Kultrung. Mapuche ancestral instrument.

Abstract

This descriptive research was carried out using a qualitative methodology, using mainly the ethnographic method through interviews and fieldwork carried out in Mapuche territory. Most of the data mainly were collected in the Mapuche Pewenche Pedro Currilem community. Studies in the area of ethnomusicology were also used. This paper aims to carry out a study of the kultrung, an ancestral percussion instrument of the Mapuche people. The notion of music employed in this work takes into account the features of musical practices within the social context of the community and its worldview, which are present in the Mapuche culture. There are cultural explanations for musical manifestations. In this case, the kultrung has different uses and functions, depending on the musical moment when it is used. This allows us to understand the meaning of kultrung and music within the Mapuche cultural context and how it relates to their worldview. In this paper, the role of kultrung in Mapuche ritual music will be considered, as it is directly linked to their cultural worldview. This instrument is played in the Mapuche culture as part of the rituals that constitute its worldview, and it is also performed in the dance music and songs of everyday life. There are few sources and writings that describe or analyze deeply Mapuche music performed with kultrung while linking the musical to all the constituent elements of the Mapuche worldview.