Ghostly Singing
After recounting a spooky encounter on an old, and creepy road, I’m heading back to the Reservation for another supernatural tale for the Halloween season. Again, this was originally told via a Twitter thread and updated for smoother reading!
Some quick background to get started. If you haven’t listened to Native American singers/music, I encourage you to dive into some YouTube rabbit holes, or listen to some HERE. Even if you don’t understand the words, it’s beautiful and enchanting. Because every tribe is different (or even feature their own language) no song is alike.
Typically, the singers surround the drummers (who also sing), forming concentric circles around which the tribe dances. Native singing is a collective experience wherein different voices/styles are encouraged even within the same song. As such, even with multiple people singing, one can clearly make out the distinct voices of the singers. Most are even able to specifically name which singer is which (especially family members)…
I had a Great Aunt — probably a Great Great Aunt. She was elderly and I can’t say I have much recollection of her in life. I know she sang at nearly every Pow Wow and was included when our Tribe began to record songs; back in the days of vinyl and cassette tapes!
Just a couple weeks before their all women group were scheduled to record another batch of songs for a new “album” she passed away. After the funeral, the record progressed as planned, with another singer brought in to fill the missing spot.
So imagine everyone’s surprise when, upon listening back to the recording a few weeks later — when the masters came back — and everyone could HEAR HER SINGING throughout. I believe the group of women recording were seven singers, but you could distinctly hear EIGHT women during the songs. Other relatives picked up on her voice immediately, notating the unique way she had always performed those songs in life.
In fact, it was SO CLEARLY her voice, they went ahead and listed her as an official singer on the Album (along with the woman brought in to fill her spot)! Though she’d been buried well before the recording session took place, she managed to earn a recognized spot on the album.
Funny enough, I still have a cassette copy of this actual series of recordings!
