Highlights Archives
Love and Courtship Among Native Americans
Every February 14th, flowers, candy and gifts are exchanged between loved ones, all in the name of St. Valentine. Among Wisconsin's Woodland Indians, the courting flute once played an integral role in love and courtship. Courtship was traditionally a public affair involving a girl's family and friends in many Indian communities. To attract a girl's attention, a young man would play a beautiful love song on his courting flute, enticing her to fall in love with him. Specific traditions varied between different villages and tribes. One tradition held that, although a young man would play his courting flute, the girl was not allowed to respond to this advance alone. The potential mate first needed to offer the spoils of a hunting expedition to the girl's parents before he could be considered an acceptable suitor.
Use of the courting flute declined in the late 19th century, and today the flute is no longer used in its traditional context. The making and playing of flutes saw a resurgence in the late 20th century, however, and flute players can now be heard playing traditional love songs as well as new compositions at tribal fairs and pow-wows across North America. Another notable difference is in the person playing the flute. While it was traditionally only played by men with no other instrumental or voice accompaniment, many women now play the flute, often as part of contemporary Western musical compositions. Even though it has greatly evolved, the beauty of the American Indian flute and its haunting melodies have endured in the modern age.
:: Posted February 14, 2007
|
