Kultrún

{{article:6613}}{{article:6633}}   Timpano-sonaglio (211.11-91 +112.13). Tradizionalmente il corpo è costituito da un pezzo di legno scavato a forma di piatto semisferico. Si può anche sostituire il legno con una zucca o una cassa metallica. Nel suo interno si inseriscono, con peso simbolico, pezzettini di vetro o sassolini ed altri piccoli oggetti (piume, erbe medicinali, monete d’argento, ecc.), sempre in numero di quattro o di multipli di quattro. La membrana di pelle, che chiude la cassa, presenta al bordo un cerchio… Kultrún

Cascabeles Bosquimanos

{{article:6612}}{{article:6632}} Sonagli vascolari, a scuotimento (112.13). Strumento boscimano composto da due reste di quarantacinque e cinquanta ricettacoli. Questi sono bozzoli della specie delle farfalle mophani cacoons, raschiati con erba, aventi sostanze urticanti, per eliminare i peli. Le loro larve, aperte e sventrate, vengono riempite di pezzetti di uova di struzzo. Successivamente, allo scopo di unirle di nuovo, vengono sotterrati nella sabbia umida, quinde si infilano in cordicelle di fibra vegetale. I sonagli ricoprono importanti funzioni durante le cerimonie rituali, terapeutiche… Cascabeles Bosquimanos

Kooauau

{{article:6631}}{{article:6671}} End-blown flute without duct (421.111.12). It is made of totara, the wood most frequently used by the Maori for manual work. The distance among the three fingerholes is determined by measuring it with the phalanxes. As regards ornamentation, a profile of the maker’s ancestors (Hemi Ferghus) is carved in relief alongside the flute at whose ends a band representing sea waves is cut. When the kooauau is not played, it is hung round the neck by means of a… Kooauau

Didjeridu

{{article:6630}}{{article:6670}}   End-blown natural trumpet without mouthpiece (423.121.11). The didjeridu consists of a piece of hollow eucalyptus whose blow-hole is covered with resin. The instrument is end-blown, the performer being able to combine megaphone and trumpet techniques. While in the second case, one or two sounds are produced, in the first case, the player articulates syllables, which accounts for the onomatopoeic name of the instrument. The ornamentation used by the maker — Bob Muldubal — is similar to that of… Didjeridu

Zummara Sittawiyya

{{article:6629}}{{article:6669}} Double clarinet (422.22). Its typological origin may be traced up to the memet of Ancient Egypt, first documented ca. 2700 a.C. Since the New Empire, this type of clarinet and, later, its descendants were connected with folk music. Nowadays these instruments are spread out in many countries of the Arab World, bearing different names according to their localization and the variants in the make. Basically, the zummara consists of two parallel cylindrical canes with one or two sections and,… Zummara Sittawiyya

Txistu

{{article:6628}}{{article:6668}}   End-blown flute with internal duct (421.221.12). It is the most popular instrument among the Basques. These people consider it a symbol of their race, though there are other typical instruments in the region. It is present almost in all feasts and found anywhere in the world where there are representatives of Euzkadi (Basque country). By extension, the player of txistulari is a person of great importance in the social life of the Basques. The body, splindle-shaped externally, is… Txistu

Shofar

{{article:6627}}{{article:6667}}   End-blown natural trumpet without mouthpiece (423.121.21). The only Hebrew cult instrument still used at present. According to the rabbinic tradition, the shofar symbolizes the ram sacrified by the patriarch Abraham instead of this son Isaac. The left horn of this ram was the one heard on Mt. Sinai (Exodus XIX: 13, 16, 19); this is the first time the shofar is mentioned in the Old Testament. The right horn will announce the day of the Last Juddgement (Isaiah… Shofar

Pu-Ti-Pú

{{article:6626}}{{article:6666}} Friction drum with tied stick (231.2-91). Probably, this kind of membranophone was mentioned for the first time in Italy in the Gabinetto Armonico (1716-23), by the Jesuit Filippo Bonanni who called it strumento nelle Vendemmie. Even though more than a hundred and fifty years have passed, the information given by Bonanni is still of use. In some areas of the south of the peninsula where the instrument is encountered at present, the friction drum remains associated with agricultural ceremonies.… Pu-Ti-Pú

Lira de las Islas

{{article:6625}}{{article:6665}} Necked bowl lute (321.321-71). It derives from the lura, piriform fiddle played in the Bizantine empire from where it spreads out to Europe during the Middle Ages. In former times lyras were made in different sizes, with one or two sympathetic strings and a bow with bells (yeracocudhuna) so as to emphasize the melody rhythm. Nowadays, the medium size has prevailed and the construction shows influence of that of the violin: pegbox with scroll and lateral pegs, fingerboard and… Lira de las Islas

Flauta Travesera

{{article:6624}}{{article:6664}}   Side-blown flute without duct (421.121.12-71). Between 1846 and 1847 the instrument-maker and player from Munich  Theobald Boehm (1794-1881) introduced a new flute design which, with slight variations, is the one used at present. Once again, the specimen has the cylindrical boring, but with metallic body, which had been abandoned in favour of the conical one for a hundred and fifty years. The fingerholes position and diameter are determined according to acoustic principles, without considering the difficulty or easiness… Flauta Travesera