TLAPAN HUEHUETL
TLAPAN HUEHUETL - NAHUATL
the Tlapan Huehuetl is played standing
VERTICAL CEREMONIAL DRUM - ENGLISH
ZACATAN- MAYAN
TAMBOR - SPANISH
TAVENGA = TARASCAN
HUEHUETL - NAHUATL
the huehuetl is played sitting
CHARACTERISTICS
usually made of wood
e.g., oak, walnut or ahuhuete(1)
sometimes made of clay (2)
some writings claim that there were decorative huehuetls made of gold (3)
each drum had 3 legs with what many believe to be lightning bolts carved on then
and they came in several sizes
tlalpanhuehuetl rested on the ground and had to be played standing(4)
the drumhead was a stretched animal skin -
jaguar, deer, ocelot, which could be tuned via heat
there were at least 2 pitches that the drum can make
usually the interval of a 5th between the edge and the center of the drum
All but 3 images in the codices of the Americas show the drummers playing with 2 hands and without sticks (5)
The huehuetl is currently played with sticks of various weights
sizes and types of wood in danza circles.
It is interesting to note that the codices do not show
huehuetls being played with sticks or mallets at all, but with bare hands
and there is written documentation of as many as 10 huehuetl
players accompanying singers in ancient times. (6)
but of course, there are always exceptions (7)
the earliest known image of the MAYAN version of the drum goes back to 800 A.D.
at the murals of Bonampak
the Tlapan Huehuetl is played standing
VERTICAL CEREMONIAL DRUM - ENGLISH
ZACATAN- MAYAN
TAMBOR - SPANISH
TAVENGA = TARASCAN
HUEHUETL - NAHUATL
the huehuetl is played sitting
CHARACTERISTICS
usually made of wood
e.g., oak, walnut or ahuhuete(1)
sometimes made of clay (2)
some writings claim that there were decorative huehuetls made of gold (3)
each drum had 3 legs with what many believe to be lightning bolts carved on then
and they came in several sizes
tlalpanhuehuetl rested on the ground and had to be played standing(4)
the drumhead was a stretched animal skin -
jaguar, deer, ocelot, which could be tuned via heat
there were at least 2 pitches that the drum can make
usually the interval of a 5th between the edge and the center of the drum
All but 3 images in the codices of the Americas show the drummers playing with 2 hands and without sticks (5)
The huehuetl is currently played with sticks of various weights
sizes and types of wood in danza circles.
It is interesting to note that the codices do not show
huehuetls being played with sticks or mallets at all, but with bare hands
and there is written documentation of as many as 10 huehuetl
players accompanying singers in ancient times. (6)
but of course, there are always exceptions (7)
the earliest known image of the MAYAN version of the drum goes back to 800 A.D.
at the murals of Bonampak
(1)
Mexican conifer called ahuehuete, were the favored trees for making huehuetls.
MALINALCO HUEHUETL is made of ahuhuete
(SEE MORE BELOW)
ahuehuete is also known as the "drum tree" growing beside the water (a - huehuetl)
William Gates, translator of The de la Cruz Badiano Aztec Herbal of 1552
(2)
according to Alfonso Caso
who wrote an essay on the above
which was inserted into the above
there is a clay huehuetl in 3 pieces
with an image of Ozomatli = Howling Monkey
stamped into it
which is the 11th day sign in Aztec 20 day ritual month
It was claimed by Aztec diviners that all Males born under this sign would be
"singers or dancers or painters or learn some desirable art"
SAHAGUN - Bk IV,chap 21(Garibay Ed., I, 349.2
XOCIHPILLI Flower Prince, god of Pleasure, Feasting, Frivolity
whose alter ego was Macuilxochitl (Five Flower) (p 454)
it is also surrounded by 9 of the circumpolar constellations
see fig 16 after p 576
the stamp itself had been fabricated in the year 747
during the TOLTEC period.
