Spring Sing brings Haudenosaunee nations together in Six Nations

Tehoniehtaronweh (Donovan Thompson) started singing when he was 13 and knows most of the traditional songs Haudenosaunee people sing for social gatherings and ceremony.

This past weekend he was at the Spring Sing at Six Nations of the Grand River, near Hamilton. Sings are Haudenosaunee socials that are held twice a year, in spring and fall.

Tehoniehtaronweh was singing with Ganienkeh, a Kanien'kehá:ka (Mohawk) community in New York state where he currently resides. He is originally from Akwesasne, a Kanien'kehá:ka territory that straddles the provincial and international boundaries of Quebec, Ontario and New York state.

He said he started learning the songs when he got grounded and his father "took away all my stuff." 

"The only thing that I found was this old iPod that had old moccasin [dance] in on it. I learned it."

The old moccasin dance is a traditional Haudenosaunee partner dance for men and women.

He said he used to ride his bike over the Canadian/American border to the Longhouse in the U.S. where he could learn more of the songs and their teachings.

Tehoniehtaronweh said for him, a good song represents the community and should have a good melody.

"I used to have a group called Kanian'kehson and we sang together for years," he said.

"The vocal chemistry between us was incredible because it sounded like there was one voice just all meshed together."

The location of the Sing rotates between Haudenosaunee territories in Canada and the U.S.

Eddie Thomas, who is Onondaga, Large Eel Clan from Six Nations, said Sings are meant to bring all the Haudenosaunee singing societies together. He sings with the Grand River Singers from Six Nations.

"Our jobs are to uphold cultural ways and we say Gayadagehasra, we bring help to the community," said Thomas.

This help ranges from house repairs, stacking wood for elders in the community, hunting and sharing food with those who are unable to hunt. These responsibilities must be fulfilled by the men in the singing societies.  

"No matter what reservation you go to, if you go to a social and you start singing as soon as you walk in the door, like, they're so happy to see you," he said.

At a Sing, there's are an unspoken competition for the best women's shuffle dance song. Women's shuffle dances are traditional Haudenosaunee songs sung by men's singing groups to acknowledge the importance of women. 

The host community cannot win this honour, only visiting groups from other Haudenosaunee nations. The singers of the best women's song should harmonize to sound like one big voice and entice women to get up and dance. The lead singer uses a drum to keep a beat and the other singers use rattles.

Much of Haudenosaunee culture is centred around respect for women. 

"We always refer back to them as our mothers," said Thomas.

"We are always giving thanks to them and showing respect … to appease their mind, so kind of impress them, too. That's what the Sing songs are for, is to make our mothers happy."

Thomas said that originally, Haudenosaunee only had three or four social dance songs, so they traded other nations for their songs.

The stick dance was shared with the Haudenosaunee by the Delaware people when their numbers were in steep decline, so that it would not be lost forever. Sings always end with the Delaware stick dance because it was their way of giving thanks.

Kaiewate Jacobs, 18, and Nyiah Norton, 17, are both from Kahnawake, a Kanien'kehá:ka community south of Montreal. They fundraised for 38 members of their community to attend the Spring Sing.

"You get to learn the new songs from each nation and yeah, it's really fun," said Jacobs.