Music: Music and Religion in Mesoamerica

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MUSIC: MUSIC AND RELIGION IN MESOAMERICA

In Mesoamerica, multifaceted music cultures were characterized by an ancient substratum of shared function and meaning. Common to all cultures is the ritualization of both vocal and instrumental music, as well as dance practices. Many studies have dealt with pre-Hispanic musical traditions, starting with "Aztec Music" (1883) by Hilborne T. Cresson and "Altmexikanische Knochenrasseln" ("Bone-rattles of ancient Mexico," 1898), by Eduard Seler. However, only a few explicitly discuss the autochthonal understanding and underlying religious aspects of these traditions (Stanford, 1984; Stevenson, 1996).

Methods

A rich volume of source material is available for research in the ancient music cultures of Mesoamerica. There are not only numerous preserved musical instruments, but also a large quantity of depictions in art showing ritual functions of music. Written documents from the early colonial period (sixteenth century and early seventeenth century) also provide enlightening information. Moreover, it is possible to make ethnomusicological comparisons on the basis of cultural continuities.

Archaeology

Archaeological information, such as the context of unearthed sound artifacts, is of great importance, since it provides insight into invaluable information on the function and meaning of music in pre-Hispanic cultures in precise chronological order. Depositing musical instruments into burials indicates a use in death cults, whereas using them as offerings in the fills of superimposed temple structures indicates a use by the cults practiced at these locations. Both cases reflect the concept of music in the spiritual realm. In this way the instruments, which possibly represented the personal property of the deceased, were taken with him or her into the world of the dead. Offerings such as those at the Aztec Templo Mayor in the Valley of Mexico (1325–1521 ce) represent cosmograms that reflect the notion of numinous spheres filled with specific sounds.

Music iconography

From an iconographic point of view, of interest are both the preserved musical instruments and other archaeological findings, such as figurines of musicians and figurative votive representations of musical instruments, particularly the representation of musicians and dancers in stone relief, mural and vase painting, and picture manuscripts. On the basis of these sources, specific functions of the instrumentary and the context of musical practices can be meticulously reconstructed. Sound scrolls or volutes provide a pictographic clue about instrumental music and recitative song, which attained the level of a complex, incompletely decrypted symbolism in Teotihuacán in the Mexican Highlands (c. 150 bce–750 ce) (LaGamma, 1991). In Mesoamerica, volutes also symbolized scents, smoke, and precious liquids, such as water or blood, and in the depiction of offerings and sacrificial acts they stood for the connection with the spiritual world (Heyden, 1979; Houston and Taube, 2000).

Ethnohistory

The written sources from the early colonial period provide extensive insight into the musical traditions of Mesoamerica. Because Spanish missionaries mainly composed these sources, a critical interpretation is essential to avoid misinterpretations or disinformation. Valuable information is contained within the descriptions of indigenous musical practices with regard to ceremonial dances, processions, and temple rituals but also comes from traditional myths, in which musical instruments play an integral role (see section on Music in Aztec Myth, below). Dictionaries and bilingual chronicles also provide an important contribution to the understanding of autochthonous musical traditions. In addition to Aztec terminology, Mixtec and other terminologies point to a uniform concept of music in Mesoamerica (Stanford, 1966).

Ethnomusicology

Despite multilayered syncretism, certain musical practices of contemporary ethnic groups in Mexico and Guatemala contain pre-Hispanic elements. Thus, ethnomusicological studies can be highly informative. On the other hand, it should be pointed out that the process is increasingly more difficult the more distant the temporal, spatial, and cultural reference points are from one another. The problem becomes clear when looking at the function of wooden rasps among Mexican ethnic groups, such as the Tarahumara (Sierra Madre Occidental, Chihuahua), in comparison to the function of similar instruments made from human thighbones by the Aztecs. While the wooden rasps are played on a wooden resonator and on the head of the sick person in a Tarahumara peyote ceremony (Deimel, 2000), bone rasps were played on a skull resonator in the Aztec death cult to help the deceased on his or her difficult journey into the underworld (Seler, 1898). The rasp, called omichicahuaztli (instrument for strengthening the bones) by the Aztecs, has maintained a magical function until the twenty-first century, though its culture-specific meanings must be clearly differentiated.

