Jawbone (instrument)

{{Short description|Musical instrument made from the jawbone of an equine or cow}} {{Hatnote|"Quijada" redirects here. For people named "Quijada", see Quijada (surname). It is not to be confused with the type of sweet Queijada.}} {{Infobox instrument | name = Quijada | names = quijada de burro, charrasca, jawbone | image = Quijada.jpg | image_capt = Quijada: a jawbone used as a musical instrument | background =percussion | classification =idiophone | hornbostel_sachs =112.211 | hornbostel_sachs_desc =indirectly struck idiophone; scraped sticks without a resonator | inventors = | developed = | range = | related =Güiro, güira, reco-reco | musicians = | builders = | articles = }}

The '''quijada''', '''charrasca''', or '''jawbone''' (in English) is an idiophone percussion instrument made from the jawbone of a donkey, horse, mule, or cattle, producing a powerful buzzing sound.<ref name=VirginiaTechDictionary>{{cite web |title=Jawbone |url=http://www.music.vt.edu/musicdictionary/ |publisher=Virginia Tech Multimedia Music Dictionary |access-date=2013-09-15 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130916165454/http://www.music.vt.edu/musicdictionary/ |archive-date=2013-09-16 }}</ref> The jawbone is cleaned of tissue and dried to make the teeth loose and act as a rattle. It is used in music in most of Latin America, including Mexico, Peru, El Salvador, Ecuador, and Cuba.<ref name=OxfordDictionary /> It was also historically used in the early American minstrel show.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rhythmbones.com/sueBarberHistory.html|title=Sue Barber Bones History|website=www.rhythmbones.com|access-date=2019-04-28}}</ref>

==Technique== thumb|left|Veracruzan jaranera woman playing the jawbone. To play it, a musician holds one end in one hand and strikes the other with either a stick or their hand; this causes the teeth to rattle against the bone creating a loud, untuned sound, specific to this instrument. The stick can also be pulled along the teeth which act as a rasp. These ingredients provide the basis for a wide variety of combinations and rhythms.<ref name=OxfordDictionary>{{cite encyclopedia| year =2007 | title =El Salvador|last=Scruggs|first=TM | encyclopedia =Grove Music Online | publisher =Oxford University Press |url=http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/08745?q=quijada&search=quick&pos=2&_start=1|access-date=2013-09-15}}</ref>

== Historical and cultural content == thumb|right|Peruvian musician playing Afro-Peruvian music with the ''quijada de burro''. While it is used in most of Latin America, the quijada originated from the Africans that were brought to the Americas during the colonial era.<ref name=OxfordDictionary/> It is believed that it was first introduced in Peru, making it an Afro-Peruvian instrument.<ref>{{cite web | last= Ma | first= Eve | title= A Guide To Afro-Peruvian Musical Instruments | publisher= Sounds and Colours | url= http://www.soundsandcolours.com/articles/peru/a-guide-to-afro-peruvian-musical-instruments/ | access-date= 2013-09-16 | archive-date= 2013-09-26 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130926215116/http://www.soundsandcolours.com/articles/peru/a-guide-to-afro-peruvian-musical-instruments/ | url-status= dead }}</ref> It is a mix of African and indigenous cultures that created an instrument that gained value from the people of Latin America. It is one of the main instruments used by Afro-Peruvian musical ensembles and is used in many other Latin American cultures, like the candombe of Argentina (in Uruguay it is not used), Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, as well as Belizean ''brukdown'', Mexican music by son jarocho, and "Costa Chica" ensembles. An example is a [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R44rBtI37EE song played] in Oaxaca, Mexico in which the ''quijada'' keeps the beat. The ''quijada de burro'' (''quijada'' made of donkey jaw) is most often used at carnivals and religious festivals.<ref>{{cite web | title= Quijada de Burro | url= http://www.grownupbandgeek.com/quijada-de-burro/ | access-date= 23 September 2013 | archive-date= 27 October 2013 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131027093306/http://www.grownupbandgeek.com/quijada-de-burro/ | url-status= dead }}</ref> In popular culture the use of a quijada was shown in a conga dance scene in a 1939 film ("Midnight" starring Claudette Colbert and Don Ameche) beginning at 54:35.

==References== {{Reflist}}

==Further reading== * {{cite book | first=John | last=Beck | title = Encyclopedia of Percussion | year = 1994 | publisher = Garland | isbn = 978-0-8240-4788-7 }}

==External links== *[https://www.npr.org/blogs/codeswitch/2013/04/28/179277601/for-some-young-latinos-donkey-jaws-and-latino-roots A quijada] *[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zoQyns6pjCg Video en Youtube - Jawbone in Cuban music (1933)] *[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlN0f_NL4WU Quijada in Spanish music] {{Authority control}}

Category:Central American and Caribbean percussion instruments Category:South American percussion instruments Category:Scraped idiophones