Music of the Pre-Columbian culture of the Central Andean area of South America.
2. Musical instruments of the Tahuantinsuyo.
3. Huacas: the place of ritual and its musical instruments.
5. Inca parades, processions and customs.
6. Andean music at the beginning of the Colonial era.
CESAR BOLANOS
The Inca Tahuantisuyo (‘Empire’ or ‘state’) was the peak of a long process of development, starting with the first migrants, who arrived in the Andes approximately 15, 000 years ago, culminating in the Zapac Inca, who shaped and extended the Tahuantisuyo in the years 1450–1535. The empire reached its maximum size under the Inca Huyna Capac (1493–1527). When the Spaniards arrived, the Tahuantinsuyo extended in length from the extreme south of Colombia as far as the River Maule in Chile and in breadth from the Pacific Ocean to the high ground of the Amazon.
The Inca capital was Cusco, a city of magnificent architecture built with enormous polished stones set with precious metals. Only some stone remains can be seen today. Other splendours have survived only in the descriptions of chroniclers. Little is known of musical instruments made of precious metals as they fell victim to the invaders’ insatiable greed to possess the Incas' dazzling riches of silver and gold. Objects made of precious metals, including musical instruments, were melted down into exportable ingots. Later, when the Viceroyalty of Peru was established, the Spaniards also destroyed instruments made of organic materials, because they were associated with Inca ceremonies, which were considered idolatrous rites and thus banned by both Catholic clergy and the colonial government.
Ceramic objects survive from between 2000 and 100 bce, including sound-producing instruments of fine quality that show individual stylistic traits
The cultures of that period include: Chorrera, Guangala, Bahía, Jama Coaque, Guayaquil, Tolita, Capulí, El Angel, Tuncahuán, all situated in what is now the country of Ecuador, and Tembladera, Jequetepeque, Guañape, Chavín, Paracas, Salinar, Vicús, Tablada de Lurín, Pukara in modern Peru.
Later cultures, between 100 and 600 ce, produced the highest achievements of ceramic instruments in terms of technique and construction. The greatest exponents were the Mochica and the Nasca (Peru), and, the Cuasmal, Manteño, Cosanga and Purhua (northern Andes and Ecuador). The Wari (600–1000 ce) were the first to attempt to create an empire in the central Andean region. From Ayacucho, they dominated an area extending from Cajamarca and Lambayeque to the north, and as far as Cusco and Arequipa to the south. Little is known about their instrument-making, but they did overpower the Mochica and Nasca in the course of their expansion.
By approximately 1000 ce Wari society had disintegrated, giving way to the Sicán, Chimú, Chincha and Chancay in Peru, and the Cuasmal, Manteño, Cosanga and Purhua in Ecuador. These peoples had not been dominated by the Wari and had therefore continued the development of their societies without the strong influence exercised by the Wari on those they conquered. In a similar way the Gentilar in Arica and Tarapacá in Chile, among others, were also outside the ambit of the Wari.
In 1450, after almost 100 years of large-scale aggression, the Incas came to dominate virtually all the peoples of the Andean region. They were thus able to choose the best instrument-makers; those who had inherited a long history of both knowledge of acoustics and techniques of construction.
The customs of the Incas and the peoples of the Tahuantinsuyo are known only through the accounts of the Spanish conquerors and the chronicles and documents which describe the period. Such writers had no knowledge of the lengthy history of Andean culture and as a result the information they provide is limited to the previous 100 or 150 years of Andean customs and heroic legend. Through their imperial position the Incas organized new social, political and economic structures and new means of productivity and technology, in what was to become the final stage of the Andean culture’s long history. Yet at this moment of cultural evolution, the territory was destined to be invaded, leading to its destabilization and the destruction and loss of all that had been achieved over many thousands of years. A great deal of knowledge, including that related to instrument-making, was lost for ever.
An account by Cabello de Balboa explains one of the causes, as well as the tragedy, of this destruction, reporting how after Francisco Pizarro ordered his army to seize the gold from Cusco and Pachacamac, the Spaniards pillaged the palace, taking gold, silver, and everything else of value. Among those objects must have been drums and other musical instruments musical instruments. Once the colony was established, not even burial places went unmolested. The ransacking for gold of burial places high up on the dry land of the Chincha valley is related in chronicles. Other narrators reported on the customs, dances and instruments encountered.
The Tahuantinsuyo consisted of many diverse peoples with their own particular musical instruments dominated by the Incas. From the chronicles it is known that taqui, which designated both dances and songs, were used to celebrate joyful as well as sad and mournful occasions, using musical instruments kept essentially for such dances and revels. Playing was spontaneous: whoever took up an instrument was considered as mastering it at the first lesson, ‘there was little sweetness in the sound, and even less artistry’ (Cobo, 1956 p.270). The most common instrument was the drum, called huancar, made in both large and small sizes from a hollow branch, each end covered with a llama skin, like a thin dry parchment. The largest drums were compared to European military drums, but considered to be even bigger in size, while the smaller ones were described as being ‘like a little jar of preserves’, and the middle-sized like a European tambourine. All were played with one stick, which on gala occasions was sometimes covered with different coloured wools, while the drums were painted and decorated. The drums were played by both men and women; some dances were accompanied by just one, while at others everyone carried a little drum, dancing and playing at the same time. Cobo also reports the use of a kind of Moorish tambourine, called huancartinya.
