Interdisciplinary Cultural and Humanities Review

ISSN 2786-7110 | e-ISSN 2786-7129 | UDC 7
Submit an article
Open Access

Analysis of the influence of musical culture on the traditional rituals of the peoples of South America

Rakhilam Baltieva

Abstract

Music plays an important role in shaping and preserving cultural identity. It contributes to the preservation and restoration of traditional knowledge that may be lost due to globalisation. The aim of the study was to investigate the influence of musical culture on the traditional rituals of the peoples of South America. Through the analysis of ethnographic literature and musical sources, it was possible to investigate the role of music in the traditional rituals of the peoples of South America. A comparative analysis provided a better understanding of the evolution of rituals and their connection to the culture and beliefs of peoples. The study of musical instruments, dances, and songs used in rituals made it possible to explore their symbolic meaning, functions, and influence on the emotional state of participants, as well as on the sacralisation of space and connection with spirits. Music is used in rituals to create sacred space and connect with spirits; musical rhythms and melodies influence the emotional state of ritual participants; song lyrics contain mythological stories and convey traditional knowledge; dances are an important part of many rituals and symbolise the unity of people with nature and with each other. Musical culture is an integral part of the traditional rituals of the peoples of South America. In addition, the interaction of the rituals of the peoples of South America with European culture highlights the exchange of cultural elements that has influenced both traditions. Research into the influence of music on rituals has provided a better understanding of the culture, beliefs and values of the peoples of South America. It has been established that music played an important role in creating a ritual atmosphere, immersing participants in the sacred world, with melodies and rhythms enhancing the sacred nature of events and making rituals more meaningful. Music united the community, strengthening the bonds between participants and creating a single voice for the community, emphasising a shared identity and becoming a way to tell stories and pass on the experiences of past generations. The results of the study can be used in cultural institutions and museums to create exhibitions that reflect the cultural heritage of the peoples of South America. In educational institutions, they can become part of curricula in ethnomusicology, cultural anthropology, and art history

Keywords: traditions; musical ethnography; rituals; ethnomusicology; folk music; identity

How to Cite

Baltieva, R. (2025). Analysis of the influence of musical culture on the traditional rituals of the peoples of South America. Interdisciplinary Cultural and Humanities Review, 4(2), 17-27. https://doi.org/10.59214/cultural/1.2025.17