The History of Music in Mesoamerica

Some percussion instruments (idiophones and membranophones) and wind instruments (aerophones) used in Mesoamerica are unique in the world with regard to their shape and technical functions. A historical survey shows that the music cultures of Mesoamerica reflected a more than three-thousand-year-old history prior to the Spanish conquest (Castellanos, 1970; Dultzin Dubín and Nava Gómez Tagle, 1984).

Archaic period (prior to 2500 bce)

It can be assumed that the knowledge of bone flutes was brought into the New World when America was first populated, as these instruments were already produced in the Old World during the Upper Palaeolithic Era (c. 40,000–10,000 bce). Among the prehistoric musical instruments of Mesoamerica that were made by hunters and gatherers around 10,000 bce are whistles from the toe bones of ungulates as well as ribs with simple perforations that were possibly used to produce calls (Schöndube, 1986, p. 91, photos 1–2). The ability to imitate specific sounds from the natural environment using the human breath with the aide of acoustical tools represented an effective medium of communication with the outside world with which the environment could be commanded and controlled—as with the imitation of animal calls for the hunt. Sound association must have played an increasingly larger role when making instruments that could produce sounds not present in nature. Among the first instruments in Mesoamerica that required sound association were percussion instruments, such as conch tinkles, bone rasps made from the shoulder blades of deer, and turtle shells that were struck with deer antlers, with which complex rhythms could be created.

Preclassic period (c. 2500 bce–150 ce)

Archaeological finds confirm that pre-Hispanic instrumentary was extensively expanded in the Preclassic period, during which the first large ceremonial centers were erected. Simultaneous with the first use of ceramics, sophisticated whistles and flutes were produced, which can hardly be differentiated from subsequent instruments (Martí, 1968). This suggests similar instruments made out of perishable materials, such as cane flutes, were already in existence centuries earlier. Shell trumpets are among the earliest burial findings of musical instruments in Tlatilco, Valley of Mexico, dated to around 1400–1200 bce, revealing the existence of complex trade relations (García Moll et al., 1991, p. 220). They possibly assumed an important role as ceremonial signaling instruments whose potent, vibrating sounds could be heard over long distances. In Tlatilco, spherical rattles made from ceramics that could have served as simple hand rattles were also unearthed (García Moll et al., 1991). As suggested by ceramic figurines, they were perhaps attached to the dancers' ritual clothing as row rattles (Feuchtwanger, 1980, p. 140, Figures 28–29). Other figurines show gourd rattles, tripod drums, and flute players (Feuchtwanger, 1980, p. 141, Fig. 32–36). These finds attest to the complexity that musical and dance practices had already attained in the Middle Preclassic period (c. 1200–300 bce). Among the remarkable instruments that were produced in Tlatilco are whistling bottles, which function on the principle of air pressure against a whistle that is initiated by the movement of water within the axially shaken vase (Martí, 1968, pp. 110–119). Because the instruments seem to sound of their own accord, they must have been related to a particular ritual function with unknown implications. The production of flutes and whistles in the shape of birds and other animals, such as snakes, also suggests a specific cult use, as animals were seen as manifestations of supernatural beings and the instruments cannot always imitate the animal represented.

Mass findings of elaborately decorated shell trumpets in West Mexican shaft tombs, dated to the Late Preclassic period (300 bce–150 ce), suggest that certain musical instruments became status symbols for high-ranked individuals (Furst, 1966; López Mestas Camberos and Ramos de la Vega, 1998). On the basis of West Mexican figurines that show musicians riding on drums, Peter T. Furst made the interpretation that drums served as vehicles with which the path into the spiritual world was taken (Furst, 1998, pp. 183–185). The high importance of rattles and wooden drums in shamanic practices, which continue in the twenty-first century in the ceremonies of various Mexican ethnic groups, can possibly be attributed to the creation of repetitive rhythmic structures to put the musicians, dancers, and singers into a trance. The high tone frequency of many ceramic wind instruments that lies in a sensitive hearing range and leads to interference effects when played simultaneously can also produce strong psychological effects (Both, 2002b). Among other techniques for selectively evoking altered states of consciousness are hyperventilation and ritual intoxication with highly psychoactive substances obtained from various plants associated with the deities of music (Wasson, 1980, pp. 56–78; Heyden, 1985, pp. 21–39).

