1883. ] Indian Music. 271 
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drawing and description of a curious antique musical instrument, 
somewhat resembling a turtle in form, which was procured from 
the Island of Ometepec in the great lake of Nicaragua, by the 
late Dr. Berendt, during his recent excavations in Central Amer- 
ica. It was found in connection with a shoe-shaped burial urn, 
with a quantity of roasted maize, is made of black clay, polished 
and ornamented with incised lines on the upper side, and pos- 
sesses four holes arranged in a square on the lower. It was in 
all probability used by suspending it from the neck of the ancient 
musician by means of the two rings which project from either 
side near one end. When held in both hands, the lower part up- 
ward, the four holes being covered with the fingers, a variety of 
sounds can be produced by blowing into the neck or mouth. By 
a certain manipulation, a number of simple airs may be played, 
such, for instance, as the first part of “ Yankee Doodle,” and the 
following melody : 
SS eee 
a SURO FAA PTE ART TASER ETS CYTE FR) De me" Nd S| 
ans Eere a] 
p É AU LARN, 
This unique relic is the first of the kind found amongst the 
remains of the old Nahuatl races which evinces any particular 
advancement in the art of music. 
_ The Peruvians seem to have reached the greatest musical pro- 
ficiency of any of the American races, and were also somewhat 
skilled in the mimetic arts. They were possessed of considerable 
histrionic ability,and combining their national songs with the drama, 
for the edification of their Incas, they produced rude operas, for 
which the Principal actors were regularly educated. They made 
trumpets of baked clay resembling our modern bugle in form and 
which, possibly, were capable of being played in the same man- 
ner. They also had an instrument called the huayra-puhura, 
: “omewhat like the syrinx of the ancients, or Pandean pipes, which 
consisted of a number of hollow reeds or canes of varying 
lengths, fastened side by side, handled in the same manner as a 
Mouth organ. One of these graceful instruments is preserved in 