Cobo noted that while some instruments were similar to those found in Spain, others were unfamiliar, original to the Andean people. Thus we learn that the pincollo was like a fife; the quenaquena was like a reed, and was used to accompany dirges; the quepa was a small trumpet made from a large gourd; the ayarachic was a kind of antara (panpipes) used in dance; the zacapas, bells made of seeds and attached to the toes; the chanrara, handbells made of copper and silver. The most common of all, according to Cobo, were called churu, made of large and various coloured sea shells.
Musical polyphony was a speciality of the Collas, achieved through the playing of instruments which were almost certainly antara (panpipes), combined together in a manner similar to that of present-day sikuris groups of the altiplano. Without naming the instrument, Garcilaso (1943) describes: There were four of these little reeds attached to each other, some different from others. One of them sounded the low notes, another the higher, and another even higher and higher, like the natural range of four voices: treble, tenor, alto and bass. When one Indian played a little reed, another replied in harmony.
Cobo (1956) describes a similar instrument, although not played as part of a group: Also, in their dances, they usually play an instrument made of approximately seven little flutes, placed like organ pipes, side by side, and unequal, the largest as big as the palm of a hand and the rest in descending order. They call this instrument ayarachic, and they play it placed on the lower lip, blowing into these little flutes to produce a muffled sound which is not very sweet.
All Andean religious activities regularly took place at ceremonial places called huacas; here rituals were carried out that were considered idolatrous by Catholic clergy and therefore harshly persecuted. So-called ‘extirpators of idolatry’ zealously dedicated their lives to discovery of these rituals and the punishment of those who participated. Tireless campaigns were waged, with some extirpators leaving behind detailed descriptions of the places, the ritual events and their own methods and rules of punishment. Father Francisco Pablo de Arriaga gave detailed descriptions of ritual effects expressed his disapproval of various instruments which were not seized, including those used to summon people to the feasts of the huacas and to celebrate them. These included many very old copper or silver trumpets of a different shape and form from those of the Spaniards, large shells called antara or pututu pincollo, and flutes made of bone and of cane. He also reported heads and horns of tarucas (a kind of stag), calabashes, calabash drinking vessels and other aquillas, drinking vessels made of silver, wood and clay, of various shapes, used for the feasts of the huacas, as well as large numbers of tambourines used for revels (Arriaga, 1920).
The runatinya, a drum made of human skin (runa means man; tinya means drum), of which no physical or iconographical evidence has been found in earlier cultures, is known only through the description of certain chronicles. It appears that this was not in fact a drum to be played, but a hideous object that the Incas made out of the human skin of conquered chiefs and leaders in order to show their power and intimidate opponents. Vivid accounts exist: one from Cusco, written by Alonso de Meza, who took part in the conquest of the Andean territory, tells how the Incas made such drums by killing the person but leaving the head and arms intact, removing the bones from inside and filling them with ash; making a drum out of the belly; and placing the hands and head on the drum, so that when they blew through them, ‘the drums emitted sounds by themselves’ (Meza, 1920 p.129).
An account from Montesinos tells how Sinchi Roca, after defeating the Señores of Andagüáylas, entered Cusco. He was preceded by songs of praise, trumpets and drums, followed by two thousand soldiers, with ‘six drums shaped like men, made from the skins of the caciques and captains they had marked out in the battle. They skinned them alive, and when filled with air, they looked very like their owners, and they played on their stomachs with little drumsticks to show their contempt. Four thousand soldiers came marching along to these sounds. Behind them came many captured chiefs and captains, and they were followed by more soldiers, and then by six more drums like the first.’ One captive, the Señor de Andagüáylas, was held naked on a platform surrounded by ‘six drums made of the skins of his relations, and they made sounds come out of these drums' (Montesinos, 1930).
Andean peoples' practice was to celebrate daily activities, both regular and special, with music and dance. Grand dignitaries had at their disposal a variety of musical instruments, performers and dancers for different occasions. Guamán Poma describes feasts of the Capac Apo, or ‘great señores’ of the Tahuantinsuyo, which used various musical instruments for dance, including very large drums called pomatinya made of puma skin; guayllaquepa trumpets, made of shells; the pototo, made of calabash or ‘lagenaria’; a flute called a pingollo; the antara, made of reed; and other wind instruments such as the pipo, catauri, uaroro, kena-quena and chiuca. Each instrument, particular to each ‘ayllo’ (extended family unit), was used at festivals of the Incas and at those of the chiefs of each region.
The Incas were extremely exuberant in their ceremonies and festivals. Santa Cruz Pachacuti describes how the Inca Roca, to celebrate the birth of his son Yabarvaca, the future Inca, decorated the streets and square with arches made of feathers, and how ‘they made up songs with eight drums and caxas temerarias (large drums), the songs were called ayma, forma, cave and vallina, chamayuricsa and haylli and cachua’ (Pachacuti, 1927 p.171).
