EncyclopediaHammer

Description of the instrument and way of playing

These are wooden mallets or hammers, which can be classified as directly struck idiophones, since they are used to strike boards or pieces of wood.

History

This type of tool has been used in Basque popular culture to make noise in different acts and celebrations.

R. M. Azkue collected (1959) the old customs in which it was played with such hammers:

In Cegama (G), in the darkness of Holy Week, the boys in front of the church or on the porch hit large splinters with mallets. This di is called “hitting the enemy”.

« Goroxuma beltxa, sar adi; bazko yauna, yelki adi (Suberoa) ». « The boys say this on Holy Thursday afternoon, striking with a Mace against a wood placed on the pavement of the church. This operation is called in Zuberoa "punpilitaka goroxumari buru haustea", breaking the head of Lent with blows of a mace ». " (p. 307).

In this regard, Father Donostia (1952) offers us more information: with the denomination of "krosketa-mailu" the hammers used in Holy Week in the "matins" are known, in the "fracture of the head of Judas" (see the section “MAILLU, KABIKO = DECKS”):

«The “krosketa-mailu” designates the mallets with which the boys “break the head of Judas” during the matins of Holy Week. These mallets are burned, and their ashes are saved for Ash Wednesday. "Punpilitaka" (punpa = act of falling, noise) means hitting with a hammer, with a mallet.»

« In the accounts of the town of Bayonne (1609-1610) I found this note: ... “gratification of 30 sous donné au crieur public pour être allé à cheval por la ville, les mercredi et jeudi saints, crier la maillou- queyre (amusements d'enfants qui, pendant qu'on chantait les tenèbres, parcouraient la ville en frappant aux portes avec des maillets) suivant l'anciene coutume ”. This custom was prohibited in 1768-1786 (sic) ». (p. 291).

Similar performances are also performed in the Holy Week activities in Switzerland. Also there, in front of the door of the church, with large wooden hammers, they hit a board placed as a txalaparta (Beltrán, 2009, p. 36).

SOURCES

Bibliography

AZKUE, R. M. (1959). Euskalerriaren Yakintza (tomo IV). Madrid: Espasa Calpe.

BELTRAN ARGIÑENA, Juan Mari. (1996). Soinutresnak en la música popular vasca. Hernani: Orain.

(2009). Txalaparta. (Libro+CD+DVD). Donostia-San Sebastián: editorial Nerea/No-CD Rekords.

DONOSTIA, Aita. (1952). Instrumentos Musicales Populares Vascos. Obras Completas del P. Donostia. (Tomo II, 257-309). Bilbao: La Gran Enciclopedia Vasca, 1983.