Tepehua Thought-Song: A Case of Semantic Signaling

Charles L. Boilés

Ethnomusicology, Vol. 11, No. 3. (Sep., 1967), pp. 267-292.

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TEPEHUA THOUGHT-SONG: A CASE OF SEMANTIC SIGNALING*

Charles L. Boil&

The ritual music of the Tepehua tribe of northern Veracruz pre- sents for the ethnomusicologist a most fascinating case of s e -

mantic signaling. In the context of ritual actions, these songs a r e textless; however, investigation has shown that all the participants in the ritual a r e capable, outside the ritual situation, of quoting consist- ent texts for the songs. This would indicate that the music st imu- lates the participants to associate semantic content with melodic out- line in an essentially wordless environment. I have called these songs "thought-songs" to indicate both the nature of the semantic signaling and the religious nature of the communication.

Thought-songs a r e used in the cult of ~ a l a k i h t h t i , "the moving of the things." Within i ts r i tual, instrumentalists play this music a t ceremonies for curing psychosomatic i l lness, for securing rain and good crops, for restoring harmony to daily life, and for preparing the proper departure of the dead to the other world. A pr ies t offici-a tes a t these ceremonies, and, when they a r e realized on a grand scale , he i s accompanied by a violinist and a guitarist.

The Tepehuas say that the music is speaking, and the highest pra ise for a violinist i s to be told that one can hear "all the people talking" in his performance. This music holds communication with a l l deities and humans, living o r dead, who a r e present a t the cere-mony. It can call people o r spiritual entities to the ritual center and can instruct them in something they must do o r comment on what i s occurring. At times it prepares them for events about to occur. These thought-songs a r e the non-verbal adjunct to every ac t of the participants.

Anyone present a t the ceremony can tell a questioner what the music is saying. Some informants have tried to sing the texts out of the ri tual context; however, the brevity of the melody line made i t impossible to sing them in other than two modified forms. One of these i s a strophic song with a shortened version of the text. The other i s a lso strophic in character but i t uses lengthy sentences. This results in a type of psalmody with great distortion of original rhythmic values.

One can better appreciate the nature of this communication by

"Ed. note: This paper was awarded the Jaap Kuilst Pr ize of the Society for Ethnon~usicology for 1966.

267

knowing something of the ceremony itself. The whole ritual or any of its par ts may be performed wherever i ts symbolic objects a r e a s -sembled in front of an a l tar . These objects represent a l l the ma-ter ia l and spiri tual elements which a r e believed to affect the macro-cosm of a person, group of persons, o r the community. The pr ies t is manipulating material objects, but to the tribesmen, the "moving of the things" implies that the spir i t s a r e being moved.

The f i r s t duty of the pr ies t is to determine the magnitude of the ceremony to be realized. He performs a divination by lighting a candle and burning copal incense. While invoking his deities, he pours a libation on the ground in front of his a l tar . Then a bit of beeswax i s dropped into the incense brazier , and in the smoke that r i ses from it , the pr ies t discerns the shape o r nature of the spir i t that i s molesting the s ick person. Perhaps a spir i t of anger was born of a family quarre l and i s causing the illness. If the s ick per- son had been frightened while in a particular location, he would be told that the spir i t of that place had stolen an animus from a par t of his body and that it must be restored. The diagnosis will decide which par ts of the ritual a r e to receive more importance. Then the priest announces the type of ceremony needed and the day on which it will begin.

About half an hour before the ceremony, the musicians a r r ive and tune their instruments. If everything is not quite ready, they will play a song telling the people to hurry and assemble all the things. At the proper moment they play the song which indicates that the pr ies t and his spir i t companion have arr ived and a r e anxious to begin their work.

Ritual cleansing occupies the f i rs t section of the ceremony. A marigold dipped in a mixture of cane alcohol and wild honey is used to "wash" the objects placed on two tables in front of the a l tar . The music announces that spi r i t s a r e entering the ceremonial center. In order to avoid malevolence from them, paper dolls representing these spir i t s a r e painted with the blood of a smal l chick. Throughout every activity, an appropriate song is played over and over, from s ix to twenty-five t imes, until the sequence i s finished.

The person o r persons for whom the ceremony i s performed must be purified by the priest . A bundle made of palm fronds, spr igs of box hedge, marigolds, and a chicken i s brought forth. The pr ies t holds this over the incense before using i t to make twenty brushing strokes in the a i r around the person's body. While the music speaks of the imminent death of the chicken, the pr ies t s l i t s i ts throat and drips i ts blood over a l l the objects and dolls on the tables. The chicken is then taken outside the dwelling and left to die near a cross that stands in front of the doorway. With this, the f i rs t section of the ceremony concludes.

The pr ies t and musicians r e s t a bit while others finish making

bouquets of palm fronds, a marigold, and a beeswax candle. These bouquets a r e called makshsnti and symbolically represent a hand. When the musicians begin to play again, everyone takes his makshsnti and assembles near the tables. The song tells that a ceremony for asking favor and pardon is to begin. All who a r e present must a sk pardon of one another and of the fathers and mothers of the gods, people, and things. This i s effected by exchanging the bouquets and making a reverential gesture, which consists of nodding one's head toward each shoulder of the other person. The song of the interces- s o r is played while the pr ies t directs this activity. Then the music tells the people to exchange their makshsnti for others that a r e lying on the a l tar . These latter acquire the power to represent members of the spir i t world from their association with the a l tar . Through this exchange, the participants a s k pardon of the spir i t s . Afterward, everyone places his bouquet on the tables. Chickens a r e again sac - rificed and their blood dripped over a l l the things that a r e on the table. All the objects that have received this blood a r e then wrapped in a banana leaf and reserved for burial after the ceremony.

