Percussion instruments

String instruments
 South zone, musical instruments

Just like the northern and central areas of the country, here there is also its own culture and customs, some of
which are of Spanish origin and others, typical of the islands that surround the Island of Chiloé.

This area, which extends from the tenth region to the south, is very rich in myths and legends, which give the
islands that magical touch of mystery and charm that envelops even the inhabitants of these lands.

Now we will see some of the folk musical instruments present in this area:

Guitar (chordophone) (left)

It is the same one that is used in the central area, except that here it is homemade, in the region
they speak of vihuela.

Violin (chordophone) (right)

Instrument that consists of a fairly flattened box with a peculiar shape with two S-
shaped openings in the lid, over which four strings pass attached to the end of the
neck and are made to vibrate with a bow, the side cuts resemble a half moon.

Generally, it has the melody, which is accompanied by guitar and bass drum.

It usually has inlays of shell-pearl and other materials.

Barraquitos, they called some old sheep's gut violins.

Rabel (chordophone)

It is a small violin, with some variants and is made in the area with larch and hazel wood.

It has three strings and to play it, it is placed on the left knee and resting on the shoulder,
rubbing its strings with the curved bow that the right hand plucks.

It differs from the violin in that its bridge rests directly on the bottom through a hole, making it
vibrate.

The Rabeles de Chiloé are entirely middle children from the bow, the snare and the strings.
Many times they are performed by the same performers. It is played at parties, at wakes or accompanies
popular singers and poets.

Chilote bass drum (membranophone)

It is different from the Nortino Bass Drum: its sound box is made of brass, or with the side
cover of large industrial oil drums.

The bass drum heads are made with donkey hides, as they are of greater hardness and
resistance, and they are firmly fixed to the snare with wires.
The bass drum is tuned by wetting the leathers and drying them in the heat of a campfire or brazier, which
gives it a great sound.

The Chilote Bombo is much smaller, but the same in its general structure as the Norte Grande. Its heads are
fixed to wooden rings that are placed on each side of the sound box, tied with leather strips that cross each
other and that allow, when stretched, the tuning of the instrument.

Rattle (idiophone)

It is an instrument composed of a board and one or more knockers that produces noise when
shaken. It is used in some chapels to call for matins, during Holy Week, and in popular
festivals where groups made up of violinists and drummers participate.

Chiloé has an important religious musical tradition, present in novena chants, masses,
processions, collective prayers, wakes.

accordion (aerophone)

It can be classified as a folk instrument due to transculturation. Its origin is not

found in folklore, but in Europe, as a product of contemporary society. It is used in the extreme
south of the country, especially in the area of Chilote influence.

There are two types of accordions in the area: the piano accordion ; and the button
accordion.

Both instruments are commonly used in Chilote music orchestras.

North Zone, musical instruments

Due to the influence of the Quechua and Aymara peoples, some musical instruments from this area
have this origin.

Quena, Kena (aerophone)

Cane open at both ends, twenty-five to forty centimeters, with six holes for the middle fingers and a
small one at the end for the little finger. The five holes go in the direction of the embouchure, and
the small one goes to the side.

It does not have a mouthpiece, but rather a cut that rests on the edge of the lower lip. It is a pierced
flute, it plays five notes, always carries the melody and is sometimes played without the need for
accompaniment instruments.
It is native to Peru, used by the aborigines linked to the Inca empire.

It is commonly performed solo, in duos, or accompanied by charango, guitar, snare drum and/or bass
drum. It is used to perform melodies in carnavalitos, huainos, huainitos, bailecitos, yaravíes, etc., playing
alone or in duet with another quena (generally in parallel thirds) or another aerophone in the area
(pincullo, etc.). In the playing technique, the subtle uses of ornaments and harmonics that give the
particular color of this notable instrument are very common.

It is valid in Argentina, Ecuador, Colombia, Bolivia and northern Chile.

Pincullo or Pinquillo (aerophone)

Vertical reed flute, measuring fifty centimeters, with a mouthpiece at its upper end. It emits a
higher-pitched sound than the quena. Its shape is very similar to the tarka, but smaller in size.
It has been distributed throughout Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru, Argentina and northern Chile.