Classic period (c. 150–750/900 ce)

In the Classic period, in which many important cultures developed in Mesoamerica, the existing instrumentary was further expanded. The large quantity of musical instruments found in ceremonial centers and preserved depictions in mural and relief art show the important position attributed to ritual musical and dance practices. On the basis of the widely distributed production of various ceramic flutes and whistles, it can be seen that even smaller regional centers were characterized by their own unmistakable music. Several findings, including a large find of ceramic flutes in a burial in Tres Zapotes, Veracruz, suggest the use of panpipes in the Early Classic period (Martí, 1968, pp. 95–106). The production of multi-tubular duct flutes, which reached a climax in Teotihuacán, suggests the development of complex scale systems (Martí, 1968, pp. 191–213). The use of slit-drums in the Early Classic period is suggested by findings of figurative votive representations in West Mexico and at Monte Albán, Oaxaca (Furst, 1998, p. 184, Fig. 23; Martí, 1970, p. 104, Fig. 88). The instruments initially exhibit a box shape with four feet, as indicated also by stone sculptures from the Mayan region (Castellanos, 1970, pp. 47–48, Figs. 7.B–8.A).

Also proven to have been used in the Classic period are ceramic trumpets and long tubular trumpets made out of vegetative material that were used for various occasions, such as battles, processions, and autosacrificial rites, according to the preserved depictions. In the mural paintings of Structure 1 in Bonampak, Chiapas (790 ce), there is a preserved mural of a Mayan court ceremony, in which musicians are depicted with tubular trumpets, turtle shells, a tripod drum, and gourd rattles. Shell trumpets were especially important, so much so that sanctuaries were erected for them. An example of this is the Temple of the Plumed Conches in Teotihuacán, dated to 200 ce (Bernal, 1963, photos 15–16, Lám 7). In the Jaguar Compound in Teotihuacán (c. 450–700 ce), mural paintings of forward-walking cats of prey playing shell trumpets were uncovered, which suggests a procession of jaguar impersonators (Fuente, 1996, vol. 1, pp. 115–119). Other murals in Teotihuacán show shell trumpets playing of their own accord and calling certain divine beings associated with the fertility cult (Séjourné, 1966, Fig. 142; Kubler, 1967, Fig. 5). In Teotihuacán the ceremonial instrument was decorated with the iridescent tail plumes of the quetzal bird, and mouthpieces were attached that possibly consisted of circular ear spools. Also in the Mayan region, organological modifications were made to shell trumpets, with the perforation of up to two finger holes. The instruments were possibly deified both in Teotihuacán and in the Maya culture and were closely related to the fertility cult, sacrificial practices, and the underworld. Unusual instruments that were perhaps also associated with the underworld are huge bone rasps made from whale ribs, which were discovered in an offering at Monte Albán (Caso et al., 1967, p. 103, Figs. 70–71). Even if the conceptual implications of the instruments cannot be determined with absolute certainty, it can be assumed that whale bones were considered to be the remains of gigantic beings from bygone eras, such as the bones of mammoths and other prehistoric animals.

Postclassic period (900–1521 ce)

In Postclassic Mesoamerica the ancient concepts were further developed. The instrumentary was expanded with bells and metal discs that could have served as gongs (Flores Dorantes, 1979). Bells made out of copper alloys and gold were found in the Sacred Cenote at Chichén Itzá, Yucatán (750/900–1200 ce) and in the tombs reused by Zapotecs and Mixtecs at Monte Albán (900–1400 ce). Fine metallic sounds became an expression of stately power (Hosler, 1994).

