BAA WEHAI (YOEME/YAQUI)
- floating gourd water drums
BAA WEHAI,
BUEJA,
BAA PO WEHAI , BWEHEIM- YOEME
JICARA DE AGUA - SPANISH
WATER DRUM - ENGLISH
XICALLI - is the NAHUATL word for gourd, not for water drum
These floating gourd drums are traditional Yaqui instruments
played during the YAQUI DEER DANCE
also known as MAZOYIWUA
a gourd is filled with water
with another gourd floating in the water and struck with a stick
wrapped in a corn husk called a (baa jiponia)
there are also gourds (hirukiam) which have rasps laid across them
which are then scraped,
the gourd acts as a resonator/amplifier
i.e.,
the sound becomes amplified as the gourd becomes a natural speaker
see images below for modern day practitioners
BUEJA,
BAA PO WEHAI , BWEHEIM- YOEME
JICARA DE AGUA - SPANISH
WATER DRUM - ENGLISH
XICALLI - is the NAHUATL word for gourd, not for water drum
These floating gourd drums are traditional Yaqui instruments
played during the YAQUI DEER DANCE
also known as MAZOYIWUA
a gourd is filled with water
with another gourd floating in the water and struck with a stick
wrapped in a corn husk called a (baa jiponia)
there are also gourds (hirukiam) which have rasps laid across them
which are then scraped,
the gourd acts as a resonator/amplifier
i.e.,
the sound becomes amplified as the gourd becomes a natural speaker
see images below for modern day practitioners
ADDITIONAL LINKS
https://americanindian.si.edu/exhibitions/circleofdance/yoreme.html
or go here to see comments and discussion about the video
as with most indigenous dances and dancers
there are usually different versions performed
"ceremonial /traditional" versions are usually not shown to the public
and
"performance /stylized" versions usually performed specifically for the public
https://americanindian.si.edu/exhibitions/circleofdance/yoreme.html
or go here to see comments and discussion about the video
as with most indigenous dances and dancers
there are usually different versions performed
"ceremonial /traditional" versions are usually not shown to the public
and
"performance /stylized" versions usually performed specifically for the public
The following video shows instruments which are usually described as either
a two tongued slit drum = Teponazlti
or a floating gourd water drum = Baa Wehai
this video was made to show the great variety and color of sounds available
thru just the fingers, and hands
i.e.,
the SOUNDs are amazing and beautiful
R&D
Contacted two musicians based in Mexico
one Maya,
in the Yucatan
the others,
Mexica,
in Mexico City
and sent them different
images of gourd water drums
was interested to see if either of them had any additional information
on the drums being used by either the MAYA or MEXICA or any other
indigena other than the YAQUI
they each wrote me that it is a drum played by the YAQUI,
people of Sonora
and they believe that it was brought to the Americas by Africans
who were brought as slaves
(slaves eventually brought to North America were originally
brought via Vera Cruz in Mexico, which has some of the most
extensive documentaion on what part of Africa they came from)
BLACK IN LATIN AMERICA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIzHIRCBtdE
AFRICAN/MEXICAN CONNECTION
http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/mexico/african.htm
they had never seen or heard of any documentation stating that it might be
MAYA or MEXICA
and I have yet been able to find any documentation stating otherwise
have never seen any documentation about it coming from Africa
and asked them to send me any documentation they had about it
they each told me about the following book
ATLAS CULTURAL DE MEXICO (MÚSICA)...de GUILLERMO CONTRERAS..
