The Mide'wiwin or "Grand Medicine Society" of the Ojibwa / Seventh Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, 1885-1886, Government Printing Office, Washington, 1891, pages 143-300

Chapter 17: NOTE ON MIDI FILES

Open in WeRead

Explore more books like this:

About This Book

This ethnographic study examines the secretive Midēwiwin, the Ojibwa medicine society, tracing its origins, organization, and ritual life. It describes shamans and degrees of initiation, preparatory instruction, therapeutic practices, and ceremonial rites in detailed procedural accounts, accompanied by pictography, songs, musical notation, and descriptions of sacred objects, dress, and lodge architecture. Birch-bark records, mnemonic songs, and illustrative plates document mythic genealogies, healing techniques, and mnemonic systems, while supplementary notes address pictorial records, music, and the society's prospects in changing circumstances.

NOTE ON MIDI FILES

Depending on your browser, the MIDI files accompanying each piece of music may play when clicked, or may need to be downloaded and played in a separate application.

The “files” directory containing the MIDI samples also includes the musical notation in lilypond (.ly) format. These are simplified versions of the music as printed, omitting lyrics and dynamic marks. The meter is as printed, except that most songs marked 6/8 in the printed text were changed to 3/4.

Please note that these files are intended only to give a rough approximation of each melody. All musical selections were originally vocal, some with drum accompaniment. The three MIDI “instruments” were selected to offer the user a choice of sounds, and are not intended to be authentic.