Kuisi
Encyclopedia
A kuisi is a Native American
fipple
(or duct) flute
made from a hollowed cactus stem, with a beeswax and charcoal powder mixture for the head, with a thin quill made from the feather of a large bird for the mouthpiece. Seagull, turkey and eagle feathers are among the feathers commonly used.
, the Spanish for pipe). The female kuisi bunsi (also rendered kuisi abundjí in Spanish ) is also commonly known as a gaita hembra in Spanish, and has 5 holes; the male kuisi sigi (or kuisi azigí) is called a gaita macho in Spanish and has two holes.
Players often use wax to close fingerholes and alter the sound of the flute, blocking one or other tone hole on the kuisi sigi, and on the kuisi bunzi either the upper or lower fingerhole so that only four holes are in use at any one time. The change of wax from one fingerhole to another alters the fundamental tone and series of overtones that can be produced. A photograph of the paired flutes of the Cuna Indians of Panama shows that their hembra has only four fingerholes.
) which is bored and whose thorns are cut. The center is removed, first moistening and then boring with an iron stick. The cactus stem is thicker at one of its ends, this will go upside and coupled with the bee wax head which carries the feather mouth piece. Though the instrument is slightly conic on the outside, its perforation is cylindrical.
The kuisi bunsi has five tone hole
s, but only four of them are used when performing: the lower tone hole is rarely used, but when used, the upper tone hole is closed with wax. The lower tone hole of the kuisi sigi is rarely used.
The instrument’s head, called a fotuto in Spanish, is made with bee wax mixed with charcoal powder to prevent the wax melting in high temperatures, which also gives the head it a characteristic black color. The mouth piece, a quill made from a large bird feather, is encrusted in this bee wax-charcoal head, with an angle and a distance to the edge of the air column which varies from instrument to instrument.
Since construction is not serial, the only instrument which matches the tuning of a particular kuisi bunsi (female) is the kuisi sigi (male) constructed to accompany it. Their lengths correspond and the position of the two tone holes of the kuisi sigi matches the position of the lower tone holes of the kuisi bunsi.
and Ika of Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta
. Similar flutes are also played in matched pairs by the Kuna (people)
(or Cuna
) who live around the Darien Gulf in both Colombia
and Panama
.
The male and female kuisi are traditionally played as a pair in counterpoint to one another; the kuisi sigi usually marking the beat and the kuisi bunsi playing the melody. They are usually accompanied by drums and the maraca. The player of the kuisi sigi often holds that in one hand and a maraca in the other, playing both simultaneously.
, for example the Spanish-speaking village of Atánquez, similar flutes are called carrizos from the name of the cane from which they are made, and the ensemble is thus named conjunto de carrizos. This conjunto accompanies the dance chicote, a circle dance in which men and women alternate, placing their arms on each other's shoulders.
On the coastal plain, for example the town of San Jacinto, Bolívar
, an ensemble known as the conjunto de gaitas commonly provides the music for the cumbia
, porro
, and other folk styles such as vallenato
. This ensemble consists of two duct flutes (gaitas), a maraca, and two hand-beaten drums of African descent.
A Colombian historian writing in 1865 (Joaquín Posada Gutiérrez, Memorias histórico-politicas, Bogotá: Imprenta Nacional, 1929) has been cited (by Aquiles Escalante, El negro en Colombia, Monograflas sociologicas no. 18, Bogota: Universidad Nacional de Colombia, 1964, 149.) on the fusion of Native American
, African and European
instruments and music cultures:
Notable contemporary Colombian performers playing kuisi flutes (or gaitas) include Los Gaiteros de San Jacinto
. Emigrant Colombian groups in North American and Europe also perform with kuisis. The New York based La Cumbiamba eNeYé perform with gaitas constructed by band member Martín Vejarano with mouthpieces made from the feathers of Canadian geese sourced in a park in the Bronx. Spanish based Lumbalú , researching and updating of the different traditional coastal Colombian rhythms under the direction of kuisi bunsi player Hernando Muñoz Sánchez, mixing both traditional kuisis with modern instruments and musical styles.
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
fipple
Fipple
A fipple is a constricted mouthpiece common to many end-blown woodwind instruments, such as the tin whistle and the recorder. These instruments are known variously as fipple flutes, duct flutes, or tubular-ducted flutes.-How it works:...
(or duct) flute
Flute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
made from a hollowed cactus stem, with a beeswax and charcoal powder mixture for the head, with a thin quill made from the feather of a large bird for the mouthpiece. Seagull, turkey and eagle feathers are among the feathers commonly used.