published in Mexico and written in Spanish
i.e.,
they are getting the same information from the following passage
"debido a los importantes asentamientos de colonias de ese origen llevados para la explotacion del Azucal:
por ejemplo, en la denominada Costa Chica Guerrero y Oaxaca - existen instrumentos cuyo uso y morfologia
tienen claros irigenes africanos (comunes entre los peuls, cultura que habita territorios de Senegal, Camerun y Nigeria
permanencia ahi, y dado que no existen referencias de su uso antes de la Conquista y no se tiene precisado tambien desde cuando se utlitza tanta al Noroeste de la Repulbica entre Mayos y Yaquis, come en la peninsula de Yucatan entre Mayan En lengua yaqui se nambra baa-wehai o baa-po-wehai, que significa bule o jicara de agua"
"because of the important settlements in the colonies brought home for the exploitation of Azucal:
for example, the so-called Costa Chica in Guerrero and Oaxaca - there are instruments whose use and morphology
have clear African origines
(common among Fulani culture inhabiting territories of Senegal, Cameroon and Nigeria)
stay there, and since there are no references to its use before the Conquest,
and has stated so well from when utlitza northwest of the Yaquis and Mayos Repulbica between,
east in the Yucatan Peninsula between Mayan language in Yaqui nambra baa-baa-wehai or po-wehai, meaning gourd or calabash of water "
ATLAS CULTURAL DE MEXICO (MÚSICA)...de GUILLERMO CONTRERAS..
this is the only source cited
does this mean it's true?
not necessarily
we look for 3 documented (different) written sources before quoting anyone
and this is the only one that we have been able to find so far,
so we are still searching
UPDATE 2014
While there is no documentation showing that the gourd water drum
was used in ancient times by the MAYA
there is documentation that when YAQUI were brought as slaves to the Yucatan
that they probably brought some of their floating gourd water drums with them.
Some modern day MAYA use them as instruments in the same fashion as the YAQUI
but we have yet to discover any information stating that they were used in ancient times
Edward H. Spicer (1967)
Cycles of Conquest: The Impact of Spain, Mexico, and the United States on Indians of the Southwest, 1533-1960
University of Arizona Press, Tucson, Arizona.
ADDITIONAL LINKS BELOW
baa po wehai
http://yoreme.wordpress.com/2009/07/18/
and of course there is Felipe Molinas books and recordings
http://www.oyate.com/felipe-molina---yeome-yaqui.html
http://www.statemuseum.arizona.edu/exhibits/pol/yoeme.shtml
YAQUI DEER SONGS ONLINE
http://books.google.com/books?id=FVafvTLhf50C&pg=PA220&lpg=PA220&dq=felipe+molina+yaqui+drum&source=bl&ots=605Ead0xdT&sig=g4MKAAuReMZTuJ7bk6oGqivrS_U&hl=en&sa=X&ei=r7kHUu78IMTCywGFw4B4&ved=0CEIQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=felipe%20molina%20yaqui%20drum&f=false
gourd farmers were contacted who informed us about gourd DNA
and where gourds originate from in the Americas
THE BOTTLE GOURD/GOURD DNA
AMS radiocarbon dates on bottle gourd rinds are reported after the site name, unless otherwise noted.
Note:
dates in the literature are recorded as they appear, but are listed in rough chronological order from oldest to youngest.
• Spirit Cave (Thailand), 10000-6000 BC (seeds)
• Azazu (Japan), 9000-8500 BC (seeds)
• Little Salt Spring (Florida, US), 8241-7832 cal BC
• Guila Naquitz (Mexico) 10,000-9000 BP 7043-6679 cal BC
• Torihama (Japan), 8000-6000 cal BP (a rind may be dated ~15,000 bp)
• Awatsu-kotei (Japan), associated date 9600 BP
• Quebrada Jaguay (Peru), 6594-6431 cal BC
• Windover Bog (Florida, US) 8100 BP
• Coxcatlan Cave (Mexico) 7200 BP (5248-5200 cal BC)
• Paloma (Peru) 6500 BP
• Torihama (Japan), associated date 6000 BP
• Shimo-yakebe (Japan), 5300 cal BP
• Sannai Maruyama (Japan), associated date 2500 BC
• Te Niu (Easter Island), pollen, AD 1450
In addition, the bottle gourd's dispersal throughout Polynesia is a key part
of evidence supporting the possible Polynesian discovery of the New World, circa 1000 AD.
The bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria) has had a complex domestication history written
for it over the past twenty years. However, recent DNA research suggests that it was domesticated three times:
in Asia, at least 10,000 years ago;
in Central America, about 10,000 years ago;
and in Africa, about 4,000 years ago.