Aztec music culture finally developed in the Late Postclassic period (1325–1521 ce). Rattle sticks became important instruments and were attributed with a magical function in cults dedicated to rain, water, and mountain gods (Neumann, 1976, pp. 247–248). The preserved slit-drums, which either exhibited an elaborately decorated box shape or zoomorphic and anthropomorphic shapes, suggest high craftsmanship in the production of wooden drums (Castañeda and Mendoza, 1933). On the famous tripod drum from Malinalco, the "four-movement" (nahui ollin ) sign for the fifth world era and a representation of the deity of music Xochipilli (Flower Prince) in a bird costume are depicted. The drum is additionally ornamented with Aztec war imagery, such as dancing jaguars and eagles as well as volutes in the form of the atl-tlachinolli sign, the metaphor for war (Seler, 1904). A stone representation of a slit-drum to scale, on the other hand, shows Macuilxochitl (Five Flower), a deity of music closely related to Xochipilli. The imagery of his eyes is noteworthy, into which the palms of two hands are incorporated, as are the flowers surrounding the mouth, a metaphor for music and sacrifice. In addition, jaguar pelts are represented on the sides of the drum, thus indicating the existence of a hybrid instrument consisting of a slit-drum and a double-sided cylindrical drum, which could have been played by two priests simultaneously.

In the excavations of the previous Aztec temple precinct of Tenochtitlán in the center of Mexico City, many musical instruments were unearthed, such as metal bells, conch tinkles, ceramic flutes, shell trumpets, fragments of shell trumpets, and incense ladles with rattles built into the handles (López Luján, 1993). The context of the findings provides highly informative data about ritual music practiced in the temple cult of the Aztecs and reflects the association of specific sounds with the aquatic underworld or the paradisiacal spheres of the rain god Tlaloc.

In several shrines called the Red Temples, the Aztec deities of music and musical instruments were honored in the form of figurative votive representations (Olmedo Vera, 2002). In a court east of the Templo Mayor, the monumental representation of a shell trumpet was found next to an altar, from which it possibly was knocked down (Luna Erreguerena, 1982). The sculpture underscores the high position of the trumpet, because no other instrument was sculpted in a comparable size.

Written sources from the early colonial period suggest that in Late Postclassic Mesoamerica a differentiation was made between temple music practiced by specialized priests and court and palace music practiced by professional musicians (Both, 2001). It can be assumed that similar differentiations were made in earlier cultures. The priests responsible for the temple music of Tenochtitlán introduced the nightly sacrificial practices with shell trumpets in the tlatlapitzaliztli ritual, the "frequent sounding of wind instruments" (Sahagún, 1997, p. 80). At midnight began the tozohualiztli ritual, the night watch of the drummers, which was connected with songs and astronomical observations from atop the temples (Sahagún, 1997, p. 80). The ritual human sacrifice was accompanied by shell trumpets and tripod drums (Sahagún, 1950–1982, vol. 3, bk. 2, p. 28). In a temple designated as "house of mist" (ayauhcalli ), priests sounded shell trumpets and gongs during ritual cleansing (Sahagún, 1950–1982, vol. 3, bk. 2, p. 77). Ritual music was also practiced by women, who played slit-drums or rattle sticks as representatives of female deities and appeared as temple singers and dancers in various ceremonies.

While the priest-musicians lived in the temple precinct of Tenochtitlán, the professional musicians formed a group that resided at the court. They were responsible for providing music in the ruler's palace and for large ceremonial dances in the temple precinct, in which cult activities such as ritual human sacrifices were interwoven (Both, 2001). From the depiction of circle dances in picture manuscripts, it can be seen that dancers often carried gourd rattles decorated with feathers, whereas the drummers were positioned in the center of the dancers (Martí and Prokosch Kurath, 1964). In addition, there are reports of music by trumpets, pipes, and portable drums during battles, which served as distraction noise for surprise attacks and for giving signals (Moreno, 1961). It is unclear whether priests or court musicians were responsible for the noise, or whether there was a third group of specialized musicians among the eagle and jaguar warriors.

