Bwaanzhii Niimi (War Dancing)
from ""Nimiidaa!" [Let's all dance!]: Music and Dance of the Northern Intertribal Powwow." by Christopher A. Scales and Gabriel Desrosiers, pg. 160-185
In The Music of Multicultural America
By Kip Lornell and Anne K. Rasmussen
This is an example of an “Original style” or “Straight style” song, which are songs that use vocables only. The tempo of this song makes it particularly appropriate for Grass dancing or Men’s Traditional dancing. Notice how the song builds in intensityas the singers vary their drumming technique. During the first two push ups, the singers drum softly on on the rim of the drum and only hit the drum squarely in the center during the honor beats. All of the singers only begin striking the drum towards the center shortly after the rendering of the lead phrase of the third push up of the song. This louder, stronger drumming continues throughout rest of the song.
2015,
The Northern Wind Singers
 
The Northern Wind Singers performing at the 2013 Mount Pleasant Powwow. Photo by Christopher Scales.
Permission Information: Copyright - Northern Wind / Northern Wind (888295245951). This recording is used with the permission of Gabriel Desrosiers
Keywords: powwow, Native American Music, Ojibwa music