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Teachings of the Flute
Acknowledgement:
(some of the information put forth below has been brought here from the website of Arlie Neskahi at http://www.rainbowwalker.net/index.html I brought this information here because I have been taught many of these same teachings from my Elders and I have also added my experiences into what is written below. When I read these teachings on Arlie's site there was a good connection of mutual experiences. I offer thanks to Arlie Neskahi for putting this information forth.)
Another excellent website for information on the History and Legends of the Flute is http://www.zadjik.com/flutes/
Flute and Whistle Traditions
My Elders have taught me that the Drum and the Songs of the Drum were the music of the Earth, and that Flutes and Whistles were the music of the Sky and the Winged Beings.
Whistles:
We still use these instruments today for cultural, ceremonial, and spiritual purposes. There are Native American Church meetings where the roadman conducting the ceremony uses his eagle bone whistle during an important period of the night. These whistles are considered very sacred and to blow them for any other purpose would not be considered.
This sacred use of whistles exists today in many other Native ceremonies. During ceremonies there are times, where the medicine man goes outside at the proper time and blows his eagle bone whistle. They cautioned that no one is to go outside the house from that time till the ceremony was complete as the spirit powers would be coming in response to the whistle. As young Native children we are told not to whistle at night for we would call the spirits. It has been amazing to me over the years how many other persons from other tribes were told this very thing also. Another sacred use is during the Sundances held in the summer months where they are blown by the dancers in time to the drum. If you get the honor to attend one someday, you will notice that although both men and women pledge and dance, in most Sundances, only the men use the whistles. It is one of the most beautiful sounds of the Earth, these whistles played in time to the drum and songs. It is very important to follow these teachings we have been given as they have real roots in knowledge about the spiritual world.
Among the Pow-wow world of North America today there are persons that have been given the right to carry whistles during the dances. They may blow them at the proper time to ask the singers to continue their song. When they see the people coming to life and dancing to the music of a powerful song they dance up to the drum and just before the song ends blow their whistles. They repeat this four times and afterwards shake hands and give gifts to the singers. Many of them hold up in their thoughts, dance, and whistle-voice persons who may be sick, grieving, or facing hard times. When they speak of the moment they say I blew my whistle for this person that they may regain their vitality. It is a beautiful ceremony and may be seen at many pow-wows today. I once heard a story of the origin of this:
Long ago Spirit gave to Humans the dances and songs that one may see at a pow-wow. There were very beautiful and fun!!! Eagle came by and saw how the Humans were enjoying themselves, Eagle listened to the songs and thought they were beautiful, too. Eagle flew down to where the people were and said, "I want to dance, too. I can be a good dancer." But Eagle so graceful and light in the air was clumsy and awkward on the ground. Try as Eagle would it was impossible to dance like the humans. Eagle's legs were too short and somehow those wings always seemed to get in the way. So Eagle finally gave up with frustration and said to the Humans, "I really love these ways of song and dance, I wish I could do them, too. Since I can't dance with you I will give you my feathers to use and also my bones to make a whistle...which will be my Voice. In this way I will be dancing with you and when I look down from above I will be with you, enjoying the drum and the songs also. And when there is a song that I like, one that really makes everyone dance and feel lively, YOU WILL HEAR MY VOICE. I will call out through that whistle and when you hear me, sing it again and I will be happy... And I will give my blessing to Humankind for this favor..."
Around the mid to late eighties many young pow-wow men took to carrying whistles, some by proper means and rites and others without proper instruction and initiation. They began to blow them at the pow-wows and the pow-wow world went "whistle-crazy"!! Sometimes whistle man after whistle man would come up to a drum that was singing and blow for continuation of the song. I witnessed once 6 different men use their whistles in succession. This went on for about several years and then the Elders got together and began to bring everyone back to the proper and respectful use of the whistle. It was not to be overused we were told, and only persons who had the proper initiations had the right to blow them at these public festivals. Also it was not for the purpose of self promotion but as a blessing for the people and needed to be used sparingly for that purpose. So even among our own communities we are told again that we need to respect the proper use of these important articles when we get out of line. Today the advice has been well taken and whistles are used sparingly and thoughtfully, and the traditions carry on.
Flutes:
The flute is seen as the embodiment of the wind and male spiritual energy that comes from the Sky World, as it blows across our Mother the Earth, joining her female energy and bringing life to the mountains, streams, trees, waters, and land.
There are many teachings about these instruments and prior to the New Age movement (when it seemed like everybody who owned a wooden lathe could make a "traditional Native American flute"), they were mostly kept through their use in ceremonies. Among many of the Plains, Woodlands and Great Lakes Nations there was a long history of use of the flute by men in courtship, ceremony, and healing rituals, as well as playing the flute for personal enjoyment.
Among other tribes after they planted their crops, flutes would be played in the fields to help the crops grow fast and tall. Many hold that only the men use the flutes and/or whistles as they are a male instrument, with a direct connection to the male life forces. As was mentioned above the flute is many times connected to the Sky, Air, and Wind, after all it is the wind that gives it voice... And it is this connection to Father Sky, that establishes the male identity of these instruments. Much of Native American philosophy honors these male and female life forces, and is retained in these and other teachings today. It was the advent of Christianity with it's teachings that sex and ideas regarding these sacred life forces of the male and female being sinful, that these types of teachings went 'underground'. They were considered dirty and "uncivilized", but what we see as a comprehensive world view of sacred and enliving spiritual powers remains and is passed down for future generations.
