Burst of Breath: Indigenous Ritual Wind Instruments in Lowland South America

8. From Flutes to Boom Boxes: Musical Symbolism and Change among the Waiwai of Southern Guyana

8. From Flutes to Boom Boxes Musical Symbolism and Change among the Waiwai of Southern Guyana stephanie w. alemán Bamboo, bone and turtle shell sweet songs from the diaphragm expel dialogs with absent friends This one was given to me by Ewka the village leader of Yaka-yaka This one by Macherawe the champion flautist of them all Each tune resonates around the village reverberating with the memory of its maker Maruwanarï, Maruwanarï Magnificent magician of the muse with one note exhaled conjures up a refrain then lyric trills, lurid turns seductive complaints When will you give up the flute? When the memory dies When the tunes die When the Waiwai become the Wapishana. —G. P. Mentore 220 alemán Flute music has long held a special place in Waiwai expressions of selfhood and identity. As a medium of communication among men and between men and women, its significance persists and is still recognized by all village members. The use of the flute in dialogue, narrative, seduction, and hunting identifies it as a key symbol of Waiwai male personhood. In the case of the Waiwai, the flutes they employ are known from Izikowitz’s 1935 typology as notched, or with a special notch carved into the blowing edge (see fig. 22). In addition, references to Waiwai flutes and their use are present in both of the seminal works on the Waiwai by Fock (1963) and Yde (1965). To orient the reader, the Waiwai are a group of Carib-speaking indigenous Amazonians that inhabit the forests on the upper reaches of the Essequibo River in Guyana (in two villages) and over the border in northern Brazil, with several villages on the Anaua, 22. Waiwai aerophones made from deer bone and various sizes of bamboo (ratu). Photo by Stephanie W. Alemán. From Flutes to Boom Boxes—221 Jatapuzinho, and Mapuera rivers. Their total population on the Guyana side is about 275 and about 1,500 on the Brazilian side. In the present-day Guyanese village at Masakinyarï (Mosquito Place), one man, Maruwanarï, represents the last of the highly skilled players who continues to offer his tunes on a daily basis to a village that listens attentively for the sound of his expressive notes (see fig. 23). More than just an evening concert, these playing sessions bring to life the sounds and dialogues of animals, stories of magically aided love, desire, and enticement, competitive conversations between men, and prowess in finding and captivating prey. In addition to these various themes, a Waiwai flute player can also make commentary on current social events and personal actions. Much as Jonathan Hill says in this volume regarding Wakuénai flute music, Waiwai “musical sounds and musicality 23. The voice of the flute, Maruwanarï, at Masakinyarï village in southern Guyana. Photo by Stephanie W. Alemán. are densely interwoven with lexical sounds and meaning as well as the sounds and behaviors of natural life forms.” The poem that embellishes the beginning of this chapter was written by our colleague George Mentore after many evening experiences of Maruwanarï’s flute sessions. As the last flautist in the village at Masakinyarï who continues to play regularly, Maruwanarï’s expression of male adult personhood continues to represent an autochthonous ideal of musical tradition. People in this village recognize his playing as part of what it means to be Waiwai, but at the same moment, the performance of Waiwai personhood is expanding to encompass other forms of musicality. The point of change is generational. Young Waiwai men have not taken up the tradition of the flute, stating without exception that it is “hard to blow.” For reasons described later in this chapter , young men have embraced a new medium in the form of battery -powered cassette players (boom boxes). In addition, an in- flux of Brazilian popular music, Guyanese soca and reggae, and American Christian gospel and country music has caused a shift in Waiwai self-expression through the medium of recorded songs. In a completely novel way, young people now express their thoughts, feelings, and desires through the use of specific tunes and appear to replicate the uses the flute formerly performed. The subject matter of this chapter could be used to follow several trajectories and could also be brought to bear on a variety of relevant issues in terms of representing Waiwai sociality. In this instance, I have chosen to focus...