
Inoocation: adrh men or women (not boys or girls). Taught by a person who knows it to an
lmber of differenr que:-_.
adolescent boy or girl interested in learning it, often in return for a gift. :-. le is related
to the inie:._
How? Shout song: performed with rattles and accompanying body movements, sung loudly and according :e:formance is a part.
to performer's age by individual singers.
Unison song: perfo:rmed by a group usually sitting, standing, or dancing fairly close together, in
unison and in a low register. There were clear attempts not to be heard as individuals except in a
few songs where there were solo parts.
}e creativity of singrns
Inoocation: performed in a very quiet voice, accompanied by blowing and sometimes a light
.,::monies are not simci:
massage, in a middle register with glissandi, with no attempt to be heard by audience.
r#here? Shout song: in the village plaza, in the forest camp, and in the residential houses only as a prelude to r --:brmed by conscious
su r..
"

leaving them. ' :.i _reation under uniqu;

-
Unison song: in the village plaza and the men's house, occasionally in the residential houses. (Never -_:\.ed rhis
in the gardens or forest or 'for fun'.) have been de:; _
Inoocation: inside the houses, in back of the houses, in the bathing areas on the river bank. (Rarely -,.:iences. BUt the perforE:.:
or never in the plaza.) rart of the creation ,:i
rIfhen? Shout song: during the day in solo performances, all night long during group performances, - '.Jned each
person rn r.."1
_

whenever an ildividual feels euphoric in 'for fun' performances. Less fixed than the unison genres.
Unison song:before dawn, in the late afternoon, and sometimes during the night on the final night i :
. a creadon of the stru;::_
certain ceremonies. Times were fairly regular. .----:ustances. A
new song;;
Inoocation: at dawn, in the evening, and at the appearance ofthe symptoms. -:
J by men acilng acco:l._
To whom? Shout song: sung 'for sisters' by men and boys. =
1-: ::red exacdy
Unison song: sung for the collective audience by the group. the same a.
Inzsocation: sung for the patient, and also for the efficacy of the song itself- it is not necessarily ,::a.l sciendsts have
becc;.,
intended for ears at all. Patients are most often sons and daughters, grandsons and granddaughre- . risocial life and undere::
or other persons related through kinship ties. \i(hen only one person knows a particular invocatl,-:
then all members of the village may use that person.
: -:'eu I9TTiGiddens r9__
\tr0hy? Shout song: to reaffirm social ties to sisters and mothers, and to express emotions. -.::Lion,
without a \i.r;.::_
Unison sotg: to reaffirm the identity of the collectivity. ::: t,it' created through
Intsocation: to instill a particular animal trait into the body of the parient so that a desirable phvs::a pe ::_
change could take place.
*;: Instead, continuaj p:::-
Lr ! _:s. relationships;
pra.t::
lll * .t: rTtost exalted aspecls
. , --
: _:eation and re_creat:-
through the song. Thus they sang for general audience; the act of singing was the statern-J::,
a
s., _-- :irual. Sharing : ::
In some sense, invocations had no audience at all. \What set them apart from the other '"':,;;iu a p:;,: .
.;_:ioveranamereceir.S-
genres (with the exception of a witch's 'bad speech,' which I never witnessed duri:ig :l u i.
-.ral
fieldwork) was that they were specifically not intended as public forms of address. l:ru would have Ir:-= _::,
intended target of an invocation was not so much anyone's ear - as with all the other ', .,:nr :: : -r.d continually
re-;:=..I
 Singing as creative activity 85

