14 



THE MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS OF THE INCAS. 



/ Bearing this description in mind, it will be interesting to turn 

 to Plate I, fig. 2, which represents figures of men and women in 

 relief, forming a band around a pottery water vessel. There is 

 every reason to believe that the potter who moulded these 

 figures was gathered to his fathers long before the coming of 

 the Spaniards, yet he depicts the identical scene described by 

 Lieut. Gibbon after so great a lapse of time; showing how such 

 customs persist with these Indians. The musicians play upon 

 Pan-pipes and the drum. The woman with her "wawa" (baby) 

 strapped to her back is here, nor are the jars of chicha wanting. 

 Chicha is a fermented drink made of maize, and is still the national 

 drink of the Indians. J. S. Skinner relates that, 



"In alternation of dancing, singing, 

 and drinking they remain for several days 

 and nights without intermission, until all 

 the jars are empty. Father Figueroa 

 pleasantly observes that he is at a loss to 

 conjecture how they have a head for so 

 much noise, a throat for so much excla- 

 mation, and a tooth for so much liquor." r 



On Plate V, twenty-six flutes are rep- 

 resented. Nos. i, 2 and 3 are of cane; 

 Xos. 7, 8 and 9 are made from the wing 

 bone (ulna) of the pelican; 

 Nos. 11, 12, 14, 15 and 16 

 from combined ulna and radius of the 

 llama ; Xo. 13 is a small gourd. All the 

 others are made from the ulnae of deer. 

 They are simply tubes, open through- 

 out their length, and all belong to the 

 class known as "end-blown." 



In playing, the breath, crossing the 



opening at the upper end, impinges on 



the sharp edge, which is often notched, setting up vibration in 



the column of air within the instrument, thus producing the 



sound. It is a well-known law that the frequency of vibration, 



%'■ 



m 



Flute 



: \ 



BCNE FLUTES 



Present State of Peru, p. 290. 