Pusa or Sicura (aerophone)

It is known by its European name of Zampoña. It is made up of twelve hollow

reeds placed in two rows from smallest to largest, tied in scale, which when
blown emit certain musical notes. The opposite end of the reeds is closed. A
panpipe cannot reproduce a complete melody given the few notes it has. To
achieve this, several performers come together, where each one performs a different
Zampoña, thus constructing complete melodies with rich nuances. It is customary for the
players to meet with percussion accompaniment.
Its use extends throughout Bolivia, Peru and northern Chile. It is also called Laca, in Aymara it is Siku or
Sikuri.

Tarka (aerophone)

One-piece square wooden flute with six holes and a mouthpiece that serves as an
embouchure. Its dimensions vary between twenty and fifty centimeters. The Tarka is a
vertical flute that has six finger holes in the middle sector.
Groups are formed to play tarkadas, accompanied by percussion orchestras. Used by
the Indians of Bolivia and Peru, its diffusion reaches the Great North of Chile.

Erke (aerophone)

The Erke or Clarín is played after the Carnival festivities, in the Corpus Christi
celebrations, in the month of June. Its use must be done in winter, since there is a belief
that the Erke's roars cause frost and affect crops.

In Chile it is used in the streams of the San Pedro de Atacama, Toconao, Peine, Socaire,
Solor, Séquitor and other places.

It has great resemblance to the Trutruca araucana.

Charango (chordophone)

Guitarrilla, indigenous replica of the Spanish guitar, whose approximate

total length reaches sixty centimeters. The neck is made of wood, similar
to that of the European instrument, the front part or cover has the shape of
an eight, like the guitar, the sound box is made of quirquincho shell. Its stringing is made up of ten strings
tuned in five double orders, usually metallic.
In Chile it is used in the great North up to the province of Antofagasta.

There are also instruments that have other origins, such as:

Ocarina (aerophone)

The use of the Ocarina has been lost in northern Chile; but it remains in Putre, in the area of
Belén in Aiquina and in the Bolivian highlands.
Its length varies from 15 to 28 centimeters and its diameter ranges from 5 to 10 centimeters.
It is as difficult to make as it is to execute, which is why its use is being lost.

Box (membranophone)

It is the most popular instrument from Ecuador to the transverse valleys of Chile,
including the high regions of Peru, the Bolivian highlands and northwest Argentina.
It is 35 to 50 centimeters high. Their patches are made of llama, goat, cow or
vizcachas, depending on the manufacturing area and are sewn with little arches made
of wires or cane rods that fit into the hoop or cylindrical frame that serves as a sound
box.

Nortino Bass Drum (membranophone)

The Bombo Nortino is like the bass drums of military

bands and is the largest one used in Chile.

It is the main instrument in bands of the dancing brotherhoods, during the

celebrations of the Virgin of Tirana in the interior of Iquique.

It has a large sound box made of wood or brass, with two rings that are
used to place the leather or membranes made from llama or vicuña skin and
which are fixed to the box with straps of the same material, like cords. They
are vibrated with a mallet made of a piece of stick with a leather-covered
wool cap or head.

Triangle (idiophone)

In our musical folklore it is used by dance groups in northern Chile for its sound, especially
in the festival of the Virgin of Tirana. It is a bronze triangle, sometimes nickel-plated and
open in one of its lower corners. It is struck with a drumstick or stick of the same metal. It
is used as an accompaniment.

Rattle (idiophone)

The Rattle is mounted on a handle that has a toothed wheel and which serves to vibrate
a thin wooden reed that is placed inside the box, attached to the opposite wall of the
instrument.

Rectangular-shaped noisemakers about 5 centimeters high, 25 to 30 centimeters long

and 20 centimeters wide are usually used.

To play the instrument, you take it by the handle and spin it in the air. It is used alone in
northern religious festivities.
 Central area, musical instruments

Guitar (chordophone)

In our country the most widespread of musical instruments as well as in all Spanish-
speaking countries; Its diffusion area covers the entire country throughout the territory.

It is widely spread and has the oldest tradition. Its name comes from the Arabic gitára, as
a transcription of the Greek Kithara.

