Contextual Associations

The quena (Hispanicized spelling of the Aymara word “qina”; “quena” is often Anglicized as “kena”) is an end-blown notch-flute of the Aymara and Quechua peoples of the Andean Altiplano, including Bolivia, Peru, and Chile. Given the maker/model name burnt into the instrument’s surface—Walata G. originario (detail #4)—this quena was likely made in the Aymara village of Walata Grande or in nearby La Paz, Bolivia, by a maker whose ancestral village is Walata Grande (over the past several fifty years this village has become a major center for the production of Aymara bamboo and wooden flutes). Flutes from this village are sold in the Bolivian capitol La Paz to three constituencies: indigenous musicians; professional musicians; and tourists (Hachmeyer, p. 159-177). The quena documented here is an example of a “professional” quena, used primarily by urban mestizo musicians who perform in folkloric and popular music groups in Bolivia and elsewhere in the Andean region (Hachmeyer, p. 164-165). The word “quena” (rather than the Aymara term “qina”), in fact, is Spanish, and is reserved for notch-flutes associated with urban/cosmopolitan music making. They are tuned to produce equal-tempered diatonic scales (this flute, and the three others it came with [see detail #5], are tuned to the G major scale). Distinctively different models of qina are produced for indigenous (Aymara and Quechua) musicians providing live music for their seasonal village celebrations and dances (there are many localized names for this indigenous notch-flute because they are often named after the dance they are used to accompany)(Schechter and Haefer 2014; Hachmeyer, p. 162 fn 66). But quena of the type pictured and described here would most likely be heard in urban contexts—live, over the radio, and on recordings—either solo (audio #1) or along with guitars and other cosmopolitan instruments playing music with both indigenous and cosmopolitan roots (audio #2).

Description

This quena is made from the dried internode of tuquru woody bamboo stem (Aulonemia) (Hachmeyer p. 40); the slightly rounded off distal end of the flute (detail #3) is part of a natural node that has to be drilled through in order to create a slightly narrower extension of the bamboo’s internodal diameter. At the open blowing-end of the flute’s body, which has been crosscut to produce a level rim, a U-shaped notch is cut into its wall the bend of which is beveled to produce a sharp edge (detail #2). In the wall of the bottom half of the flute and in alignment with the notch at the blowing end are drilled six fingerholes (gallery #1). These holes are gapped and of two different diameters: the first and third fingerholes from the distal end are smaller in diameter (0.35 inch) than the other four (0.47 inch). A small thumbhole (0.24 inch in diameter) is drilled into the backside of the tube just above its midpoint (detail #1). Three bands of brightly-colored thread are added for decoration and, possibly, to discourage cracking of the bamboo.

Player - Instrument Interface and Sound Production

The player holds the quena vertically in front of themself with both hands, the open notch-end mostly covered by the lower lip. The middle three fingers of the player’s left hand operate the top three fingerholes while the thumb of this hand operates the thumbhole. The middle three fingers of the right hand operate the bottom three fingerholes while its thumb is used to balance the instrument. This quena is tuned to produce a G major scale and with half holing and other techniques a chromatic scale can be produced.  The range of this flute is G4-G6 (Hachmeyer, p.166).

Origins/History/Evolution

Notch-flutes made from bone and ceramics, some dating back to the 3^rd century BCE, have been unearthed in the Andes. Although it is not known what they were called at the time of their making, morphologically some of them appear to be ancestors of the present-day quena. When such flutes began being made from bamboo is not known, but Hachmeyer (p.121) deduces from the scant archeological evidence available that woody bamboos (including tuquru) were very likely used in Altiplano flute making in pre-Hispanic times (pre-1500 CE). Since “quena” is a Spanish word probably derived from the Aymara word “qina”, it would seem natural for the Spanish to have Hispanicized the Altiplano name for the bamboo notch-flutes already in existence when they first encountered them. A greater global awareness of the quena emerged in the later part of the 20^th century when it was incorporated into politically-active urban Andean folkloric groups such as Inti-Illimani, whose recordings and concert engagements around the world introduced the instrument to new audiences.

Bibliographic Resources

Hachmeyer, Sebastian. 2020. Musical Bamboos: Flute Making, Natural Resources, and Sustainability in the Bolivian Andes. Ph.D. dissertation, Royal Holloway University of London.

Schechter, Jon M., and Richard Haefer. 2014. “Kena.” NGDMI v.3: 131-132.