Chumash Story and Song Collection

A selection of Chumash stories and songs. You can download the entire collection in a single file here (75 megs).

Introduction

This collection of Chumash stories and songs was collaborated from Chumash people from different villages of the Santa Barbara County from the desert regions, mountain regions and the coastal regions. These songs were handed down to us and brought to the people, all people… meaning all races of human beings, all animal life, all fish life, stone people… “people” meaning all living things on this earth. This is shared with you so that you too can learn these songs and sing, so the people that are around you will understand your language. Hopefully this will be a great gift to you.
• Listen to the: introduction

Chumash Welcome Song

This first song, the Welcome song, is dedicated to the person who brought it to us… Grandfather ‘Samu’. This song came to him in a dream and when he woke up he came outside and told everyone to gather around and learn this song, it’s the song that will bring the spirits in. This will be the first song you sing whenever you gather.
• Listen to the: story | song

The Deer Dance song

This is the deer dance song in Barbareno Chumash. It was taught by Liz Domingez. This song is sang when gathering acorns to thank the deer for sharing the acorns with us because they need them too. Oak trees drop twice during the year, the first drop has worms which the deer really like, then after a slight pause, the oaks drop again which is gathered for us. This song is to thank the deer for sharing and pray for their health during the winter.
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The Red-tailed Hawk song

It came to Chumash men at the San Inez Indian reservation and depicts a hawk coming over the hillside riding a thermal hovering over the edge. In the song you can hear in the song it’s fluttering, it’s putting is blessing down on the people.
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The Willow song

This song is sang when gathering willows and when singing this song we also dance with the willows. Picture yourself watching a willow tree dancing in the wind, which is how you move your body when you go to pick it.
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The Tomol Launching song

Chumawish is a launching song that has been sung for thousands of years. Every time we launch a tomol, this song is sung by the paddlers before they leave on their journey across the channel. “Chumawish” is to be healthy, “tipa chumawish” is to be at peace or to find tranquility. This song is sung at the launch and also sung in the middle of the channel. During difficult conditions during a crossing this song is sang by the paddlers to center themselves because the journey can be hard on your body and come with fear. This is the tipa chumawish launching song that’s sung for anyone listening to it to find healing in their body as well as peace and tranquility in their spirit.
• Listen to the: story | song

A Seaweed Dance song

This seaweed dance song comes with little knowledge about it’s origin, but it’s sang to pray for the kelp forests which are very important to the health of the whole environment. It was learned by recordings from a number of years ago.
• Listen to the: story | song

Another Seaweed Dance song

This seaweed dance song honors the seaweed areas, the giant kelp beds out in the channel are a cradle of life, like the rain forest of the ocean. This is a fun dance song that talks about the incredible abundance that comes from the giant kelp beds.
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The Ocean Waves song

The tides and waves have been rising and lowering, breaking and receding for eons. This song is a mantra that prays of an infinitive awareness of goodness. This has been in motion long before human beings were born and will live on long after we are gone. While we human beings are here for only a small fragment of the continuum of the circle of time, ask yourself what good am I for the short time I am here? What good do I do today? What good are you for the short time you are here? What good do you do today?
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The Tupacutu song

This is a very special song to the Chumash people. This song is meant to be sung during feast and at the annual harvest and it brings people together. This song reminds us of our family ties and the strength of community.
• Listen to the: story | song

The Whale song

This song talks about the whale swimming through the Santa Barbara channel where the whales still migrate on their way to Baja California, talking about coming from the West on the West wind.
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The Dolphin Calling song

Within the creation story of the dolphin and rainbow, our ancestors crossed the great rainbow bridge to the mainland. While crossing, some ancestors fell from the rainbow bridge and hit the water hard and began to drown. The spirit of the mother earth called out to the creator to save the people, and the drowning people were changed into dolphins. This prayer song is offered to anyone who is drowning under the weight of one’s pain and suffering. We call the dolphin to lift us up from the darkness of despair to the surface where we are able to breath the fresh air once again.
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The Sour Dock song

The sour dock is a little plant that is not itself a medicinal plant, but is useful in helping make teas to release medicine from other medicinal plants. A very useful plant, a very humble plant. This prayer helps release each other’s medicine.
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The Momeno song

Momeno is the protector of children with many names, “Bigfoot”, “Sasquatch” but to the Chumash people, he is an ancestor, one of the very oldest ancestors.
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The Ancestor song

This is an honoring song to our ancestors. This song speaks about the importance of talking about and remembering the old ancestral ways. “Sing and dance” says the song, and we remember. The spoken words at the end of the song say “I am alive, I am alive, because of our ancestors.”
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The Sunset song

This song is dedicated to honoring the sunset. The sun ending its day and beginning the evening, “twilight time”.
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The Wolf Chase song

This song is sang usually at night around the fire with the women dancing around the fire and the men come in as being the wolf. This is a mating dance where the wolfs chase the deer, and as time goes by the women choose which wolf they want to capture.
• Listen to the: story | song

The Night Bird song

There are different names for the night bird, “owls” of different kinds, and at night a fire is made to perform prayer work and this song is sang to call the owls in.
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