Kuisi bunsi and kuisi sigi
There are male and female versions of the kuisi (or gaitaGaita
Gaita may refer to:Musical instruments*Various types of bagpipes common to Spain and Portugal such as:** Gaita asturiana, a bagpipe used in the Spanish provinces of Asturias, northern León and western Cantabria...
, the Spanish for pipe). The female kuisi bunsi (also rendered kuisi abundjí in Spanish ) is also commonly known as a gaita hembra in Spanish, and has 5 holes; the male kuisi sigi (or kuisi azigí) is called a gaita macho in Spanish and has two holes.
Players often use wax to close fingerholes and alter the sound of the flute, blocking one or other tone hole on the kuisi sigi, and on the kuisi bunzi either the upper or lower fingerhole so that only four holes are in use at any one time. The change of wax from one fingerhole to another alters the fundamental tone and series of overtones that can be produced. A photograph of the paired flutes of the Cuna Indians of Panama shows that their hembra has only four fingerholes.
Construction
Modern Kuisis are between 70 and 80 centimetres long, a length traditionally defined by the arm length of the luthier. Kogi built kuisis are reported to be up to two feet, or 60 centimetres, long. and constructed from cane (carrizo) by the flautist himself (never a woman). The length being measured as 3 times the span between extended thumb and little finger plus the span between extended thumb and index finger. The holes are then located with a distance between them measured by the width of two fingers plus half the width of the thumb. They are constructed from a cactus (Selenicereus grandiflorusSelenicereus grandiflorus
Selenicereus grandiflorus is a cactus species originating from the Antilles, Mexico and Central America. The species is commonly referred to as Nightblooming Cereus, Queen of the Night , Large-flowered Cactus, Sweet-Scented Cactus or Vanilla Cactus. The true species is extremely rare in cultivation...
) which is bored and whose thorns are cut. The center is removed, first moistening and then boring with an iron stick. The cactus stem is thicker at one of its ends, this will go upside and coupled with the bee wax head which carries the feather mouth piece. Though the instrument is slightly conic on the outside, its perforation is cylindrical.
The kuisi bunsi has five tone hole
Tone hole
A tone hole is an opening in the body of a wind instrument which, when covered by a key, alters the pitch of the sound produced.The resonant frequencies of the an air column in a pipe are inversely proportional to the pipe's effective length. For a pipe with no tone holes, the effective length is...
s, but only four of them are used when performing: the lower tone hole is rarely used, but when used, the upper tone hole is closed with wax. The lower tone hole of the kuisi sigi is rarely used.
The instrument’s head, called a fotuto in Spanish, is made with bee wax mixed with charcoal powder to prevent the wax melting in high temperatures, which also gives the head it a characteristic black color. The mouth piece, a quill made from a large bird feather, is encrusted in this bee wax-charcoal head, with an angle and a distance to the edge of the air column which varies from instrument to instrument.
Since construction is not serial, the only instrument which matches the tuning of a particular kuisi bunsi (female) is the kuisi sigi (male) constructed to accompany it. Their lengths correspond and the position of the two tone holes of the kuisi sigi matches the position of the lower tone holes of the kuisi bunsi.
Origins and traditional use
The earliest known use of kuisis is among KoguisKoguis
The Kogi or Cogui or Kaggabba, translated "jaguar" in the Kogi language are a Native American ethnic group that lives in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in Colombia. They are one of the few surviving Pre-Columbian civilizations of South America...
and Ika of Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta
Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta
The Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta is an isolated mountain range apart from the Andes chain that runs through Colombia. Reaching an altitude of 5,700 metres above sea level just 42 km from the Caribbean coast, the Sierra Nevada is the world's highest coastal range...
. Similar flutes are also played in matched pairs by the Kuna (people)
Kuna (people)
Kuna or Cuna is the name of an indigenous people of Panama and Colombia. The spelling Kuna is currently preferred. In the Kuna language, the name is Dule or Tule, meaning "people," and the name of the language in Kuna is Dulegaya, meaning "Kuna language" - Location :The Kuna live in three...
(or Cuna
Cuna
Cuna can refer to:* CUNA, Credit Union National Association* Kuna , of Panama and Colombia* Kuna language, spoken by the Kuna people* Cuna , a genus of bivalve mollusc...
) who live around the Darien Gulf in both Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
and Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
.
