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MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS |
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on an old tradition from prehistoric Indian ancestors. Jurupari means u demon "; and with several Indian tribes on the Amazon customs and ceremonies still prevail in honour of Jurupari.
The Caroados, an Indian tribe in Brazil, have a war trumpet which closely resembles the juruparis. With this people it is the custom for the chief to give on his war trumpet the signal for battle, and to continue blowing as long as he wishes the battle to last. The trumpet is made of wood, and its sound is described by travellers as very deep but rather pleasant. The sound is easily produced, and its c;r.tinuance does not require much exertion; but a peculiar vibration of the lips is necessary which requires practice. Another trumpet, the ture, is common with many Indian tribes on the Amazon who use it chiefly in war. It is made of a long and thick bamboo, and there is a split reed in the mouthpiece. It therefore partakes rather of the character of an oboe or clarinet. Its tone is described as loud and harsh. The ture is especially used by the sentinels of predatory hordes, who, mounted on a lofty tree, give the signal of attack to their comrades.
Again, the aborigines in Mexico had a curious contrivance of this kind, the acocotl, now more usually called clarin. Tiie former word is its old Indian name, and the latter appears to have been first given to the instrument by the Spaniards. The acocotl consists of a very thin tube from eight to ten feet in length, and generally not quite straight but with some irregular curves. This tube, which is often not thicker than a couple of inches in diameter, terminates at one end in a sort of bell, and has at the other end a small mouthpiece resembling in shape that of a clarinet. The tube is made of the dry stalk of a plant which is common in Mexico, and which likewise the Indians call acocotl. The most singular characteristic of the instrument is that the performer does not blow into it, but inhales the air through it; or rather, he produces the sound by sucking the mouthpiece. It is said to require strong lungs to perform on the acocotl effectively according to Indian notions of taste. |
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