The courting flute is an end-blown wind instrument that is traditionally played by men during courting rituals. Unique to the North American Indians, external duct flutes direct the...

The courting flute is a round and hollowed-out piece of wood that contains a fipple or plug that divides it into two chambers. Two square or rectangular openings are placed on both sides of the fipple.

This style of flute, commonly called the plains flute or courting flute, appears to be a recent invention in the long history of first peoples. The eariest accounts of courting with such flutes are found in diaries and travelogues of the 1820’s and 1830’s from the western half of the Great Lakes to the Upper Missouri River.

Although the legends relate to the origin of the courting flute, how it should be made, and its purpose, they also act as reinforcing agents for Sioux belief and culture, which help meet the immediate needs of the people.

The Courting Flute is one of the three melody instruments used by Native American people and is an integral part of traditional Indian music. Among Native Americans, the voice is also regarded as a melody instrument.

This endblown flute, commonly known as a courting flute, has a cylindrical, hollowed body of red pipestone or catlinite, so named for George Catlin, the American author and painter known for his work in the American West, who mentioned the pipestone quarries in his travelogue of 1835.

Traditional Native American flutes are known by several names, the most common being love flutes, or courting flutes. As the name suggests, they were flutes played in courting rituals - by a young man serenading his intended bride.

Jul 1, 2008 · The courting flute is traditionally used strictly as a solo instrument (89.4.3371). Both secular and sacred music exist among the people of the Northern Plains.

Jun 6, 2024 · The Cheyenne courting flute was associated with the wooing of a woman for marriage. In traditional Northern Cheyenne culture, a man wishing to marry would either make a flute himself or enlist the help of a tribal flute maker.

Sep 25, 2023 · The Native American (courting) flute is a flute with open finger holes (not keys). It has two chambers and is held in front of the player. One of the chambers (the slow air chamber) if for collecting the breath of the player, while the other chamber (the sound chamber) creates the …