genres - but the patient's body. Unlike other genres of Suyd vocal art, invocations could be
iong, unison song, an'd effective even when they were nor heard.
Invocations suggest we must be sensitive to certain forms of discourse whose object is less
to be heard and understood than to be performed and seen. Their efficacy is in the fact of the
body
: rempo according to the performance, and to some degree in their success at relieving symptoms, rather than in the
kscending melodY coltour'
c-ith a clear Progresslon'
aural reception of the sounds and their direct evaluation. The invocations themselves were
re Ihe cues of a song leader not faked: they were really performed and they had a very elaborate sysrem of metaphors
ir-r.a uv a terraced melodY which were employed in a highly structured way. But they were nor perforned to be heard by
pcsented with a clear
more than a very few people, one of whom could be quite sick.
ren quiet voice' Non-stroPhic Shout songs were public and directed at certain relatives and shared a loud performance
-J J.'u.,u... tt'at Progressed style and a number of specific musical features that helped ensure that the singer would be
ral. to ending with funher heard. Unison songs were public and directed toward the community as a whole, their
men musical features encouraged a more perfect unison. Invocations were private and directed at a
' old men). Taught bY adult
physical body more than anyone's ears, performed so quietly practically no one could hear
-"
escept for Mouse CeremonY them. Although the ethnography of performance breaks down a performance by asking a
sPirits' Led bY
i Fpr. *itttout number of different questions, the answers will often all be interrelated. The performance
sol who knows it to an style is related to the intention, and to the spatial, temporal, and sonic context of which the
zu1. performance is a part.
krs. sung loudlY and accordtng

lcrng failY close together'in The creativity of singing and ceremony

rn a
eardas individuals excePt

light Ceremonies are not simply strict obedience to a set of rules. Ceremonies and music are
mg and sometimes a
'heard bY audience' :'erformed by conscious subjects who are creating something that is at once a re-creation and a
tJ,r"t hou.., ot'lY as a Prelude to :ew creation under unique circumstances. A number of ways in which Suyd ceremonies
' rn the residential houses' (Never
.;hieved this have been described. The comparison of the genres reveals their similarities and
fferences. But the performers were not singing simply to establish contrasrs. Their singing
(RarelY
g areas on the river bank' ;.as part of the creation of their society and their cosmos. To a certain extent singing
-"-.sitioned each person in relationship to those. Suy6 musical performance was a 'structura-
rilg grouP Perforrnances'
than the unison- genres'
I-es-s ir-xed
,:n' (a creation of the structures) of sound, place, time, person, and meaning in particular
lililt,it. Gt" on the final night oi --:.umstances. A new song was new but shared an old structure. An old ceremony, per-
. -ned by men acting according to set patterns, was also somewhat new because it was never
-=:Iormed exactly the same way twice.
Social scientists have become increasingly critical of approaches that overemphasize the
*:ne Ltself - it is not necessarilY
l^] o'*atont and granddaughter: ' --tv of social life and underemphasize the interpretive role of the members as thinking actors
e::o; knows a Particular invocatto:-
I :urdieu t977; Giddens I979). Although small-scale societies are often believed to be bound
: :radition, without a written tradition codes can only exist to the extent that they are
erpress emodons' , :ehow created through performance. There was no library or ultimate text in the Suy6

