[Aztlan] Ocarina Wind Instrument

Sat Mar 7 19:38:23 CST 2009

Dear colleagues, 
it is valuable that instrument types are classified and that the correct terminology is applied. Researchers, who are not familiar with the topic, can easily get confused, and guidelines for archaeologists are urgently needed. The use of generic terms such as "flute" or "whistle" is not sufficient to describe the individual characteristics of a wind instrument adequatly. 
The instrument 9146A-C is a tubular double whistle. The two "whistle holes" are called the apertures or windways, in which the airstream, which is directed through the airduct of the mouthpiece, hits the so-called edge of the windway, splits and produces a sound (i.e., sets the air inside of the resonating chamber in movement). These flutes, which are only found in Veracruz, sometimes have a movable tube of clay inserted in the resonator, which modifies the sound when moving the instrument up and down while playing. When overblowing the instrument, the result is a high-pitched sound effect difficult to describe. I could provide recordings for those who are interested (off-list). 
K5751 is a flute with three stops. Behind of the head are located two bigger holes of unclear function. In the Freudenberg collection (Reiss-Engelhorn-Museen in Mannheim, Germany) is a similar flute showing the same fantastic being, which has no stops. It is dated 650 AD and published by Ellen Hickmann (Klänge Altamerikas, 2007, p. 82).
The owl whistles K5849 seem to have a small stop on the globular resonator and in this case should be classified as globular flutes. Usually, wind instruments with small finger holes (of 2-4 mm) date to the Preclassic period, but there are also Classic finds. Tails in the form of mouthpieces on flutes are also known from Preclassic Nayarit, West Mexico, and Monte Alban IIIB-IV.
Regards, Adje Both 

-------- Original-Nachricht --------
> Datum: Sat, 07 Mar 2009 09:29:06 -0500
> Von: "Justin Kerr" <mayavase at verizon.net>
> An: "\'Arnd Adje Both\'" <adje at gmx.net>
> CC: aztlan at lists.famsi.org
> Betreff: RE: [Aztlan] Ocarina Wind Instrument

> Dear Friends,
> I have just posted a Veracruz double flute? Whistle? (9146A, 9146B, 9146C
> in
> Portfolio) This double barreled instrument has only whistle holes and no
> stop holes. However a similar instrument K5751 has both whistle hole and
> stop holes. It seems to me that definitions defy reality and maybe a
> generic
> definition such as wind instrument would suffice. But there are whistles
> such as K5849 (similar whistles are still being made today). However I am
> going to stick to trumpet for the big ones.
> As for recording; with Dr. Michael Closs we recorded sounds from Jaina
> whistles at the Gardiner Museum in Toronto.
> Justin Kerr
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: aztlan-bounces at lists.famsi.org
> [mailto:aztlan-bounces at lists.famsi.org]
> On Behalf Of Arnd Adje Both
> Sent: Friday, March 06, 2009 6:48 PM
> To: aztlan at lists.famsi.org
> Subject: [Aztlan] Ocarina Wind Instrument
> 
> Dear colleagues,
> you touched a difficult topic. The explanation by Burgh is not exact, such
> as many of his conclusions on the music of the ancient Maya. From the
> point
> of organology, both "ocarinas" and "whistles" belong to the group of
> flutes.
> There are "tubular flutes", which are wind instruments with a straight
> pipe
> as resonating chamber, such as a cane flute. Then there are "globular
> flutes", which are wind instruments with a globular or oval resonator. The
> only difference of a "whistle" and a "flute" is if the instrument presents
> stops or finger holes or not. If it presents stops it's a "flute". In
> Mesoamerica, these instruments usually present one to five stops,
> occasionally six, such as a beautiful Maya tubular flute of 32,5 cm length
> from Aguateca. If the instrument has no stop it's a "whistle". Thus, both
> whistles and flutes can be globular or tubular, but a whistle never
> presents
> stops. The term "ocarina" is generally applied to glubular flutes with
> stops
> (in Mesoamerica, usually o!
>  ne two four), while a "whistle" (in Spanish "silbato") can be a glubular
> or
> a tubular flute without fingerholes. In Mesoamerica, all four instrument
> types are present, and many subtipes in anthropomorphic, zoomorphic, or
> fitomorphic form. Thus, there are double whistles and flutes, even
> cuadruple
> flutes with more than six finger holes, such as in Teotihuacan. In most
> cases, ceramic wind instruments are excavated, although there are also
> tubular flutes made from stone (Aztec finds of the Templo Mayor). The
> sounds
> which can be produced on these flutes depends greatly on the form of the
> resonating chamber (tubular or globular) and the number of stops, but also
> the playing techniques (blowing soft of strong, etc.). As no notation is
> preserved, we have only the testimonies of the early 16th century,
> especially on the Aztec music culture, and the excavated instruments
> themselves, which are often in playable condition. However, although
> improvisational playing of these instruments!
>   is valuable in terms of experimental archaeology, the sounds produced
> 
>  could give us only a very general idea on the pre-Hispanic music, which
> is
> lost forever. 
> For those who are interested in the music archaeology of Mesoamerica,
> please
> check my website: www.mixcoacalli.com
> Best regards, Adje Both
> 
> ---
> Dr. Arnd Adje BOTH
> homepage: www.mixcoacalli.com
> 
> Chair, Music Archaeology Study Group of the ICTM
> e-mail: adje at zedat.fu-berlin.de
> homepage: www.ictmusic.org
> 
> Reiss-Engelhorn-Museen
> C5 Zeughaus
> 68159 Mannheim
> Tel 0049-(0)621-2932122
> Fax 0049-(0)621-2933064
> e-mail: adje.both at mannheim.de
> homepage: www.rem-mannheim.de
> 
> 
> 
> 
> -- 
> AntaMaunA
> 
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-- 
AntaMaunA

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