During the r e s t period that ensues, the chickens a r e cleaned and boiled. When the musicians begin to play songs of offering, the cooked chickens a r e placed on the tables and a l tar . The music con-tinues while bread, torti l las, and cups of coffee a r e placed beside the chickens. Cigarettes a r e lit for the spir i t s . Libations of soda pop, beer , and cane alcohol a r e poured a t strategic points about the tables and in front of the a l tar . Beeswax candles a r e lighted and placed among the food offerings. After the spir i t s have received the essence of the food, everything i s removed from the tables during a lull in the ritual activity. Fresh coffee has been brewed and is now served to a l l who a r e present.

At this point, the roles of many of the participants become r e -defined. In a l l the preceding activities, the people acted a s worship-pers . Everyone participated in lighting candles, putting copal in the incense braziers , placing offerings on the tables, o r lighting ciga- re t tes . Even the many prayers of the pr ies t were those of an earth-ly being invoking deities. Now the music says he has become a spir i t pr ies t officiating in the other world. The tables, a l t a r , and ri tual objects turn to gold. The pr ies tess who ass i s t s him becomes the great midwife, "our-grandmother-of-the-vapor-bath," who i s the patroness of midwives and cureTs ~f p r e - ~ o l u m b i a n t imes (Sahagiin 1956:1,48). Two men and two women become the four guardians of the great table which is the world. Others become the spiri tual god- fathers of the person o r persons for whom the ritual i s performed.

The rhythm of the music has changed to a dance pattern asso-ciated with lakatuhiin hatupasdfqab, the marijuana goddess known in Spanish a s Santa Rosa. The Tepehuas believe that she represents the seven sac red thoughts of god. In order to understand these divine

thoughts, the participants masticate a leaf of marijuana, the plant endowed by the goddess with a power that will now control them and cause them to speak wisely. The music now says Santa Rosa is coming to them, singing happily and dancing a s she nears the cere-monial center. As the marijuana and its music suffuse their minds, they truly become the surrogate representatives of the spiri t world.

The scene that i s now enacted demonstrates what the gods a r e doing in the spir i t world in order to bring the rea l world and the cosmos back to a state of order . If a person has lost an animus from some par t of his body, it is restored. If the candle which rep- resents his life i s about to be extinguished, a new one is lighted for him. If phantom jaguars have come out of the earth, the earth must be propitiated and the phantoms exorcised. In effect, any factor which is awry in the scheme of the cosmos is dramatically repre- sented and put in order . At the conclusion of these activities, the four guardians of the world se ize the corners of the table and begin to dance, moving the table around, causing the ear th to resume its proper movement.

The ceremonies conclude with general dancing around the table. The pr ies t , in both his spiri tual and physical capacity, has com-pleted his handiwork. The things have been moved. The musicians gradually change from dancing tunes to those which announce the de- par ture of the spir i t s . After a l l dancing has ceased and a l l the gods have gone, the musicians play the song of the table which announces that food is about to be served. After the feasting, the pr ies t en-joins three days of sexual abstinence upon al l who have participated in the ceremony. If he has been officiating a t a house other than his own, the musicians and men of the family will accompany him, and a walking song i s played a s he returns to his dwelling.

The complexity of this ritual illustrates some of the ways in which ascribed meaning functions through its melodies. Supernatural participation i s assured by attracting deities to the ceremonial cen-te r . These songs also prompt the human participants in their activ- ities and thereby maintain order in the ceremony. In addition, songs associated with the marijuana spir i t can induce euphoria even without actual use of the drug. Any time that the songs a r e played, it is be- lieved that the physical and spiritual worlds a r e drawn together and that candles and incense must be burned and a libation poured for the spir i t s .

Among the Tepehuas, these songs a r e considered to be a par t of a ritual tradition that has been handed down through many genera- tions. In order to learn the music, the instrumentalists must s i t through many ceremonial sessions. They practice in private until they have mastered the style. The violinist is the master musician, for it is through his melodies that the music speaks. Anyone who aspires to his position must f i rs t play guitar accompaniment a t the

2 7 1 B O I L ~ S : TEPEHUA THOUGHT-SONG

ceremonies. During res t periods, the guitarist will be allowed to t r y out some of the tunes, and the violinist will give him pointers on his style.

The s ix songs presented a t this time a r e pa r t of a collection of forty-five that were recorded in Pisaf lores , Veracruz, in June of 1966. All the songs of this s e t , a s well a s some of those not pre- sented here , were consulted in order to decipher the complex musi- cal code. In the near future, a study of the complete collection will be ready for publication.

