Towards a Musical Atlas of Peru

Abstract

variety of its musical and folkloric traditions. Long before the Spanish conquest, and even much before the Inca civilization, the people of the central Andean region of South America had rich musical traditions. Ancient tombs have yielded numerous flutes, trumpets, drums, and other musical artifacts of rather high development (as indicated by complex craftsmanship, elaborate ornamentation, and often microtonal tuning systems); furthermore, many ceramic and metal containers found in these tombs depict musical instruments being used in various contexts, such as ecstatic flights of shamans, propitiation to the gods, hunting, dancing, and other activities that are difficult to interpret (Donnan 1982). Judging from these artifacts, music was important in the mortal and supernatural worlds of Peru's ancient people. With the coming of the Spanish conquerers in the sixteenth century, accompanied by Catholic missionaries and African slaves, additional musical languages were introduced into the large and geographically diverse area known today as Peru. Three principal racial and cultural strains-Native, Spanish and Black-and more, such as the Chinese and Japanese, have remained separated in some regions and have blended in others to form the racial and cultural amalgams known as the mestizo, the criollo, etc. The music of Peru is by no means easy to understand. The racial and cultural elements, plus the geography, make Peru a country of contrasts, joined together somewhat by syncretic religious folk festivals and the nearly ubiquitous Andean wayno dance music. But even these two widespread folkloric forms are not found uniformly throughout Peru, for they only appear where mestizo culture has penetrated. For example, only in certain areas of the tropical forest, especially in frontier towns or larger cities, are Catholic folk festivals and the wayno known. In the larger part of the Amazon region, the original inhabitants have their own religious and secular rituals and autochthonous music and dance forms. On the other hand, religious folk festivals and the wayno are also found in Andean Bolivia, northern Chile, and elsewhere outside Peru.