The male and female kuisi are traditionally played as a pair in counterpoint to one another; the kuisi sigi usually marking the beat and the kuisi bunsi playing the melody. They are usually accompanied by drums and the maraca. The player of the kuisi sigi often holds that in one hand and a maraca in the other, playing both simultaneously.
Modern use in Colombian music
In lower slopes of the Sierra Nevada de Santa MartaSierra Nevada de Santa Marta
The Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta is an isolated mountain range apart from the Andes chain that runs through Colombia. Reaching an altitude of 5,700 metres above sea level just 42 km from the Caribbean coast, the Sierra Nevada is the world's highest coastal range...
, for example the Spanish-speaking village of Atánquez, similar flutes are called carrizos from the name of the cane from which they are made, and the ensemble is thus named conjunto de carrizos. This conjunto accompanies the dance chicote, a circle dance in which men and women alternate, placing their arms on each other's shoulders.
On the coastal plain, for example the town of San Jacinto, Bolívar
San Jacinto, Bolívar
San Jacinto is a town and municipality located in the Bolívar Department, northern Colombia. The town is famous as the birthplace of the Latin Grammy Award winner cumbia group Los Gaiteros de San Jacinto....
, an ensemble known as the conjunto de gaitas commonly provides the music for the cumbia
Cumbia
Cumbia is a music genre popular across Latin America. The cumbia originated in the Caribbean coast of Colombia, where it is associated with an eponymous dance and has since spread as far as Mexico and Argentina...
, porro
Porro
The porro is a musical style and dance from the Caribbean region of Colombia. It is a Colombian Cumbia rhythm that developed into its own sub-genre. It was originally a folkloric expression from the Sinú River area that evolved into a ballroom dance...
, and other folk styles such as vallenato
Vallenato
Vallenato, along with cumbia, is currently a popular folk music of Colombia. It primarily comes from the Colombia's Caribbean region. Vallenato literally means "born in the valley". The valley influencing this name is located between the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta and the Serranía de Perijá in...
. This ensemble consists of two duct flutes (gaitas), a maraca, and two hand-beaten drums of African descent.
A Colombian historian writing in 1865 (Joaquín Posada Gutiérrez, Memorias histórico-politicas, Bogotá: Imprenta Nacional, 1929) has been cited (by Aquiles Escalante, El negro en Colombia, Monograflas sociologicas no. 18, Bogota: Universidad Nacional de Colombia, 1964, 149.) on the fusion of Native American
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
, African and European
Culture of Europe
The culture of Europe might better be described as a series of overlapping cultures. Whether it is a question of North as opposed to South; West as opposed to East; Orthodoxism as opposed to Protestantism as opposed to Catholicism as opposed to Secularism; many have claimed to identify cultural...
instruments and music cultures:
...in the early part of the nineteenth century there were great festivities in honor of the patron saint of Cartagena, which at that time was the principal city of the region. At this festival the inhabitants of some wealth and position danced in a pavilion to the accompaniment of a regimental band. Those of the lower classes participated in one of two dances held in the open air. The dancers in one were blacks and pardos (individuals of mixed racial inheritance) and in the second Indians. The blacks and pardos participated in a circle dance of couples, much like the popular cumbia of this century. The dance of the Indians, on the other hand, was a closed circle in which men and women alternated and joined hands, a dance similar to the closed circle of the chicote as danced in Atánquez. The dance of the blacks was accompanied by two or three hand-beaten drums and a chorus of women who clapped. The dance of the Indians was accompanied by gaitas. By 1865 these two castes had lost their mutual antagonism and combined to dance what was then known as the mapalé. Players of gaitas and players of drums joined together to accompany this dance. This merging was apparently the origin of the conjunto de gaitas.
Notable contemporary Colombian performers playing kuisi flutes (or gaitas) include Los Gaiteros de San Jacinto
Los Gaiteros de San Jacinto
Los Gaiteros de San Jacinto are a Colombian traditional folkloric cumbia group formed in the Caribbean Region of Colombia which have been active since 1940...
. Emigrant Colombian groups in North American and Europe also perform with kuisis. The New York based La Cumbiamba eNeYé perform with gaitas constructed by band member Martín Vejarano with mouthpieces made from the feathers of Canadian geese sourced in a park in the Bronx. Spanish based Lumbalú , researching and updating of the different traditional coastal Colombian rhythms under the direction of kuisi bunsi player Hernando Muñoz Sánchez, mixing both traditional kuisis with modern instruments and musical styles.