Today there is a resurgence in traditional flute music. Many artists have become very well known with their music and much more is being heard on the different media as well as in public performance. Some are sticking to the classic styles while others have expanded their performance to the worlds of Jazz, New Age, World Beat, and Rock. I have always loved the sound of flute music and am glad to see it growing again in the Native communities. When I was young there were very few players, it seemed to almost die out till the early eighties when many young men began to play. Today there are even women who are carrying on the traditions and composing songs.
One of the sad things I have seen though, is many New Agers have attached themselves to the music of persons who have copied our traditional flute playing styles and put out albums directed at this market. It bothers me to go into stores today and hear what sounds like Native flute music and upon checking, find they are produced by some "meditation music" company and labeled as Native American Flute music. It also irritates me because this music was almost lost...and those persons who had the knowledge and commitment to keep it alive are not profiting from these sales. It is one thing for our people to share their culture and knowledge, it is something else for non-Native people to misappropriate our culture for their own financial gain and inappropriate activities. I am always willing to try to teach our people to retain their traditions of the NAF, especially in communities where there are high unemployment rates and extreme poverty. In some instances teaching a young person to begin studying the flute, may be the one key to unlocking the door of poverty, unemployment and racism, by allowing that person to become "fluent" and proficient at playing and teaching about their nation's flute tradition and music. In this way the flute may help to provide a chance at achieving a good lifestyle, improving self-esteem and a little more earned income into what could be an otherwise impoverished life. I have many times given my best flutes away to help possibly put someone on the path to being able to live and create a better life for themselves and their families. So my recommendation is, if it is at all possible buy Native. Look and find dealers who know their product and buy Native.
I have been questioned about my stance on these matters. I can honestly say I do not hold any hard feelings nor speak against those who are not native playing flutes, drums, rattles, etc. as long as they let people know they are not Native and their music is not Native and as long as they are respectful to our beliefs and traditions.
I also need to make a clarification here, when I make the statements that I have made here I am not speaking against those non-Native people who are earnestly and honestly working with our people to keep this beautiful instrument and the teachings of the Native American Flute alive. I am however speaking against some of the members of the New Age Movement who have tried to take this instrument away from us, as Aboriginal people, re-invent it and make it into something that was not Aboriginal in nature.
As a final note I want to ask you to be thoughtful with these things. Many of you have made or purchased flutes yourselves in recent times. You can go to some stores these days and even get a flute assembly kit complete with an instructional video on how to play!! Personally, I believe something is lost when this begins to happen. There is no Root...no spiritual connection to a Source. Keep in mind that these instruments are still held in high regard by our People, we are a living culture, and these teachings are still followed in our Native communities. Make a connection if you can with a Native community or person, learn what else you can from them about the spiritual traditions of the flute. These things are very important and you will then begin to have your Root. If you have the opportunity to learn from a Native flute player, give them an offering of honor for what you will learn. Tobacco is a common gift of honor and is widely recognized. You not only honor them but the long line of Musicians of this Great Land who came before them. If you can't, then take care of your flutes and your songs...for they are very special to our hearts, too.
My Elders taught me that if we go to make a flute, we need to offer those prayers for the tree we are going to use so we will have the best quality of wood for our purpose. Next when we clean out the center of that piece of wood, known as the heart wood, we are to take that wood or the shavings that come from it and build a small fire and burn tobacco along with the heart wood to offer thanks back to the tree and to Creator as well as to the spirit of that wood being used to make the flute. Then when we play we need to keep ourselves clean in mind, body, spirit and emotions so that any music that comes from the flute will be from our heart, spirit, breath and emotions filling the hollowed out space with goodness and kindness for all things.
For this reason I was taught the flute should not be bought or purchased for personal use, although today this does happen. It should be passed on or given as a gift, as much as possible, to an individual who was recognized as having special gifts or abilities for promoting peace, kindness, and spiritual understanding. Once receiving a flute the new owner was to burn tobacco to have the flute blessed by the Creator and the spiritual forces. The new owner of the flute would be the only one to ever play that flute since it was now connected to his spirit through ceremony. The flute is an instrument of peace and respect and should always be used and honored as such.
In saying this we believe flute music is considered to be holy and has a healing power of its own when played by a person with their heart and mind in the right place. Much prayer accompanies the making and playing of a flute. We offer prayers when we go to select the wood and offer prayers for every part of the flute making process. It is in this way we honor the spirit that is within the flute. It is an individual instrument that embodies all of the thoughts, emotions, and prayers of the player.
Among my people, the Mohawk, and other Onkwehonwe people, the flute was an instrument that was used by some of our medicine societies as a healing instrument. In our Creation story, we are told the flute was given to us by our Creator, Shonkwaiatison to be used for purposes of healing. It is said that if a person played the flute and honored the spirit from within the flute, they would even be able to bring the dead back to life, thus demonstrating the enormous spiritual power and strength that came from the Creator and was embodied within this instrument. These are just a few of the teachings that are associated with the making, playing, and "carrying" of the flute bundle and lifestyle. That is all I have to offer at this time.
Etho niiohtonhake ne sanikonra (May it be that way in our minds). 
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