Music of Acoma, Isleta, Cochiti, and Zuñi Pueblos - Flutopedia.com

Dhnsmobb] pueblo music '3
Drums.—The drum used with a majority of Acoma songs is a cylinder
with two heads of hide, lashed together with thongs, and is
struck with a drumstick having a round, padded end. Philip Sanchez,
who recorded the Acoma songs, is seen with a drum which belonged
to him (pi. 2, a). A larger drum of the same sort is used with the
Winter dance. A vase or jar with a cover of white hide (pi. 3, 6) is
used only by a young girl in the Flower dance. The drumstick used
with this drum consists of a stick with a large hoop at the end.
When in use the lower edge of this hoop is struck upon the drumhead
(cf. p. 34). Pounding on a roll of stiff hide is mentioned on
page 20, and a unique position of the drum is described on pages 107
and 109. The tapping together of two sticks was substituted for a
drum when these songs were recorded.
Flutes.—Each dancer in the Flower dance carries a cane flute.
The flute shown in plate 2, h, played by Wilbert Hunt, is similar to
the Acoma flute.
Rattles.—Two sorts of rattles are used by the Acoma, exclusive of
the "scraping sticks" which are classified by the United States
National Museum as notched stick rattles. The gourd rattles (pi.
4, a) carried by boys in the Flower dance are painted in bright colors.
These dancers carry a gourd rattle in the right hand and wear a
turtle-shell rattle (pi. 3, a) fastened to the right leg below the knee
"to mark the time as they dance." Gourd rattles are also used by
medicine men when treating the sick.
Notched stick rattles.—This instrument, commonly called scraping
sticks,
consists of two parts, a stick having notches cut horizontally
across its surface and a shorter stick, or a bone, that is rubbed across
the notches (pi. 4, a). In a typical instrument the notched stick is
20 to 25 inches in length. A sketch of this instrument among the
Zuni, made by Falling Star, shows the notched stick and rubbing
stick about the same length, which is unusual. The notched stick is
rested on a resonator to amplify the sound, this varying in different
localities. The Acoma use a squash for this purpose, the Ute use a
shallow basket or a sheet of tin,
the Yaqui use a half gourd, and the
Papago use an ordinary household basket.
A shallow box was used as a resonator in recording songs that
required this accompaniment. This instrument is used by the Acoma
with only two dances, one being a "sacred" dance and the other a
social dance. The former is the Situi, and the latter was not
designated.
The history and distribution of the notched-stick rattle is interesting,
the earliest example, so far as known, having been used in Confucian