General information:
The historic teponaztli has deep cultural and spiritual meaning for Indios and other communities in Mexico. Its name means 'wooden drum' in Nahuatl. In other dialects, it is known as tunkul, quiringua or teponagua . Made from a section of a hollowed hardwood tree trunk (or occasionally from small gourds which also serve as resonators), these instruments characteristically have an elongated H-shaped incision along the top. This cut in the wood forms two vibrating tongues or "keys" ; these have distinct pitches either because they are different lengths or they have been chiseled on the underside to different thicknesses. Sometimes, a rectangular opening is carved in the bottom of the drum to increase its volume. Many of these instruments are decorated with lotus or other symbolic designs, and some are carved in the shapes of alligators.
So why is it important?
Aztec narratives describe music as a gift brought to earth by both Tezcatlipoca, the sky god and Quetzalcoatl, |
the wind god, from the court of the Sun. The drum teponaztli is respected as a spiritual being who is exiled temporarily on Earth. Zapotec warriors were said to carry this them into battle. And, according to Aztec documents (called 'codexes') possibly, several of these drums were played together to accompany songs. In Central America, similar instruments (some with three or four wooden tongues or "keys") were used to send messages because of their penetrating, resonant sound.
A performer strikes the drum with wooden mallets which had rubber tips. According to Robert Stevenson, these mallets were called olmaitl . Some drums are small enough to be carried by a strap around your neck, while others, more than 1 1/2 meters in length, would be placed on a tripod.
Selected References
Blades, James. Percussion Instruments and their History. Revised ed. London: Faber and Faber, 1984.
Marti, Samuel. Music before Columbus = Musica precolombia. 2 ed. Mexico: Ediciones Euroamericanas, 1978.
Ober, Hal and Carol. How Music Came to the World; an ancient Mexican Myth. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1994.
Stevenson, Robert. Music in Mexico, A historical survey. New York: Crowell, 1952.
"Teponaztli". The New Grove Dictionary of Musical Instruments. 3 vols. Stanley Sadie, ed. London: Macmillan, 1984. |
