Snail horn
The snail horn ( Sanskrit śaṅkha, Hindi śaṅkh, Tibetan dung dkar, Japanese陣 貝, jinkai, or 法螺 貝, horagai, also snail trumpet, incorrectly clam horn ) is a natural trumpet made from a snail shell , which has been an instrument for rituals and in the, since prehistoric times Music is used.
distribution
The snail horn is made from the shell of a sea snail (mainly Turbinella pyrum , synonym T. rapa ), the tip of the most widespread, longitudinally blown snails is sawn off. This type was common from the Mediterranean through Tibet , India , the Malay Archipelago , Japan , Fiji , New Zealand and much of America . In the case of snail horns that are blown sideways, a mouthpiece is attached to a laterally drilled blow hole. Such instruments existed in Madagascar , the Malay Archipelago, Micronesia and Polynesia .
The snail shell is often refined with engravings or metal frames. Sometimes a metal mouthpiece is also used. By blowing in with closed lips, like a horn or a trumpet, a distinctive, penetrating sound is created according to the principle of the upholstered pipe . Often, snail horns are used to serve gods or to fight evil spirits.
Regional forms
East asia
In Tibetan ritual music , the snail horn ( dung kar ) is usually played in pairs so that the sound is not interrupted when one of the two players takes a breath. It is used as an instrument in rituals, for example to drive away evil spirits. In addition to the parasol, treasure vase, fish, lotus blossom, victory banner, endless knot and wheel, it is one of the eight symbols of good luck (Sanskrit Ashtamangala ) in Tibetan Buddhism. In particular, the white, clockwise snail horn, which occurs very rarely in nature, stands for the right path - the tone for spreading the Buddha's teachings .
Snail horns were also used in Japan, especially by the Yamabushi associated with Buddhism . The symbolism of the horagai remains Buddhist, but the horns were used as signals in the mountain regions of Japan in addition to the recitation of sutras and ritual accompaniment.
In processions, which are part of the traditional royal military music Daechwita in Korea , the large snail horns nagak play flat gongs jing , hourglass drums janggu and, as other wind instruments, the long trumpet nabal and the cone oboe taepyeongso .
South asia
In the Indian cultural area it occurs only in the sacred area and is different from the old cow horn ( shringa ) , which was previously only used for signaling purposes. In Hinduism , the snail horn is one of the four main symbols of Vishnu , the god of preservation and preservation, alongside the wheel ( chakra ), club ( gada ) and lotus . In Hinduism, Buddha is seen as the ninth embodiment of Vishnu. Therefore, the ancient Vedic god Indra is often depicted in Buddhist images , who gives the snail horn to Vishnu to Buddha.
The earliest literary references include the ancient Indian epics of Ramayana and Mahabharata . In the Buddhist caves of Ajanta (2nd century BC - 7th century AD) snail horns are depicted several times. Representations were also found on the stupas of Amaravati (2nd century BC), Bharhut (3rd / 2nd century BC) and in the former Buddhist city of Nagarjunakonda (3rd - 5th centuries).
The snail horn is depicted in the seal of the southern Indian state of Kerala in a wreath of ears in the middle, with the coat of arms of India above and with a guardian elephant on each side. Before the beginning of the homage ( puja ) in a Hindu temple ( kshetram ) in Kerala, a priest blows the snail horn ( shankh ) three times in order to awaken the main deity and the minor gods. During the diparadhana ritual performed daily in the evening at larger temples in Kerala , during which oil lamps are lit on the inner wall ( nalambalam ), priests blow snail horns nine times. The following rituals are accompanied by a percussion orchestra with chendas and idakkas . In the religious shadow play Tholpavakuthu , which is part of the temple ritual in Kerala, and in the shadow play Chamadyache bahulya in the south of Maharashtra, the snail horn blows when figures of gods appear on the stage.
The goddess Durga takes on as Mahishasuramardini in the fight against the evil buffalo demon Mahishasura , but new giants are constantly emerging from his blood. Therefore she asks for help from Vishnu, who sends a personified sankha who soaks up the blood and helps Durga to victory. Durga is shown with the snail's trumpet in the upper left hand and the demon's hair in the lower left hand. Similarly, the Greek god of the sea, Triton , defeated the giants by blowing his snail trumpet Charonia tritonis .
South East Asia
In the Thai court ceremony, the Vishnuit background of the sang ( Thai สังข์ ) called snail horn was preserved. Its auspicious meaning is shown when couples are poured water from a snail horn on their hands at the wedding. The singing tradition is blown gracefully parades and ceremonies of the Thai royal family under. On the Indonesian island of Bali , a snail horn with the Indonesian name sungu is used in some Hindu ceremonies .
Oceania
In Oceania , snail horns were mainly used as ceremonial and signaling instruments. They were found on numerous islands in Micronesia and Polynesia . The New Zealand Maori call their snail horn , which is still played today, putatara . Groups of two to nine wind players are known on the Tonga island of Niuatoputapu for their polyphonic playing on special occasions. On Vanuatu , fishermen use the tapáe as a signaling instrument when they bring in their nets. In the Carolines in Micronesia, reports from the 1930s say the saui was blown for religious invocations. According to a description from 1938, there was a snail horn on the island of Mangareva , in which sounds were produced in an unusual way of playing by sucking in air according to the principle of sucked trumpets .
Archaeological finds
Priests of ancient Mexican cultures used the shells of snails (in Nahuatl Tecciztli or Quiquiztli ) with which they conjured up rain gods. In South America snail horns were both the Chimu as the Inca from the housings of queen conches ( Strombus made), and are currently under the Quechua designation pututu known. With the Incas, a fast runner, Chaski , delivered messages and blew a pututu to announce himself.
Snail horns have also come down to us from Assyria , where they were used in cult activities from around 2000 to 1500 BC. Were used.
The oldest snail horn to date was discovered in 1931 in the French Pyrenees in the cave of Marsoulas . The find dates from the Magdalenian period (12,000 to 18,000 years BC) and is on display in the Natural History and Ethnological Museum of Toulouse .
literature
- James Hornell: The Sacred Chank of India: A Monograph of the Indian Conch (Turbinella pyrum). Bulletin No. 7, Madras Fisheries Bureau, Madras 1914
- Jeremy Montagu: The Conch Horn. Shell Trumpets of the World from Prehistory to Today. Hataf Segol Publications, 2018
Web links
- Conch Shell Trumpet (Dung Dkar), Tibet, 20th Century. Beede Gallery, University of South Dakota, 2007
- Horagai, the shell horn ... Shugendo Austria (Japanese snail horn, with audio samples)
Individual evidence
- ^ Paul Collaer: Oceania . In: Heinrich, Besseler, Max Schneider (Hrsg.): Music history in pictures . Volume I: Ethnic Music. Delivery 1. Deutscher Verlag für Musik, Leipzig 1974, p. 210
- ↑ Bigamudre Chaitanya Deva: Musical Instruments of India. Their History and Development. KLM Private Limited, Calcutta 1978, p. 114
- ^ Rolf Killius: Ritual Music and Hindu Rituals of Kerala. BR Rhythms, Delhi 2006, pp. 28, 30
- ↑ Thai princess cremated in Bangkok ceremony. ABC News, November 16, 2008
- ↑ Jeremy Montagu, 2018, p. 97
- ↑ Jeremy Cloake: Putatara
- ↑ Raymond Ammann: Tapae. In: Grove Music Online, October 26, 2011
- ↑ Saui . In: Grove Music Online, October 26, 2011
- ↑ Jeremy Montagu, 2018, p. 106