Ayacachtli · the Mexica rattle

What it is

A rattle: hollow gourd or clay with seeds or pebbles inside, with a handle. It appears in almost every dance scene in the codices, in the hand of whoever is singing.

What is known about this example

Unlike the other five, the provenance here is firmer: measured on an exact replica, with the rhythm confirmed by the player. It is, according to the entry itself, «the best datum of the five instruments».

What exactly was measured

Synthesised from original recordings. The process was this: a replica of the instrument was played and recorded, and from that take the parameters the engine uses were extracted by analysis.

A replica is built today, by someone with their own view of what measurements and materials the original had. Its timbre is that replica's — not that of a museum piece, and still less of one that sounded in Tenochtitlan.

That is why the timbre is declared measured and not attested: the measurement started from a real object, and that object is recent.

The original takes are not kept. What is published here is the sound the engine produces from them, with its fingerprint so that anyone can check it is the file it claims to be.

Questions that reach this page

What is the ayacachtli? The Mexica rattle: hollow gourd or clay with seeds inside, with a handle. It appears in almost every dance scene in the codices.

How is the ayacachtli played? It is shaken, and each shake is a handful of impacts the ear takes as one thing. That is why the analysis measured gestures, not strokes.

How to cite this page