Description

Book Synopsis
The first in-depth, comparative, and interdisciplinary study of indigenous Amazonian musical cultures, Burst of Breath showcases new research on the dynamic range of ritual power and social significance of various wind instruments - including flutes, trumpets, clarinets, and whistles - played in sacred rituals and ceremonies in Lowland South America.

Trade Review
"This well-conceived and very well executed volume marks a major advance in discussions of the significance of aerophones and sound over a large area of South America."—Anthony Seeger, Journal of Anthropological Research

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations

Overture

Jonathan D. Hill and Jean-Pierre Chaumeil

First Movement: Natural Sounds, Wind Instruments, and Social Communication

1. Speaking Tubes: The Sonorous Language of Yagua Flutes

Jean-Pierre Chaumeil

2. Leonardo, the Flute: On the Sexual Life of Sacred Flutes among the Xinguano Indians

Rafael José de Menezes Bastos

3. Soundscaping the World: The Cultural Poetics of Power and Meaning in Wakuénai Flute Music

Jonathan Hill

4. Hearing without Seeing: Sacred Flutes as the Medium for an Avowed Secret in Curripaco Masculine Ritual

Nicolas Journet

5. Flutes in the Warime: Musical Voices in the Piaroa World

Alexander Mansutti Rodríguez

6. Desire in Music: Soul-Speaking and the Power of Secrecy

Marcelo Fiorini

Second Movement: Musical Transpositions of Social Relations

7. Archetypal Agents of Affinity: "Sacred" Flutes in the Guianas?

Marc Brightman

8. From Flutes to Boom Boxes: Traditions of Musical Symbolism and Change among the Waiwai of Southern Guyana

Stephanie W. Alemán

9. From Musical Poetics to Deep Language: The Ritual of the Wauja Sacred Flutes

Acácio Tadeu de Camargo Piedade

10. The Ritual of Iamurikuma and the Kawoká Flutes

Maria Ignez Cruz Mello

11. Spirits, Ritual Staging, and the Transformative Power of Music in the Upper Xingu Region

Ulrike Printz

12. An "Inca" Instrument at a "Nawa" Feast: Marubo Flutes and Alterity in Amazonian Context

Javier Ruedas

13. Arawakan Flute Cults of Lowland South America: The Domestication of Predation and the Production of Agentivity

Robin Wright

Coda: Historical and Comparative Perspectives

14. Sacred Musical Instruments in Museums: Are They Sacred?

Claudia Augustat

15. Mystery Instruments

Jean-Michel Beaudet

Contributors

Index

Burst of Breath Indigenous Ritual Wind

    Product form

    £31.50

    Includes FREE delivery

    RRP £35.00 – you save £3.50 (10%)

    Order before 4pm today for delivery by Tue 7 Jul 2026.

    A Paperback / softback by Jonathan David Hill, Jean-Pierre Chaumeil

    1 in stock

      Trusted by thousands of customers. See 2,385+ Customer Reviews

      View other formats and editions of Burst of Breath Indigenous Ritual Wind by Jonathan David Hill

      Publisher: University of Nebraska Press
      Publication Date: 01/12/2011
      ISBN13: 9780803220928, 978-0803220928
      ISBN10: 0803220928
      Also in:
      Social and cultural history Indigenous peoples / Indigeneity

      Description

      Book Synopsis
      The first in-depth, comparative, and interdisciplinary study of indigenous Amazonian musical cultures, Burst of Breath showcases new research on the dynamic range of ritual power and social significance of various wind instruments - including flutes, trumpets, clarinets, and whistles - played in sacred rituals and ceremonies in Lowland South America.

      Trade Review
      "This well-conceived and very well executed volume marks a major advance in discussions of the significance of aerophones and sound over a large area of South America."—Anthony Seeger, Journal of Anthropological Research

      Table of Contents

      List of Illustrations

      Overture

      Jonathan D. Hill and Jean-Pierre Chaumeil

      First Movement: Natural Sounds, Wind Instruments, and Social Communication

      1. Speaking Tubes: The Sonorous Language of Yagua Flutes

      Jean-Pierre Chaumeil

      2. Leonardo, the Flute: On the Sexual Life of Sacred Flutes among the Xinguano Indians

      Rafael José de Menezes Bastos

      3. Soundscaping the World: The Cultural Poetics of Power and Meaning in Wakuénai Flute Music

      Jonathan Hill

      4. Hearing without Seeing: Sacred Flutes as the Medium for an Avowed Secret in Curripaco Masculine Ritual

      Nicolas Journet

      5. Flutes in the Warime: Musical Voices in the Piaroa World

      Alexander Mansutti Rodríguez

      6. Desire in Music: Soul-Speaking and the Power of Secrecy

      Marcelo Fiorini

      Second Movement: Musical Transpositions of Social Relations

      7. Archetypal Agents of Affinity: "Sacred" Flutes in the Guianas?

      Marc Brightman

      8. From Flutes to Boom Boxes: Traditions of Musical Symbolism and Change among the Waiwai of Southern Guyana

      Stephanie W. Alemán

      9. From Musical Poetics to Deep Language: The Ritual of the Wauja Sacred Flutes

      Acácio Tadeu de Camargo Piedade

      10. The Ritual of Iamurikuma and the Kawoká Flutes

      Maria Ignez Cruz Mello

      11. Spirits, Ritual Staging, and the Transformative Power of Music in the Upper Xingu Region

      Ulrike Printz

      12. An "Inca" Instrument at a "Nawa" Feast: Marubo Flutes and Alterity in Amazonian Context

      Javier Ruedas

      13. Arawakan Flute Cults of Lowland South America: The Domestication of Predation and the Production of Agentivity

      Robin Wright

      Coda: Historical and Comparative Perspectives

      14. Sacred Musical Instruments in Museums: Are They Sacred?

      Claudia Augustat

      15. Mystery Instruments

      Jean-Michel Beaudet

      Contributors

      Index

      Recently viewed products

      © 2026 Book Curl

        • American Express
        • Apple Pay
        • Diners Club
        • Discover
        • Google Pay
        • Maestro
        • Mastercard
        • PayPal
        • Shop Pay
        • Union Pay
        • Visa

        Login

        Forgot your password?

        Don't have an account yet?
        Create account