re padent so that a desirable

physia *:ge. Instead, continual performance was essential to the reaffirmation or transformation
",
alues, relationships, practices, and ideas that were essential to both the most mundane
.-:: the most exalted aspects of life.
- :e creation and re-creation ofsocial life are accomplished in the details ofeveryday life as
rct of singing was the
statemel- it : es in ritual. Sharing a piece of fishline with a brother maintains that relationship
vtr'::' - as clearly
,iem apart from the other , -:lging over a name receiver. Not everything, however, can be created in everyday life. If it
h I never witnessed during =" il:::. ritual would have little innovative force or interest.
T:r
, p"Uirc forms of address' - .:e Suyd continually re-created their society in a number of ways. These forms of social
\'c'3
ear - as with all *ls
s1trs1
86 til(hy Suy6 Sing
Singing as crea:
reproduction included the re-creation or rede{inition of spatial and temporal relationships, the jn^ through the back
establishment and re-establishment of social relationships, the formation of the body and the dc,_:.
of the village at night
expression ofthe continually developing social persona. Just as the introduction ofnew songs
leavrng their houses
hr;
reproduced the long-standing relationship between men and animals and men and other sral*
seasons, and years.
Indians, so their performance at the appropriate times and in the appropriate places by the
appropriate people re-established the fundamental individual, sociological, and cosmological
parameters of Suy6 society.
The ethnography of perfonnance has justifiably renewed ethnomusicologists' determina-
tion to study music in its social context. I have suggested that asking the journalistic questions
of what, who, how, where, when, to whom, and why, provides a useful, practical approach to
the difficult task of defining the context of a performance. The answers to those questions are
not the end of an analysis but rather the means to one. An ethnography is not an end in itself.
Ethnographies tend to fix the forms of social action rather than see in them the elements
of choice and creativity because the anthropologist is often unaware of the changeability of
what he or she observes. A creative act, a strategy, a choice among alternatives appears
to the anthropologist as a rule because there is little temporal analysis. The Suy6, for
example, liked to experiment. At each performance a person was older and had oppor-
tunities for doing something new. He or she could try new ways of dancing or singing. Or
a person might do the old things in an unusual space 'iust for laughs.' If something were
particularly successful, it could become part of a group's (name set, sex) or age group)
activities in future ceremonies. Or it might simply be remembered with fondness, ad-
miration, or scandal for decades to come. Creativity was part of the fun of social life, and
ceremonies provided ample range for the creativity of humor, the creativity of speech and
song, the creativity of self-decoration, and the creativity of degree of participation or lack
of it.
All social actions are creative and re-creative. Suyd singing was a particular kind of
re-creation. It morally weighted the times and spaces of social life. Singing created musical
relationships between silence and sound, low and deep and high and tense, between fast and
slow, between unison and solo, between shout songs and weeping, between the short sillr
songs of youth and the long serious songs of adults, the public songs of the plaza and thc
invocations of the periphery. Singing also established relationships among movemenr!
between sitting and standing, walking counterclockwise and walking clockwise, approxim:-
tion and removal from the residential houses, leaping and standing. It established rel"-
tionships among groups: between men and women, between theAmbdnandKrenmoieties i,:
the Sodftobambigt and the Soikodnto, and between affines and consanguines. Th;
space, time, the body, and social identity all defined, and were defined by, vocal r"
The relationship was intimate and formative, not simply reiterative and expressive of ous
realities.
To consider song and ceremonial life to be mechanical products of other aspects of scr;L
life is to miss the essential nature of musical and ceremonial performances. Suyii ceremc:-ji
created euphoria out of silence, a village community out of a collection of residencc. ,
socialized adult out of physical matter. If a myth were not told it could be forgotten: - rii

relationship were not activated it could fall into abeyance and domestic relationships reF-i,i*
it. If the plaza were not cleared, the village could simply disintegrate into its consLi:-mr
families or into very small settlements. In a village without ceremony, more food was brc-4ull
 E-
Singing as creadve activitY
center
the plaza, men delayed coming out to the
the in through the back door, grass grew up in drifted otT
--l reiationshiPs'
of the village at night u.."lrr. lif. .errt.r.d
o, ih" domestic group, and families
,. bodY and the
"itn. songs
leavingtheirhousesstandingdark,silent,andemptyinanunmarkedsuccessionofday's,
>3.ucdon of new seasons, and Years.
*"n and otner
.
^.rd bY tne
'rnoriua. Places
zi;a]. and cosrnologrcat

determrna-
'.icoiogists' questlons
. ---lrrnatistic
J. nru.titat approach :o
q'estions are
'*^,n ,ho," itselr'
:i:'. ;;i ;. ;nd in
I ttt"tn the elements
'" of
I,."t'*" Ji""geabilitY
..]* rtt.rn"dves aPPears
t""',l",tt.it' for
The suY6'
-u+ffi*s+*
:l-1.'. ..;l, * age grouP)
1:"::: *1,t, tona,'"ss' ad-

xilt";,,.'l;".','.ijl*
. r_i.d
r'r ot
no was a Particular.
tJ:ilil;;::::1H:l*
tense, between
r'
,h snd
.:il u.i*t"n the short silll
th'
:l-t#;;e Praza
and

-::*";:-
IUurr:r"Y- among
movernent:
--foxlmi-
ss allrns tt":k*:t^L?,'ied rei..
t standing' I[ estaoust
::
i;i .Ja', and Krer rnoieties
Tb.-
-::.T; t"nsanguines' vocal
5'*.* u.n"ed bY, of oc: '-
t*P'"ttiue
*t';rH ''"a
aspects of s'-r--
.toductS of other
.iil*;=,lYli-illT*'
,r of collectron ut
& -'" --
ll' 'iJr, could be forgotten: ;:
,u,,,",,_*-.-*1"
relationships rer
3110 ourrr-o"- - . _.^ ir" consu:-"'j"
,ls .lisintegrat" tlti^,il b r c'-=r
IO()L! *rs
.t ceremony, more