 Native
American Plays,
Skits and Dramas
The LIfe of the Corn - A drama
in 5 dances
by Alice C. Fletcher
Life Stirring Dance
INTRODUCTORY NOTE.—This dance is from
the Corn Ritual Song and is a dramatization
of a visit to the planted field after the lapse
of a few weeks. Life has been stirring in the
kernels of corn that had been hidden within
the little hills, and the kernels now call
to those who had planted them to come and see
what was taking place.
Properties.—The same as those
used in the preceding dance. Both the boys
and the girls should wear the same costume
as in Dance II.
Directions.—The scene should
be the same as in Dance II. The "field" to
be visited should be in the same place as the
space set apart for the "field" where the little
hills were made and planted.
A part of the boys should act as guards of
the "field" as before. A few should scatter
among the girls and join in looking at the
sprouting corn as it breaks through the soil,
and these should join in singing the song.
At the opening of the dance the dancers should
be discovered standing in groups as though
they had accidentally met as neighbors of the
same village. They should stand at the same
place whence they had started to go to the "field" in
the preceding dance. The groups should be talking
in dumb show. Suddenly each group should act
as if its attention had been arrested by a
sound, and while in this attitude of arrested
attention all should begin to sing the following
song:
Native American Song
1
A call I hear!
Hark! soft the tones and weak.
Again the call!
Come! our feet that call must seek.
Refrain: Hey hey they,
Ah hey hey they,
Ah hey hey they,
Again the call!
Ah hey hey they,
Ah hey hey they,
Ah hey hey they,
Ah hey they.
This dramatic dance will require to be rehearsed
and the details planned by the dancers, so
that a clear picture may be brought out and
also the native poetic thought embodied in
the Ritual Song from which it is taken. A few
hints can be given, but much of the action
must depend upon the imagination and dramatic
feeling of the dancers.
As the first line, "A call I hear!" is sung
some one should raise the hand toward the ear,
another raise it as a warning to keep quiet.
The line "Hark! soft the tones and weak" is
an address to one another in the groups. Then
comes another sudden arrest, "Again the call!" These
three lines should be sung without any change
of position either by the groups or by the
individuals. Action should be confined to the
hands and the head. When singing the fourth
line all should begin to stir, to adjust their
pouches, tighten their hold on the wooden hoes
and, as if moved by a common impulse, should
prepare to go and seek the source of the call.
In their going the groups should not fall into
one line but each group move by itself. During
the refrain the dancers should act as if in
doubt which way to go. At the line "Again the
call!" all should stop as if arrested, and
then move off again when the refrain is taken
up. All the groups should keep the rhythm of
the music. There should be a good deal of by-play
and the action should indicate bewilderment,
both as to the meaning of the call and the
locality whence it comes. It should appear
as though some of the groups are baffled in
their attempt to locate the call.
2
A call I hear!
Hark! it is near at hand,
The call! The call!
Floats to us where we now stand.
Refrain: Hey hey they,
Ah hey hey they,
Ah hey hey they,
Again the call!
Ah hey hey they,
Ah hey hey they,
Ah hey hey they,
Ah hey they.
The action of this stanza shows the dancers
being led by the call to the "field," where
the call seems to become clearer and at last
is there located. The dancers should scatter
in groups, while different individuals should
look about searchingly but without breaking
the groups. These should move here and there
seeking for the "footprints" that had been
left on the smooth tops of the little hills,
and so lead to the action required for the
next stanza. Whenever in the song the line "The
call! The call!" occurs, there should be an
apparent arrest of movement among the dancers
as if to listen.
3
Again the call!
Forth to the light of day
They come! They come!
Come pushing upward their way.
Refrain: Hey hey they,
Ah hey hey they,
Ah hey hey they,
They call! They come!
Ah hey hey they,
Ah hey hey they,
Ah hey hey they,
Ah hey they.
"Day" is the symbol of life; the kernels are
coming "into the light of day" in the original
Ritual Song, meaning they are entering into
life. They call as they come, struggling and
pushing their way through the breaking earth.
This life movement should be indicated by the
motions of the dancers as they pass in groups
with rhythmic steps from one little hill to
another. Directions as to how these motions
should be made would hardly be helpful; the
dancers can best plan this pantomime.
4
Again the call!
Two feeble leaves are seen,
They call! They call!
Soon shall we stand clad with green!
Refrain: Hey hey they,
Ah hey hey they,
Ah hey hey they,
They call! They call!
Ah hey hey they,
Ah hey hey they,
Ah hey hey they,
Ah hey they.
The original Ritual Song tells that the feeble
leaves, the first shoots, cannot stand or support
themselves; they are helpless as infants. But
they have come to the "light of day," "have
entered into life," and they will grow, become
strong and stand, stretching ever higher into
the light. The native stanzas portray the progressive
movements of the corn from feeble helplessness
into the power of life. The action of the dancers
should convey this meaning by appropriate pantomime.
5
They call! They call!
Up springs our jointed stem,
They call! They call!
Golden fruit shall grow on them.
Refrain: Hey hey they,
Ah hey hey they,
Ah hey hey they,
They call! They call!
Ah hey hey they,
Ah hey hey they,
Ah hey hey they,
Ah hey they.
In this stanza the promise of fruit is given.
The dancers should show excitement not only
at the wonderful spectacle they observe but
because of the promise given.
They should still keep in groups as they move
about and exult in the results that have come
from the little hills where they left their "footprints."
In the original Ritual Song there are more
than a score of stanzas in which the various
occurrences of the growth of the corn are mentioned,
mingled with symbolic imagery. "Footprints" represent
both labor and ownership. Those who planted
the kernels look for these marks and rejoice
over what they find. They had begun their planting "like
a game," a venture; whether it would be successful
or not no one could tell. But success had come.
The action for the last stanza should indicate
an abandonment to delight; hoes should be dropped
as the groups mingle and act out pleasure not
only at what is seen but what is promised.
A pause should follow, then the hoes should
be picked up and the dancers gather by twos
and threes in a line to return home; as they
start they break into the same song which they
sang on the return from making and planting
the little hills:
The dancers should keep up the song and rhythmic
dance until their individual tents are reached. |
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