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Eyes that Could Not See, A Heart that Could
from
Pow Wow Tales by Joe Liles. |
Linwood loved the feeling he got when he sang at the drum. He actually felt two different ways when the music was good. One feeling was for him. One was for the people.
The feeling that was for him was a kind of a "high". It was not a high that came from drugs or alcohol. It was a rush of exhilaration that came when he blended his voice with the voices of the other singers. At this time it felt as if there was only one voice and only one drumbeat. This was no easy accomplishment, especially this weekend, because his drum had sixteen singers around it: 12 guys around the drum with sticks and 4 women singers just behind them.
The feeling that was for his people had its personal side to it too, but all of the people at the powwow were tied up in it. This feeling was a proud sense of accomplishment in keeping the traditions alive. All the people shared in this accomplishment. To Linwood, this feeling was coupled with a sense of appreciation that came from all these people. This appreciation was directed to his drum for providing the music that enabled the powwow to happen. Linwood felt humbled by this appreciation. |
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Linwood took his position as a singer very seriously. The other guys at the drum would often get up from time to time and leave the drum. Some would go to scope out the food and craft stands. Some of them would leave to visit with their friends. Some would go to scope out those who they wished were their friends!
But Linwood, for most of the time throughout the powwow, day after day, would sit with the drum. He felt that it was his responsibility to keep the drum company. For Linwood, the drum was kind of like a person. For Linwood, the drum was both a friend and a teacher.
Since Linwood always hung around the drum, people would often come up and talk to him. Some of the people he knew, some he didn't. Some of the things people said to him added to his education in the traditional ways of his people. Some of the things people said added to that feeling of accomplishment and appreciation. But some of the things people said blew his mind. These things pointed out the total lack of understanding that some folks had about what was going on at the powwow. There were times that Linwood felt that he had to protect the drum from people that did not know any better. They would come up and grab a drum stick and start to hit the drum, or they would try to put their hands all over it. Once he had to stop someone who was about to use the drum for a table. |
For Linwood, these people were too pushy. But he tried to keep things in perspective. Linwood knew that people did these things out of ignorance, and he used his position as drumkeeper to attempt to educate these folks. He would politely correct people in their misconceptions about the drum. He hoped that, through his patience, he could gradually make people feel like he did about the drum and its music.
In regards to the crazy kinds of questions he would sometimes get, Linwood thought that he had heard it all. That's why he didn't even bat an eye when a lady's voice came from behind and said: "Would you mind if my son felt your drum?"
Linwood turned around to see a middle-aged woman with her hands on the shoulders of a boy. The boy must have been seven or eight years old. Linwood was about to explain his views on how the drum was a person and only those familiar with it should touch it, when he noticed something that had escaped his first glance at the woman and the boy. The boy was holding a white cane. The tip of the cane was painted red.
At first, Linwood didn't know what to say, but then he stood up and took the boy's hand. Linwood cleared away one of the empty chairs and led the boy up next to the drum. The boy leaned his cane against a chair, and both of his hands reached out for the drum. Linwood watched in amazement as the boys fingers seemed to pour over the drum. The fingers flew as they carefully studied the laces, the head on the bottom and then the head on the top. Linwood pulled off the small blanket that he had covering the top of the drum. He gave the boy a drum stick and let the boy sound the drum's voice. The boy hit the drum with almost a kind of reverence. |
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Then the boy started talking and asking questions. "What is this drum made out of?" the boy asked. Linwood explained how the wooden shell was made of strips of cedar that were glued together and how this shell was covered with two large circles of thick cowhide. He told the boy how the hard cowhide became very soft when it was soaked in water. He explained that laces were also cut from the soft cowhide and were strung through holes from the bottom hide to the top hide, over and over again, all around the drum. The boy's hands traced the laces as Linwood explained that when the cowhide dried, the laces and the heads pulled very tight. Linwood said that it took an experienced
drum maker to pull the laces and hides to the right tension so that, when they dried, the drum would have just the right sound.
"This drum is a lot bigger that I thought," the boy said. "How many singers sit around it?" Linwood explained that, this weekend, they had 12 men and 4 women at the drum. He told how each of the men singers had a stick. He told how the men and women had different parts to play in keeping the song strong. |
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The boy turned toward Linwood and said: "You know, when I was listening to your drum from the bleachers over there, I thought there was only one stick hitting the drum. I wondered how one stick could be so loud! I also thought that there were only a few singers, because the voice sounded like one voice. But the voice was so strong!"
"And there was another thing I noticed," the boy added. "During the drum beats, I could hear another sound. It was a small sound, like a little bell. Where does this sound come from?"
Linwood could not believe he was hearing the boy's words. He had been told that when this drum was made long ago, a small bell, one that had originally been tied to the leg of a hawk, had been fastened to the inside of the drum. He had been told that this was the "heart" of the drum. Could this be what the boy was hearing?
He was about to explain all this to the boy when the boy said: "You know, my eyes cannot see, but my heart can."
Linwood knew that he was experiencing a very special moment. He knew that he had done the right thing in letting the boy touch the drum. He knew then that the music of his drum was understood by all the people who took the time to listen. |
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He took the boy's hand and shook it. He told the boy that he had enjoyed meeting him and led the boy back to his mother. He shook the mother's hand and thanked her for bringing her son over. He told her that he would like to see the boy again.
Then Linwood turned, sat down in his chair, and put his hand on the drum. "Thank you Grandfather," he said. |
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Copyright ® by Joe Liles, All rights reserved. |
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