(3)
There is a pre conquest Flower Song
(part of the Chalca Triolgy = Song XXXVb of
Cantares en idioma mexicano
(Schultze Jena ed., 182, line 15
alluded to a "huehuetl of gold"
Huehuetls of gold is also mentioned as late as 1645 in
Horacio Caroshi's
Arte de la langua Mexicana
(1892 ed., p 480 - teocuitlahueuetl)
There is also written documentation of Nezahualcoyotl wearing a
huehuetl around his neck and striking it before going into battle
What type of huehuetl and what size and what it was made of is
conjecture on our part
ITZCOATL
MEXICA king 1427 - 1440
when leading his warriors into battle
"played a small huehuetl hanging from his shoulder and the sound of it excited the Mexicans to fight"
DIEGO DURAN op. cit, I = The Aztecs
translated by Doris Heyden and Fernando Horacasitas
(4)
Alvarado Tezozomoc mentions for a tlalpanhuehuetl short enough
so that "the drummer could sit while playing it"
(CRONICA MEXICANA (1958), 1944, E, ., CH.53. P234
(5)
"They struck them only with their fingers, but it required infinite dexterity in the striker"
HISTORIA ANTIGUA DE MEXICO
by Fray Javier Clavijero
Francisco Xavier Clavijero, S. J., o Francisco Saverio Clavigero
Puerto de Veracruz, Mexico, 9 de Septiembre, 1731 - Bolonia, Italia, 2 de Abril de 1787
when, how and why did this change?
when did the tradition go from hands to sticks
we may never know for sure
But it is also not found on the murals, or pottery, or drawings.
Where is it?
When did it become "tradition"?
(6)
CANTARES EN IDIOMA MEXICANO
see Song XLVlll for an example of this
"Tradition(s)" are always in a state of flux
although there are no codices* showing dancers wearing chachayotes
the word is defined in at least 9 different SPANISH/NAHUATL dictionaries written
between 1533 and 1600 in the Americas
VISIT LINK BELOW to see an image from
BOOK OF THE GODS AND RITES
and
THE ANCIENT CALENDAR
by
FRAY DIEGO DURAN
See Chapter Xii of
http://christophergarciamusic.weebly.com/ayoyotes.html
(7)
EXCEPTIONS
The CODEX LAUD
(below) shows XochiQuetzal playing an ayacaxtli with one hand
and a huehuetl in the other with a deer antler
MIXTEC
CODEX VATICANUS B3773,38
and NUTALL, 73
also show 1 drummer playing a huehuetl with one hand and an ayacaxtli in the other
MAYAN
CODEX VATICANUS B3773,38
and NUTALL, 73
also show 1 drummer playing a huehuetl with one hand and an ayacaxtli in the other
MAYAN
HUEHUETL, TEPONAZTLI, AYOYOTES DEMO BELOW
HUEHUETL - THE MALINALCO DRUM
MALINALCO HUEHUETL is made of ahuhuete
ahuehuete is also known as the "drum tree" growing beside the water (a - huehuetl)
William Gates, translator of The de la Cruz Badiano Aztec Herbal of 1552
according to Franciscan Fray Alonso de Molina (1514? - 1585)
MALINALCO DRUM INFO @ MEXICOLORE
http://www.mexicolore.co.uk/aztecs/music/aztec-war-drum-video
MALINALCO CARVINGS
http://www.mexicolore.co.uk/aztecs/ask-experts/did-the-aztecs-carve-eagles-and-jaguars-on-their-drums-as-messengers
ARTICLE SUBMITTED BY
Manuel Aguilar-Moreno, Ph.D. is Associate Professor of Art History at California State University in Los Angeles.
A renowned expert on pre-Columbian civilizations and the colonial history of Mexico, Dr. Aguilar-Moreno has published on a wide range of subjects, including Mesoamerican Art and History, colonial art and history of Mexico, funerary art, and the pre-Columbian ballgame.
His last books are:
Utopía de Piedra: El Arte Tequitqui de Mexico and Handbook to Life in the Aztec World.
He is co-director with Dr. James Brady of the Ulama Project of Cal State L.A.,
that is an investigational project on the Survival of the Mesoamerican ballgame.
I have seen the following images as museum exhibits, documentaries etc.,
and it continues to be used
one of the more interesting things about the DRUM OF MALINACLO is that
there are no marks on the rim on the drum in the anthropology museum
which means that the head was not affixed on to the drum with pegs, or rods
but with some type of glue,
CLICK on the image and you will see that there are no marks on the drum at all
where the head should be
if you do find an image of the MALINALCO drum with a head mounted on it
you will see that it is a REPLICA
and not the actual drum which now sits in the museum in Mexico
ahuehuete is also known as the "drum tree" growing beside the water (a - huehuetl)
William Gates, translator of The de la Cruz Badiano Aztec Herbal of 1552
according to Franciscan Fray Alonso de Molina (1514? - 1585)
MALINALCO DRUM INFO @ MEXICOLORE
http://www.mexicolore.co.uk/aztecs/music/aztec-war-drum-video
MALINALCO CARVINGS
http://www.mexicolore.co.uk/aztecs/ask-experts/did-the-aztecs-carve-eagles-and-jaguars-on-their-drums-as-messengers
ARTICLE SUBMITTED BY
Manuel Aguilar-Moreno, Ph.D. is Associate Professor of Art History at California State University in Los Angeles.
