Cover from the cassette (author's collection).
Navajo Peyote Songs Volume 1, by Kevin Lewis and produced by Millard Clark, is a 1990 release by
Indian Sounds on cassette that I picked up while visiting the Little Bighorn
Battlefield the same year (then The Custer Battlefield). While I don’t
understand Navajo, and they are not indigenous to the Dakotas, I found the
recording a nice counterpoint to The Songs of the Seventh Cavalry. The rhythmic
chanting provides a meditative space to immerse oneself in another culture. The full recording of twenty songs is provided below.
Lewis, according to ALLMUSIC,
is of Navajo/Cherokee heritage and a medicine man trained to sing peyote songs by
his grandfather Bud Lewis, who lived
to 116 years. As a result, the lineage of tradition from the Old West to our
ears is only one generation removed from that era. Herschel Kaulaity, of
Cheyenne/Kiowa heritage, provides the drumming. No titles or times are provided
for the songs, nor are there any liner notes. While this is a missed opportunity to educate the listener, this does allow us to get lost in music that feels more
like an expression of nature than the typical over-produced commercial effort. Volume II was released on CD in 1992.
The one break in the spiritual tone
comes about 17 minutes into the recording when Lewis, caught up the ritual, begins
chanting “Happy Birthday” over and over. While it must have some significance, without a translation it seems a little incongruent with the rest of the album; however, they’re not called peyote songs for nothing!
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