The accompanying texts were recorded by Pedro Hernandez, a Tepehua pr ies t , and were translated into Spanish by Jose Marquez, one of the village elders. Much of the material of these texts con-stitutes information which is already known by the Tepehua and forms a subliminal context that is automatically associated with the ritual music. Shorter versions of some of these texts were collected in 1963. In the shor ter versions, only the kernel ideas were given. A comparison of a short text with a longer one (seeSong 6) shows that the basic message content i s identical in both of them, but the wealth of detail given in the longer version explains the subliminal context in which the song i s heard and understood.

All the songs used for this paper a r e based on equitonic modes in which the steps a r e 175 cents apar t . This feature of the violin melodies is also present in unaccompanied vocal renditions of the same music. The equitonic consistency is further demonstrated by the tuning of the lower two s t r ings of the violin an interval of 525 cents apar t , while the second, third, and fourth s t r ings a r e tuned 700 cents apar t . In Figure 1, the open strings of the violin a r e repre-sented by white notes and intermediary pitches a r e shown by black notes. The cents value placed over each of those notes i s relative to the lowest s t r ing, which i s sounded a t 205 v.d. These tunings and the pitches used in performance were checked on the Strobotuner of the Laboratory of Ethnomusicology a t Tulane University. Variance from the indicated pitches i s r a re ly more than 5 cents. With r e -spect to the preciseness of these tunings, i t must be stated that Tepehuas a r e not concerned with absoluteness of pitch a s a phenom-enon and that this exactitude only reflects a pitch memory that i s accustomed to the production of these particular sounds.

272 B O I L ~ S : TEPEHUA THOUGHT-SONG

Semantic signaling in Tepehua ritual music occurs a t various levels of discourse. Musical elements which have semantic meaning can be glossed by associating sound pattern X of songs A , B, and C with idea Y that is unique to the texts for these songs. These sound patterns may involve a single element such a s an interval, a rhyth-mic pattern, a complex motive, the position of motives within a mu-sical continuum, the transposition of a previously heard motive, o r any combination of these. In effect, these songs constitute commu-nication a s complex a s any spoken linguistic code and can be analyzed according to linguistic procedures. Therefore, a transformational grammar has been written to show how the semantic code is signaled by various types of melodic and rhythmic motives.

Rhythm and accent a r e the means for distinguishing individual motives in these songs. The f i rs t tone of each motive receives a heavy accent, and each motive has the duration of four minimal time units which a r e grouped in figures of an eighth and two sixteenth notes, two eighth notes, an eighth note tr iplet , o r a quar ter note. These rhythmic figures form the motival nuclei that, in the continua of each song, occupy positions corresponding to par ts of speech. Each nucleus i s modified by the meanings of the intervals combined with it.

The continua of a song a r e those sections of music in time- space which can be descriptively identified by the presence of any features functioning a s continuum boundary markers . In these songs, such boundary markers a r e the static silences a t the beginning and end of each song and the quarter notes that terminate every group of sixteen minimal time units. Usually, four motives form a continuum, and there a r e a t least two continua in every song. The f i rs t two motives of a continuum form a noun phrase , and the last two function a s a verb phrase. The noun phrase consists of a noun (motive A ) and a prepositional phrase o r a relative clause (motive B), the latter being an imbedded sentence. The verb phrase is composed of an op- tional gerund, a participle (motive C), and a verb (motive D). Prep-ositions, adjectives, verbal adjectives, adverbs, and gerunds a r e de-noted by the intervals which join one motive to another. Gerunds and prepositions a r e indicated by the intervals preceding a motival nucle- us, but adjectival and adverbial modifiers a r e the intervals that fol- low these nuclei. Verb tense is established according to the absence, increase, o r decrease of cycles per second, i.e., type of interval di- rection used, in approaching the final pitch of a continuun~.

Basic meanings a r e assigned to intervals regardless of the pitch level at which they occur (see Figure 2). In these examples, an a s - ter isk is used to indicate anon-grammatical o r incorrect interpre- tation of the material .

3501= the act of asking pardon

But not:

3501 = *the act of offering

" 350f = the act of asking pardon

Figure 2.

New meanings can be derived when one o r more intervals a r e combined to form complex motives of various types. Such motives in Tepehua songs usually have one factor in common, i.e., sameness of proportion and/or direction in t e r m s of intervals (see Figure 3). The meaning assigned to these reduplicating intervals% sometimes related to that of the simple interval. This i s a lso t rue of cases in which dissimilar intervals form a complex motive. However, in the latter case , the type of motival nucleus and i ts position within the continuum determine the meaning given the complex motive (E Fig-ure 4).

But not:

350f 3501 350f 3501

Figure 3.

A A r I

-I )

I -I rl

I -I'

I\

I I

0

But not: - w

I I 350r 525r = *near the altar

350r 525r = near the altar

Figure 4,

Most of the complex motives subject to rhythmic contexts a r e coterminous with the rhythmic pattern of an eighth and two sixteenth

I

notes and a r e found within the noun phrase portion of the music. Those that occur in nominative positions will have meanings relating to the semantic interpretations given for a single interval. When this rhythmic pattern occupies the position assigned to relative clauses, it i s associated with the intercessor; and in this case the intervals, whether single o r reduplicating, will retain their original meanings although it i s the intercessor that executes the action indicated by each interval.

