Art & Cultural Values
By: Erin


Like most of the Native American Indian tribes, the Kocoum believe in the Great Spirit, who's power is also found among the various beings and objects of the earth (a form of animism). Haviland writes in our anthropology book that cultures practicing animism commonly "see themselves as being a part of nature rather than superior to it," which applies to the Kocoum (p.304). In fact, the culture highly values giving proper respect to all creation for two main reasons. First, they believe that the Great Spirit created everything in the universe, making each and every thing unique and special. And second, they believe that nature offers itself to them, allowing them to survive, and if the people do not give proper respect in return, nature may stop offering itself in the first place. The Blackfoot Indians share a similar belief that the buffalo willingly give themselves to the people (as Wesch explained in lecture). As a way to express their respect and give thanks and honor to the Great Spirit for everything that has been provided for them, the Kocoum often spend their spare time decorating daily garbs, tools, and other materials with items such as teeth, antlers, shells, feathers, paint, and small stones. But they are also careful not to collect an abundance, or decorate too excessively, once again reflecting an egalitarian structure and also enabling a higher level mobility needed during the buffalo hunting season.
Men and women play different roles in producing art that are usually determined by their roles in society. Like the Shoshone the women were responsible for most of the leather-work, including preparation and crafting most leather items, but the men are responsible for producing bowstrings, drums, and tipis (which for the Shoshone was a woman's job). In addition to leather-crafting, women also take care of cooking, sewing, and pottery. Men's other artistic responsibilities include the crafting weapons, shields, and rattles (from encyclopedia p.182)

The Kocoum practice a rite of passage known as vision quests in which an individual travels by himself to a solitary hill to seek guidance and teaching from the Great Spirit. Many times these quests last for 3 or 4 nights. During the quest, they look deep into their souls, seeking selflessness and a spiritual self-sacrifice for the greater whole of society and the spiritual world the way other spirits willingly sacrificed themselves to help the people (a strong reflection of animism mixed with egalitarianism). They would remain without food, water, companionship, or defenses until they received their spiritual vision. Often a spirit would appear to them in the form of an animal. Once receiving a vision, the individual returns a spiritually matured person, and the spirit that appeared to them in their vision continues to guide and protect them through the rest of their days (vision quest information from encyclopedia p.141, 215) The vision is in fact so important that it is often displayed on shields as a means of ensuring the aid and protection from their guardian spirit. Thus, the men never leave for a hunt or battle without their shield. The Sioux Indians practiced very similar traditions of vision quests and shields for spiritual protection.

Although the Kocoum society is egalitarian, they highly respect the elders of the community, acknowledging that they have gained much knowledge and wisdom from their more expansive experiences. For this reason, the culture's history, knowledge, traditions, beliefs and values are passed down by the elders to the younger generation in the form of myths, legends, stories, and songs.

The music and storytelling of this culture are performed in a manner that encourages groups of people to participate together, exemplifying the underlying egalitarian structure and value of unity. Stories are told with enthusiastic intonation and gestures and often use repetitious phrases to signal key parts or break out in songs that associate with the story. It invites others to react, respond, and join in on parts of the story. As for music, most songs are sung in unison and many times several people play together on one large drum to create the rhythmic beat (encyclopedia p.131-132). According to the Ancient Ways website for Native American arts , "the drum is the heartbeat of the Earth Mother, the heartbeat of all Indian people, and a way of bringing things back into balance. Whether dancing, singing or listening, people around a drum are able to connect with the Spirit through its rhythmic pounding, and as a result, the drum beat is a focal point of ceremonies." Music also serves as a way to unite women and uplift their spirits when they are doing household chores, tending to the few crops they grow, preparing leather, or gathering food.


The Kocoum also perform special ceremonies, usually involving music and dancing, for passing certain stages of life, such as when children turn 7 and begin taking on adult responsibilities, or for special events such as the skunk hunt in which everyone participates. In many ceremonies, the Kocoum also use tobacco, smoked through special pipes. Whenever separate bands encounter each other in the plains, they happily greet each other. With a rhythmic beat from a drum, together they dance a less formal dance for social purposes and sing a song together. The goal during these ceremonies is to get everyone to participate (again demonstrating the value of unity and togetherness). The ceremonies serve as a way to wish each other well on their separate journeys and thank the Great Spirit for bringing them together. The two clans will then usually spend a portion of the day to talk with each other and connect once more, learning each other's experiences.

In short, art is deeply embedded in nearly all aspects of the Kocoum culture. With a thankful heart and a humble spirit towards the Great Spirit for all that it provides and strong interdependency on each other as well as with nature, their art emerges in a beautiful form that expresses the essence of the culture itself.