Complex Whistles Found to Play Key Roles in Inca and Maya Life

1. Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) is a day of celebration for the people of Latin America, particularly in Mexico and Central America, and more recently for Mexican Americans. Celebrated for thousands of years by native peoples (Aztecs, Olmecs, Mexicas, etc.) Aztecs were among dozens of Meso- American people to celebrate Día de los Muertos. • Aztecs kept skulls of the dead as trophies; these symbolized death & rebirth • Día de los Muertos was in the ninth month of the Aztec calendar, which is the beginning of August on the Gregorian calendar Mictecacihuatl was an Aztec goddess, known as the “Lady of the Dead” • Mictecacihuatl presided over the month long Aztec celebrations Mayan, Inca, & Aztec Mesoamerican Music The teponaztli, a sacred Aztec horizontal drum Missouri University of Science and Technology http://web.mst.edu/~soap/docs/muertos.pdf Honoring the dead is not a new tradition in Mexico and Central America. Thousands of years prior to the Spanish Conquest numerous ethnic groups of the region including Aztecs, Mayans, and Toltecs had specific times that they commemorated the deceased. Special months were dedicated to honor the deceased based on whether it was the death of a child or the death of adult. Other months were specifically associated with how the person died like a drowning, in childbirth, or in warfare. During these months of celebration, the indigenous people believed that the deceased would return and they would need to offer them gifts. According to Carmichael and Sayer, providing flowers, food, incense, dances, and music was a way of gaining the favor of the deceased. Smithsonian National Museum of American History. http://latino.si.edu/DayoftheDead/ The importance of Aztec music in the lives of the citizens of the empire is hinted at in this quote from Spanish friar Gerónimo de Mendieta: Each lord had in his house a chapel with composer-singers of dances and songs, and these were thought to be ingenious in knowing how to compose the songs in their manner of meter and the couplets that they had. Ordinarily they sang and danced in the principal festivities that were every twenty days, and also on other less principal occasions... Students between 12 and 15 would learn songs that were important in their culture.  And, as we see in the quote above, music was important enough that the nobles often had their own band, song writers and studio right at home.  Edlers in the home would teach children the songs they needed to know.http://www.aztec-history.com/aztec-music.html Aztec Gods and Goddesses In Aztec mythology, Mictecacihuatl was the Queen of Mictlan, the underworld, and wife of Mictlantecuhtli. Her purpose is to keep watch over the bones of the dead. She presides over the festivals of the dead (which evolved into the modern Day of the Dead) and is known as the Lady of the Dead, since it is believed she died at birth. Her cult is sometimes held to persist in the common Mexican worship of Santa Muerte. Complex Whistles Found to Play Key Roles in Inca and Maya Life http://www.crystalinks.com/aztecgods.html Civilizations in America http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~dee/CIVAMRCA/CIVAMRCA.HTM Myan Music (http://people.tribe.net/9f29c69b-109d-450c-b978-3f2c89eb7634/blog?topicid=8d9886ff-f769-4773-9727-a48bbbd27279) NOTE: Olmec civilization: Curiously, Musical instruments was another item archaeologists have not been able to locate. Nowhere have they been able to find drums, flutes, or anything of the sort. The Olmecs: A Mesoamerican Wonder http://facweb.stvincent.edu/Academics/ReligiousStu/writings/lavin1.htm The Aztecs (http://www.solarnavigator.net/history/aztecs.htm) Mayan History http://www.oneworldjourneys.com/jaguar/history.html The below web site discusses the ancient history of theAztecs, Toltecs, Mayans, Olmecs, and other peoples of Mesoamerica. This site holds a wide variety of web sites for Mayan, Aztec, and Inca: http://www.sfusd.k12.ca.us/schwww/sch618/maya/ maya_aztec_main.html http://www.theancientweb.com/explore/content.aspx?content_id=19

2. PREHISPANIC MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS Mesoamerican instruments belong in two groups: idiophones and membranophones. The existence of chordophones, such as the musical arch (weapon for war and hunting), has never been proved due to lack of archeological evidence. Idiophones Idiophones are musical instruments which generate sound from the vibration in their body. Membranophones Membranophones are music instruments which sound generator is a vibrating membrane. A fine original Aztec wooden teponaztli slit-drum carved in warrior shape, National Museum of Anthropology, Mexico City. Music, Song and Dance among the Aztecs - a short introduction http://www.mexicolore.co.uk/index.php?one=azt&two=mus&id=395&typ=reg One of the instruments on display in the museum, the Teponaztli, a wooden drum, on display in the Museum was considered a gift from the gods and was regarded as a religious idol. The Teponaztli, a hollow wooden cylinder, was laid sideways and struck with rubber-tipped mallets, generating two pitches. Since the religious calendar encompassed 260 days and the Aztec did not have musical notation, each performer had to memorize at least 260 different pieces to appease the correct daily deity. (American Museum of Natural History) http://www.eastern.edu/publications/emme/2004fall/art_reviews.html http://www.mexicanartdealing.com/prehispanicinstruments.htm Membranophone style Aztec flutes and rattles Musical Instruments: The Incas loved music. They invented many wind and percussion instruments. Drums and flutes were very popular. The panpipe was the most popular. A panpipe is a group of single pipes tied together in a row. Each pipe in the row makes a different sound, and he pipes are arranged very carefully. Panpipes are still played in the Andes Mountains today. Some of the other instruments on display include the Ayacahtli, a gourd-shaped rattle filled with beads, pebbles or seeds and various wind instruments including the Chichitli, a flute; the Cocoloctli, a flute which made a buzzing sound; the Huilacapitztli, a type of ocarina or fife formed in the shape of an animal; and a Tlapitzalli, a three-to-five-hole vertical flute made of bone or clay. An additional type of instrument that has been found is the aerophone group. Aerophones Aerophones are musical instruments which sound generator is oscillating air. The word tlapitzalli (flute) is the generic name for Aerophones. In Mesoamerica were used tlapitzalli of straight tube, transverse, global (ocarinas and whistles), global multiples, bread flutes, double flutes, triple and quadruple. In the National Museum of Anthropology a great amount of tlapitzalli of different sizes and kindsare preserved.  Inca Ocarina Whistle/FluteNational Museum of Archaeology, Anthropology, and History of Peru http://agutie.homestead.com/files/Inca_Music.htm Inca Artifacts Lesson Plan http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/lessons/10/g35/artifactsinca.html http://www.peruvianwhistles.com/el-palacio.html http://incas.perucultural.org.pe/english/histec4.htm