The Drummer
I wrote a (very) short story today, completely original, in as much as I'm presenting it like an Aztec fable. If you're interested...
- The Drummer -
There once was a girl who wanted nothing more than to make music all day. She played all sorts of instruments, but her favorite was the drum. Every year, at the festival of Huehuecoyotl, there was a drum contest. All her life she wanted to enter, but had been afraid of her unworthiness. The trickster god was her favorite, and she wanted to honor him, and she felt her playing was not good enough for him to dance to. But this year, this year she decided it was time.
But she was told the contest was for boys, and she could not enter. So she tied up her hair and wore boy's clothes and disguised her voice, and entered under a false name.
Now the contest had two parts. The first was making and the second was playing. The boys all laughed at her, for she was smaller than them, and they thought she was too young, and said she was not good enough to make a drum worthy of the god, but she turned up her nose. She was crafty and clever, and she knew she would make the best drum.
"I shall make mine of pine," one boy said, "so that my beats will be long-lasting."
"I shall make mine of pinyon," another boy said, "so that my beats will echo from the mountains."
And so on.
"I shall make mine of beech," she said last, "so that my beats will be sweet and gentle."
The other drum makers laughed at her, saying beech was far too soft to make a good drum. The contestants all went into the jungle. The girl climbed to the top of a mountain where she found a fallen tree that was strong, and not too heavy. She tied ropes to it and dragged it back to the village. She was not the first one back, but neither was she the last. It took her three days to shape the body of her drum. She was not the first to finish, but neither was she the last.
The next step was to find a skin for the drum head.
"I shall make mine of jaguar," one boy said, "so that my beats will be strong and fierce."
"I shall make mine of monkey," another boy said, "so that my beats will be quick and cunning."
And so on.
"I shall make mine of snake," she said last, "so that my beats will be sensuous and sly."
The other drum makers laughed at her, saying snake skin was far too brittle to make a drum. The contestants went into the jungle. The girl found an anaconda in the river as big around as a tree trunk. She killed it with her knife and dragged it back to the village. She was not the first one back, but neither was she the last. It took her three weeks to cure the hide of the anaconda to make the head of her drum. She was not the first to finish, but neither was she the last.
It was time to put the drum together. It took her three days, because she was slow and precise. She could not afford the time it would take to find a new tree or a new snake. She was not the first to finish, but neither was she the last.
Finally, the night of the festival, and the last part of the contest. There were several young men who had trained to do the sacred dance who would be dancing for the drummers. The girl was nervous. Tonight she would show that she was good enough to play for the god to dance to.
The others went first. The boy with the pine drum played, and his beats were long-lasting. The boy with the pinyon drum played, and his beats rang from the mountains. The boy with the jaguar skin head played, and his beats were strong and fierce. The boy with the monkey skin head played, and his beats were quick and cunning.
Then the girl played her beech drum with the snake skin head, and her beats were sweet and gentle and sensuous and sly. Her dancer danced, unable to stop his feet, her skill was so great. She played loud and soft, fast and slow. And then, when she finished, there was a flash of light as bright as the sun, and her dancer was transformed into Huehuecoyotl himself!
"Who played the drum for that last dance?" the god asked.
The miden knelt before him and pressed her forehead to the earth. "It was me O Excellency," she said.
Huehuecoyotl saw through her disguise at once, and he threw back his head and laughed. "What a grand joke! What a wicked game!" he said, for there was nothing the god liked more than a good joke. "You shall be at my side always, girl, and you shall have a new name. For now on, you shall be known as Huehuetzonani," which meant 'drum beater.'
He took her to his side, then to his temple, where he drained her blood and gave her his to drink. She could not be made to be a god, but she could be made to be immortal and ageless, and be with him always. It is said that if you spend eternity with someone you grow to either love them or hate them, and the god and the girl grew to love one another and are lovers still, the dancer and his drummer.
*****
Author's notes: Huehuecoyotl is a real Aztec trickster god. Huehuetzonani is Náhuatl (pronounced NAH waht l), the Aztec language, and does mean "drum beater." The rest of this story is completely made up by me.
