How are Native American Church songs performed during peyote prayer meetings?

Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

Native American music Native Americans playing drums at a powwow.

In the Native American Church, peyote songs are performed during all-night meetings held in a tepee or designated space. The ceremony is overseen by a leader, or "road man," and follows a structure defined by four core songs: the "Opening Song," "Midnight Water Song," "Sunrise Song," and "Closing Song." Each of these is performed at a specific time and repeated four times.1

Between these core songs, participants lead additional songs in sets of four, with each song in the set also repeated four times. While the song leader sings, other participants provide choral support.1

Performance elements include:
* Instrumentation: Songs are accompanied by a gourd rattle shaken by the leader and a water drum played by another participant. The drummer beats a fast duple rhythm while manipulating the drum's pitch by tilting the kettle to move the water inside.1
* Vocal Style: Songs feature a relatively relaxed vocal quality and often incorporate vocables (nonlexical syllables) alongside words in English or Native American languages.1