In addition, the bottle gourd's dispersal throughout Polynesia is a key part of evidence
supporting the possible Polynesian discovery of the New World, circa 1000 AD."
"Domesticated bottle gourds have been identified in the Americas at sites such as Guila Naquitz
in Mexico by ~10,000 years ago. DNA sequences of rinds discovered in pre-contact America are
of the Asian sub-variety.
http://archaeology.about.com/od/bterms/qt/bottle_gourd.htm
"A wide range of plant food was recovered within the cave deposits of Guilá Naquitz,
including acorn, pinyon, cactus fruits, hackberries, and most importantly, the wild forms
of bottle gourd, squash and beans. Researchers have taken this to be evidence of early cultivation
of bottle gourd, squash and beans."
http://archaeology.about.com/od/gterms/g/guila_naquitz.htm
PLEASE READ THE WHOLE ARTICLE to find out about African and Chinese gourd DNA
and check out all the links
TRANS PACIFIC CONNECTIONS
http://archaeology.about.com/od/transportation/a/trans-pacific.htm
Reconstructing the Origins and Dispersal of the Polynesian Bottle Gourd (Lagenaria siceraria)
http://mbe.oxfordjournals.org/content/23/5/893.long
http://eol.org/pages/595796/details
Contacted two musicians based in Mexico
one Maya,
in the Yucatan
the others,
Mexica,
in Mexico City
and sent them different
images of gourd water drums
was interested to see if either of them had any additional information
on the drums being used by either the MAYA or MEXICA or any other
indigena other than the YAQUI
they each wrote me that it is a drum played by the YAQUI,
people of Sonora
and they believe that it was brought to the Americas by Africans
who were brought as slaves
(slaves eventually brought to North America were originally
brought via Vera Cruz in Mexico, which has some of the most
extensive documentaion on what part of Africa they came from)
BLACK IN LATIN AMERICA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIzHIRCBtdE
AFRICAN/MEXICAN CONNECTION
http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/mexico/african.htm
they had never seen or heard of any documentation stating that it might be
MAYA or MEXICA
and I have yet been able to find any documentation stating otherwise
have never seen any documentation about it coming from Africa
and asked them to send me any documentation they had about it
they each told me about the following book
ATLAS CULTURAL DE MEXICO (MÚSICA)...de GUILLERMO CONTRERAS..
published in Mexico and written in Spanish
i.e.,
they are getting the same information from the following passage
"debido a los importantes asentamientos de colonias de ese origen llevados para la explotacion del Azucal:
por ejemplo, en la denominada Costa Chica Guerrero y Oaxaca - existen instrumentos cuyo uso y morfologia
tienen claros irigenes africanos (comunes entre los peuls, cultura que habita territorios de Senegal, Camerun y Nigeria
permanencia ahi, y dado que no existen referencias de su uso antes de la Conquista y no se tiene precisado tambien desde cuando se utlitza tanta al Noroeste de la Repulbica entre Mayos y Yaquis, come en la peninsula de Yucatan entre Mayan En lengua yaqui se nambra baa-wehai o baa-po-wehai, que significa bule o jicara de agua"
"because of the important settlements in the colonies brought home for the exploitation of Azucal:
for example, the so-called Costa Chica in Guerrero and Oaxaca - there are instruments whose use and morphology
have clear African origines
(common among Fulani culture inhabiting territories of Senegal, Cameroon and Nigeria)
stay there, and since there are no references to its use before the Conquest,
and has stated so well from when utlitza northwest of the Yaquis and Mayos Repulbica between,
east in the Yucatan Peninsula between Mayan language in Yaqui nambra baa-baa-wehai or po-wehai, meaning gourd or calabash of water "
ATLAS CULTURAL DE MEXICO (MÚSICA)...de GUILLERMO CONTRERAS..
this is the only source cited
does this mean it's true?
not necessarily
we look for 3 documented (different) written sources before quoting anyone
and this is the only one that we have been able to find so far,
so we are still searching
UPDATE 2014
While there is no documentation showing that the gourd water drum
was used in ancient times by the MAYA
there is documentation that when YAQUI were brought as slaves to the Yucatan
that they probably brought some of their floating gourd water drums with them.
