Shell Trumpets in Mesoamerica Music-Archaelogical Evidence and Living Tradition Arnd Adje Both

Shell Trumpets in Mesoamerica Music-Archaelogical Evidence and Living Tradition Arnd Adje Both ZUSAMMENFASSUNG ceps) exhibited in the Museo Nacional de Antropología, Mexico City (Fig. 1)2. The decora- Musikarchäologische Daten belegen, daß Schnek- tion depicts a headdress consisting of a zigzag kentrompeten in vorspanischen Kulturen eine band in yellow and red with green feathers, and a große zeremonielle Bedeutung zukam. In diesem double glyph at the body whorl consisting of two Beitrag wird eine vielschichtige Musiktradition tassel headdresses with the numerical coefficients verfolgt, die trotz der abwechslungsreichen Ge- “9” and “12” indicated by bars and dots. The sym- schichte Mesoamerikas vergleichbare Elemente bolic meaning of the double glyph is still unclear3. aufweist. In Zeremonien verschiedener mexikani- One trumpet of 36 cm in length dating from A.D. scher Ethnien werden die Instrumente bis heute 500 was excavated near an altar of Tetitla, one of verwendet. Ihr Gebrauch läßt Merkmale erken- the many residential compounds of Teotihuacan. nen, die sich möglicherweise als fortlebende Rest- Several finds show that shell trumpets were also bestände alter, bereits in den frühen Kulturen deposited in ceremonial burials, possibly as a per- Mesoamerikas entstandener Musikpraktiken er- sonal item. One specimen made of a Florida Horse weisen. conch (Pleuroploca gigantea) without decoration was recently excavated in Burial 5 within the Pyra- mid of the Moon, dating from A.D. 350 (Fig. 3). 1. MUSIC-ARCHAEOLOGI- The trumpet was unearthed next to a flaked obsidi- CAL EVIDENCE an figure and pointed towards the west, where the sun is going down into the underworld. Several Shell trumpets were already known in the end of objects of greenstone (jadeite) carved in Maya style the Early Preclassic period of Mesoamerica (2000 indicate some form of contact between the ruling to 1200 B.C.), as demonstrated by sound artefacts group of Teotihuacan and Maya royal families. made of West Indian Chank shells (Turbinella A ceramic trumpet in the shape of a shell of angulata) excavated in burials of Tlatilco, Valley of 28 cm in length was unearthed in Burial 32 of the Mexico1. Preserved specimens dating from the Tetitla compound, dating from A.D. 400–450 Classic (A.D. 150 to 900) and the Postclassic peri- (Fig. 2)4. While this is the only instrument of this od (A.D. 900 to 1521), as well as additional infor- mation, in particular iconographical and ethnohis- torical data, reveal an eventful history of the 1 García Moll et al. 1991; Patricia Ochoa 2002: pers. commu- instrument in Mesoamerica. In the following para- nication. graphs, the function and meaning of shell trumpets 2 Séjourné 1957, 138 fig. 51; Caso 1959 pl. 2; Martí 1970, in Teotihuacan, the Classic Maya and the Late 42–43 fig. 23. 3 Glyphs with numerical coefficients are extremely rare in Postclassic Aztec culture will be discussed. Teotihuacan. Another prominent example is a stone stela excavated in a tomb of the Oaxaca Barrio showing the Zapotec glyph for “movement” and the number “9” in relief TEOTIHUACAN (150 B.C. TO (Millon 1973 vol. I, 41–42 figs. 60a.b). It may represent the “calendrical name of the principal occupant of the tomb”, as A.D. 600/750) suggested by Millon (1973 vol. I, description of fig. 60b). 4 Séjourné 1966, 228; 231 pl. 107 fig. 121; Rattray 1997, 157. In Teotihuacan shell trumpets were covered with One of the reasons why these instruments were produced an incised stucco layer of polychrome paint, as may have been a difficulty in obtaining marine shells (Stevenson 1968, 34; Montagu 1981, 276). The conceptual demonstrated by two preserved sound artefacts implications of transforming the shell into a ceramic object made of Panama Horse conches (Pleuroploca prin- are stressed by José Pérez de Arce (n. d.). 262 Arnd Adje Both kind found so far in Teotihuacan, a quantity of with conch and starfish symbols emerging from ceramic shell trumpet imitations (skeuomorphs) four trumpets10. The figure, which has been iden- has been found in West Mexico5. tified as a goddess related to the earth, maize and The ceremonial significance of shell trumpets vegetation, wears a huge bird-headdress with a in Teotihuacan is emphasized by the prominent zigzag band in yellow and red, while water-drops role that they play in relief and mural art. A num- fall down from her hands and water sound-scrolls ber of preserved depictions indicate that mouth- emerge from her mouth11. pieces were added to the instrument, supposedly In murals depictions of the Tetitla compound, a ceramic objects similar to the embouchures of pair of shell trumpets with sound-scrolls and modern brass instruments6. However, circular ear- water-eye spouts flank a male deity related to fer- spools made of stone could have been used as well