A renowned expert on pre-Columbian civilizations and the colonial history of Mexico, Dr. Aguilar-Moreno has published on a wide range of subjects, including Mesoamerican Art and History, colonial art and history of Mexico, funerary art, and the pre-Columbian ballgame.
His last books are:
Utopía de Piedra: El Arte Tequitqui de Mexico and Handbook to Life in the Aztec World.
He is co-director with Dr. James Brady of the Ulama Project of Cal State L.A.,
that is an investigational project on the Survival of the Mesoamerican ballgame.
I have seen the following images as museum exhibits, documentaries etc.,
and it continues to be used
one of the more interesting things about the DRUM OF MALINACLO is that
there are no marks on the rim on the drum in the anthropology museum
which means that the head was not affixed on to the drum with pegs, or rods
but with some type of glue,
CLICK on the image and you will see that there are no marks on the drum at all
where the head should be
if you do find an image of the MALINALCO drum with a head mounted on it
you will see that it is a REPLICA
and not the actual drum which now sits in the museum in Mexico
ARTE DE LA LENGUA MEXICANA MEXICO:PEDRO OCHARTE, 1571, folio 5)
the word HUEHUETL was pronounced differently by men and women
oo ay oo aytl
- pronounced with 4 syllables by men
way waytl *
- pronounced with 2 syllables by women
*the majority of people now pronounce it with 2 syllables
Fray Molina was the first to create the following dictionaries
SPANISH - NAHUATL DICTIONARY 1555:
and then
NAHUATL - SPANISH DICTIONARY- 1571
ADDITIONAL BOOKS BY FRAY DE MOLINA
Doctrina christiana breve traduzida en lengua mexicana (1547)
Aquí comiença un vocabulario en la lengua castellana y mexicana (1555)
Confessionario mayor, en lengua mexicana y castellana (1565)
Arte de la lengua mexicana y castellana (1571)
Vocabulario en lengua castellana y mexicana (1571)
Confessionario breve, en lengua mexicana (1577)
HUEHUETL AND TEPONAZTLI MYTHOLOGY
FRAY GERONIMO DE MENDIETA(1525-1604)
A Historia Eclesiastica Indiana
http://www.answers.com/topic/ger-nimo-de-mendieta-1
A Spanish account on the origin of the huehuetl and tepo as divine beings sent to earth
Mendieta came to Mexico as a youth of nineteen, and immediately
began the study of Nahuatl, which he learned to speak with signal "elegance.'
He was commissioned by his order to prepare a history of the
Indians and started the Historic Eclesidstica Indiana in 1571 ;
the pressure of missionary duties, the involvement in unforeseen administrative
responsibilities, and the interruption caused by a prolonged journey back
to Spain, delayed its completion, however, until 1596.
Mendieta tells us (b the extract offered below) that the Aztecs ascribed a divine
origin to their two most important instruments,
the teponaztli and the huehuetl.
The legendary account concerning the origin of these instruments runs like this:
Teponaztli and Huehuetl were originally divine beings dwelling at the court of the Sun.
A priestly messenger from earth invaded the heavenly precincts and poured forth in song
the story of man's grief.
The Sun, however, forbade his servitors to listen to the earthly messenger.
Teponaztli and Huehuetl disobeyed the Sun, and for their disobedience were
expelled from the heavens.
They fell to earth and assumed the form of musical instruments. Ever since their
expulsion from the skies they have assuaged man's grief with the sound
of their music.
This legendary account is interesting if for no other reason than because
it helps explain why the ancient Mexicans thought a magic power (having
nothing to do with music) inhered in their instruments. Since they thought
the teponaztli and huehuetl were actually divine beings temporarily condemned
to earthly exile, they treated these instruments as idols.
