Belembaotiyan

Belembaotiyan is traditionally part of weddings and other ceremonies in Guam, such as the celebration of the Chamorro month in schools, but recently a musical instrument has lost popularity.

The name of the instrument comes from the words belembao ("swinging trees") and tuyan ("belly"). Like other resonating musical instruments, such as a berimbau or hango, the player makes a sound by pressing the resonator box against his stomach. The player can create vibrato by moving the pumpkin to his body and in the opposite direction ^[1] .

Belembaotiyan consists of a string attached to a long flat wooden stick, with a resonator box at the top of the musical instrument. A string is usually made from metal wire or a hard thread, and similar material is used to hold the pumpkin in place. The resonator box pulls the thread, which allows two steps (lower and higher), striking longer or shorter sections of the stretched string. respectively. Shells are placed at the ends of the wooden stick to produce a clearer sound. The length of the wooden stick can range from 1.2 to 2.7 meters.

Since it was not easy to find stiff wire in Guam in the past, tool manufacturers used rubber tire wire. The wood used for the tool body was usually made from local Pacific rosewood or hibiscus . Moreover, more flexible wood of young trees was used more often, and a wide body made it possible to get better sound.

The resonator box is usually made from coconut or tagua . But although the coconut shell is easy to handle, it is much smaller, harder and prone to cracking.

A thin punch stick is made of bamboo and usually has a length of about 0.3 meters. The string was traditionally made from the fiber of wild pineapple , today replaced by a metal wire, producing a louder and brighter sound ^[1] .

• Berimbau