The Spanish one had six simple strings. The original one, in Chile, had six double strings.
Its wooden box with a circular soundhole in the center and a fretted neck are one of the
characteristics of today's guitar.

Harp (chordophone)

It is a folk and classical instrument, spread during the last century. It is

used between Aconcagua and Ñuble, in folk groups.

It is almost triangular and consists of three fundamental elements: the

soundboard, the column and the bracket or pegbox that keeps the strings
in tension on the box. It has between 33 and 34 strings. They exist in
portable size made by expert craftsmen.

Guitarrón (chordophone)

The Chilean Guitarrón is a compound multichordophone that has between

18 and 30 strings, grouped in five main orders on the fingerboard and four
secondary monochord orders, outside it, called diablitos.

It has a string length that ranges between 46 and 64 centimeters, a vihuela

guitar shape, a rectilinear mirror plane and a traction bridge, with volute-shaped wings,
next to which two ornaments called daggers characteristically appear.

Studies allow us to assure that the origin of this instrument is Chilean, a product of the
 ingenuity of the people.

He survives in Santiago and Colchagua, where he is seen at meetings of popular poets.

Charrango (idiophone)

It is an instrument perhaps designed by a Chilean farmer. It is used from Colchagua to Valdivia and in
Chiloé. It is a board one meter or more long, by thirty-five or forty-five centimeters wide, with a fixed string
of very thin steel wire, which is stretched by two round or preferably flat bottles that are placed at both
ends: Once the necessary tension has been achieved, two pieces of wood are placed on it to prevent the
bottles from slipping and losing their harmony.

Tambourine (idiophone)

The tambourine is made with a hexagonal frame, to which a very thin patch or leather is
riveted to one of its sides. Some openwork is made on the sides of the frame where brass or
bronze plates are placed, with semi-concave shapes for greater sound. The cover of the
head is smeared with castile fish or beef fat to offer resistance to the thumb during rubbing
and achieve better vibration of the instrument.

Torment (idiophone)

The parlor torment was a small box thirty centimeters long by about twenty wide and ten to
fifteen centimeters high, with four folding legs. Its upper cover was made up of a series of
loose boards fitted into a kind of tab so that they would not come off. To allow for greater
sound, it did not have a lower cover. A type of metal rattle was attached inside and was struck
on top of the cover with a drumstick.

The current torment, used in chinganas and ramadas, is larger. It measures between fifty to
sixty centimeters in length and about 35 to 45 centimeters wide.

Cacharaina (idiophone)

It is a donkey or mule jaw from which the molars and premolars are released. The surface
of the jaw is painted and drawn with eye-catching themes such as flowers, leaves, etc...

Its form of execution is similar to the tropical Guiro; that is, rubbing the teeth with a stick to
produce the sound. But its most frequent way is to hold the jaw with a hand gripped in the
widest part, thus producing a better resonance of the instrument.

In some parts of the country it is called Carretilla , on Easter Island it is called Kahuaha.

Mapuche folklore

Mapuche music

The inhospitable climate, the struggle to survive in a land covered for months by snow
give Mapuche music a pitiful character where passion is cruel and hopeless. Passion
cannot be expressed even through crying or love. Hence the simplicity of their musical
instruments and why Araucanian music is complaint and anguish.

They used several musical instruments: cultrún, trutruca, pifilca, ñorquin, quinquer-
cahue or Araucanian violin .

Very simple
instruments
The sacred song of the wind

There in the lands of the American South where reality is myth and legend of ancient origin, the oldest among
the old affirm that the father - creator of music is the wind. And they have no shortage of reasons, because it is
true that there curruf (wind) blows its flute in the grasslands, it becomes a trumpet in the whirlpools, it rolls like
a kettledrum, between the stones and the water, and it is a gentle violin in the long and protected canyons. ...

They say that in the Araucanian language there is no word to designate music. Needless. The musical
instruments speak for themselves about their presence in the town and its culture... How can we deny it when
the quinquercahue or the pifilca sound? And even if there were still no indigenous rhythms or instruments,
the wind-musician would exist, and would continue providing notes for his legendary tailes...