In any song, repetition of one of its pr ior musical statements (i.e., continua or par ts of them) affects the message in two ways. Redundancy i s used to establish the context of a song. The rhythmic pattern of a continuum must be heard a t least once before its full context i s understood. Usually, the f i rs t continuum of a song, o r i ts rhythmic pattern, is repeated s o that signals which were heard dur- ing the f i r s t playing can be correctly interpreted. Another type of redundancy utilizes repetition by means of melodic transposition. The transposition adds a new context, altering the original meaning of the message, in which the divine Father-Mother becomes involved in the action associated with the original motives (see- Figure 5).

350r 350f = arriving for asking pardon 350r 3501= arriving for asking pardon of our Father-Mother

Figure 5.

The conventions of the transformational grammar a r e fairly standard; however, i t has been necessary to add some new signs and amplify the interpretations of others in order to accommodate mu-sical material to a linguistic scheme. Therefore, the following def- initions of a l l the signs a r e given s o that they may be easily inter- preted. The # i s used for indicating boundary markers of a song, and // shows the boundary markers of continua within a song. A single a r row means that the element listed by the rule can be writ- ten a s whatever follows the arrow. Thus rule 1 of the grammar s ta tes that a song can be written a s a continuum plus another con-tinuum. A s e t of parentheses around an element shows that it is optional in the sense that it might o r might not be used in a s t ruc-ture being described. Braces show that the elements enclosed with- in them a r e optional in the sense that one o r the other of those ele- ments must be used in that position of the s t ructure . In this way, rule 3 s ta tes that a noun phrase is written a s a noun plus a possible adjective plus either a prepositional phrase o r a relative clause. Brackets denote that each level of elements designated within them

----

can be written according to the respective level of elements included within corresponding brackets on the other side of the arrow. A diagonal line means "in the environment of," and if the environment must be specified, a horizontal line in front of the environmental element shows that what i s being described precedes the environ- ment o r , i f the line i s placed after the environmental element, the described feature follows said environment. An illustration of these conventions is found in rule 9. Here, i t is shown that a noun can be written a s a motive if i t occurs before an adjective or after a prep-osition and that a participle can a lso be written a s a motive if it oc- curs before a verb marker .

The f i r s t sixteen rules of this grammar a r e i ts base rules . Whatever is stated in these rules is always operative in any song unless a specific transformational rule is applicable. These t rans- formational rules a r e written with a double arrow which denotes that whatever is given in the domain of the rule will be "rewritten as" whatever is indicated after the arrow. Thus the specific intervals listed in rule 15 a r e made the object of an obligatory transformation (Tob) in rule 17. This rule s ta tes that when these intervals a r e joined to a verb marker they will be rewritten a s the verb tenses indicated. Another type of obligatory transformation is illustrated by rule 23. In this rule the letter X denotes any element of a continuum which, in the environment of transposition, i s automatically consid- ered to be in a context associating the element's indicated action with the divine Father-Mother.

Optional transformations (Topt) a r e r a r e in this grammar. Rule 24 i l lustrates the optional organization of continua within a song. The colon placed inside the continua boundary markers used in this rule indicates that the continuum in that particular position may be repeated.

Conjoining of par ts of several continua i s shown in rule 25 (Tconj). This rule s ta tes that the various continua shown in i ts do- main can be combined in the manner indicated to the right of the transformational arrow if the participles and verbs of each of the continua a r e equal and if their respective nouns and relative clauses a r e not.

A transformational rule covering embedded sentences (Temb) i s illustrated in rule 26. The s t ructure written on the upper level of the single brace i s the matrix sentence which has a relative dummy embedded in it. On the lower level of this brace, the symbols N 1 + Verbal adjective define the sentence which is to be embedded in the position indicated by the relative dummy. The use of a relative dummy and the embedding of a relative clause is indicated in the phrase t r ees of Figures 6a and 6b by the symbol WH which signifies who, whom, whose, which, e tc .

The reader will note that a l l intervals used in the grammar a r e

276 B O I L ~ S : TEPEHUA THOUGHT-SONG

expressed in t e r m s of cents. I should like to have used Kolinski's method for writing these intervals, but in view of the fact that only one of them corresponds to those used in Western music, I have preferred to note the number of cents, r ising o r falling, that identify the intervals used in Tepehua music.

GRAMMAR FOR TEPEHUA CULT SONGS

2. //c// .)Noun P h r a s e + Verb P h r a s e

3 . NP + Noun + (Adjective) + Preposit ional Phrase 1

4. Relative -> Relative dummy

5 . Prep . Phrase -) Preposit ion + Noun

6. Verb P h r a s e -+ (Gerund) + Par t ic ip le + Verb

7. Verb + Tense + Verb Marker

8. Tense -= Past , Present , Future

10.

