Mexico
Aztec

Wood, hide, pigment
ca. Late 1900s
Height: Height: 18 in, Diameter: 13.75 in
Other – Membranophone – Struck Directly

The Aztec pedestal drum is called the ‘huéhuetl.’  “Huéhuetl means: ‘venerable old man’ in Náhuatl, the language of the Aztecs.  This drum has also been recognized as ‘the most venerated of Mexican instruments.’  It shows rich high relief hand carving of  a deer, a sacred animal of this culture.  The Mesoamericans played these drums in the celebration of their festivals, ritual acts and in war.  There are three sizes of vertical pedestal drums, the tlalpanhuéhuetl, “drum that is on the ground’, the huéhuetl, a smaller drum and the ‘panhuéhuetl,’ the medium size seen here.

This drum with possibly a deer hide drumhead (originally, they used the hide of the jaguar),  is played with a pair of padded sticks.  The drum is cylindrical and stands on three legs with open spaces between the legs.  The reason for the opening is during nighttime rituals it was believed that the spirit of the drum would come alive, when a small, torched stick was lit and slipped between the legs, lighting up the outside carvings from within. The heat from the flame would also remove some of the moisture in the skin and tightening the drumhead.  With no other light, except for the moon and stars, the beating on the drum represented the spirit from within the drum speaking to the people.  Like the teponaztli, legend tells us that the ‘huéhuetl’ was believed to be a god temporarily forced to endure earthly exile, thus both instruments were treated as idols.