MUSIC READING and summary

I. Musical Instruments and Ensembles

Typically, the traditional music of the Indios of the Central Andes uses a large variety of wind instruments, a smaller number of different kinds of drums, and a few idiophones. With the exception of the one-stringed musical bow (area selvatico/musical or area de boca), no stringed instruments were known in pre-Hispanic Latin America (Baumann 1985a:158f.). It was with Spanish colonialization that various guitar types, such as vihuelas, lutes, and bandu”ias, spread throughout the affluent mine centers of the Andean re- gion. Through the mediation of the mestizos, the guitamllo, jita”6n and charango (Quechua: charanku) were introduced to the campesinos of the alti- plano and adapted and transformed there (Baumann 1979:603f.).

Unlike the urban folklore ensembles (conjuntos), which like to mix stringed instruments with some or all of the three basic types of flutes, the rural ensembles of the Indios (tropas)-with some few exceptions-consist of a set of only one type of melody-carrying instrument. The wind instru- ments of a tropa are found in “choral” formation, that is, one can normally divide the musical groups of the campesinos into the three main types of flute ensembles, according to native categorization: the panpipe ensembles (sikus), the notched flute ensembles (kenas) and the duct flute ensembles (pinki!los). Referring to the rhythmical accompaniment, one might also, from the nota- rive point of view, subdivide the tropa ensembles into flute ensembles with- out drum accompaniment and those with accompanying drums. Wind in- struments obviously hold the most important position within the Andean tra- dition of the campesinos, followed by the drums, which are used primarily as accompaniment.

Musical instruments and ensembles often have particular regional and in- dividual names, varying according to the specific areas where they are played. This applies in particular to those musical terms classifying the different sizes or tonal registers of one generic type of instrument in one particular ensem- ble. In a duct flute ensemble from the Arque Province, the various charkas or pinkillos are divided into four categories according to their tonal register- similar to tlw idea hehind divisions of soprnno, alto, tenor and bass. Each in- strument is assigned an individual name according to the register group to which it belongs. For example, the deepest and longest flute is called charka machu, the instrument belonging to the next higher register (about one fifth

Andean Music, Symbolic Dualism and Cosmology 17

higher) is called charka mala. One octave higher than the charka machu is the charka tara. The instrument belonging to the highest tonal register is called charka ch’ili; it is also the smallest instrument, sounding one fifth higher than the charka tara and one octave higher than the charka mala. Machu, mala (also malta), tara and ch’ili symbolize at the same time the societal hierarchy: machu means “honorable” and is, as a rule, associated with the oldest and most experienced musicians, mala or malta means “intermediate one,” while ch’ili refers to the “smallest” instrument, which is usually played by the youngest and least experienced musician.

2. Musical Characteristics

Generally speaking the melodies produced by the various panpipe types are played most often in two to five parallel octaves. Parallel octaves also oc- cur in some duct flute ensembles and in some kena ensembles. In ensembles of double-row panpipes, as well as in some duct flute and notched flute en- sembles, parallel octaves will often be embellished by parallel sounds of fifths and/or fourths lying between the deepest and highest octave registers or, somewhat less often, by parallel intervals approximating a tritone.

Most instrumental and vocal melodies possess a pronounced anhemitonic pentatonic structure. Although certain flute types have a diatonic tuning and therefore could be theoretically played in a diatonic way, the scales actually played by the campesinos are predominantly pentatonically oriented. These scales are certainly more traditional and are, in terms of quantity, the prefer- red ones as well. Of course many melodies with half-tone steps do exist, in particular in melodies with a wide range. Such melodies seem to be trans- posed by shifting a fourth to a lower register or a fifth to a higher one; this occurs, for example, in some sikura ensembles. Such hexa- and heptatonic scales can be explained in terms of the combination of two anhemitonic pen- tatonic scales whose tonal centers are arranged in layers of a sequence of in- tervals built up first on the finalis and then on the upper fifth. Because of having to play Western-like compositions such as national and regional an- thems, in addition to the influence of urban folklore groups, traditional en- sembles are more often adopting melodies tuned in major and minor keys.

