4 Chapter 3 The Keeper of the Drum

Chapter 3 The Keeper of the Drum Maria learned about her Osage heritage from her grandmother. Eliza Tall Chief wore her black hair in a long braid, as was the custom for Osage women. She wrapped her shoulders in a colorfully striped tribal blanket. She told stories of the past. Many, many years ago, Maria's great-grandfather, Chief Peter Bigheart, had traveled to Washington, D.C., to work with the white government leaders in planning the Osage reservation. Grandma Tall Chief also spoke of the powwow, a great festival that was very important to the Osage people.

玛丽亚从祖母那里了解到她的奥塞奇族传统。 伊丽莎·高酋长把她的黑头发扎成长长的辫子，这是奥塞奇族妇女的习俗。 她用一条彩色条纹的部落毯子包着自己的肩膀。 她讲过去的故事。 很多很多年前，玛丽亚的曾祖父彼得·比格哈特酋长曾前往华盛顿特区，与白人政府领导人一起规划奥塞奇保留地。 高酋长奶奶还谈到了祈祷仪式，这是一个对奥塞奇人非常重要的伟大节日。

Each spring, Grandma Tall Chief said, the Osage held a powwow. The women wore their finest shirts and wide-beaded belts. They rubbed chalky gypsum over their doeskin leggings. Silver and turquoise bracelets ringed their arms. The dancing began in the afternoon and lasted for hours, Grandma Tall Chief said. Only the men danced. They fastened hawkbells around their legs below their knees. As the men raised one leg, then

高酋长奶奶说，每年春天，奥塞奇族人都会举行祈祷仪式。 女人们穿着她们最好的衬衫，系着宽珠腰带。 他们把白垩石膏涂在他们的紧身裤上。 他们的手臂上戴着银手镯和绿松石手镯。 高酋长奶奶说，舞会从下午开始，持续了几个小时。 只有男人跳舞。他们把鹰铃系在膝盖以下的腿上。 当男人们抬起一条腿的时候

the other, the bells jingle-jangled. The men didn't dress in feather bonnets. They didn't spin or flail their arms. The Osage danced with dignity, Grandma Tall Chief said. One June afternoon, Daddy took Maria and Marjorie to a powwow. This was even more exciting for Maria than finding arrowheads in the grass. The Osage sat in semicircles. Their tribal blankets covered their shoulders. Just as Grandma Tall Chief had said, the women in their moccasins

另一边，铃铛叮当作响。 男人们不戴羽毛帽。 他们没有旋转或挥舞手臂。 高酋长奶奶说，奥塞奇族跳得很有尊严。 六月的一个下午，爸爸带着玛丽亚和玛乔丽去参加祈祷仪式。 对玛丽亚来说，这比在草丛中发现箭头更令人兴奋。 奥塞奇族人围坐成半圆形。 他们的部落毛毯盖在肩上。 就像高酋长奶奶说的，那些穿着鹿皮鞋的女人

and silver jewelry did not dance. "Instead," Maria remembered, "they formed a circle around the men and did a little side step, shifting their weight from one foot to the other in time with the drumbeat." The keeper of the drum was a boy. The Osage always chose a boy for this honor, Grandma Tall Chief had explained. His beating on the kettledrum brought honor to his family.

银饰不会跳舞。 “相反，”玛丽亚回忆说，“她们在男人们周围围成一圈，然后做了一个小小的侧步，随着鼓声的节拍，把重心从一只脚转移到另一只脚上。” 管鼓的是个男孩。 高酋长奶奶解释说，奥塞奇族人总是选择一个男孩来获得这项荣誉。 他敲铜鼓给他的家庭带来了荣誉。

The men sang as they danced. The stories they sang told of times long ago and were as important as the dance itself. The story was the dance—mysterious and solemn. The men circled the large drum in the center of the dance ground. When the drumbeats stopped, each dancer froze, an uplifted foot in midair. Maria was entranced. Even as the sun slipped closer to the sandstone hills, the drumming and the dancing continued. In the shadows, the blackjack trees bending over the stream could have been the ghosts of Maria's Osage ancestors. "The powwow was a journey to the past," Maria said. She never forgot the rhythm of those ancient songs. One day, in her own way, she would become a sort of keeper of the drum.

男人们边唱歌边跳舞。 他们唱的故事讲述了很久以前的时代，和舞蹈本身一样重要。 故事就是舞蹈——神秘而庄严。 男人们围着舞场中央的大鼓转。 当鼓声停止时，每个舞者都僵住了，一只脚翘在半空中。 玛丽亚听得入迷了。即使太阳越来越接近砂岩山，鼓声和舞蹈仍在继续。 在阴影中，弯在小溪上的21点树可能是玛丽亚的奥塞奇祖先的鬼魂。 “祈祷仪式是一次回到过去的旅程，”玛丽亚说。 她永远不会忘记那些古歌的节奏。 总有一天，她会以她自己的方式，成为一种鼓声的守护者。