Part iciplef n1 Motive

- Mod 1

jMotive

Motival Nucleus + Modifier(s)

[/ Motival Nucleus

+ Interval (s)

- -

[Motival Nucleus

12. ]+

Verb Marker

13. Interval Intl, Int2

place, being in a place presence, ac t of being present consolation, ac t of consoling arr ival , ac t of arriving act of asking pardon salutation, ac t of greeting

-happy, state of happiness

17.. Tob agreement

18. Tob interval reduplication

-place, being in a place ac t of giving (offering) act of coming act of bringing act of kneeling (asking pardo _being near tables and a l t e r

4

- -

19. Tob dissimilar intervals

yonder-place (of asking pardon)

1' E::: : Iy'ilr]+[divine thought

20. Tob positional rhythmic motive

/ / ~ o u n+ J-A +Intercessor

21. Tob complex positional motive

/ / ~ o u n+ JT-JIntercessor executes action in- ==+ dicated by intervals

22. Tob rhythmic context

,- -- J + J-J- sacrifice context

m + n +nJ, asking pardon context

intercession context

Tob transposition

X / transposition =) X / Father-Mother context

Topt

Tconj

where: Vbl' = Vb, Vb' NP' # NP1' Par t" = Part, Par t ' Re1 # Rel', Rel" NP # NP', NP1' Re1' # Rel"

26. Temb

N+Adj-Rd-P a r t + V b) =) N +Adj-N1 +VbAdj P a r t + Vb-N' + VbAdj

where: N # N'

An analysis of the songs will i l lustrate how thoughts a r e com-municated through this music. Phrase t r ees for song 1 show the ex-act nature of i ts construction (see Figures 6a and 6b). F o r the sake of clarity, diacri t ical m a r k i n g s y e not used above any tone; the reader may re fe r to Figure 1 in o rde r to ascer ta in the exact pitches represented.

Song 1.

Text :

The music surely must know

What they will give to the thought F o r whom it is needed

O r where i t will a r r ive And who it i s that will a sk pardon,

J u s t a s the music knows what is to be played.

Where it has gone to be present, There i s that one who went to a r r ive in the home of a poor friend,

Because he wants them to ask favor fo r him, Because he wants them to give him what he needs fo r his life

Thus did they do it when the light was given, When they commanded in this world.

F o r yonder will be used the thought they gave him, That with which he will enter where he arr ived. And with it will begin that (ceremony) Where he went to visi t .

Song 1 consists of two continua, each of which is repeated (rules 1 and 24). The initial playing of the f i r s t continuum allows the l istener to identify the rhythmic pattern, which signals the context for the whole

B O I L ~ S :TE PEHUA THOUGHT-SONG

Tense V M

N P.

mot tve m o t i v e

M o t v a l Nuc leus Mot. Nuc.

11: 1925 1575 1750

'4'4' Mod. Mod. Mod. 350f 175r 0 3507 175r

D ~ v i n e ~ h o u g h t a c t of WH P r e s e n c e I

Being in I

A s k i n g F U T U R E g i v ~ng a place pardon

Figure Ga.

message, and to interpret the melodic mater ia l accordingly. This par- ticular pattern i s played when the participants in the ri tual must form a group for asking pardon of one another and of the gods (rule 22) . There-fore, the context of this message i s that of asking pardon.

The f i r s t motive of this continuum has a nucleus of an eighth and two sixteenth notes which i s covered by the transformational rule applying to complex motives with diss imilar intervals (rule 19). Comparison with other songs shows that in the position of f i r s t motive in any continuum the intervals 350f + 175r jointly r e fe r to the divine thought. Further-more , the interval 175r that connects the f i r s t motive to the second i s

N Ad1 Rel Part. Verb

A Tense VM

N P V P

N VbAdj

M o t ~ v e M otrve M o t ~ v e

i Mot Nuc. Mot.Nuc. Mot Nuc

A Ar-77 rn J 1925 1575 1575 1225 1 4 0 0 1575 1750 1 5 7 5 1400 1225 //

'-4""' Ldh! %h'M o d M o d

350f 0 350f 175r 1751- 175r 175f 175f ?75f

Yonder-place A s k i q WH G ~ v i n gof ler lng Act o f c m ~ l q pal-don

Intercessor

Figure 6b.

subject to a reduplication rule under which the combination of 1751- + 1'751- i s associated with the ac t of giving (rule 18). Thus the combination of 350f + 1751-+ 1'751- f o r m s a noun phrase which i s translated "the given divine thought ."

The use of a conjoining interval in association with a noun automat- ically indicates that the following motive will be a relative clause. Motive

two has only one interval, 175r, which means the "act of being present." This motive i s joined to motive three by an unchanging pitch for which the interval 0 signifies 'being in a place." In the context of a relative clause, these intervals signal something related to the nominative case. In this instance, the message i s "whose presence is in that place."

The third motive i s always related in some way to the verb (rules 6 and 9). Usually, i ts function i s that of a participle which defines the action of the verb. In this case, this motive i s formed around the interval 350f which, in the environment of a verb marker , indicates asking pardon.

The final motive of the continuum i s a single pitch with the du- ration of a quar ter note. This motive always ac t s a s a verb marker (rule 12)) and i t s tense i s interpreted according to the type of inter-val that joins the third motive to it (rules 7, 11, 15 and 17). In this continuum, that interval i s 1751- which indicates future tense when placed in this environment. Thus the full message of the f i r s t con-tinuum i s in future tense and should read, "The given divine thought, whose presence will be in that place, where there will be pardon asked."

