Maya music

Music was inextricably linked with the Mayan song culture . The music covered various aspects of Indian life - among the surviving it can be noted ^[1] :

• Love lyrics
• Songs accompanying funeral rites
• Hunting songs
• Military hymns and marches
• The music that accompanied the Mayan dances
• Musical accompaniment of religious rites

Fundamentals of Musical Culture

The music of the Mayan civilization reached us mainly by the preserved instruments, as well as by their images - both on the frescoes that were located on the external and internal walls of the buildings, and in some manuscripts. In addition, scientists rely on descriptions of Spanish chroniclers. Scientists also made conclusions from an analysis of the music that the Indian peoples have preserved so far. In general terms, the experts did not pay special attention to the musical art, because for this we need extensive knowledge in Native American languages, as well as knowledge in the history of European music, in order to understand what Indians adopted from the colonialists, and what really relates to their culture, and, finally, knowledge in the archeology of Mayan civilization. Interestingly, even now in different regions of Mexico and Guatemala, Native American peoples perform radically different music, which shows the diversity of their ancient traditions ^[1] .

Mayan music traditionally accompanied not only songs, but also dances, rituals, theatrical performances, as well as military campaigns, during which military marches were played and songs of the same nature were sung ^[2] . The music was called upon to support the warriors, inspire them with self-confidence and instill a military spirit in them. That is why holpop , the music leader, has always been highly regarded ^{[3] [1]} .

The drum fight traditionally started Mayan musical compositions and was a sign that the rest also needed to be prepared for performance. A mention of this can be found in Geronimo de Mendieta ^{[4] [1]} .

As Cogoliudo mentions, holpop was not only the main performer, but also the keeper of musical instruments, including drums ^{[3] [1]} .

Mayan music was a group and the basis was percussion instruments. Maya did not have string instruments ^[5] , with the exception of a musical bow .

Relation to Religion

For Mesoamerican religions, it was traditional to have deities in charge of music, dance, and singing. For example, in the Aztecs it was Macuilchochitl . Maya also had a similar deity, but his name did not survive.

According to the poem Popol-Vuh , the brothers Hun-Batz and Hun-Choven are the patrons of flutists and singers. A hero of legends named Twins turned into a monkey and played flute and drums ^[6] . The God of Sheared Corn was the patron saint of tortoise drums. And finally, the deity Ik ( Rus. Wind ) was responsible for the rattles.

Colonial Repression

The famous conquistador Hernan Cortes negatively related to the musical culture of the Indians, considering it tedious and monotonous ^[1] .

Since music was closely associated with religion, the Spanish invaders subjected it to repression. It is worth mentioning the decree of 1555, which stated: “ Indians should not sing the mentioned songs about their rites or ancient stories until these songs are examined by the clergy or people who know the language well. Gospel ministers must see that such songs do not contain anything worldly ” ^{[7] [1]} .

There were even deliveries according to which the Indians were to burn all musical instruments, with the exception of the drums. The Catholic Church, with the help of conquistadore units, forcibly oppressed the Indian culture, due to which many of its elements, including their music, reached us in separate fragmentary information ^[1] .

Musician Status

In Mayan society there were a sufficient number of professional musicians, singers and dance performers . Bernal Diaz del Castillo mentions that in the palace of Motekuhsoma II "the dancers, singers and other entertainers occupied a separate large room " ^[8] . The ruler of Texcoco Nesaualcoiotl had a whole huge hall in his palace, where musical works were performed ^[9] . And in the Palatine manuscript there is a note stating that Aztec musicians were professionals in their field and held a high position in society ^{[10] [1]} .

It is also worth noting the ce-xochitl festival , during which traditionally praised Sinteotl , the Aztec god of corn, and Shochipilli , the god of art, one could observe the following: “ ... the singers, singers who accompanied the dances, leaders and songwriters were rewarded with gifts and awards. So they did [with] the musicians, those who played drums, teplastli ^{[comm 1]} , those who composed the words for the songs, those who composed the songs, who shifted and harmonized them, those who whistled, who their hands controlled the movement of [dancers], as well as those who, dancing, represented something, those who danced with fours, those who composed figures for dances, those who sang mocking songs or those who were dead, those who danced, spinning around " ^[11] . From the above passage it can be revealed that the musicians were specially trained in this science in order to become professionals in the future. The requirements for musicians were extremely stringent. It is worth mentioning one case during which a drummer who broke the musical rhythm during the toddler was captured and first brought to the gods ^{[12] [1]} .

Musical instruments

Maya had large wooden or reed pipes in the orchestra. There was also a special kind of pipe made of bark, making a sound when inhaling air, and not when blowing, as is usually the case ^[1] . The largest were 1.5 m long and were made of wood and ceramics ^[13] . Pipes are often depicted in murals; we can note, say, a fresco from the first room in Bonampak , depicting an orchestra ^[1] . It depicts the aforementioned 1.5 meter pipes, which were used in pairs, at different keys ^[13] . Hubs were also used as pipes — large sea shells ^[1] , which are found in abundance in the waters of the Yucatan. They made an impressive sound and, according to Mayan beliefs, called upon the gods. Similar are found among the Incas and Aztecs ^[13] .

Also in distribution were chul - flutes from the bone of a deer's thigh or human leg, burnt ^[13] clay or reed, both simple and special - Pan flutes. They could have from six tones in the pre-classical period and up to 12 at a later time. Triple and quarter flutes allow you to play chords. According to Chapter 6 of Part IV of Popol-Vuha , there was also another special type of flute - cirimia - for insignia by the supreme ruler of quiche ^[1] . Maya also had a five-toned flute similar to European and South American ^[13] .

