huehuetl
Illustration — Aztec Tlālpanhuēhuētl with Symbols of War, National Museum of Anthropology, Mexico City The huēhuētl is a percussion instrument from Mexico, used by the Aztecs and other cultures. It is an upright tubular drum made from a wooden body opened at the bottom that stands on three legs cut from its base, with skin stretched over the top. It can be beaten by hand or wood mallet.
Also recorded as huēhuētl
huehuetl
AlejandroLinaresGarcia · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Field
- tubular drum
- Region
- Mexico
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
VALÉORINE documentary reading
Documentary summary
Illustration — Aztec Tlālpanhuēhuētl with Symbols of War, National Museum of Anthropology, Mexico City The huēhuētl is a percussion instrument from Mexico, used by the Aztecs and other cultures. It is an upright tubular drum made from a wooden body opened at the bottom that stands on three legs cut from its base, with skin stretched over the top. It can be beaten by hand or wood mallet.
Admitted source layer · organised and presented by VALÉORINE
Reference Check
Propose documentary evidence for huehuetl. A contribution is never written directly as fact: identity, source, rights and evidence gates still decide.
Sign in to contribute
Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q3142190 · wikipedia · Huehuetl
In this article
Terminology
Terminology
• Terminology — 1st Component — 2nd Component • English — Nahuatl — IPA — English — Nahuatl — IPA — English — Nahuatl — IPA • drum — huēhuētl — old (adjective) — huēhuē — singular noun suffix — -tl • medium size drum — panhuēhuētl • large drum — tlālpanhuēhuētl — Tlapanwewetl.ogg — on the ground or throughout the country — tlālpan — drum — huēhuētl • war drum — yāōhuēhuētl — war — yāōtl — drum — huēhuētl • huēhuētl drummer — huēhuēhuah • drumming — tlatzotzonalli • to drum — tlatzotzona — t͡ɬat͡soˈt͡sona • musical instrument — tlatzotzonalōni — t͡ɬat͡sot͡sonaˈloːni
Gallery
Gallery
• Illustration — Huēhuētl drawing in an ancient manuscript. • Illustration — huēhuētl from page 060 of the Codex Magliabecchi • Illustration — Nahua stick drummer
This annotated image of the huehuetl of Malinalco explains the illustrations and iconography represented on the wooden drum.
Carlytj
This annotated image explains the illustrations and iconography represented on the opposite side of the Huehuetl of Malinalco.
Carlytj
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
- Mexico
Named but not plotted · 1
huehuetl is associated with Mexico.
Country
Description
This ancient percussion instrument originated from Mesoamerica and was often used by the Aztecs and Tarascan. The huehuetl were used during festivals such as warrior gatherings. The drum itself is made from hollowed tree trunks and thus, came in different sizes. Carvings of animals, faces or warriors were also often carved into the base of the drum. The skin used for the top of the drum was mainly from ocelots. Currently, there are still groups of musicians who use huehuetls to perform Aztec music.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Beristain, S. Teponaztli, An Ancient Percussion Instrument. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America. 134. 5. 4158. 2013. 10.1121/1.4831237.
- 2.Beristain, Sergio. Ancient Aztec drum, the Huehuetl. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America. 137. 4. 2318. 2015-04-01. 0001-4966.
- 3.Nahuatl dictionary. (1997). Wired humanities project. Retrieved August 31, 2012, from link
Bibliography printed in the source article · 1
- Coe, Michael D. (2002); Mexico: From the Olmecs to the Aztecs London: Thames and Hudson.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 16 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Collectables
20,755 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- HuayangOrganisation
- HudsonOrganisation
- Hudson HawkWork
- Hudson Motor Car CompanyOrganisation
- Huffman Bros. Motor CoOrganisation
- Hugh Kennedy & CompanyOrganisation
- Hugo in SpaceWork
- Hugo Retro ManiaWork
Best supported in this field
For owners
Own an object connected with huehuetl?
A specialist will read what you send and tell you what the house can establish, what it cannot, and whether the object is suited to sale. There is no charge and no obligation. The object stays with you throughout; nothing is shipped to us unless it is arranged in writing beforehand.