SOUND CODES IN THE FERTILITY RITUAL OF THE ALLPA MAMA IN THE INTY RAYMI CANARI, ECUADOR

Abstract

Inty Raymi (Fiesta del Sol) is a festival held every June solstice in the Andean Ecuador, specifically in the villages of the mountainous areas of the ancient Tawantinsuyo (Guamon-Poma de Ayala 1980 [1613]). In the Canari region of Ecuador, Inty Raimi consists of several rituals, one of them being the Allpa Mama (Mother Earth). The sound codes in the festival, i.e., the codes that give a sense to the sounds accompanying the ceremony, are made by musical instruments like the kipa, the pinkullu, the maraca or chac cha, and the drum. This qualitative study draws on participant observation during the event, interviews with community informants, and image and sound recordings. Based on that, the different roles of the participants of the ritual and the function of the musical sonorities were identified. The last segment of this article highlights the way in which the musical activities of this Canari ritual involve interactions between the human and the non-human, interactions that are passed down from generation to generation.