Garcilaso pointed out that each and every province of Peru had its own specific way of dancing; dances were never changed or exchanged, and peoples were recognized in this way, as well as by their different head-dresses. He noted how the Incas’ dancing was solemn and uncomplicated, with no hopping or leaping or other movements found in other dances. Only the Inca men danced, women were not permitted to dance among men. One solemn dance involved each participant holding the hands of the next-dancer-but-one, that is, the person second, rather than immediately, in front of them, at times creating a chain of 200 to 300 men or more depending on the solemnity of the occasion. The dance was begun at a distance from its focus, the Inca king, its movements involving all dancers coming out together, taking three steps at a time, the first backwards, the next two forwards, repeating this movement and gradually moving forwards until they reached the middle of the enclosure where the Inca sat. Songs were recited to the rhythm of the dance, composed in praise of the Inca dignitary present, of his ancestors and others of the same blood, mentioning deeds carried out in peace or in war, with singing alternated between groups to avoid tiredness. The Incas watching would join in while the Inca king sometimes danced at the festivals to solemnize them more.
For the practice of the Qispiranpa, the Inca and his wife, the Colla, would parade through the city, carried on a platform. Guamán Poma describes how in processions, the Inca, accompanied by servants, adorned with his royal decorations and his standard, would bring musicians playing trumpets and flutes. His whole retinue would dance along to the sound of taqui (Guamán Poma, vol.1, p.249). The Inca would participate in some festivals, particularly one at which the uaricza was danced and sung with a red-coloured llama called the puca llama, the song intoned to imitate the gentle cry of the puma. Such a dance–song would be repeated gradually and rhythmically for half an hour, the sound characterized by the ‘y-y-y’ cry emitted by the llama, simultaneously intoned by the Inca by several repeated ‘yn’ sounds while maintaining appropriate rhythm and tone. Verses interjected and responded to by others taking part, including the Colla and Nustas, were at first intoned loudly, with voices gradually lowered until a gentle tone was reached, a tone thought to characterize the uaricza and the araui. Guamán Poma also noted that the Colla, Cusi Chimbo, the wife of Inca Roca, was fond of singing, making music, playing the tinya drum, arranging festivals and banquets (ibid., vol.1, p.96). Raua Ocllo, the wife of Huayna Capac, is also noted for her fondness for music, with a thousand people at her disposal for festivals, some dancing, others singing to the sound of the drums or making music with pingollos flutes. She also had singers of araui living in her house (Guamán Poma, vol.1). The Incas and their wives were not only fond of music, dances and festivals in themselves, but also as symbols of status and power. This was not unique to the Incas, but was common throughout the Andes regionand necessitated the retention of expert musicians and dancers.
Following the establishment of the Spanish Viceroyalty, Inca customs and those of the peoples of the Tahuantinsuyo underwent inevitable transformations, including the introduction of new musical instruments, some of which were subject to considerable modifications. While some ecclesiastics decreed the use of Andean music, songs and dances inappropriate for Catholic worship, Guamán Poma tried to get this decree altered, indicating that in his opinion certain Inca music and dances were suitable for Christian festivities. In his writings he argued that the principal chiefs, Indian men and women, should have the right to dance and to sing taqui (songs); the haylli (song of victory) the uacón uauco (song of the Chinchaysuyos) the sainata (mask song); the llamallama (song of the shepherds); the hayachuco (war song); the Cimo Capac (song of the great Chimu); the Ayanya (song of the dead one); the Guarmi Auca (song of the woman warrior); the Antisuyo (song of the Anti); the chipchillanto (brilliant song); the uaruro (light song); the hahiua (song of the punished acollas or adulterous women); the apac (song of the absent); the llamaya (song of the llama shepherds); the harauay (song of the craftsmen); the uaricza (song of the creator); the tumipampa (song of the tumi ceremonial knife); the haraui (a triumphal song for harvests and time of war); the pingollo (song to the sound of the pingollo flute); the quenquena (song of the kena flute); the catauri song that is danced while spinning round); as well as Spanish,‘negro’ and other Amerindian dances. He advised that they should be danced in front of the ‘Most Holy Sacrament of the Virgin and all the Saints, at feasts of vigil, at Easter and at all the feast days of the year marked out by the Holy Mother Church. Those who do not observe this will be punished’ (Guamán Poma, 1956).
While there were objections to the principle of accepting the music and dances of the peoples of the Tahuantinsuyo, the Spaniards expressed surprise at the remarkable musical qualities and facility for music of the Andean people, their ability to learn to read, write and sing organ chants, play hornpipes, flutes, organs and all kinds of music (Herrera, 1726). Deductions can be made regarding the music of the Incas and the Tahuantinsuyo, and of earlier periods, by studying both old and contemporary genres and melodies of Andean music. While certain kinds of music have been modified in both form and expression, characteristic features are preserved. Throughthese endure the surviving traditions and customs with each modification signalling a new phase.
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J.P. de Arriaga: La extirpación de la idolatría en el Perú (Lima, 1920), 75
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