360: Song-Elders' Meditation: June 17, 2008

"Your power comes from the songs."

--Ethel Wilson, COWICHAN

If you do not know any of the songs, ask an Elder to teach you. Get yourself a drum. When you sing a song and play the drum, you'll be surprised how your mind, body, and spirit will react. Everything becomes calm and joyful. Our bodies love the songs. The songs allow us to touch the hand of the Creator. When we sing and touch the Great Spirit's hand, He gives us power. Songs are another way to pray.

My Grandfather, teach me a song today.

...we know this is so......

Why is it then, when we go into a "traditional" Inipi, very few of the designated singers know the Traditional Inipi songs?

Why are so many of our Brothers changing the songs, adding syllables that come from the Peyote Ceremony?

Adding "hey ya yo" at the end of a line makes so we are changing the original words to those prayer songs, therefore changing the meanings to those song!

Why are we mixing medicines, does not each particular ceremony have its own prayer songs?

We are not singing to Old MacDonald, we are singing to the Spirits, we are offering them specific prayers, the same prayers that our Ancestors offered up.

There are tapes out there of the original Traditional Inipi songs, recorded by our Ancestors. I say, let's get back on track, do the work to find them...and learn from them.

Mi Takuye Oyacin