In the second continuum of Song 1, the f i r s t three motives a r e complex and a l l of them have the motival nucleus of an eighth and two sixteenth notes. The intervals 350f + 0 of the f i r s t motive, in conjunction with the following interval 350f, refer to "yonder pardon- asking place." When the above-mentioned motival nucleus i s used in the second position of any continuum, the "intercessor" becomes the subject of the relative clause (rule 20)) and the in tercessor executes the action of the intervals which modify this positional motive (rule 21). Within the motival nucleus of this relative clause, the intervals 175r + 175r signify the "act of giving" (rule 18)) and the conjoining interval of 1751- i s a verbal adjective (rule 26) which means the "act of being present" (rule 16). The full statement of this relative clause is "whose offering-giving in tercessor i s present." The third motive i s composed of the intervals 175f + 175f. These take the meaning of the "act of coming." They modify the verb which is in past tense a s indicated by the conjoining interval 175f. The message for this con-tinuum should read, "The yonder pardon-asking place, whose offer- ing-giving in tercessor i s present, where it (the divine thought) was coming." If considered together, the two continua for Song 1 mu-sically make the following statement: "The given divine thought will be present in yonder pardon-asking place whose offering-giving in-t e rcessor i s there where it was coming." An examination of the corresponding text for Song 1 shows that these kernel ideas a r e the basic message for this song.

Song 2.

Text:

There was the thought,

Which though it had been, Yet it s t i l l is .

Hardly had i t been born When there existed lads and l a s ses .

Even though they were not Old Ones, In this manner they grasped the way.

Thus were they given the thought; Thus was the life given them by thei r fa thers .

When the music begins,

It r e fe r s to when the thought entered. It wants to say it i s happy.

Yonder it has to g rasp the music Because i t knows where i t i s .

Now i t knows where to come in, F o r when it a r r ived where were i t s fathers, It greeted them.

I. Continuum A. A. Rhythmic context: asking pardon. B. Noun Phrase .

1. Noun: 350f + 175r = divine thought. 2. Adjective: (in combination with previous interval) 175r = ac t

of giving. 2. Relative clause.

a . Noun: 5251- = salutation. b . Verbal adjective: 700f = being happy.

C. Verb P h r a s e . 1. Part iciple: 350r = ac t of arriving. 2. Verb: 175f/ ve rb m a r k e r = past tense.

D. Message: The g iven divine thought, whose salutation was happy, has ar r ived.

11. Continuum B. A. Rhythmic context: asking pardon. B. Noun Phrase .

1. Noun: 350f + 0 = yonder-place. 2. Adjective: 350f = act of asking pardon. 3. Relative clause.

a . Transposition context: Father-Mother. b. Noun: 525r = salutation. c . Verbal adjective: 700f =being happy.

C. Verb Phrase . 1. Participle: 350r = act of arriving. 2. Verb: 175f / verb m a r k e r = past tense. 3. ~ r a n s ~ o s i t i o ~ c o n t e x t :Father-Mother.

D. Message: Yonder pardon-asking place, whose Father-Mother re-ceived its happy salutation, where i t a r r ived to be with them.

111. Continuum C. A. Rhythmic context: asking pardon. B. Transposition context: Father-Mother. C. Phrase organization: the s a m e a s that of continuum A. D. Message: The divine thought given by Father-Mother, whose

salutation for Father-Mother was happy, has arr ived to be with them.

Song 3.

Text :

When they play thusly in the place where everyone is present, Everyone i s there .

All who a r e there a r e seeing what is being done, What they a r e doing (things they a r e moving).

In that place a r e intervening those who a r e moving things, Those who ask favor.

This song is like that of the old midwives and old curers ; Thus did they do it.

F o r this reason they a r e there, And favor and pardon i s asked of them.

The asking of favor of those who a r e there Is the same a s what is being played,

The s a m e a s what i s being spoken, The s a m e a s what i s being done.

That i s the only reason fo r playing this music.

Conjoined sentence. A. Noun P h r a s e 1.

1. Noun: 0 = place. 2. Adjective: 0 = being in a place. 3. Relative clause.

a . Rhythmic context: noun = in tercessor . b . Modifiers .

(1). 350r = ac t of arriving. (2). 175f = ac t of consoling.

c . Verbal adjective: 350f = asking pardon. B. Noun P h r a s e 2.

I. Noun. a . Transposition context: Father-Mother. b. Interval: 0 = place.

2. Adjective: 350r = arriving. 3. Relative clause.

a . Rhythmic context: noun = in tercessor . b . Modifiers .

(1). 0 = being in a place. (2). 350f = asking pardon.

c . Verbal adjective: 175f = a c t of consoling. C. Noun Phrase 3.

1. Noun. a . Transposition context: Father-Mother. b. Interval: 0 = place.

2. Adjective: 350f = asking pardon. 3. Relative clause.

a . Rhythmic context: noun = in tercessor . b. Modifiers.

(1). 0 = being in a place. (2). 350r = ac t of arriving.

c . Verbal adjective: 175f = ac t of consoling. D. Verb Phrase .

1. Part iciple: 0 = being in a place. 2. Verb: 0 /-verb marke r = present tense.

11. Message: This i s the being in a place whose in tercessor by a r r i v - ing with consolation a sks pardon, the being in the a r -rival place of ou r Father-Mother whose in tercessor by asking pardon in that place i s consoling, the being of Father-Mother in the pardon-asking place whose inter- c e s s o r arriving to be in that place i s consoling.

BOILES: TEPEHUA THOUGHT-SONG

Song 4.

Text :

There i s the table, All of the tables.

There a r e two tables fo r moving the things. There is an a l tar .