Mayan rattles, or maracas, were created, as a rule, from pumpkins. However, excavations in Pakbituna , Belize, indicate that there were clay rattles with small balls inside ^[14] .

In addition, xoxob - Mayan whistles also belong to the spiritual type. They had different tones, the material of manufacture was wooden, bone or clay. The whistles of the latter type were in the form of humans or animals ^[1] .

Of the stringed instruments, only the with a heneken bowstring, which served as the main bass instrument ^[1], is known.

The most diverse was the arsenal of percussion instruments ^[1] . The drums were of several types ^[15] :

• Tunkul is a vertically standing timpani , performer’s chest height, made of a hollow wooden deck covered with deer skin. They hit the tuncle with their hands;
• This drum stood on the ground, and the drummer sat on it and beat it;
• The analogue of the Acecian teplontsatli - a hollow horizontal wooden deck, had two wooden tongues. They beat him with mallet with rubber tips. Sound with the right wind is heard in two leagues;
• Pash - a small drum, used in dancing, it was beaten with one hand;
• A special hollow-wood drum made heavy and sad sounds;
• Tortoise - from the shell of a small land tortoise, it was covered with carvings and varnish. Landa described his sounds as “melancholy and sad”;
• Cabin - made of clay, similar to two connected vessels, a membrane is stretched from one end. It is found in the Dresden Code, currently used by lacandons .

It is also worth noting other instruments of percussion composition ^[1] :

• Bells and bells from shells, and in a later period from copper, gold and silver. They tied to the dancer's legs, waist or wrists and gave voice to his movements ^[13] ;
• Tortoise shells that were hit with a piece of deer antler ^{[comm 2]} ;
• Numerous zoot - rattles and rattles ^{[comm 3]} .

Maya also had a unique musical instrument, in Spanish called raspadores - scrapers ^[16] , which were made of long bones of a deer, jaguar, tapir ^[16] or a person ^{[comm 4]} , on which deep notches were applied. The musician quickly ran a stick over them, which gave rise to a sound that was rather pleasing to the ear and gnashing ^[16] . This instrument along with the drums was used for a smoother change of rhythm in music. Nowadays, a similar instrument is in Cuban folk orchestras ^[1] .

The exotic of the Mayan orchestra were human skulls, on which they beat with sticks ^[1] .

In the Dresden Code, one can find images of flutes with four holes, drums, rattles ^[17] , in Madrid - vertical drums ^[18] , cut bones ^[19] , and a resonator skull ^{[20] [1]} .

Orchestra Composition

A description of the Mayan orchestra can be found at Landa:

They have small drums that they beat with their hand, and another drum - made of hollow wood, with a low and dull sound. They beat him with a rather long stick with a resin knob from one tree at the end. They had pipes, long and thin, made of hollow wood, with long and curved pumpkins at the end ^{[comm 5]} . They also had a tool from the shell of a whole turtle, cleaned of meat. They beat him with the palms of his hands, and his sound was mournful and sad. They had whistles from the tibia of deer and large shells and a reed flute

- Diego de Landa ^[21]

The cited passage describes the small composition of the orchestra ^[1] .

Features of musical culture

The main features of the Mayan musical culture ^[1] :

• The use of preludes and interludes ;
• Strict observance of keys ;
• Thematic unity in the presence of variations;
• Clear rhythmic and melodic cadences ;
• Antiphonal techniques
• Transitions using crescendo-acceleerando or diminuendo-rallentando ;
• Using ostinato and pedal bass .

Mayan music was also characterized by a sharp rhythmic pattern as a consequence of traditions and a certain orchestral composition, although the melody was quite simple. Many features of the Mayan musical art were also adopted by the modern Indian peoples of Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras. The result of the musicological analysis of the spiritual instruments that they have preserved is that they were based on a pentatonic scale (tone, tone, minor third, tone). Many flutes could have up to 16 tones. The traditions of polyphonic singing were described by Torquemada in his works ^{[22] [1]} .

Scientists have not yet agreed on whether Maya had a musical notation. However, there is evidence that one of the tribes of modern Guatemala paid tribute to copies of their songs, which in itself implies that Indians have the skills to record their musical works. “ Chi manuscript ” says that the Indians using hieroglyphs wrote “ some songs in certain sizes ” ^[23] . X. Castillo, a researcher from Guatemala, in his works published a photo of a flat jade plate that depicted a strange inscription consisting of a zigzag line and dots. According to him, this is an example of musical notation in Maya ^{[24] [1]} .

Bonampak Orchestra

The classical Mayan orchestra is depicted on the lower walls of the Bonampaka Temple. The building was built in 791 AD. e .. In the first room of the temple there is a fresco ^[1] , which depicts a royal dance ^[25] and an orchestra ^[1] of 12 musicians, which can be divided into the following groups ^[26] :

• With rattles of pumpkin - 4 people;
• With tortoise drums - 3 people;
• With timpani - 1 person.
• With long pipes - 2 people;

Also on the frescoes are a dancer with a rattle ^[26] and a musician with the musical instrument “ Maracas ” ^[25] .

Comments

Sources

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• Diego de Landa . Report on affairs in Yucatan / Translated from Old Spanish, introductory line and notes by Yu. V. Knorozov . - 1955.
• Sanchez de Aguilar. Informe contra idolorum cultores del obispado de Yucatan. - Merida . - Vol. 6 .
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• Tedlock, Dennis. Popol Vuh: The Mayan Book of the Dawn of Life. - New York: Simon & Schuster, 1996.
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