Tiruchinnam , ( Tamil திருச்சின்னம் tirucciṉṉam [ T̪iɾɯt͡ʃinːʌm ]), also tirucinnam, tiruchchinnam, thiru-chinnam , is a straight brass natural trumpet used in religious rituals in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu . Unlike other ceremonial trumpets, which are generally played in pairs by two musicians, and to all trumpets, a musician usually plays two tiruchinnam at the same time. Tiru means "holy" in Tamil and chinnam stands for "wind instrument".
Origin and distribution
Instrumentally, the large group of trumpets wind instruments of different materials and forms (sheet metal, wood , calabash , snail horn ) with or without mouthpiece , the sound of which is produced by vibration of the lips, the air vibrations in a tube. Many trumpet instruments are still credited with an old-time magical and religious significance. Such an association is equally expressed in the stories about flutes , especially shepherd flutes (see the shepherd's flute kaval ). While the diverse musical possibilities of the flute have led to the idea of a magical "flute language" for the contact with the otherworldly sphere, the simple trumpets were limited to the production of a few tones, which is why they contribute little more than the transmission of signals hunting (trumpets), in religious cults and in armed conflicts (military trumpets) are suitable. Because of their Anblastechnik the development of the trumpet separated from the focus of several one-tone flutefrom, in Africa emerged melodic orchestras from a series of trumpets (for example, the waza on the border of Sudan and Ethiopia), with which a musician produces only one tone , The ritual requirement to play tunes as in orchestras with one-tone flutes, such as the Central African hindewhu , or with the structurally related Russian horns (straight metal trumpets that produce one or two natural tones) exists in the ceremonial trumpets used in Asia not, which are used almost everywhere only in pairs. A similar development to melody instruments as in Africa or completely different in Europe remained with the Asian trumpets. The only larger used in the temple music of Kerala bent metal trumpet kombu also do not serve the formation of melody, but are considered after their function in the large drum orchestras as rhythm instruments.
For the origin of metal trumpets used in religious rituals in India since the Vedic period and for their dissemination with the Arab-Persian tradition in the Mughal period as a ceremonial instrument on festive occasions, see Bhankora .
A straight trumpet is probably first depicted on a Sumerian stone relief, which dates back to about 2600 BC. A blown horn of copper from there is dated around 2400 BC. Mentioned as a ritual instrument. Almost as old are the originals of small metal trumpets from the Iranian highlands . Bronze Age lurks , from the end of the 2nd millennium until the middle of the 1st millennium BC According to their curved shape and their number probably represent imitations of previously ritually blown oxen horns. [5] Horns such as the oriental ram's horn shofar have always had a specific magical-religious significance, while also several times in the Old Testament just mentioned metal trumpet chazozra not only for religious rituals, but also acted as a symbol of worldly power. The chazozra was about 40 centimeters long and was made of hammered silver sheet, as can be seen from the biblical texts. Whether it goes back to the ancient Egyptian trumpet ( scheneb ) from the tomb of Tutankhamun (14th century BC) or is associated with Phoenician trumpets, is not clear. [6]
Old Indian illustrations from the 1st century BC Chr. In the Vedic texts from the 1st millennium BC. Mentioned the use of snail horns and long trumpets, which to this day belong to the ceremonial instruments in India and neighboring regions. Straight long trumpets with a conical tube are known in northern India as karna ( karnat, karana ) and come from their name affinity with Persian qarnā , Latin cornu and Celtic corn from West Asia. A conical tube with a wide bell is also made of the brass or copper trumpets in the Himalayas and its outskirts, including the Tibetan monks' thunchs in Ladakh or Tibet, the ponga of the Newar in Nepal, and the bhankora in Uttarakhand . The long bhungal in Rajasthan has a two-piece conical bronze tube. The Oraon, an Adivasi group in Bihar , use the nearly 105 centimeters long copper trumpet bhenr . In Tamil Nadu in addition to the tiruchinnam still longer, mainly cylindrical metal trumpet ekkalam and the gowri kalam with a three-piece conical tube in use. In addition to the straight metal trumpets there is or was in Tamil Nadu still the rare trumpet konattararaiwith a conical, slightly curved tube, which was always played in pairs in Hindu temple rituals. [8th]
The peculiarity of tiruchinnam opposite probably all other trumpets is the simultaneous play of two instruments by a musician. This style of playing occurs in South Asia in some double flutes , such as the North Indian alghoza and in Pakistan at the doneli . Double reed instruments with two separate play tubes modeled after the ancient Greek aulos appear on ancient Indian reliefs in northwestern India (on the stucco of Sanchi , 1st century BC, and in Gandhara , 2nd / 3rd century AD), if the presence of foreign musicians from the West should be pointed out. Later they disappeared from Indian music. A rare exception is played in regional folk music in Assam hornpipe pepa .
