Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Estun-Bah (Apache "for the Woman")

This afternoon we went to a program at the Ballroom of the Valle del Oro RV Resort to hear a lecture from a Native American flutist. Tony Duncan has an Apache father and a mother from a North Dakota tribe. He played both a traditional cedar flute as well as an Apache cane flute -- and a facsimile eagle bone whistle. Tony is also the four time national Hoop Dancer and did a Hoop Dance at the end of the program. He could make you see the eagle, the butterfly and the the world in his dancing.





With Tony was his cousin Jeremy Dancing Bull, a drummer and grass dancer, and guitarist Darrin Yazzie of the Navajo tribe. Their music, Estun-Bah, blends the music of Native traditions with a contemporary acoustic sound. The name comes from the tradition of playing the flute outside of the lodging of a female that was being courted. Along with their music, Tony told Apache stories of coyote (the trickster).

No comments:

Post a Comment