Dance Flute

Item number 03.325.4700 from the Brooklyn Museum.

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Data
Data Source

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Description

This long, elegant flute is made from a sound piece of wood with a bell shaped gourd painted in black, yellow, blue and white. Sprigs of fir are tied around the middle.

Label

Among some Pueblo groups of the southwestern United States, supernatural beings that represent a life force or the embodiment of natural phenomena such as the sun, the moon, plants, animals, or insects are called Kachinas. During complex, multistage rituals integrating music and dance that are performed in ceremonial calendrical cycles, men don the masks, clothing, and paraphernalia of these spirits and are believed to actually become them.

Kachina dolls, such as this example of Paiyatemu, the Zuni Sun Youth, represent these beings and are given to audience members during the ceremonies and dances. In the corn-grinding ceremony of the Zuni Summer Dance, four Paiyatemu Kachinas play bell-shaped flutes, similar to the one seen here, to accompany singing by Corn Maidens kneeling at metates (grinding stones).

Entre algunos grupos Pueblo del sudoeste de los Estados Unidos, seres sobrenaturales que representan fuerzas de vida o la encarnación de fenómenos naturales, como el sol, la luna, plantas, animales, o insectos son llamados Kachinas. Durante complejos rituales de varias etapas, que integran música y danza y que se realizan en ciclos ceremoniales dictados por el calendario, los hombres se ponen las máscaras, vestimentas y parafernalia de estos espíritus y se cree que realmente se convierten en ellos. Las muñecas kachina, como este ejemplo de Paiyatemu, el Joven Sol Zuni, representan a estos seres y son regaladas a la audiencia durante las ceremonias y danzas. En la ceremonia del molido del maíz, de la danza del verano Zuni, cuatro Kachinas Paiyatemu tocan flautas acampanadas, similares a la que se aprecia aquí, para acompañar el canto de las Doncellas del Maíz arrodilladas frente a los metates (piedras de moler).

Credit Line

Museum Expedition 1903, Museum Collection Fund

Item History

Made between 1868 and 1899

What

Name: Dance Flute
Identification Number: 03.325.4700
Type of Item: dance and flute
Material: wood, gourd, plant fiber, pigment, feather and cotton cloth
Overall: length 24.5 in, width 4.25 in

Where

Holding Institution: Brooklyn Museum

Who

Culture: She-we-na

When

Creation Date: between 1868 and 1899

Other

Classification: Musical Instrument

This data has been provided to the RRN by the Brooklyn Museum. We've used it to provide the information on the Data tab.

Accession Number

03.325.4700

Title

Dance Flute

Medium

Wood, gourd, plant fibers, pigment, feathers, cotton cloth

Culture

She-we-na (Zuni Pueblo)

Object Date

1868 to 1899

Dimensions

24 1/2 x 4 1/4 in. (63 x 11.6 cm)

Classification

Musical Instrument

Description

This long, elegant flute is made from a sound piece of wood with a bell shaped gourd painted in black, yellow, blue and white. Sprigs of fir are tied around the middle.

Label

Among some Pueblo groups of the southwestern United States, supernatural beings that represent a life force or the embodiment of natural phenomena such as the sun, the moon, plants, animals, or insects are called Kachinas. During complex, multistage rituals integrating music and dance that are performed in ceremonial calendrical cycles, men don the masks, clothing, and paraphernalia of these spirits and are believed to actually become them. Kachina dolls, such as this example of Paiyatemu, the Zuni Sun Youth, represent these beings and are given to audience members during the ceremonies and dances. In the corn-grinding ceremony of the Zuni Summer Dance, four Paiyatemu Kachinas play bell-shaped flutes, similar to the one seen here, to accompany singing by Corn Maidens kneeling at metates (grinding stones). Entre algunos grupos Pueblo del sudoeste de los Estados Unidos, seres sobrenaturales que representan fuerzas de vida o la encarnación de fenómenos naturales, como el sol, la luna, plantas, animales, o insectos son llamados Kachinas. Durante complejos rituales de varias etapas, que integran música y danza y que se realizan en ciclos ceremoniales dictados por el calendario, los hombres se ponen las máscaras, vestimentas y parafernalia de estos espíritus y se cree que realmente se convierten en ellos. Las muñecas kachina, como este ejemplo de Paiyatemu, el Joven Sol Zuni, representan a estos seres y son regaladas a la audiencia durante las ceremonias y danzas. En la ceremonia del molido del maíz, de la danza del verano Zuni, cuatro Kachinas Paiyatemu tocan flautas acampanadas, similares a la que se aprecia aquí, para acompañar el canto de las Doncellas del Maíz arrodilladas frente a los metates (piedras de moler).