Power and Performance in Gros Ventre War Expedition Songs

This study provides a cultural analysis of power and performance in Gros Ventre war expedition songs. Symbolic content of Gros Ventre myth and ritual is elicited as a tool for analyzing the particular social relations that motivate war expeditions as action and value. Mythological and musical analysis combine in an investigation of structural and performative devices that frame song as a system of metacommunication.