Curt Sachs (1940) establishes a relationship between form and size between the tiruchinnam and ancient Egyptian and Assyrian trumpets. This relationship serves him in addition to the linguistic affinity of the ancient Egyptian with the ancient Indian bow harp - ban, ben or bain in Egypt, bin or vina in India [10] - as evidence for the thesis on the origin of an upstanding Dravidianculture from Mesopotamia or Egypt from the 3rd millennium BC Before the Dravids were forced by the Aryan immigrants to South India. [11]
Unlike the one repeated by BC Deva (1978) [12] and Edward Tarr (1988) [13] , a transfer of culture from ancient Egypt to India made possible by maritime trade is a spread of Indian culture in the first centuries AD from the East Indian coast to Southeast Asia historically proven. Thus, the snail horn, Sanskrit shankha , modern Hindi shankh, which is depicted on Java in Borobudur (9th century) , is found in ancient Javaneseliterature as cangka, maracangka, and sungu . Hindu rituals in Bali use the sangka and sungu snail horn to this day. Although the Sanskrit name karana ( karna, kaha ) does not appear in Old Javanese texts for a metal trumpet, the allegedly related names for trumpets kahala, kalaha and kala are also mentioned several times in connection with cangka . On a relief at the Candi Jawi (Jawi Temple), which was built in Java in the 13th century at the time of the Indianized Singhasari Kingdom, two conical trumpets are to be seen after Indian models. It is extraordinary that both trumpets are blown by a musician, who directs them upwards at an angle of about 45 degrees. Jaap Kunst (1927) considers the presented wind instruments identical to today's double trumpet tiruchinnam . [14]
Design and style of
Two ekkalam in Tamil Nadu with a cylindrical, but much longer brass tube as in the tiruchinnam .
The tiruchinnam consists of a relatively thin cylindrical brass tube, to which a wide bead at the junction a conical bell is attached, which ends in a flat plate. The total length is about 75 centimeters. A mouthpiece is missing as in some other Indian trumpets; otherwise it would not be possible for a musician to sound two instruments at the same time. Here, each trumpet is covered with one hand in the upper third of the tube and pressed against the lips, so that they form an acute angle to each other. A single played tiruchinnam is held with the second hand in addition to the mouth. Usually, two tiruchinnam are connected in the middle by a string. While the players of double flutes or doubled reed instruments with the second play tube usually complement a bordunton to the melody, with two simultaneously blown tiruchinnam of approximately the same mood the few tones are only to be strengthened.
In addition to their ritual function in the temple service, the tiruchinnam used to be blown on the street by beggars and the low-ranking Dasaris caste. For the Indian temple music only drums, idiophones and wind instruments are used, no stringed instruments. In Tamil Nadu played wind instruments are shankh (snail horn), bhuri (curved brass horn ), ekkalam (straight brass or copper trumpet ), tiruchinnam and kombu (in a semicircle or S-shaped curved metal trumpet).
The rarely used tiruchinnam belongs to the mangala vadyam (the "auspicious, blessing musical instruments") and is played at Vishnutemples at the beginning of a ceremony and during the procession. The tiruchinnam was also sometimes used at Shiva- sanctified temples, for example, with only one instrument at the Tyagaraja Temple in Tiruvarur . Mostly the tiruchinnam belongs to the cult music of village temples like the other instruments kanjira (small frame drum with a clamp), pambai (double drum), davandai ( hourglass drum ), udukai(short version of the hourglass drum idakka ), thambattam (large drum of clay) and silambu ( Anklets of dancers). [16]
