Columbia
Tairona Culture

Terra-cotta
ca. 1000 CE
Height: 3.4 inches
Aerophones – Wind Instruments Proper – Edge Blown Flutes

A Pre-Columbian hand-made blackware pottery whistle in the form of a standing jaguar/transformational creature from the Tairona (Tayrona) culture.  The Tairona culture was in the region of Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in present-day Cesar, Magdalena and La Guajira Departments of Colombia.   They were known for their expertise in crafting and metallurgy, especially goldsmithing.  This pottery whistle (ca. 1000 CE) has a spout at the top of the head for blowing in air, with the back of the neck open where the blown air splits the edge.  There is a finger hole on each shoulder and one at the waist in front, where the two hands are held.  These holes allow for the changing of the pitch when played.  

The role of the whistle has not been fully explored or documented in Mesoamerica, but one theory is that they were used in helping the priest or shaman to communicate and cross over between the living world to the spirit world. Spanish colonists have also noted the use of special shrines for musical wind instruments and the playing of ocarinas and whistles to announce ritual dancing and chanting.