Innovations and Evolutions

Eskimo Dancing, Drumming, Singing             

Innovations & Evolutions

The topic I chose for this assignment is unique to other musical instruments, Eskimo Dancing, the Yupik term is "yuraq." When I say Eskimo Dance, it includes everything from singing, drumming, and performing as they all need one or the other to be complete in itself. Eskimo Dancing is an Alaskan Native connection from the real world to the spiritual world, or as it explained in "Yupik dance in Bethel, Alaska, 1995," is a form of prayer.  One of the important evolutions I would like to bring up is the spiritual connection, in the modern day you see a lot of these connections and "rules" of Eskimo Dancing slowly fading away. 

So, what is Eskimo dancing? Eskimo Dancing is a group of people where there are men who drum and sing using a round drum and sing songs in Yup'ik (may also be another Alaskan Native Language.) While they do that at a rhythm, ladies stand and dance to the beat of the drums in motions that resemble the meaning of each song. Men are also allowed to dance as well, but they kneel down in front of the women. Eskimo dance exists in many regions of Alaska and varies for each culture. 

The video shared below is of the Inuit drum dancing and singing. We hold a lot of similar beliefs and traditions, but it also varies based on each individual culture in Alaska. 

Yuraq W Mask Modern Day-- here is just an extra video of Byron Nicholai dancing with a mask, which was normally practiced in the beginning of Eskimo dancing, which is rarely practiced today. 

Since this is a music class, I would like to talk about the instrument used in Eskimo Dancing, the drum. The drum is round, made with bent wood, and a piece of cloth tightly tied covering the frame, in earlier times the drum was made with intestines of some animal usually seal or whale. The stick is used to beat onto the drum to make a drumming noise. The meaning behind the drum is that it is round and resembles the circle of life, this is a very respected instrument among the Native people.  

The beat of the drum- the beat of the drum varies depending on the song. Each song tells a story, for example, *shooting a gun hunting* the beat of the drums resembles the way a gun sounds when loading and going off, and the motions follow. It is very important for drummers to all drum at the same time to stay on the right beat. Something I would like to share about this is that although it is important to drum at the same time, there will be times when someone makes a mistake. Drummers usually laugh and joke about it and move forward. Being able to have fun and release burdens through song and dance is an important healing and connecting part of the Yup'ik way of life. One way that we are brought back to our culture is remembering that the beat of the drum resembles the heartbeat of life. 

Versus- In Eskimo dance, there is structured parts of each song. Introduction, an opening verse, a first and second verse and, rarely there is a third verse, and a closing. There is main story behind each song, and the versus are the outstanding and more detailed explanations that bring the story to life, or make it more meaningful.

Singing- all songs have their own unique tune according to what the story is about. I don't want to say that a long time ago they sung in mono-tune, but with the newer generations and the introduction of technology tunes have changed over time with being more exciting and incorporate this time period of life compared to when Eskimo dance song first began. Singing and drumming is usually only done by men, where the women were never allowed to touch a drum, now days you have more women composing songs and in times have held a drum and sang as needed.

If you are interested in this style of singing and dancing, Byron Nicholai is one of the modern young singers who has improvised old teachings of singing and dancing into something more unique that is relatable to the new generations. His success and accomplishments encourage our youth to reach their dreams as well as continue the Yupik way of life, especially understanding that we no longer live in the old days and so many things have changed with the addition of technology. 

As Alaskan Natives, we have always been in survival mode. Our ability to live through changes in the world, stay resilient, and continue our way of life with what we have or don't have is so incredible. Below is a video of a time when COVID-19 hit, everyone was in isolation, and a group of people connected through Zoom using song and dance. I do not want to express that this is about adapting or being resilient but the way modern technology has changed the way we communicate, even in the traditional ways of song and dance. One thing that fills my heart about this, is that people of all races come together in song and dance in a form of healing and peace. 

References:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yup%CA%BCik_dance

https://cdm16944.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/barretoelke/id/872