Among all musical instruments, Nguenechén, the Father of the aboriginal races, chose
the cultrún and put it in the hands of the machi . Since then it has been sacred. Its
resonating belly has the perfume and mysterious voices of the woods with which it is
carved: foye (cinnamon), triwe (laurel), cypress or raulí. And it is so that they do not
escape, that the artisans place the peeled leather patch tightly over the round mouth.

The cultrún is the shamanic instrument par excellence, and this has happened since its
ancestors, the divine drum of the Hindu and Tibetan magicians. That is why the rite
accompanies its birth as a companion and inspiring instrument of the mythical trance.

Those who have seen it say that before tightening the membrane of the cultrún the
machi puts her song inside and with it part of her pullú or soul ... And it is famous that it
introduces magical or healing properties by placing colored pebbles, feathers, animal
hair or medicinal herbs through the opening that is about to close...

The Mapuches assure that when the meica sorceress takes the cultrún she has the
world in her hand. And so it must be, not only because of its characteristic hemispherical
shape but also because the drawings that adorn it, with its sacred blues, yellows and
whites, with its encompassing cross and its strange figures, possibly represent the order
Inspiration for and balance between the cosmos and his creatures.
the wind-
With the cultrún next to her chest, the sacred mediator is at the level of her god, and
musician
with the rellmú ( rainbow ) head striking stick she can invoke him and obtain the grace
( zoom in )
or request. With him he makes his prayers, and with him he flies into the afterlife, with
him he accompanies the tailes and dances around the rehue ( sacred altar ), with him he sets up the
camaruco and beats incessantly... As before, as always?

The sacred cultrún is accompanied by the nguillatunes ( rogativas ), the also sacred pifïlca.

Legend has it that the brave Mapuches to the sound of the pifïlca were able to repel
the powerful conquering Incas. But they lost the magic pifïlca... and they are still
looking for it. That is why they reproduce it in wood or bone and with its high-pitched
timbres it seems that they are called in prayers... Especially when the Muday blesses
them with its ripe wheat water. Will they be strong and invincible again when they find
her?

In ritual prayers, the Mapuches accompany the sacred sounds of the cultrún and the
pifïlca with the low tones of the trutruca. This sister of the northern erque sought the
south of the promising legend to live for herself, and she loved it so much that it is not
missing in the hearts of the nguillatunes.
Araucanian
Of course, a good pillantún ( sacred orchestra ) is completed with another noble
machi in Ranco.
instrument such as the cull cull, the horn that is related to the erquencho and that in

Modern
packaging for
the usual Muday.
the past sounded its grave alarms in case of danger to the tribe. And even with the wada, the rhythmic
Aboriginal rattle.

Mapuche musicians have received inspiration and impulse from their American brothers to transplant and
adapt instrumental forms. That is why they also make music with the koolo or Tehuelche violin, the ñolquí
younger brother of the trutruca, the quinquercahue or large Araucanian violin made with mare ribs, the piloiloi
descendant of the Incas that imitates the mythical flute of Pan in wood or stone, the trompe with its tiny iron
body shaped like a harmonious lyre, or the rattles of ringing huemul hooves...

The aborigines of the Patagonian confines keep a living memory of the sacred origins of music, and for
centuries have represented myths and taboos in the relationship with the performance of musical instruments.
For example, they cannot be played interchangeably or on any occasion... and there is even a clear hierarchy,
by social order, or sex, or age, for the execution of some. In this way the machi will beat the pichicultrún
patch... and the pifilcas will be in charge only of male acolytes.

Let us assume for a moment that the pillantún is now complete and displays its variety of sounds and
orchestral nuances. The performers are ready and rehearsing... However, the instrument among instruments is
still missing: the human voice, the gift with which man launches himself into life with the first loud cry... In
reality, musical instruments are only the complement and enhancement for Aboriginal singing.

The people of the South sing their sacred taiels as invocations to their gods in prayers,
or as invocations to their origin in the songs of the lineage. But they also sing about life
in the profane ülcatún, or in the improvised "romanceos", or in those of memory that
preserve what was: homeland, stories, love, magic, customs... so that they do not die
with time and oblivion in scattered brothers...

Mapuche musical instruments

Clarion:

The bugle was known upon the arrival of the Spanish and was imitated with materials
from the area (vegetable reeds and wood).

