Traditional musical instruments and resounding objects in El Salvador

Abstract

Through time, our people has been able to move forward in the face of natural, social and political adversity, and in the pursuit of their identity. In the kingdom of Cuscatlán, also known as the Pre-Columbian kingdom (?? – 1524), people used what their environment was able to provide. During that same period, metalurgy and clay were also used to manufacture musical instruments which played a relevant role in the different rituals of nature and medicine as well as to establish contact with the gods of the Underworld. In relation to the cultural blend (1524 – 1950), it melted their own known products with those coming from other cultures (European, Asian and African); it also incorporated useful instruments for their own catholic rituals and celebrations. Within the industrial capitalism, their identity was strengthened by means of the use of natural materials and the elaboration of waste products in addition to the musical instruments that were incorporated in culture, society and catholic rituals.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5377/koot.v0i11.10736
URI: http://hdl.handle.net/11298/1192

Keywords: Indigenous musical instruments - El Salvador, African American music, Cultural identity - El Salvador, Salvadoran folk music, Music – social aspects, Ethnomusicology - El Salvador.