Powhatan Renaissance CD:

(All music was written, played, produced and engineered by Tim Scullion.)

Tim Scullion: Native American flute, all guitars, keyboards, all photos. Gail Scullion: Hand drums on Huskanaw.

Special thanks to Kenneth “Swift Eagle” Custalow for the gift of a beautiful hand-crafted Native American flute, played throughout this CD.

Special thanks to Lionel Custalow for the use of a short segment of “Grand Entry” at the end of Mattaponi Anir Nenowa.  

1. Mattaponi anir Nenowa  (I Come from Mattaponi) The Mattaponi tribe is one of the few remaining tribes of the great Powhatan nation that the English colonists encountered when they came ashore to launch the Jamestown settlement in 1607. The heritage of this tribe can be traced back to Chief Powhatan and his daughter Pocahontas, still one of the earliest and most well known stories of the first encounters between Native Americans and the English settlers.

2. Released to the Great Spirit  Different cultures have different words for the same concept: To the English settlers as well as Americans today the all-powerful Creator of the universe is called God or Lord; to the Native Americans He is the “Great Spirit”. This is a musical impression of the moment that has enchanted, mystified and even frightened humans from the beginning: The moment of death and the release of the soul to God or the Great Spirit, whichever name you prefer.

3. Netab Ni Tapwa  (Greetings My Friend) “Our people loved those first settlers. We tried to teach them, the best we could, our ways of survival in this new land: How to plant crops, hunt food and find fresh water. After all, there were thousands of us under the rule of Chief Powhatan at the time. What chance do you think those settlers would have had of coming ashore if my people had not wanted them here?” Chief Daniel Webster “Little Eagle” Custalow.

4. Huskanaw  (Initiation of an Adolescent Boy into Manhood) In a coming-of-age ceremony, a young adolescent boy of about twelve would have to go into the woods by himself to hunt, sometimes facing a large predatory animal such as a wolf or a bear. The song starts with the boy’s journey; the haunting calls of wolves a reminder of the danger he faces. In the middle of his journey, the boy is startled by his greatest fear, an adult bear, and must do battle with his nemesis. The boy comes away from the battle victorious, with the death cry of the bear both haunting and liberating. The boy returns to his tribe with a newly found respect for these great animals, and a newly  strength. The proven young man would choose the name of a bird or  animal that he admired or respected, completing “huskanaw.”

5. Knee-hag-gons  (Our Home) This song conveys the inner-peace and happiness of the Native American home during a time that was less complicated; a time when taking care of the environment and living in harmony with nature was of primary importance.

6. Released to the Great Spirit  (Reprise)

7. 7.Flight of Swift Eagle   Kenneth “Swift Eagle” Custalow gave me one of his hand-carved wooden flutes because I admired its beauty and exquisite craftsmanship. Unbeknownst to me, this is a Native American custom that dates back centuries: If you greatly admire something that a Native American has, very often he or she will give it to you. Their culture places more emphasis on relationships and the spiritual aspects of life rather than the materialistic, and they will give up something material in order to gain something more important: Friendship. My gift to Swift Eagle is my friendship, this song as a tribute to him, and this CD to the Powhatan nation. 
   

All proceeds go to the Powhatan Nation and America’s First People.