White corn songs, July 7, 1967

This collection of field and commercial recordings was donated to the UNM Archive of Southwest Music by Donald L. Roberts and offers a wide variety of music selections collected in the 1960s. Most of the collection includes interesting commentary about these songs in Spanish and English.

The majority of the items are Navajo chants, songs, dances and healing ceremonies from Crownpoint, New Mexico. There are sections of dialogue and singing by John Nez, a Navajo medicine man, who discusses the use of sand paintings and prayer for healing. Included are English translations. A later section features contemporary Navajo songs and dances. The collection also includes recordings of Hopi, Pueblo, Ute, Navajo, Apache and Kiowa songs and dances with discussions about their meanings.

There are recordings of a Matachines dance from San Juan Pueblo, and a Los Pastores program performed at the Guadalupe Church, in Taos, N.M. The last section contains traditional Mexican folksongs as well as French and Italian tunes performed by the University of Chihuahua Grupo Folklórico.

Forms part of the John Donald Robb Archive of Southwestern Music.