Harawi is an ancient traditional genre of

Andean music Andean music is a group of styles of music from the Andes region in South America. Original chants and melodies come from the general area inhabited by Quechua people, Quechuas (originally from Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, Chile), Aymara people, Aymar ...

and also indigenous lyric poetry. ''Harawi'' was widespread in the

Inca Empire The Inca Empire, officially known as the Realm of the Four Parts (, ), was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The administrative, political, and military center of the empire was in the city of Cusco. The History of the Incas, Inca ...

and now is especially common in countries that were part of it, mainly:

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

. Typically, ''harawi'' is a moody, soulful slow and melodic song or tune played on the

quena The quena (hispanicized spelling of Quechua ''qina'', sometimes also written ''kena'' in English) is the traditional flute of the Andes. Traditionally made of cane or wood, it has 6 finger holes and one thumb hole, and is open on both ends or ...

(flute). The words of ''harawi'' speak of love (often unrequited), plight of ordinary peasant, privations of orphans, etc. Melodies are mainly in

minor pentatonic scale Minor may refer to: Common meanings * Minor (law), a person not under the age of certain legal activities. * Academic minor, a secondary field of study in undergraduate education Mathematics * Graph minor, Minor (graph theory), a relation of on ...

History

The first recorded ''harawi'' lyrics related to the Inca era. Some of the extant songs may also have the same age. Later, ''harawi'' became the basis for the mestizo genre ''yaravi''.

"Harawi language"

In Andean villages, there is still a tradition: a man, in love with a woman, expresses his feelings for her by playing one of many well-known "harawis" on the flute, not far from her house. She recognizes the melody and remembers words of this song to understand the feelings men experience.

References

{{music-genre-stub Inca Andean music Music of Bolivia Peruvian folk music Peruvian literature Bolivian literature