Music in Aztec Myth

In the Aztec cosmogony some key information shines light on the ritual function and meaning of musical instruments in Mesoamerica. The Legend of the Suns tells of the origin of the shell trumpet while discussing the creation of humankind (Johansson, 1997). At the beginning of the fifth world era the divine creator Quetzalcoatl (Feathered Snake) travels down into the underworld into the kingdom of the ruler of the dead, Mictlantecuhtli. Quetzalcoatl is supposed to procure the bones of the beings of foregone eras, which is to be ground up and mingled with the sacrificed blood of deities to create humankind. In order to be allowed to take the bones, Quetzalcoatl is to blow on the shell of the ruler of the underworld four times and turn to the four corners of the world when doing so. However, Quetzalcoatl must first create the shell trumpet by removing the tip of the spire of the shell thus producing the embouchure. Quetzalcoatl accomplishes what seems impossible through his magical powers with the aide of caterpillars and black bees, which bore a channel into the shell. After Quetzalcoatl performs the shell trumpet ritual, Mictlantecuhtli must let his opponent leave with the bones.

Noteworthy about this myth is that the creation of humankind was announced in the underworld with the shell trumpet, and thus tremendous creative potential is attributed to its sound. As a wind instrument with a spiral-shaped channel, the trumpet was closely related to the magical powers of Quetzalcoatl (Corona Núñez, 1966). The myth additionally provides an explanation for why musical instruments had to be played four times facing the four corners of the world to guarantee the effectiveness of a ritual. This musical practice was paraphrased with a metaphor that can be translated as "carry something [i.e., the musical instrument or the sound] four times in all directions around the precious circular greenstone [i.e., the center of the world]" (nauhpa xictlayahualochti in chalchiuhteyahualco ). It is important to ascertain that numerical symbolism and musical directionalism, even in conjunction with other instruments, such as in the flute ritual of the deity Tezcatlipoca (Smoking Mirror), played an important role (Both, 2002a).

Another myth that has been handed down in two versions explains the history of the origins of the tripod drum (huehuetl ) and the slit-drum (teponaztli ) (Ceballos Novelo, 1956). At a time when music still did not exist on the earth, the instruments lived as singers at the court of the sun; one had three feet and the other had large ears. To give humans the ability to conduct ceremonies and thus connect with the deities, a representative of Tezcatlipoca in one version and the wind god Ehecatl in the other takes up the journey to the sun with ritual songs to induce the singers to manifest themselves as drums on earth. For this purpose they call up whales and turtles that form a bridge over the ocean to the sun. The sun forbids the singers to hear the song, but it is so powerful that they are enticed to come to earth.

In this myth the drums are described as divine creatures that originate from the sun. Based on the imagery on preserved instruments, these beings could have been Xochipilli and Macuilxochitl. It is therefore assumed that drums represented sounding idols—"vessels" in which the respective deities resided during the ritual. In this regard, music was possibly seen as the ritual voices of divine beings. This principle is still present in the twenty-first century in ethnic groups in Mexico. Thus, the deified ceramic drums of the Maya-Lacandón (Selva Lacandona, Chiapas) exhibit sounding holes that are so situated that the sound emanates from behind the effigy of the deity K'ayom (Ochoa Cabrera et al., 1998, p. 70), and the holes situated in the body of the tripod drum of the Huichol (Sierra Madre Occidental, Nayarit und Jalisco) are considered to be the mouth of the deity T'epu (Berrin, 1978, pp. 180–181). In Mesoamerica this concept was also extended to other instruments, in particular ceramic flutes (Both, 2002a). According to ethnohistorical sources, Tezcatlipoca spoke through the flute to announce his will (Sahagún, 1950–1982, vol. 7, bk. 6, p. 50).

In Mesoamerica, musicians assumed the position of expert mediators. They established a form of communication with the spiritual world that helped the voices of the gods to be heard, and they were therefore attributed high reverence. The autochthonal understanding also explains the high degree of formalization of musical practices, which looked back upon a three-thousand-year varied history at the time of the Spanish Conquest. Even shortly after the Conquest, Spanish missionaries prohibited their practice because it represented an integral component of religious activities.

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