Botija

Botija

Botija
Other names	Botijo, Botijuela, Bunga

The botija (botijuela; bunga) is a Caribbean musical instrument of the aerophone type. The botija is a potbellied earthenware jug or jar with two openings and was used in the early son sextetos in Cuba as a bass instrument.

Origination

The botija was used to hold kerosene that was brought from Spain. The botijas were then utilized to hide money underground and were buried to prevent humidity from reaching the floors. The botijas were later dug up and used as musical instruments in the late nineteenth century in the Caribbean island of Cuba. This type of music was called Cuba Son and the botijas were used as bass instruments. The botijas contained two openings, one at the top and one of the side, and were filled to specific levels with water in order to generate certain pitches and were then blown into to create bass notes. Another technique used to play the instrument includes the placement of a reed into the botija opening while the player blows into the reed. The use of the botija throughout parts of Cuba ended after the early twentieth century and was replaced by the double bass.

Cuban Son

Cuban Son originated in the eastern part of Cuba in the late nineteenth century. The music's defining characteristic was a pulsing or anticipated bass leading to the creation of many bass instruments including the botija. Other instruments included a marímbula, serrucho, contrabajo, and bajo.

See also

• Udu
• Ghatam