Summer Music: Songs 1-3

1. Virgen Madre De Dios
2. Apache Indian Drums
3. Shaman's Call (From Earth Spirit)

By recording these three songs, the artists probably hoped to keep alive the culture i.e., things like music and art, that existed before Europeans landed on the continent. The artists wanted to spread knowledge of this pre-European culture, because when the Europeans came to North America and continued to dominate for years to come, generations of Amerindians began to slowly lose memory of their original culture. The artists were motivated to record these songs to save what could easily be classified as a dying way of life, and to inspire others to aid them towards that goal. Songs 2 and 3 highlight a period of American history in a time before the beginning of an era of rapid and unexpected change. Track 3 expresses the deep connection between Indian life and their spirit world; perhaps this music was used to implore the Earth spirit's help for a good harvest. The drums in track 2 may have been used in celebration, for war, etc. In any case, both songs speak to the fact that Native Americans were living their lives, thriving and interacting with each other, long, long before Europeans landed on the North American continent. Obviously, all of these three songs do not come from the pre-European era, because how would the Indians have known about the "Virgen Madre De Dios" without the instruction of the settlers? (that, or perhaps it was actually settlers who sang that particular song to the Indians). Track 1 highlights a culture that would have begun to emerge not long after Europeans landed: a mixing of European and traditional Amerindian customs. These songs, to me, represent a voice that has truly been lost to American history. In fact, the era that songs 1-3 represent seems to almost not have a place in "American" history, because in so many cases, as we endeavored to build our own new nation, Native American culture was swept under the rug. The songs speak for an era that it is impossible to know much about. The culture imbued in these songs, as far as I can tell, did not influence what would become American culture. However, the presence of Indians in North America, in some cases, provided the European settlers with a common enemy, promoting a unity among them that would later become vital to their successful rebellion against English colonial rule.