THEN DRUMS MY SOUL
BY CAROLYN STICKLEY
My great grandmother (Mumaw), Running Brook was forced to be called Elizabeth when she married into a German farming family in Virginia. Shunned by the Powhatan people, she was only truly accepted by my father’s brothers and myself. Naturally, her four children loved her and felt blessed to carry her knowledge and wisdom, which she bestowed until her demise at 101 years old. I remember Mumaw as a thin lady, high cheek boned, hair pulled back to a pigtail or bun. She wore moccasins and a black dress; I can see her sitting in her pine rocking chair smoking a pipe with a reflective expression as she gently played her drum. She was widowed for over 30 years, and she would occasionally blurt out, “My God, that Samuel was a sexy man!”
When I was young, she wanted to visit Washington DC. Because we lived there, my father and I picked her up from Virginia (without my mother) and drove her to our home in a 1940 Plymouth. I sat in the back seat with her. Calling her Running Brook (or Mumaw) prompted her to tell me stories of her life. She described living in a hut surrounded by trees, bushes, and vegetable gardens. Tipis were only in the open ranges out west where they lived a nomadic life — and where they were pushed away by the white man’s boundaries. She had never seen a movie but said the Indians were not portrayed properly. For one thing, an Indian would never throw their tomahawk… why would you throw your weapon? Her tribe didn’t ride horses because of the dense terrain. And there were no war cries to warn of their arrival — always a surprise — war paint, yes, but no loud noises. Same with hunting, painted faces and arms, but quiet so they could sneak up on their prey.
Mumaw referred to her marriage to a white farmer, based on love, as a choice she made. I think of my own marriage, a wrong choice that led to my incarceration. Ultimately, was her choice also a mistake? She spent most of her life living away from her family, disconnected from her ancestry. Was this something that united us?
I recently watched the movie, “The Visitor” starring Richard Jenkins. The character learns to play the djembe drum and, in the process, comes alive. It reminded me of Mumaw playing her drum solo with such a gentle rhythm. I anxiously await when I can travel home to Arizona and play my drum and chant, singing softly like Mumaw. I will feel close to my ancestors and share the tranquility with my children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. Somehow everything is connected and there is something to be learned from every relative.
On the three-hour drive to Washington DC, she taught me to sing her chant. Now, I wish I had asked her what it meant but perhaps because I was only eight or nine years old, that didn’t enter my mind. I was just intrigued by the sound of it. I can hear her voice when I sing: Hi Low — Enny Me — Kai Kai — Um ChaCha —E Wah Wah. Later I taught it to a group at Girl Scout camp. I also taught it to my sons, as it is part of their heritage…so many still sing her song. Part of the camp was about living in the woods, cooking over an open fire, and sleeping in tents. It was a mixture of actual and perceived Indian life, as I was the only camper with an Indian relative.
Mumaw used to hunt with her bow and arrow for deer. She was an excellent shot and stalker, sneaking through quietly in her moccasins. She always hit a kill shot so the animal wouldn’t suffer and only killed a deer when needed. She used every single inch of the deer and tanned the skin — nothing went to waste. Hunting for sport was something she said was wrong.
Virginia was a dry state, and she did enjoy her “firewater.” So, my father would send her a bottle of Four Roses bourbon and she would drink just 2oz at a time before sleep. Prior to her death, the doctor told her daughter, Aunt Bessie, to rub her down with alcohol, and so she did, Four Roses. Her children watched as their frail mother whipped out her tongue as far as possible to test the liquor. What a final memory!
CAROLYN STICKLEY WAS BORN IN 1948 IN WASHINGTON DC & GREW UP IN A NEIGHBORHOOD THERE. AN EDUCATOR, CAROLYN HAS FOUND WRITING TO BE ONE OF HER CREATIVE OUTLETS.
