# Origin of mid-20th-Century-Hollywood "Indian theme" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 13, 2008, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-mid-20th-century-hollywood-indian-theme/441275 "2008-03-13T20:32:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2008, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-mid-20th-century-hollywood-indian-theme/441275/1 "2008-03-13T20:32:30Z")
You know, in an old Western, whenever the camera pans in on the Indian village or Indian battle formation, we hear, “BUMMM . . . bum-ba-BUM-ba-bum-bummm . . .” Repeating. Where does that come from? It sounds nothing like any authentic Indian music I’ve ever heard. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2008, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-mid-20th-century-hollywood-indian-theme/441275/2 "2008-03-13T20:40:59Z")
I don’t know, but my guess would be that it was just some Hollywood composer’s impression of American Indian drum music. The same is probably true of that war chant thing (the one you hear at Florida State and Atlanta Braves games). ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2008, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-mid-20th-century-hollywood-indian-theme/441275/3 "2008-03-13T20:53:57Z")
This one? [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/yctfXIqugXc/hqdefault.jpg "Dvorak - New World Symphony - Part One: 4th Movement, Dublin Philharmonic, Conductor Derek Gleeson") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yctfXIqugXc) Supposedly inspired by Indian music, though not directly taken [http://tinyurl.com/yod7rf](http://tinyurl.com/yod7rf) ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2008, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-mid-20th-century-hollywood-indian-theme/441275/4 "2008-03-13T21:56:11Z")
I’ve been looking at YouTube videos for about an hour, trying to find scenes from westerns where that music might be played, like when the Indians are attacking a wagon train – nada. But I did find an old [Hamm’s beer commercial](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hc7HoWEk6y8) – it uses a beat that’s heard in lots of old westerns. Don’t know if that’s what you’re looking for. If it is, we still don’t know the origin. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2008, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-mid-20th-century-hollywood-indian-theme/441275/5 "2008-03-13T22:22:18Z")
[Here’s an answer](http://archives.stupidquestion.net/sq9103.html): > [@](#): > > The origin of the familiar “warpath” theme is actual Native American music—albeit heavily distorted by white attitudes. > > Sometimes identified as a “war dance” theme, the music involves a heavy drumbeat (DUM-dum-dum-dum-DUM-dum-dum-dum) and a descending melody of roughly five notes… > > …For [Buffalo Bill] Cody’s show, and almost certainly inspired by its Native American music, King wrote such pieces as “On the Warpath” and “Indian War Dance”—possibly the first white “warpath” themes… > > …The Wild West shows were an enormous influence on silent-film Westerns, which often included the “warpath” drumbeat in their scores…