mayohuacán
The mayohuacán or bayohabao was a wooden slit drum played by the Indigenous Taíno people of the Caribbean. The instrument was played during sacred ceremonies, most notably the areíto. The drum was made of a thin wood and was shaped like an elongated gourd that measured up to one metre long and half a metre wide.
Also recorded as bayohabao · maiohauau · maguey · mayohabao
mayohuacán
- Name
- Mayohuacán
- Field
- musical instrument
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Documentary summary
The mayohuacán or bayohabao was a wooden slit drum played by the Indigenous Taíno people of the Caribbean. The instrument was played during sacred ceremonies, most notably the areíto. The drum was made of a thin wood and was shaped like an elongated gourd that measured up to one metre long and half a metre wide.
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gnd · 10278733-5 · wikidata · Q6797579 · wikipedia · Mayohuacán
In this article
Overview
Overview
According to early accounts of the taíno such as Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo y Valdés' La historia general y natural de las Indias (1526), the sound produced by the mayohuacán could be heard as far as a "league and a half away" (a league being a distance between 5.3 and 7.9 miles, or 8.0 and 11.2 km). These were played by leaders of the tribe as accompaniment to songs which were used to pass on customs and laws to younger generations.
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Mayohuacán • Background — percussion • Names — Bayohabao • Classification — Percussion • Hornbostel Sachs — 111.231 • Hornbostel Sachs Desc — Directly struck idiophone, individual percussion tube • Developed — c. 15th century • Volume — High • Related — Teponaztli
Primary material
Documents and archives
authority file
- Gemeinsame Normdatei 10278733-5, Mayohuacán.
General reference · Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
reference work
- “Mayohuacán”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q6797579: mayohuacán
General reference · Wikidata
Literature
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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.Pané, Fray Ramón. An Account of the Antiquities of the Indians. Duke University Press. 20. 1999. 0822382547.
- 2.Tejera, Emilio. Indigenismos, Vol. II. Editora de Santo Domingo. 1072. 1977.
- 3.Ortiz, Fernando. Los instrumentos de la música afrocubana: Los tambores xilfónicos y los membranófonos abiertos, A a N. Dirección de Cultura del Ministerio de Educación. 127. 1952.
- 4.Lewis, Martha Ellen. The Concise Garland Encyclopedia of World Music, Volume 1. Routledge. 273. 2008. 9781136095627.
References
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authority file
Gemeinsame Normdatei 10278733-5, Mayohuacán.Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
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Secondary witnessauthority record
General reference
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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.
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