FW: Aztecs & armadillos

[Ian Mursell]

Hello Listeros,

Charangos remain highly popular instruments throughout much of the Andean
region, from Chile and NW Argentina up to Ecuador, though they're less and
less made with armadillo shell soundboxes now - wood has largely taken
over.  Quite apart from the strain on the armadillo population one of the
weaknesses of armadillo-shell-backed charangos is that they're
structurally weaker and tend to 'bow' in the middle under the pressure
from the ten taut strings, whereas all-wooden ones are stronger all round.
 I returned to London from Chile with (a cheap) one in 1970 and was so
keen to get another that I paid a £1 deposit to London Zoo - writing on
the form something about wanting to study the hair follicles - in
anticipation of their armadillo dying.  I've still got the receipt and
order confirmation!  As far as I know the bloody thing's still going
strong...

They are of course wonderful animals, and charangos - armadillo or wood,
both produce a hauntingly beautiful sound - are hugely evocative of Andean
culture, as well as being central to popular movements inspired by this
culture, such as the New Chilean Song Movement in the '70s.  As
instruments it doesn't look as if they're more than a couple of centuries
old, however. 

I remember being horrified to see, in La Paz in the early '70s, dozens of
taxi bonnets bedecked with stuffed armadillos affixed to colourful rugs
during major festivals.  It was said at the time that Peru had banned the
hunting of armadillos as they were getting more and more scarce, and that
if you stood on the Peru-Bolivia border you could see large numbers of
armadillos high-tailing it for sanctuary in Peru...

Good wishes,

Ian

Ian Mursell
Mexicolore, London
www.aztecs.org
Now: The Maya AND the Aztecs!





On 07/10/2014 14:45, "Dorothy Hosler" <hosler at mit.edu> wrote:

>Hello,
>
>Charangos were common throughout Bolivia and northern Chile. I don;t know
>about  Peru but it is likely.
>
>Dorothy Hosler
>________________________________________
>From: nahuatl-bounces at lists.famsi.org [nahuatl-bounces at lists.famsi.org]
>on behalf of John Schwaller [jfschwaller at gmail.com]
>Sent: Monday, October 06, 2014 3:51 PM
>To:
>Subject: [Nahuat-l] Aztecs & armadillos
>
>I have done quite a bit of research on 16th cen. Mexico and do not recall
>any legislation relating to the making of instruments.  Not saying it
>could
>not have happened, I just would need to see the particulars.  What
>*was *outlawed
>was natives dressing up in the old garb and engaging in the old dances.
>
>The making of instruments out of various animals is found throughout the
>Americas.  In particular, in Paraguay (and possibly up into the Bolivian
>highlands)  they also make small mandolins (charangos) out of armadillos.
>
>--
>John F. Schwaller
>Professor,
>University at Albany
>1400 Washington Ave.
>Albany NY 12222
>
>jfschwaller at gmail.com
>315-212-0064
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