NATIVE AMERICAN MUSIC: O HALLWE

HISTORY
The Nanticoke people hail from what is now considered southern Delaware
around the Chesapeake Bay
In 1580, Spanish and English explorers encountered the tribe and attempted
several failed treatises to cohabit Nanticoke land
The Nanticoke left their lands and moved to what is now Pennsylvania and
New York, under the protection of the Cayuga Nation
The Nanticoke that stayed on the original land suffered from extreme
prejudice as free colored through the 19th and 20th century
CULTURE
Women were the most important members of the tribe
o Responsibilities of the women of the tribe include managing the tribe,
owning the property, preserving the tribes heritage, and protecting
the tribes culture
This womens dance is to honor the women of the Nanticoke tribe. The
specific meaning of the words have been lost, but current members of the
tribe have remembered that O HalLwe refers to the mighty oak tree and
compares the role of women in their culture to the oak tree that brings forth
new life (acorns) and provides shelter and protection as each new generation
grows to maturity, thereby guaranteeing the survival of the people and their
culture. This song brings together multiple generations of the same family as
a way of bonding.

Traditional Nanticoke instruments

Nanticoke Ceremony Drum bent frame
drum with two striking heads, red cloth
wrapping, and yellow lines symbolizing the
four cardinal directions

Nanticoke Courting Flute made from a branch

split, hollowed, and punctured with holes

Turtle shell dance rattle snapping turtle

resonator with deer tibia handle, the rattling
sound came from corn or small stones placed in
the shell. Turtles were a symbol of creation and
life.