The erke (alternatively erque, coroneta, or quepa) is a large

labrophone A brass instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by sympathetic vibration of air in a tubular resonator in sympathy with the vibration of the player's lips. Brass instruments are also called labrosones or labrophones, from Latin a ...

(lip reed) instrument native to the

Gran Chaco The Gran Chaco or Dry Chaco is a sparsely populated, hot and semiarid lowland natural region of the Río de la Plata basin, divided among eastern Bolivia, western Paraguay, northern Argentina, and a portion of the Brazilian states of Mato Gros ...

of Bolivia, northern Chile, and

Argentine Northwest The Argentine Northwest (''Noroeste Argentino'') is a geographic and historical region of Argentina composed of the provinces of Catamarca, Jujuy, La Rioja, Salta, Santiago del Estero and Tucumán. Geography The Argentine Northwest comprises ...

Construction

The erke is composed of two or more lengths of cane joined at the ends to form a single tube. The internal nodes of the canes are removed and the exterior is often wrapped with gut or wool. The end often has an amplifier made of cow horn or brass. The instrument is blown through at the other end, and may be three to seven metres in length.

History

Although in the latter half of the 20th century Andean folkloric musical groups have used the erke for secular music, among the indigenous and criollo peoples of the Andes the erke is used solely for ritual purposes. Traditionally but not commonly, only adult men play the erke, and it is considered profane to play the erke outside of a ritual context. The erke is commonly played during winter, as it is believed that playing it in spring or summer can bring snow.

Similar instruments

Among the

Mapuche The Mapuche ( (Mapuche & Spanish: )) are a group of indigenous inhabitants of south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina, including parts of Patagonia. The collective term refers to a wide-ranging ethnicity composed of various groups who s ...

people, there exists a similar instrument called the

trutruca The trutruka (spanish ''trutruca'') is a wind instrument, part of the trumpet family. It is played mainly amongst the Mapuche of Chile and Argentina. It produces a sound that is loud and severe, with few tonal variations. Description The instrum ...

References

Natural horns and trumpets Bolivian musical instruments Argentine musical instruments Indigenous culture of the Gran Chaco {{Brass-instrument-stub