THE PHEASANT BEATING CORN; ORIGIN OF THE PHEASANT DANCE
The Pheasant once saw a woman beating corn in a wooden mortar in front of the
house. “I can do that, too,” said he, but the woman would not believe it, so the
Pheasant went into the woods and got upon a hollow log and “drummed” with
his wings as a pheasant does, until the people in the house heard him and thought
he was really beating corn.
In the Pheasant dance, a part of the Green-corn dance, the instrument used is the
drum, and the dancers beat the ground with their feet in imitation of the
drumming sound made the pheasant. They form two concentric circles, the
men being on the inside, facing the women in the outer circle, each in turn
advancing and retreating at the signal of the drummer, who sits at one side and
sings the Pheasant songs. According to the story, there was once a winter famine
among the birds and animals. No mast (fallen nuts) could be found in the woods,
and they were near starvation when a Pheasant discovered a holly tree, loaded
with red berries, of which the Pheasant is said to be particularly fond. He called
his companion birds, and they formed a circle about the tree, singing, dancing,
and drumming with their wings in token of their joy, and thus originated the
Pheasant dance.