Now they a r e there, They who intervene a t the a l t a r .

Now a l l the tables a r e prepared, And they ask favor and pardon of those who a r e there.

All who a r e participating must again ask pardon, And a l l have their m a k s h h t i (floral hand).

Yonder they a r e asking pardon a t each corner of the table. Yonder they must a sk pardon a t four corners of the table.

They must a lso ask pardon a t four corners of the other table. They must pass by the a l tar .

There (at the a l tar ) they ask pardon of our father, our mother. Though they were sad in other t imes, Now they a r e there dispensing pardon to each one.

The music asks pardon of our mother. That i s why our mother i s there, Because they a r e asking pardon.

I. Continuum A. A. Noun Phrase .

1. Noun: 350f + 3 50f = act of kneeling for asking pardon. 2. Prepositional phrase: 350r + 525r = near tables and a l tar .

B. Verb Phrase . 1. Gerund + Participle : 3 50f + 3 50f = ac t of kneeling fo r asking

pardon. 2 . Verb: 0 / verb m a r k e r = present tense.

C. Message: hea act of kneeling nea r tables and a l t a r is asking pardon by kneeling.

II. Continuum B. A. Noun Phrase .

1. Noun: 350f + 0 = yonder place of asking pardon. 2. Prepositional phrase.

a . Preposition: 0 = place, being in a place. b. Noun: 525r = salutation.

B. Verb Phrase . 1. Transposition context = Father-Mother. 2. Gerund + Participle: 3 50f + 3 50f = kneeling act of asking

pardon. 3. Verb: 0 /-verb m a r k e r = present tense.

C. Message: The yonder pardon-asking place in which place of salu- tation there i s kneeling pardon asked of our Father-Mother.

Song 5.

Text :

This music is played when they a r e going to make offering; There a t the ritual place where they make offering to thei r fathers,

their mothers. Where there is a table, there i s the portion of the Mother-Father.

Because they ask pardon, they a r e making offering; They make offering a t the a l t a r .

There a t the a l tar , they offer up the turkeys. They offer up two turkeys.

In the place where there i s another table, There they give offering for our Father-Mother god in o r d e r to a sk

pardon.

This i s for consoling those who a r e our grandfathers, our grand- mothers,

F o r those who a r e the companions of our spi r i t s , F o r those who made offering yesterday and in t imes past,

F o r those who a r e present a t the great table where they a r e happy and joyous, both standing and seated.

It i s in a place where there i s a table of gold, Where there i s a s e a t of gold, Where there a r e plates of gold, Where our grandfathers and grandmothers drink from goblets of

gold, They whose names were spoken yesterday and before then.

It i s they who a r e caring (for us) now, And thus they a r e doing it.

I. Continuum A. A. Noun Phrase .

1. Noun: 175f = ac t of consolation. 2. Adjective: 0 + 0 = place. 3. Relative clause.

a . Rhythmic context: in tercessor . b. Modifiers.

(1). 350f = a c t of asking pardon. (2). 175r = being present.

c . Verbal adjective: 350r = ac t of arriving. B. Verb Phrase .

1. Part iciple: 175f = a c t of consolation. 2. Verb: 0 / verb m a r k e r = present tense.

C. Message: his place's consolation, whose in tercessor for par- don-asking here has arr ived, is being consoled.

11. Continuum B. A. Noun Phrase .

1. Rhythmic context: sacr i f ice . 2. Transposition context: Father-Mother. 3. Noun.

a . 175f = ac t of consoling. b. 0 = place.

4. Prepositional phrase. a . Preposition: 0 + 0. b. Noun: ac t of consoling.

B. Verb Phrase . 1. Gerund + Participle: 175r + 175r = act of giving offering. 2. Verb: 175r / verb m a r k e r = future tense.

C. Message: The sacr i f ice fo r qur Father-Mother 's consolation place in which place of consolation it will be of- fered.

B O I L ~ S : TEPEHUA THOUGHT-SONG

111. Continuum C . A. Transposit ion context: Father-Mother. B. Noun P h r a s e : the same a s continuum A. C. Verb Phrase : the same a s continuum A . D. Message: This place's consolation of our Father-Mother, whose

in tercessor a r r ives here to a s k pardon of ou r Fa -ther-Mother, i s the consolation of ou r Father-Mother.

Song 6.

Text:

Short Version

F o r giving salutation, F o r asking pardon of a l l who a r e present, All those who a r e sa id to be our Fathers .

Long Version

This i s f o r asking pardon here where one has ar r ived, Where one comes to visi t and ask favor of his Father-Mother, In the place where they have come to be seated, In the place where they a r e resting.

One kneels, One kisses the ea r th Asking pardon of o u r Father-Mother Because one has come to the place where they a r e .

I come father, I come mother, I come to visit. I come to visit where you a r e seated.

Because you a r e my fa ther and mother, I bring you something.

That which I bring you, I come to give it to you.

290 B O I L ~ S :TEPEHUA THOUGHT-SONG

I. Continuum A. A. Noun Phrase .

1. Noun: 175r + 175r = act of giving offering. 2. Relative clause.

a . Rhythmic context: in tercessor . b. Modifier: 0 = being in a place. c . Verbal adjective: 350r + 350r = ac t of bringing.