Learn more about Huehuecoyotl
- The Drummer -
There once was a girl who wanted nothing more than to make music all day. She played all sorts of instruments, but her favorite was the drum. Every year, at the festival of Huehuecoyotl, there was a drum contest. All her life she wanted to enter, but had been afraid of her unworthiness. The trickster god was her favorite, and she wanted to honor him, and she felt her playing was not good enough for him to dance to. But this year, this year she decided it was time.
But she was told the contest was for boys, and she could not enter. So she tied up her hair and wore boy's clothes and disguised her voice, and entered under a false name.
Now the contest had two parts. The first was making and the second was playing. The boys all laughed at her, for she was smaller than them, and they thought she was too young, and said she was not good enough to make a drum worthy of the god, but she turned up her nose. She was crafty and clever, and she knew she would make the best drum.
"I shall make mine of pine," one boy said, "so that my beats will be long-lasting."
"I shall make mine of pinyon," another boy said, "so that my beats will echo from the mountains."
And so on.
"I shall make mine of beech," she said last, "so that my beats will be sweet and gentle."
The other drum makers laughed at her, saying beech was far too soft to make a good drum. The contestants all went into the jungle. The girl climbed to the top of a mountain where she found a fallen tree that was strong, and not too heavy. She tied ropes to it and dragged it back to the village. She was not the first one back, but neither was she the last. It took her three days to shape the body of her drum. She was not the first to finish, but neither was she the last.
The next step was to find a skin for the drum head.
"I shall make mine of jaguar," one boy said, "so that my beats will be strong and fierce."
"I shall make mine of monkey," another boy said, "so that my beats will be quick and cunning."
And so on.
"I shall make mine of snake," she said last, "so that my beats will be sensuous and sly."
The other drum makers laughed at her, saying snake skin was far too brittle to make a drum. The contestants went into the jungle. The girl found an anaconda in the river as big around as a tree trunk. She killed it with her knife and dragged it back to the village. She was not the first one back, but neither was she the last. It took her three weeks to cure the hide of the anaconda to make the head of her drum. She was not the first to finish, but neither was she the last.
It was time to put the drum together. It took her three days, because she was slow and precise. She could not afford the time it would take to find a new tree or a new snake. She was not the first to finish, but neither was she the last.
Finally, the night of the festival, and the last part of the contest. There were several young men who had trained to do the sacred dance who would be dancing for the drummers. The girl was nervous. Tonight she would show that she was good enough to play for the god to dance to.
The others went first. The boy with the pine drum played, and his beats were long-lasting. The boy with the pinyon drum played, and his beats rang from the mountains. The boy with the jaguar skin head played, and his beats were strong and fierce. The boy with the monkey skin head played, and his beats were quick and cunning.
Then the girl played her beech drum with the snake skin head, and her beats were sweet and gentle and sensuous and sly. Her dancer danced, unable to stop his feet, her skill was so great. She played loud and soft, fast and slow. And then, when she finished, there was a flash of light as bright as the sun, and her dancer was transformed into Huehuecoyotl himself!
"Who played the drum for that last dance?" the god asked.
The miden knelt before him and pressed her forehead to the earth. "It was me O Excellency," she said.
Huehuecoyotl saw through her disguise at once, and he threw back his head and laughed. "What a grand joke! What a wicked game!" he said, for there was nothing the god liked more than a good joke. "You shall be at my side always, girl, and you shall have a new name. For now on, you shall be known as Huehuetzonani," which meant 'drum beater.'
He took her to his side, then to his temple, where he drained her blood and gave her his to drink. She could not be made to be a god, but she could be made to be immortal and ageless, and be with him always. It is said that if you spend eternity with someone you grow to either love them or hate them, and the god and the girl grew to love one another and are lovers still, the dancer and his drummer.
*****
Author's notes: Huehuecoyotl is a real Aztec trickster god. Huehuetzonani is Náhuatl (pronounced NAH waht l), the Aztec language, and does mean "drum beater." The rest of this story is completely made up by me.
Learn more about Huehuecoyotl