A conchera or concha is Mexican stringed-instrument, plucked by concheros dancers. The instruments were important to help preserve elements of native culture from Eurocentric-Catholic suppression. The instruments are used by

concheros The Concheros dance, also known as the dance of the Chichimecas, Aztecas and Mexicas, is an important traditional dance and ceremony which has been performed in Mexico since early in the colonial period. It presents syncretism, syncretic features ...

dancers for singing at ''velaciones'' (nighttime rituals) and for dancing at ''obligaciones'' (dance obligations).

Types

The bodies of the

lute A lute ( or ) is any plucked string instrument with a neck (music), neck and a deep round back enclosing a hollow cavity, usually with a sound hole or opening in the body. It may be either fretted or unfretted. More specifically, the term "lu ...

s were traditionally made from a concha (

armadillo Armadillos () are New World placental mammals in the order (biology), order Cingulata. They form part of the superorder Xenarthra, along with the anteaters and sloths. 21 extant species of armadillo have been described, some of which are dis ...

shell Shell may refer to: Architecture and design * Shell (structure), a thin structure ** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses Science Biology * Seashell, a hard outer layer of a marine ani ...

). Today the bowls may be made of wood and the

mandolin A mandolin (, ; literally "small mandola") is a Chordophone, stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally Plucked string instrument, plucked with a plectrum, pick. It most commonly has four Course (music), courses of doubled St ...

have a flat back. *''mandolinos de concheros'' or ''mandolina conchera'': with 4 double courses (8 strings), tuned as mandolin (g-d-a-e). *''vihuelas de concheros'' or ''vihuela conchera'': with 5 double courses (10 strings). Tuned as

vihuela The vihuela () is a 15th-century fretted plucked Spanish string instrument, shaped like a guitar (figure-of-eight form offering strength and portability) but tuned like a lute. It was used in 15th- and 16th-century Spain as the equivalent of t ...

, but in the 3rd, 4th and 5th courses, each string in a course tuned to an

octave In music, an octave (: eighth) or perfect octave (sometimes called the diapason) is an interval between two notes, one having twice the frequency of vibration of the other. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been referr ...

of the other string. *''guitarras de concheros'' or ''guitarra conchera'': with 6 double courses (12 strings). Tuned as

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

, but in the 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th courses, each string in a course tuned to an octave of the other string.

History

After the arrival of the Spanish conquerors to Mexico in 1519, the indigenous musicians and instrument makers of central Mexico, took up European instruments. Tradition has it that the instruments were adopted by Native Americans in what is now modern Mexico in the 16th century. At least one person, not involved in the tradition, has speculated that the birth of the instrument might be closer to the mid-18th century. The Spanish church leaders had prohibited the use of drums to Native Americans, in an effort to eliminate their dancing, which was tied to the drum rhythms. However the Spanish did not object to the Native-Americans learning to play European instruments. The Native-Americans took their drum rhythms and incorporated then into music on the lutes to "preserve the original beats of Danza rhythms." They used the Spanish instruments to "preserve their own songs, rhythms and sacred knowledge." They copied the violin, the chirimia (a primitive version of the Oboe that came from the Muslims of North Africa), the

, and the mandolin (or its predecessors the vandola or

gittern The gittern was a relatively small gut-strung, round-backed instrument that first appeared in literature and pictorial representation during the 13th century in Western Europe (Iberian Peninsula, Italy, France, England). It is usually depicted p ...

). The native instrument makers were so adept at creating beautiful sounding instruments, that soon the Spanish crown forbid the locals from making instruments, because this was taking business from the Spanish instrument makers of Europe and colonial Mexico. The natives were unable to make the wooden parts for the belly, for lack of the small, thin, wooden strips that are glued together to make a lute's bowl. They substituted a natural bowl, made of an armadillo shell. The instrument took its name from the shell, and the dancers from the instrument. File:Danza de concheros.jpg, Children holding concheras; following the traditions of the shell dances, these children parade in the streets of

San Miguel de Allende San Miguel de Allende () is the principal city in the Municipalities of Mexico, municipality of San Miguel de Allende (municipality), San Miguel de Allende, located in the far eastern part of Guanajuato, Mexico. A part of the Bajío region, the t ...

. File:AzDanceMusDoc.JPG, Concheros at a celebration of the Feast of the Virgin of San Juan de los Lagos in Colonia Doctores, Mexico City. The man is holding a vihuela de conchera, with a clear view of the armadillo.

Other names for the Conchas

Some of the dancers who use the conchas call them "Mecahuehuetl" (from

Nahuatl Nahuatl ( ; ), Aztec, or Mexicano is a language or, by some definitions, a group of languages of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Varieties of Nahuatl are spoken by about Nahuas, most of whom live mainly in Central Mexico and have smaller popul ...

Meca(tl) = chord + Huehue(tl)= old one "drum", which was also the name for the vihuela and is used for the

today. This name reflects the fact that the early Conchero dancers were able to encrypt the precolumbian rhythms and steps of their agrarian rituals into the musical chords of the guitars and mandolins. A traditional conchero can tell which step should be carried out by how the melody is being strummed on the conchas. Another name used for the armadillo-shelled instruments is "Chihuanda." The etymology of this term is uncertain, with

Purépecha The Purépecha ( ) are a group of Indigenous people centered in the northwestern region of Michoacán, Mexico, mainly in the area of the cities of Cherán and Pátzcuaro. They are also known by the derogatory term " Tarascan", an exonym, app ...

seen as the most commonly agreed to root.

References

External links

Video Youtube — Various styles of conchas, being played by dancing musicians.Video Youtube - Mandolinas de conchaVideo Youtube - Indigenous Dancer from Tierra Blanca Ejido, Xilitla, San Luis Potosi playing his armadillo mandolin and doing the Dance of the Cross.Photo of a mandolina de conchaPhoto of a conchero
{{DEFAULTSORT:Concheros String Instruments Guitar family instruments Mexican musical instruments