References

  1. Andía, J.J.R. (2018). Non-humans in Amerindian South America. Ethnographies of indigenous cosmologies, rituals and songs. New York: Berghahn Books. doi: 10.3167/9781789200973.
  2. Barrett, J.L. (2022). The Oxford handbook of the cognitive science of religion. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  3. Bellomia, V. (2021). Sound artefacts as containers. The materiality of rhythm in ancient Mesoamerica. Open Edition Journals, 115, 121-145. doi: 10.4000/pallas.20000.
  4. Bronner, S.J. (2019). The Oxford handbook of American folklore and folklife studies. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  5. Bruhns, K.O. (2023). Ancient South America. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  6. Contreras, M., & Kassandra, C. (2022). The art of dancing in my soul. Revista Juventud y Ciencia Solidaria, 10, 34-36.
  7. Cook, N. (2021). Music: A very short introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  8. Duby, M. (2013). The consul at sunset: Representing lowy’s Mexico in song. Scrutiny2, 18(2), 18-35. doi: 10.1080/18125441.2013.828410.
  9. Garrido, S., & SandraWaldo F. (2016). The psychological function of music in mourning rituals: Examples from three continents. In J. Davidson & S. Garrido (Eds.) Music and mourning (pp. 55-68). London: Taylor and Francis.
  10. Hafstein, V. (2018). Intangible heritage as a festival; or, Folklorization Revisited. Journal of American Folklore, 131(520), 127-149. doi: 10.5406/jamerfolk.131.520.0127.
  11. Hartogsohn, I. (2021). Set and setting in the Santo Daime. Frontiers, 12, article number 651037. doi: 10.3389/ fphar.2021.651037.
  12. Hill, J.D. (2019). Music within and about myth / myths about and within music: 30+ years of decentering approaches to discourse in native Amazonia. Linguistic Anthropology, 29(2), 161-167. doi: 10.1111/jola.12209.
  13. Hugh-Jones, S.P. (2019). The origin of night and the dance of time: Ritual and material culture in Northwest Amazonia. Journal of the Society for the Anthropology of Lowland South America, 16(2), 76-98.  doi: 10.70845/25723626.1273.
  14. Jerotic, K., Vuust, P., & Kringelbach, L.M. (2023). Psychedelia: The interplay of music and psychedelics. ANNALS, 1536(1), 12-28. doi: 10.1111/nyas.15082.
  15. Kaltwasser, C.R., & Hauwaert, S. (2019). The populist citizen: Empirical evidence from Europe and Latin America. European Political Scince Review, 12(1). doi: 10.1017/S1755773919000262.
  16. Meade, A.T. (2022). A history of modern Latin America: 1800 to the Present. Melbourne: John Wiley & Sons.
  17. Medina, P., & Mayerly, N. (2019). Seasons of the soul: Ancestral tradition: Women and the earth. Repositorio Institucional.
  18. Menta, C. (2020). Multiplying the fields of research. A multi-ethnography through the prism of ritual practice with indigenous peoples in the Northeast region of Brazil. Revista de Antropología y Sociología: VIRAJES, 22(1), 13-36. doi: 10.17151/rasv.2020.22.1.2.
  19. Olsen, D. (2020). Folk music of South America-a musical mosaic. Musics of many cultures. Berkeley: Univ California Press. doi: 10.1525/9780520340572-027.
  20. Palomino, P. (2020). The invention of Latin American music: A transnational history. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  21. Pittau Sevilla, Z.M. (2016). Music as an experience integral to the ethnicity of the Mbyá-Guarani of South America. Music Education Research, 18(4), 340-350. doi: 10.1080/14613808.2016.1242562.
  22. Quintero, M. (2018). Rites, rights and rhythms: A genealogy of musical meaning in Colombia’s Black Pacific. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  23. Rahman, E., & de Mori, B.B. (2020). Breathing song and smoke: Ritual intentionality and the sustenance of an interaffective realm. Body & Society, 26(2), 130-157. doi: 10.1177/1357034X19900525.
  24. Reyes-García, V. (2023). Sing to learn: The role of songs in the transmission of indigenous knowledge among the Tsimane’ of Bolivian Amazonia. Society and Ethnobiology, 39(3), 460-477. doi: 10.2993/0278-0771-39.3.460.
  25. Rios Oyola, S.M., & Acarón Rios, T. (2019). Peacebuilding and dance in Afro-Colombian funerary ritual. In J. Mitchell, G. Vincett, T. Hawksley & H. Culbertson (Eds.) Peacebuilding and the arts (pp. 395-413). London: Palgrave Macmillan. doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-17875-8_20.
  26. Rommen, T., & Nettl, B. (2020). Excursions in world music. London: Routledge.
  27. Salles, P.T. (2017). Ritual dance, by Villa-Lobos: A music topic in the tropics. Anais do III Simpósio Villa-Lobos, 66-82.
  28. Schreffler, C.R. (2023). Our sounds reach the other world: Sacred musical instruments and their spiritual roles. CrossCurrents, 73(2), 111-116. doi: 10.1353/cro.2023.a904519.
  29. Scullin, D., & Herrera, A., (2023). Music archaeology in Latin America: Bridging method and interpretation with performance. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology, 72, article number 101544. doi: 10.1016/j.jaa.2023.101544.
  30. Sera, R., & Arturo, L. (2021). Identification of rhythmic and timbral elements of Abakuá origin in the record production Son de los diablos (1974) of the Peru Negro Cultural Association. Lima: Pontifical Catholic University of Peru.
  31. Snyder, A. (2019). The alternative carnivalesque, brass, and the revival of street carnival in Rio de Janeiro. LusoBrazilian Review, 56(1), 106-129. doi: 10.3368/lbr.56.1.106.
  32. Stevenson, R. (2021). Music in aztec and inca territory. Berkeley: University of California Press.
  33. Stokes, M. (2004). Music and the Global Order. Annual Review of Anthropology, 33, 47-72. doi: 10.1146/annurev. anthro.33.070203.143916.
  34. Turino, T. (2018). The garland encyclopedia of world music. London: Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9781315086484.
  35. Vallejo, C., & Carlos, J. (2021). Unfolding musicking archives at the Northwest Amazon. Pennsylvania: University of Pennsylvania ProQuest Publishing.

Search the Journal