tility, the so-called Tlaloc A (Fig. 7)12. He is (Fig. 4). The mouthpieces were probably attached depicted with concentric circles for eyes and a with beeswax or gum resin glue, and allowed a waterlily (Nymphaea odorata) in his mouth. more precise playing technique (see addendum). Sprouts of another aquatic plant identified with In addition, the Teotihuacan iconography the water-pennywort (Hydrocotyl) emerge from shows that shell trumpets were adorned with long the sound-scrolls of four shell trumpets depicted green feathers representing the iridescent tail in murals of the Temple of Agriculture13. Both plumes of the sacred Quetzal Bird (Pharomacros plants were symbols for terrestrial water, regenera- mocinno). The precious feathers were obtained by tion and life, as they grew in the nearby Lake of long distance trade reaching as far as the Maya the Valley of Mexico, which was an important highlands of present-day Chiapas and Guatemala, source of sustenance, and may represent symbols and may have been attached with glue at the lip for terrestrial water, cyclical regeneration and life. and the anterior (siphonal) canal of the shell The murals of the portico to the left and right (Fig. 5). The feather decoration probably repre- of the entrance of the Jaguar compound, a super- sents the crest and tail of a supernatural bird. imposed structure of the Temple of the Plumed Indeed, in a set of preserved mural paintings of the Conches, demonstrate that shell trumpets were Tetitla compound shell trumpets are depicted as played in processions dedicated to the so-called completely transformed into birds, supposedly Storm God, a deity associated with the planet representing King vultures (Sarcoramphus papa)7. Venus. In alternating sequence with tassel head- An anthropomorphic manifestation of this shell dresses, he is depicted in the half-star symbol simi- trumpet being may be depicted in murals of the lar to the cross-section of a shell14. Below the White Patio of the Atetelco compound, showing panel are four jaguar priests depicted as felines human figures with bird-headdresses emerging with feather headdresses and conch necklaces from the bells of the instruments8. playing shell trumpets in a procession (Figs. 8. 9). At the Temple of the Plumed Conches, a sub- Each figure holds an instrument in its left paw, structure of the Jaguar compound located near the from which three drops of a precious liquid, such great plaza of the Pyramid of the Moon, four pairs as water or blood, are falling down. of shell trumpets with mouthpieces and feather The use of shell trumpets in ritual human sacri- decoration are depicted in monumental stone fice is indicated by the mural ensemble of the reliefs to the left and right of the entrance (Fig. 6)9. White Patio of the Atetelco compound, showing It can be assumed that the structure was an impor- priests carrying shell trumpets under their arms, tant sanctuary dedicated to the trumpet. In associ- priests dancing in a courtyard with sacrificial ated reliefs flowers of four petals are depicted, probably representing the quincunx sign symbol- izing the four cosmic directions grouped around the center of the world. The façade decoration of 5 Martí 1955, 51; Martí 1970, 70–71 fig. 49; Dájer 1995, 60–61 the temple reveals a strong relation of the instru- photos 93–94. ments to numerical and directional symbolism. 6 Martí 1971, 17. Similar objects have also been found in West Mexico (Dájer 1995, 61 photo 95), at Monte Albán A number of preserved mural paintings dating (Caso et al. 1967, 376 fig. 315b.c), and in Veracruz (Martí from Early Classic Teotihuacan indicate that shell 1970, 90 fig. 75; Coe/Diehl 1980, 286 fig. 404). trumpets played an important role in ceremonies 7 Séjourné 1966, 278 fig. 161. 8 related to water and fertility. The instruments are De la Fuente 1995 Vol. I, 234–236 fig. 18.14. 9 Séjourné 1966, 125 fig. 54. frequently depicted as sounding by themselves, 10 Kubler 1967 figs. 4–5. giving the impression of making the waters flow 11 Pasztory 1974, 11. From the mouth of the goddess and the and plants sprout forth, or to evoke the presence shell trumpets emerge identical sound-scrolls, suggesting of specific deities. For instance, the famous mural that the trumpet’s sound was perceived to be her voice. 12 Séjourné 1966 fig. 142. of the Tlalocan Patio of the Tepantitla compound 13 De la Fuente 1995 vol. I, 103–107 pl. 2. shows a deity floating on large water sound-scrolls 14 Pasztory 1974, 8–10. Shell Trumpets in Mesoamerica 263 knives in their hands, and a procession of felines shell, demonstrating a similarity to the typical devouring human hearts15. Teotihuacan decoration of the instrument23. On a vase from the Chamá Valley area, Guatemala, God N is shown as being pulled out of THE CLASSICAL MAYA CULTURE the shell and sacrificed, probably by one of the (A.D.

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