FRAY GERONIMO DE MENDIETA
http://christophergarciamusic.weebly.com/fray-geronimo-de-mendieta.html
the word HUEHUETL was pronounced differently by men and women
oo ay oo aytl
- pronounced with 4 syllables by men
way waytl *
- pronounced with 2 syllables by women
*the majority of people now pronounce it with 2 syllables
Fray Molina was the first to create the following dictionaries
SPANISH - NAHUATL DICTIONARY 1555:
and then
NAHUATL - SPANISH DICTIONARY- 1571
ADDITIONAL BOOKS BY FRAY DE MOLINA
Doctrina christiana breve traduzida en lengua mexicana (1547)
Aquí comiença un vocabulario en la lengua castellana y mexicana (1555)
Confessionario mayor, en lengua mexicana y castellana (1565)
Arte de la lengua mexicana y castellana (1571)
Vocabulario en lengua castellana y mexicana (1571)
Confessionario breve, en lengua mexicana (1577)
HUEHUETL AND TEPONAZTLI MYTHOLOGY
FRAY GERONIMO DE MENDIETA(1525-1604)
A Historia Eclesiastica Indiana
http://www.answers.com/topic/ger-nimo-de-mendieta-1
A Spanish account on the origin of the huehuetl and tepo as divine beings sent to earth
Mendieta came to Mexico as a youth of nineteen, and immediately
began the study of Nahuatl, which he learned to speak with signal "elegance.'
He was commissioned by his order to prepare a history of the
Indians and started the Historic Eclesidstica Indiana in 1571 ;
the pressure of missionary duties, the involvement in unforeseen administrative
responsibilities, and the interruption caused by a prolonged journey back
to Spain, delayed its completion, however, until 1596.
Mendieta tells us (b the extract offered below) that the Aztecs ascribed a divine
origin to their two most important instruments,
the teponaztli and the huehuetl.
The legendary account concerning the origin of these instruments runs like this:
Teponaztli and Huehuetl were originally divine beings dwelling at the court of the Sun.
A priestly messenger from earth invaded the heavenly precincts and poured forth in song
the story of man's grief.
The Sun, however, forbade his servitors to listen to the earthly messenger.
Teponaztli and Huehuetl disobeyed the Sun, and for their disobedience were
expelled from the heavens.
They fell to earth and assumed the form of musical instruments. Ever since their
expulsion from the skies they have assuaged man's grief with the sound
of their music.
This legendary account is interesting if for no other reason than because
it helps explain why the ancient Mexicans thought a magic power (having
nothing to do with music) inhered in their instruments. Since they thought
the teponaztli and huehuetl were actually divine beings temporarily condemned
to earthly exile, they treated these instruments as idols.
FRAY GERONIMO DE MENDIETA
http://christophergarciamusic.weebly.com/fray-geronimo-de-mendieta.html
THE TEMPLE OF MALINALCO
http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/malinalco.htm
ADDITIONAL INFO ON MALINALCO
ADDITIONAL INFO ON MALINALCO
HUEHUETL
Modern day practitioners based in Los Angeles
http://christophergarciamusic.weebly.com/acknowledgements.html
WHEN WAS THE TEPONAZTLI PLAYED
" so that no hour for prayer would pass without music in the priests dwelling (calmecac),
four professional players of quiquiztli, ayacachtli, ayotl and teponaztli were required during
ceremonies of the sixth month to remain behind while the populace gathered at the waterside
to wade and babble like ducks"
(FLORENTINE CODEX, BK ll, chap 25, Anderson and Dibble, op.cit., p 77
FROM MUSIC IN AZTEC AND INCA TERRITORY
ROBERT MURRELL STEVENSON
WHERE WAS THE TEPONAZTLI PLAYED
"stated that during their dances the Indians always sang in unison with the teponaztli tune.
He stated that the teponaztli and huehuetl players, during all the cult dance but one, were placed
where the dancers could see them, and thus better follow their beat, the one exception being a dance
honoring Huitzilopochtli "
JUAN DE TORQUEMADA
" so that no hour for prayer would pass without music in the priests dwelling (calmecac),
four professional players of quiquiztli, ayacachtli, ayotl and teponaztli were required during
ceremonies of the sixth month to remain behind while the populace gathered at the waterside
to wade and babble like ducks"
(FLORENTINE CODEX, BK ll, chap 25, Anderson and Dibble, op.cit., p 77
FROM MUSIC IN AZTEC AND INCA TERRITORY
ROBERT MURRELL STEVENSON
WHERE WAS THE TEPONAZTLI PLAYED
"stated that during their dances the Indians always sang in unison with the teponaztli tune.
He stated that the teponaztli and huehuetl players, during all the cult dance but one, were placed
where the dancers could see them, and thus better follow their beat, the one exception being a dance
honoring Huitzilopochtli "
JUAN DE TORQUEMADA