Burst of breath : indigenous ritual wind instruments in lowland South America / edited by Jonathan D. Hill & Jean-Pierre Chaumeil.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Hill, Jonathan David, 1954-

Chaumeil, Jean-Pierre.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Indians of South America--Music--History and criticism.

Indians of South America.

Indians of South America--Music.

Wind instruments--South America.

Wind instruments.

Indians of South America--Rites and ceremonies.

South America.

Physical Description:

433 pages : illustrations, maps ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Lincoln : University of Nebraska Press, [2011]

Summary:

The first in-depth, comparative, and interdisciplinary study of indigenous Amazonian musical cultures, Burst of Breath showcases new research on the dynamic range of ritual power and social significance of various wind instruments-including flutes, trumpets, clarinets, and whistles-played in sacred rituals and ceremonies in Lowland South America.

The editors provide a detailed overview of the historical significance, scientific classification, shamanic and cosmological associations, and changing social meanings of ritual wind instruments within Amazonian cultures. These essays present a wide perspective that goes beyond better-documented areas such as the Upper Xingu and northwest Amazon. Some of the authors explore the ways ritual wind instruments are used to introduce natural sounds into social contexts and to cross boundaries between verbal and nonverbal communication. Others look at how ritual wind instruments and their music enter into local definitions and negotiations of relations between men, women, kin, insiders, and outsiders.

Closely considering these instruments in their many roles and contexts-in curing and purification, negotiating relations, connecting mythic ancestors and humans today-this volume reveals the power and complexity of the music at the heart of collective rituals across lowland South America. Book jacket.

Contents:

First Movement: Natural Sounds, Wind Instruments, and Social Communication

1 Speaking Tubes: The Sonorous Language of Yagua Flutes / Jean-Pierre Chaumeil Chaumeil, Jean-Pierre 49

2 Leonardo, the Flute: On the Sexual Life of Sacred Flutes among the Xinguano Indians / Rafael José de Menezes Bastos Bastos, Rafael José de Menezes 69

3 Soundscaping the World: The Cultural Poetics of Power and Meaning in Wakuénai Flute Music / Jonathan Hill Hill, Jonathan 93

4 Hearing without Seeing: Sacred Flutes as the Medium for an Avowed Secret in Curripaco Masculine Ritual / Nicolas Journet Journet, Nicolas 123

5 Flutes in the Warime: Musical Voices in the Piaroa World / Alexander Mansutti Rodríguez Rodríguez, Alexander Mansutti 147

6 Desire in Music: Soul-Speaking and the Power of Secrecy / Marcelo Fiorini Fiorini, Marcelo 171

Second Movement: Musical Transpositions of Social Relations

7 Archetypal Agents of Affinity: "Sacred" Musical Instruments in the Guianas? / Marc Brightman Brightman, Marc 201

8 From Flutes to Boom Boxes: Musical Symbolism and Change among the Waiwai of Southern Guyana / Stephanie W. Alemán Alemán, Stephanie W. 219

9 From Musical Poetics to Deep Language: The Ritual of the Wauja Sacred Flutes / Acácio Tadeu de Camargo Piedade Piedade, Acácio Tadeu de Camargo 239

10 The Ritual of Iamurikuma and the Kawoká Flutes / Maria Ignez Cruz Mello Mello, Maria Ignez Cruz 257

11 Spirits, Ritual Staging, and the Transformative Power of Music in the Upper Xingu Region / Ulrike Prinz Prinz, Ulrike 277

12 An "Inca" Instrument at a "Nawa" Feast: Marubo Flutes and Alterity in Amazonian Context / Javier Ruedas Ruedas, Javier 301

13 Arawakan Flute Cults of Lowland South America: The Domestication of Predation and the Production of Agentivity / Robin Wright Wright, Robin 325

Coda: Historical and Comparative Perspectives

14 Sacred Musical Instruments in Museums: Are They Sacred? / Claudia Augustat Augustat, Claudia 357

15 Mystery Instruments / Jean-Michel Beaudet Beaudet, Jean-Michel 371.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780803220928

0803220928

OCLC:

752472032