Musical instruments in the Indigenous world represent a profound connection to rituals and festivities, as well as a special communion with nature. Through sound, we can approach some of the meanings and traditions of the Matsigenka people. Each instrument has its own history and purpose. Some are designed to accompany ritual songs and dances, while others are used for sacred ceremonies or to transmit ancestral knowledge. Most instruments are made from materials obtained from nature, such as bones, wood, reeds, hides or animal skins.
Exploring and learning about Indigenous musical instruments gives us the opportunity to approach a fascinating universe of sound and invites us to appreciate, value, and respect Indigenous musical diversity, recognizing the importance of preserving and disseminating its use, which is in worrying decline.
The mouth harp, known as pegombirintsi in Matsigenka culture, is a traditional instrument used by the seripegari or shamans in ayahuasca ceremony rituals. Nowadays, few people know the art of making this instrument.
The construction of the pegombirintsi is made with two different types of fibers: tsigeroshi, tsigiro and tirote or huingo palm. The manufacturing process consists of carefully filing the fiber until a finish is obtained that allows a flexible bow to be made, which is attached to a thin string at the bottom. The ends are adjusted with a knot, thus forming a small harp. To produce the sound, it is placed near the mouth, which acts as a resonance chamber, and a flexible reed is used to stroke the string, similar to a small violin.
The manufacture of the drum or tambor is exclusive to men. Materials extracted from the forest are used, such as topa (balsa wood) or mantoa, a hardwood that has become less accessible. Also used are the cético fibre and animal skins such as the sajino, monkey, and otorongo, the latter being used to make large drums. In addition, Huayruro and SaraSara seeds are used to enhance the drums with a rattling effect.
The drums are used in festivities and ancestral dances that represented sounds of animals or birds of the forest, such as the dance of the pucacunga bird, or the dance of the trumpeter bird. For example, a woman had to win or catch the drummer, who represented the sound of these birds. Perhaps, this interpreted a daily scene of bird hunting, as Romelia recounts:
"It was about a song of an animal, for example, the pucacunga or trumpeter, and to the rhythm of that bird they play, the women already knew the dance, and would form their group, and one of the ladies would play her ornaments to accompany the men, that is what gave the sound, depending on the sound that the drummer was going to play, when we say they catch the drummer, the woman had already conquered him." - Romelia, Shipetiari, 2023.
Nowadays, the use of drums has significantly decreased, and they have been replaced by music broadcast through sound systems during festivities or gatherings.
Wind instruments are used on special occasions amongst the Matsigenka and are traditionally made by the men. The sonkarintsi is a traditional flute, and the sonkabarintsi is a panpipe. The materials used in the manufacture of the flutes and panpipes are cane and bamboo. Each tube emits a special sound when blown and is joined together by natural cotton threads.
The shell of a forest snail called pómporo is also used as a trumpet, used for calling friends and family members to come and share masato while working in the chakra or small farms outside of the village.
