Violin Item Number: Ni63 a-b from the MOA: University of British Columbia

Description

Small roughly shaped wooden violin (part a) has scroll-like end, peg-box with four pegs, thin white cord looped and tied around one end of peg-box, fingerboard extending downward from peg-box, four metal strings with one end of each string looped around a peg and the other end passing through a hole in the tail piece, looping over the string and is twisting, on two strings at tail piece are metal circles with short yarn fringe. Small dark brown cleaver-like instrument attached to string on right by thin white cord. Small square piece of wood beneath end of tail piece. Looped and knotted palm fibre cord passes through holes in end of tail piece and around knob glued to bottom back. Two s-curved sound holes cut into sound board on either side of strings between fingerboard and tail piece. Sound board, sides, back and fingerboard are glued together. Bracket (part b) bow has 38 calibre gun shell cartridge at one end, cloth-strip wrapped and tied at end of cartridge, multiple strands of horsehair emerge from cloth and extend down length to pass through hole in opposite end and are knotted.

Cultural Context

contemporary; tourist art; ritual

Narrative

The Wixáritari are known to the larger world as the Huichol, however that is not the name they use to refer to themselves.