§ 6 The Instrumental Accompaniment
The Nahuas were not acquainted with any stringed instrument. They manufactured, however, a variety of objects from which they could extract what seemed to them melodious sounds. The most important were two forms of drums, the huehuetl and the teponaztli.
The word huehuetl means something old, something ancient, and therefore important and great. The drum so-called was a hollow cylinder of wood, thicker than a man’s body, and usually about five palms in height. The end was covered with tanned deerskin, firmly stretched. The sides were often elaborately carved and tastefully painted. This drum was placed upright on a stand in front of the player and the notes were produced by striking the parchment with the tips of the fingers.
A smaller variety of this instrument was called tlapanhuehuetl, or the half drum, which was of the same diameter but only half the height.27 Still another variety was the yopihuehuetl, “the drum which tears out the heart,”28 so called either by reason of its penetrating and powerful sound, or because it was employed at the Yopico, where that form of human sacrifice was conducted.
The teponaztli was a cylindrical block of wood hollowed out below, and on its upper surface with two longitudinal parallel grooves running nearly from end to end, and a third in the centre at right angles to these, something in the shape of the letter I. The two tongues left between the grooves were struck with balls of rubber, ulli, on the ends of handles or drum sticks. These instruments varied greatly in size, some being five feet in length, and others so small that they could conveniently be carried suspended to the neck. The teponaztli was the house instrument of the Nahuas. It was played in the women’s apartments to amuse the noble ladies, and the war captains carried one at the side to call the attention of their cohorts on the field of battle (Sahagun). The word is derived from the name of the tree whose wood was selected to make the drum, and this in turn from the verb tepunazoa, to swell, probably from some peculiarity of its growth.29
A much superior instrument to the teponaztli, and doubtless a development from it, was the tecomapiloa, “the suspended vase” (tecomatl, gourd or vase, piloa, to hang or suspend). It was a solid block of wood, with a projecting ridge on its upper surface and another opposite, on its lower aspect; to the latter one or more gourds or vases were suspended, which increased and softened the sound when the upper ridge was struck with the ulli.30 This was undoubtedly the origin of the marimba, which I have described elsewhere.31
The musical properties of these drums have been discussed by Theodor Baker. The teponaztli, he states, could yield but two notes, and could not have been played in accord with the huehuetl. It served as an imperfect contra-bass.32
The omichicahuaz, “strong bone,” was constructed somewhat on the principle of a teponaztli. A large and long bone was selected, as the femur of a man or deer, and it was channeled by deep longitudinal incisions. The projections left between the fissures were rasped with another bone or a shell, and thus a harsh but varied sound could be produced.33
The tetzilacatl, the “vibrator” or “resounder,” was a sheet of copper suspended by a cord, which was struck with sticks or with the hand. It appears to have been principally confined to the sacred music in the temples.
The ayacachtli was a rattle formed of a jar of earthenware or a dried gourd containing pebbles which was fastened to a handle, and served to mark time in the songs and dances. An extension of this simple instrument was the ayacachicahualiztli, “the arrangement of rattles,” which was a thin board about six feet long and a span wide, to which were attached bells, rattles and cylindrical pieces of hard wood. Shaking this produced a jingle-jangle, agreeable to the native ear. The Aztec bells of copper, tzilinilli, are really metallic rattles, like our sleigh bells. They are often seen in collections of Mexican antiquities. Other names for them were coyolli and yoyotli.
Various forms of flutes and fifes, made of reeds, of bone or of pottery, were called by names derived from the word pitzaua, to blow (e.g., tlapitzalli, uilacapitzli), and sometimes, as being punctured with holes, zozoloctli, from zotl, the awl or instrument used in perforating skins, etc. Many of those made of earthenware have been preserved, and they appear to have been a highly-esteemed instrument, as Sahagun mentions that the leader of the choir of singers in the temple bore the title tlapitzcatzin, “the noble flute player.”
Large conches were obtained on the seashore and framed into wind instruments called quiquiztli and tecciztli, whose hoarse notes could be heard for long distances, and whistles of wood, bone and earthenware added their shrill notes to the noise of the chanting of the singers. The shell of the tortoise, ayotl, dried and suspended, was beaten in unison with such instruments.
Recent researches by competent musical experts conducted upon authentic specimens of the ancient Mexican instruments have tended to elevate our opinion of their skill in this art. Mr. H.T. Cresson, of the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, has critically examined the various Aztec clay flutes, whistles, etc., which are there preserved, and has reached the following conclusions:—
“I. That upon the four-holed clay flageolets the chromatic and diatonic scales can be produced with a full octave.
“II. That the clay whistles or pitch pipes, which may be manipulated in quartette, will produce an octave and a fourth.
“III. From the facts above shown, the Aztecs must have possessed a knowledge of the scales as known to us, which has been fully tested by comparison with the flute and organ.”34
This result indicates for the instrumental accompaniment a much higher position in musical notation than has hitherto been accepted.