Some modern day MAYA use them as instruments in the same fashion as the YAQUI
but we have yet to discover any information stating that they were used in ancient times
Edward H. Spicer (1967)
Cycles of Conquest: The Impact of Spain, Mexico, and the United States on Indians of the Southwest, 1533-1960
University of Arizona Press, Tucson, Arizona.
ADDITIONAL LINKS BELOW
baa po wehai
http://yoreme.wordpress.com/2009/07/18/
and of course there is Felipe Molinas books and recordings
http://www.oyate.com/felipe-molina---yeome-yaqui.html
http://www.statemuseum.arizona.edu/exhibits/pol/yoeme.shtml
YAQUI DEER SONGS ONLINE
http://books.google.com/books?id=FVafvTLhf50C&pg=PA220&lpg=PA220&dq=felipe+molina+yaqui+drum&source=bl&ots=605Ead0xdT&sig=g4MKAAuReMZTuJ7bk6oGqivrS_U&hl=en&sa=X&ei=r7kHUu78IMTCywGFw4B4&ved=0CEIQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=felipe%20molina%20yaqui%20drum&f=false
gourd farmers were contacted who informed us about gourd DNA
and where gourds originate from in the Americas
THE BOTTLE GOURD/GOURD DNA
AMS radiocarbon dates on bottle gourd rinds are reported after the site name, unless otherwise noted.
Note:
dates in the literature are recorded as they appear, but are listed in rough chronological order from oldest to youngest.
• Spirit Cave (Thailand), 10000-6000 BC (seeds)
• Azazu (Japan), 9000-8500 BC (seeds)
• Little Salt Spring (Florida, US), 8241-7832 cal BC
• Guila Naquitz (Mexico) 10,000-9000 BP 7043-6679 cal BC
• Torihama (Japan), 8000-6000 cal BP (a rind may be dated ~15,000 bp)
• Awatsu-kotei (Japan), associated date 9600 BP
• Quebrada Jaguay (Peru), 6594-6431 cal BC
• Windover Bog (Florida, US) 8100 BP
• Coxcatlan Cave (Mexico) 7200 BP (5248-5200 cal BC)
• Paloma (Peru) 6500 BP
• Torihama (Japan), associated date 6000 BP
• Shimo-yakebe (Japan), 5300 cal BP
• Sannai Maruyama (Japan), associated date 2500 BC
• Te Niu (Easter Island), pollen, AD 1450
In addition, the bottle gourd's dispersal throughout Polynesia is a key part
of evidence supporting the possible Polynesian discovery of the New World, circa 1000 AD.
The bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria) has had a complex domestication history written
for it over the past twenty years. However, recent DNA research suggests that it was domesticated three times:
in Asia, at least 10,000 years ago;
in Central America, about 10,000 years ago;
and in Africa, about 4,000 years ago.
In addition, the bottle gourd's dispersal throughout Polynesia is a key part of evidence
supporting the possible Polynesian discovery of the New World, circa 1000 AD."
"Domesticated bottle gourds have been identified in the Americas at sites such as Guila Naquitz
in Mexico by ~10,000 years ago. DNA sequences of rinds discovered in pre-contact America are
of the Asian sub-variety.
http://archaeology.about.com/od/bterms/qt/bottle_gourd.htm
"A wide range of plant food was recovered within the cave deposits of Guilá Naquitz,
including acorn, pinyon, cactus fruits, hackberries, and most importantly, the wild forms
of bottle gourd, squash and beans. Researchers have taken this to be evidence of early cultivation
of bottle gourd, squash and beans."
http://archaeology.about.com/od/gterms/g/guila_naquitz.htm
PLEASE READ THE WHOLE ARTICLE to find out about African and Chinese gourd DNA
and check out all the links
TRANS PACIFIC CONNECTIONS
http://archaeology.about.com/od/transportation/a/trans-pacific.htm
Reconstructing the Origins and Dispersal of the Polynesian Bottle Gourd (Lagenaria siceraria)
http://mbe.oxfordjournals.org/content/23/5/893.long
http://eol.org/pages/595796/details
