| home menus recipes music merchandise |
The Real First Thanksgiving
Fom the book called "Lies my Teacher Told Me" by James W. Loewen. Among the many popular myths the book sets straight is about the first Thanksgiving. The following is an edited excerpt from the book:
Our archetypal image of the first Thanksgiving portrays the groaning boards in the woods, with the Pilgrims in their starched Sunday best next to their almost naked Indian guests. As a holiday greeting card puts it, "This is for the Indians we invited to share our food." Remember the handouts that schoolchildren have carried home for decades with captions such as, "They served pumpkins and turkeys and corn and squash. The Indians had never seen such a feast!" In truth, the Pilgrims had literally never seen such a feast. The settlers were ill and starving after a few years. All these foods had been provided by [or with the aid of] the local tribe.
By now, we all know the facts: The Pilgrims did not introduce the tradition; American Indians had observed autumnal harvest celebrations for centuries. Although George Washington did set aside days for national thanksgiving, our modern celebrations date back only to 1863. During the Civil War, when the Union needed all the patriotism that such an observance might muster, Abraham Lincoln proclaimed Thanksgiving a national holiday. The Pilgrims had nothing to do with it; not until the 1890's did they even get included in the tradition. For that matter, no one used the term Pilgrims until the 1870's. Now you know… the rest of the story
Indian Music
The history of Indian music goes back to much earlier times. Indian music originated with the early inhabitants of Indian Subcontinent. The Aryans, Mongols, and Dravidians later influenced it. Each intrusion influenced the cultural patterns in India. The tribal people in various parts of the country contributed. There were many forms of music that later amalgamated into one another. Over the centuries, music evolved from devotional, folk, and tribal forms to a more structural form. A particular system of music based on Ragas (melody) and Talas (rhythm) came into existence.
The music of India is melodic; harmony and polyphony found in western music have no part in Indian music really. Indian music consists of variety of rhythmic and melodic forms. We're not sure that the Pilgrims could get very jiggy with Indian music of the 1600's, but it's an interesting idea none the less.
· A Raga is basically a melodic idea that follows certain traditional rules that define and determine the notes of a scale and the order to be used. Musicians follow strict rules, but at the same time have the freedom to improvise and to bring out the aesthetics of Ragas. A musician's forte depends upon how he brings out the mood of Raga, his improvisation, style, and individuality. According to the mood, the Ragas belong to a particular season or time of the day and are performed accordingly.
· A Tala is a rhythmic structure or time measure. It is a time cycle that remains fixed for the composition, but repeats itself in cycles. The cycle is divided into equal or unequal parts. This is what differentiates Tala from rhythm. The cycles provide room for improvisation. A composition is the interplay between the Raga and the Tala.