B. Verb Phrase . 1. Part iciple: 0 = being in a place. 2. Verb: 0 / verb m a r k e r = present tense.

C. Message: ~ h e g i v i n ~ itof offering, whose in tercessor brings here, i s in this place.

11. Continuum B. A. Noun Phrase .

1. Noun: 350r = ac t of arriving. 2. Relative clause.

a . Rhythmic context: in tercessor . b. Modifiers: 350f + 350f = kneeling a c t of pardon-asking. c. Verbal adjective: 525r = ac t of greeting.

B. Verb Phrase . 1. Transposition context: Father-Mother. 2. Participle: 0 = being in a place. 3. Verb: 0 / verb m a r k e r = present tense.

C. Message: hearr rival, when the in tercessor kneels giving greeting, where our Father-Mother i s being.

111. Continuum C. A. Noun Phrase .

1. Transposition context: Father-Mother. 2. Noun: 350r = ac t of ar r ival . 3. Adjective: 3 50f = pardon-asking. 4. Relative clause.

a . Rhythmic context: in tercessor . b . Modifiers.

(1). 0 = being in a place. (2). 350f = a c t of asking pardon.

c. Verbal adjective: 175r = being present. B. Verb Phrase .

1. Transposition context: Father-Mother. 2. Part iciple: 0 = being in a place. 3. Verb: 0 /-verb m a r k e r = present tense.

C. Message: The a r r iva l asking pardon of our Father-Mother, whose in tercessor i s present in that place to a s k pardon, where o u r Father-Mother i s being.

IV. Continuum D. A. Noun Phrase .

1. Noun: 175r = act of being present. 2. Adjective: 350f = act of asking pardon. 3. Relative clause.

a . Rhythmic context: in tercessor . b. Modifier: 0 + 0 = being in a place. c. Verbal adjective: 175f = act of consoling.

B. Verb Phrase . 1. Transposition context: Father-Mother. 2. Participle: 0 = being in a place. 3. Verb: 0 / verb m a r k e r = present tense.

C. Message : hepresence of pardon-asking, whose in tercessor i s here consoling, where our Father-Mother i s being.

Several features of spoken Tepehua seem to be present in this music. The economy of basic intervals i s s imi la r to that of root fo rms in the composition of Tepehua words. Although there a r e twenty-six possible intervals that could be derived from the fourteen pitches utilized by the Tepehua violinist, only seven intervallic rela- tionships appear in these songs. One might object that, in the gram- mar , too many meanings a r e being assigned a limited amount of ma- ter ia l . However, this particular economy i s a common feature of many languages. A given morpheme, when associated with others, can have a variety of unrelated meanings. The intervallic analysis used in this study assumes that Tepehua cult music operates on the same principle and i s confirmed, furthermore, by s imi la r types of reduplication and positioning of morphemes in Tepehua words.

The overall s t ructure of each continuum is somewhat s imi la r to that of Tepehua words which a r e mostly agglutinative. An excellent example of this feature i s i l lustrated by anlakapuchiwin, "town hall." The components of this word a r e a s follows: an is a determiner that can be translated "the" although it signifies "this is" o r "it is"; denotes being "inside"; pu means "the place where"; chuwi i s the root of the verb "to speakn; n i s a nominalizer. Literally, this word i s like a sentence stating, " I t i s inside the place where there is speaking." The reader will have noted that the meanings of the com-ponent motives of each musical continuum, when interpreted accord- ing to positional, rhythmic, intervallic, and transpositional contexts, a r e subject to a s imi la r type of sentence organization.

The various types of formal organization of the songs (see rule 24 of the g rammar) reflect the numerous varieties of couplet that a r e present in the spoken texts. Edmonson (1965) has pointed out that couplet is common to drama and formal ora tory in Middle and South

292 BOIL&: TEPEHUA THOUGHT-SONG

America and that parallel ist ic poetry in which a l l repetitions a r e synonymous i s the formal style of discourse fo r this a rea . The repetitions of continua, apar t from the importance of establishing rhythmic context referents, seem to be a stylist ic feature that is related to the utilization of couplet.

The Tepehuas have a practical purpose in their use of melodies with ascribed meaning. They have evolved a method fo r signaling much information with a nice economy of effort. This non-verbal communication f rees the pr ies t s o that he may attend to other duties. The ritual music a s su res that a l l those present a r e informed and participating correctly in each par t of the ceremony. Also, these songs induce a worshipful attitude, heighten the emotional experience, and help to achieve the "moving of the things." F o r a few pitches scat tered over a minute segment of time, that is an impressive amount of activity.

Tulane University New Orleans, Louisiana

Field research for this paper was sponsored under the program of in- vestigation of the Instituto de ~ n t r o ~ o l o g l ' a de la Universidad Veracmzana of Jalapa, Veracmz, hl6xico. The conclusions and opinions presented here a re those of the author and a re not necessarily those of the Instituto de Anthro- pologia.

REFERENCES CITED

Edmonson, Munro S. 1965 "Literary form in the Dresden Codex." A paper read at the

American Anthropology meeting in Denver, Colorado, November 21, 1965.

S a h a h , Bernardino de 1956 Historia general de l as cosas de Nueva Espafia. hl6xic0, D.F.:

Porrua Hermanos.