A música vocal e instrumental dos índios Tukano do Alto Rio Negro (Amazonas): função e expressão da música indígena

Abstract

The musical manifestation has been the object of many reflections since its property of acting psychologically on the human being was realized. In human societies in general, music plays a special role in the sociocultural context. Regarding the current Brazilian indigenous situation, there is a great force driving the rescue and appreciation of these cultures that are so diverse and, at the same time, partners in the struggle for indigenous consciousness. This research consists of a bibliographic and phonographic survey about the musical work of the Tukano Indians of Alto Rio Negro (Am). Its objective is to understand the musical work of this society based on the analysis of ethnographic information contained in written and audio documents. The data investigated revealed an organization of the musical repertoire by category (vocal and instrumental music) and by social stratification. The vocal repertoire is divided into two genres: profane chants and sacred chants. The profane songs can be sung by both men and women, the latter having a specific repertoire linked to a communicative and symbolic function. The sacred chants constitute the cultural framework of high symbolic content whose spiritual conductor is the shaman, and are performed only by men. The use of the maraca instrument is linked to these shamanic chants, and its symbolic importance deserves to be highlighted. Instrumental music also pervades the planes of the sacred and the profane, and is inserted in the male universe, with all its ritual uses and participating in the cosmological and cosmogonic meanings of tribal mythology. This theme will be deepened within an ethnomusicology approach, within the post-graduation scope.