On the 10th of August 2024, we had the honor of receiving Awajún master José Ayui Yampis to share his knowledge of the ancestral mouth harp called "Tumag" where he taught the audience how to craft their own instrument using natural materials from his community brought especially for this workshop. It is with thanks to Enrique Basurto Carvo  and his project with the Aents Collective "Awajún Nampag" that this workshop was made possible.

The "Tumag" is a traditional Amazonian instrument used in magical chants. This workshop was a unique opportunity to learn how to use an ancestral instrument of the Awajún culture, from its construction process to how it’s played, and to its relationship with the songs of power called “Anen”. José imparted the history of the "Tumag" and how the songs regulate the social and spiritual life of the community. At the end, each participant made and went away with their own "Tumag."

The Tumag mouth harp is a stringed instrument fabricated from a flexible piece of thin wood from the "Sintush" tree, tied with chambira fiber or, in recent times, nylon thread. As for its application, the end of the bow is held in the mouth of the player while the string is strummed with the finger or a stick and the pitch is modulated by changing the opening of the musician's mouth.

The Awajun chant, the “Anen”, magic chant or “the power of thought” is the incantation learned in special circumstances, which is handled by means of intonation and exact lyric, the projection of one's feelings, memories and desires towards another person or spirit.

José Ayui Yampis is president and cultural manager of the Awajun Cultural Association Nampag, master specialist in herbalism and in the use of Amazonian master plants, "Anen" power chants and "Tumag" mouth bow of the Awajun nation, and referent of the Awajun culture in Amazonas.

We are grateful to José Ayui Yampis and his community for the sharing of this traditional knowledge and material. Thanks to all the participants who received this distinct experience and to Enrique Basurto Carvo for his work and longstanding relationship with Maestro José.

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Video edition: Ambulante Audiovisual

Video footage: Davis Torres, Ambulante Audiovisual

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