Cullcull:

It was the bugle with which the alarm signal was given in an emergency and also in
war. It was made with ox horns.

Pinquilhue:

The pinquilhue, from ancient times, was something like a piccolo made from the stem
of the coligüe. Invocations and
song to life.
Cultrún:

Drum made from a hollowed-out piece of wood, shaped like a timpani. It is lined with a
well-stretched horse leather.
It is struck with a single stick whose handle is decorated with colored threads.

Trick:

This instrument is built with a coligüe reed, up to four meters long. Cut it in half to hollow
it out. Then the two halves are joined with a wool thread and lined with horse gut.

A cow horn is placed at one end and blown at the other. Its sound resembles the roar of
a bull and represents the strength of the tribe.

It is one of the two types of large aerophones existing in our country (the other is the
erke).

Machi and his

Cultrum.
Pifilca:

It is a flute made of wood or bone. It's short and sounds like a whistle.

It is worn hanging from the neck by a cord.

Currently it is built with wooden carvings of about 30 to 40 centimeters. The tube is

closed at its lower end and is pierced more or less up to half its length. It emits a single
sound and this single note is mixed in the course of the song or instrumental ensemble
without any rhythmic or tonal relationship with the rest. Pifilca

Kunkulkahue:

It had two bows (usually made of rib bones) complemented by a single rope of
horsehair. It was played by resting, with the left hand, one of the bows—the body of the
violin—against the upper incisor teeth. The right hand, in turn, passed the string of the
other bow—the violin bow—over the previous one, producing a plaintive and mournful
sound.

Lolquin:

Similar in make to the trutruca but much smaller. It is made from the stem of the thistle
called "troltro".

Caquel cultrum:

It is a drum made from the hollow cut of a trunk.

Huada:
Kunkulkahue A type of maraca, it is a gourd that makes sounds with dried seeds and sometimes small
stones.

Each Each:

They are large shells that make a sound by rubbing their edges and scratched faces.
Several of the aforementioned instruments are usually played, all at the same time, during ritual ceremonies:
"nguillatunes and machitunes."

Trumpe:

Traditional Araucanian idiophone, in full force, shaped like a key, made of steel with an
open wire. The outer part forms the piece and the central part is the tongue, which is
bent upwards to be able to press it.

It is performed by resting the piece against the teeth, with the free hand you press the
tongue, exhaling the air on it while you can make variations of the sound by moving the
mouth and tongue.

The Mapuches use it when they make love and obtain a sweet and suggestive melody.

Mapuche dances

Kuimin

It is the dance of the Machi, it acquires the power to transport itself to the regions of the
spirits, know future revelations, predict atmospheric changes and predict the Trompe
vicissitudes of Araucanian life. The Kuimin in its movements is similar to the purrün.

It is danced in a straight line with jumps made from back to front and from front to back, alternating with jumps
from the sides and in the same place.
 It is danced between two cinnamon trees located ten steps from each other. At the same
time as you jump, move your arms, raising them to make them shake. The dance
concludes with the general numbness of the body. The machi, while jumping and raising
her arms, raises her voice to sing mystical songs, asking her kalku to help her perform
her magical arts.

Mazatum

It is the ceremony that is carried out to celebrate the Mapuche new year "Witrupantu"
and to celebrate the Tasting of the little girls (Opening of the ears, to place the earrings).

This is a celebration of joy, it is practiced holding hands and with short steps.

Machipurrun
Dance and
prayers are This dance is typical of the machi; which consists of making short jumps to the sides,
confused. to the sides, forward and backward, followed by movements of the entire body and
head faced by an assistant called llankañ .

This is very cheerful and fast in movement accompanied by the playing of the instruments.

Lañkañ

This dance produces effects entirely opposite to kuimin, because while it goes up it goes down.

The dance is called llañkañ (recovery dance)

Machiyum
Mazatum, to
It is performed by the machi for which she dresses in a native way and the entire family of the sick person open ears in
participates in this, those who carry chuecas in their hands and make them ring in order to remove the little girls.
disease from the sick person's body. In the prayer, Machi carries cinnamon branches, laurel and other herbs
in her hands.