Harrys Blog

Robert J. Conley - We Wait

1. White Blight
Crookneck Whiteblight, anthropologist,
Bermuda shorts & tennis shoes,
spectacles on nose,
in radiant pomposity rares back
in his chair, feet on desk.
Of course, the songs themselves have small
value for the serious scholar, though I, my-
self, should probably acknowledge a certain
indebtedness to the savage for filling out
my biblio. But the real thrill is getting
the stuff they think in their childlike
simplicity is sacred. The successful anthro
must be not only well-informed but clever.
And in the cleverness - ah, therein lies the
thrill. For instance, it's amazing what
the waving of a dollar bill can do; Spirit-
uality goes up in smoke, so to speak, and
you've got yourself an article. I've had
not a few successes with the Amerinds.

2. The Earth
the earth is my mother
the grass is her hair
with your plows you are ripping her breast
I will not use a plow
nor will I cut the grass
nor herd and pen up my little brothers
the various animals
I cannot stop you
but I will not follow you.

3. (to be sung to the tune of «A Mighty Fortress is Our God»)
Is it not wonderful to think
What God has done for man?
He's sent the white to save the red,
To take him by the hand,
To take his hand and lift him up
From darkness and from Sin,
To teach him how to work and pray,
Speak English and drink gin,
To cut his hair a decent way,
Wear pants and shirts and shoes,
To eat his food with knife and fork
And gracefully to lose.

4. USA
the cities are overcrowded
with people who are going crazy
streams are polluted
a man cannot swim in them
nor drink from them
neither can he eat with safety
the fish that swim in them
the air is not fit to breathe
there is violence on campus
violence in the streets
the crime rate soars and
a senseless immoral war drags on
the government is corrupt
and does not even know it
and the English language is degenerating
on all fronts into Madison Avenue drivel
we have maybe 30 yrs. (they say)

5. the old prophecy
it came in various forms
from the Creek
85 the Navajo
but the message is always clear
white men will come
(they did)
they will take the land
(they did)
they will nearly destroy the People
(they tried)
they will waste the land
(they have)
then they will go away
(we wait).

Alles ist rund

Ihr bemerkt, daß alles was ein Indianer tut, sich in Kreisläufen vollzieht, das geschieht deshalb weil alle Kräfte des Himmels und der Erde auch in Kreisen wirken und weil alle Dinge versuchen rund zu sein.

In den alten Zeiten, als wir eine starke und glückliche Nation waren, schöpften wir alle Kraft aus dem heiligen Ring des Volkes, und solange der Ring unverletzt war, gedieh unser Volk.

Der blühende Baum war der lebendige Mittelpunkt des Kreises und der Kreis der vier Windrichtungen nährte ihn.

Der Osten war für den Frieden und das Licht, der Süden die Wärme, der Westen den Regen, der Norden mit kalten und heftigen Winden, die Stärke und die Ausdauer.

Dieses Wissen wurde uns von der äußeren Welt erzählt.

Alle Kräfte der Welt wirken in Kreisen.

Der Himmel ist rund und wie ich hörte ist die Erde rund wie ein Ball und ebenso alle Sterne. Wenn der Wind am heftigsten weht, bildet er runde Wirbel. Die Vögel bauen ihre Nester kreisrund, denn sie haben die gleiche Religion wie wir. Die Sonne geht in einem Kreis auf und wieder unter. Der Mond macht es ebenso und beide sind rund.

Sogar der Wechsel der Jahreszeiten bildet einen großen Kreis und kehrt immer wieder dorthin zurück wo er begann. Das Leben der Menschen ist ein Kreis, von der Kindheit zur Kindheit und so ist es mit allem worin sich die Kraft der Welt regt.

Unsere Tipis waren rund wie die Nester der Vögel und immer waren sie in einem Kreis aufgestellt, dem Ring des Stammes, einem Nest aus vielen Nestern, worin nach dem Willen des großen Geheimnisses unsere Kinder geboren werden sollten.

The Geat Circle

Hehaka Sapa - Black Elk (Black Elk Speaks, 1931)
You have noticed that everything an Indian does is in a circle, and that is because the Power of the World always works in circles, and everything tries to be round. In the old days when we were a strong and happy people, all our power came to us from the sacred hoop of the nation as so long as the hoop was unbroken the people flourished. The flowering tree was the living center of the hoop, and the circle of the four quarters nourished it. The east gave peace and light, the south gave warmth, the west gave rain, and the north with its cold and mighty winds gave strength and endurance. This knowledge came to us from the outer world with our religion. Everything the Power of the World does is done in a circle. The sky is round and I have heard that the earth is round like a ball and so are all the stars. The wind, in its greatest power, whirls. Birds make their nests in circles, for theirs is the same religion as ours. The sun comes forth and goes down again in a circle. The moon does the same and both are round.

Even the seasons form a great circle in their changing, and always come back again to where they were. The life of man is a circle from childhood to childhood and so it is in everything where power moves. Our tipis were round like the nests of birds and these were always set in a circle, the nations hoop, the nest of many nests where the Great Spirit meant for us to hatch our children

Das Symbol des weißen Mannes ist das Viereck!

Viereckig ist sein Haus,
viereckig sind seine Büroräume mit Mauern,
die Menschen voneinander trennen.
Viereckig ist die Tür, die Fremde draußen hält
viereckig ist die Dollarnote,
viereckig ist das Gefängnis.

Viereckig ist der ganze technische Kram des Weißen Mannes
Schachteln, Schachteln, Schachteln und noch mehr Schachteln,
Fernseher, Radios, Waschmaschinen, Computer, Autos.
Sie alle haben Ecken und scharfe Kanten.
Termine, die Zeit des weißen Mannes,
mit Uhren und Stoßzeiten,
du wirst ein Gefangener -
in all diesen Schachteln.

Immer mehr junge weiße Menschen haben es satt stur und viereckig zu sein,
sie wollen rund werden und in unseren Kreis treten.
Das ist gut so.

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The symbol of the white man, however, is the square. Square are his houses and office buildings, and they have walls that are close to each other people. Square is the door that barred the entry of the stranger, the bill, the prison. Square are also the devices of the whites - nothing but boxes and boxes - TV sets, radios, washing machines, computers, cars.

It all corners and sharp edges - even the time is no longer around, the time of the white man determined appointments, time clocks and rush hours.

Her spread death , her buys and sells death, but her denies him, you do not want to face him. You have made the death sterile, swept under the carpet, stripped him of his dignity.

aus: Tahca Ushte (Lame Deer) - Seeker of Visions

Deutscher Text: René Bardet - Alles ist rund - Worte von Indianern an den weißen Mann (1983)