In formal terms, the traditional melodies of the Indios are marked by phrases that are relatively short and few in number. These phrases are repeat- ed individually, and the melodies in their complete form are constantly re- peated from the beginning (e.g., AA BB CC-da capo several times). The in- strumental pieces often begin with a drum introduction (qa!laykuy), and after the often repeated main section (tukanalkantulwirm), there is a shorter coda section at the end (tukuchana).

From the point of view of rhythm, a binary character predominates. This is related to the countless forms of the wayiiu dance (Spanish: huayna). These

~t t t t t tt-t tt-ttt “” ” ”” ••• I I._.._.._. W W” W W” • • • • • • ._ • •

~~,,,, …………………….•••••••••••• 18 Max Peter Baumann

dances can consist ~f such steps as a rather forceful striding forward (as in processional music), small steps, steps with a trochaic character, a simple al- ternating step, or hopping in place from one foot to the other (cf. Baumann 1983).

The singing (takiy) of men and women is mostly accompanied by one or several charangueros and is combined with particularly lively and rhythmic dances that have their own stamping sequences (tusuna or zapateo). To the most important song genres belong waynu, tunada (tonada, copla), yaravi, bailesitu (bailecito), and kwika (cueca). In contemporary Bolivia, these are mainly performed in connection with the Christian festivals, such as carnival, Easter (paskua), Santa Vera Cruz (May 3rd), Todos Santos (November 1st), or Christmas (Navidad). There are solo singers performing lari-waynu and burruqhatiy songs who accompany themselves on the charango while jour- neying through the countryside, as well as ensemble singing (taki, tusuna) and antiphonal singing between two contesting singers or groups of singers (takipayanaku). The individual melodies (tunadas, wirsus) and types of in- strumental ensembles (tropas) are tied to specific festivals with specific terms, such as the carnival music of the puka uma or pujllay ensembles (tonada del carnaval), the tonada de la Cruz, the cosecha wirsu (harvest melody), etc. (cf. Baumann 1982b).

Songs, dances, and music are associated with festive occasions such as the sowing and harvesting seasons, family celebrations (comprades) and wed- dings, communal celebrations in honor of the patron saints, and other occa- sions special to each ayllu (ethnic groups bound by religion and territory). The festivities and music making reach their zenith when celebrating the var- ious offering rites, such as offering drinks (ch’a!la), incense (q’oa) or animals (wilancha), as well as during the animal branding ceremonies (k’illpa). Music, song and dance always stand in close relation to and are an inseparable part of the diverse fertility rites directed towards superhuman powers and to nature.

The most elementary figure of the dance ensemble (tropas) is the circle for- mation, in which participants dance in single file, the oldest first, the young- est last. In the traditional ensembles instruments are played by men. Women take a leading role in dance and song. They often wave colored flags (whipalas) in rhythm to the music. The dances always begin in a counter- clockwise direction and after a certain time symmetrically change to the op- posite direction. At this point the musicians make a half-tum on their own axis and continue dancing in the same formation, one behind another. This fundamental pattern can be observed in many dances, as in the charangeada, the sikuriada, the chUkaru-baile of the julajulas, the ushnizatni of the Chipa- yas, etc. The circle dance is also combined with dancing in single file (/inku linku rayku, such as serpentine movements in the julajula dances) or with dancing in double rows as in lichiwayu dances. All of these formations be- long to the main dance structures. The leader of the music group is the tata

Andean Music, Symbolic Dualism and Cosmology 19

mayor (cabeza de baile), who is responsible for the musicians, their food, and the schedule of the festivities, as well as for the decorations and dance forma- tions. As a sign of his dignity as the dance leader, the tata mayor sometimes plays a pututu (signal hom) and holds a whip in his hand. With the whip he sees to it that nobody dances out of step.