The ‘death whistle’

18th Sep 2011

Roberto Velázquez Cabrera, Mexicolore contributor on ancient Mexican music

This article has generously been written specially for Mexicolore by Roberto Velázquez Cabrera, a mechanical engineer by profession who has made a life-long study - including the physical reconstruction - of ancient Mexican resonators and other wind instruments. He is the founder of the Mexico City-based Instituto Virtual de Investigación Tlapitzcalzin.

The extraordinary ‘death whistle’ was exclusively used in several zones of ancient Mexico and belongs to a very unusual family of Mexican resonators that are not well known and which can produce special sounds imitating animal calls and the noise of the wind or storms. It is not a common whistle or musical instrument. It has been associated with death rituals by its decorated face of a skull and with the wind because two examples were found in the hands of a sacrificed male skeleton in front of the Ehecatl (wind god) temple at Tlatelolco. Unfortunately, the exact original use and purpose of the death whistle and many other ancient resonators have been lost. There are some ancient death whistles made of clay in museums and collections, but very few of their studies and sounds have been published. This is the first paper in English on the death whistle posted on the Internet.

It was José Luis Franco who published the first (1971) drawings of the death whistle and his family of Mexican “aerophones with springs of air”. A drawing by Franco shows a death whistle with the decorative face of a skull (pic 2, left), which points to its original purpose as a death whistle. Another drawing by Franco shows the internal structure of a death whistle with the decorative face of an owl (pic 2, right). In Mexican cultures the owl is associated with the coming of death. The main technical elements of the death whistle are shown in the cross section of this illustrative model (pic 3).

The only known ancient death whistles with archaeological context were published by Salvador Guilliem Arroyo in 1999. They were recovered from the hands of the skeleton of a sacrificed 20-year-old man that was found buried in front of the Ehecatl (wind) temple of Tlatelolco (pic 4). This finding indicates that the whistles are associated with Ehecatl (wind) and Mictlantecutli (death), and they could be related to the ritual of sacrifice. Many other ancient skeletons were found in the same ceremonial complex of Ehecatl. Guilliem proposed that the ritual of the ceremonial complex could be associated with the famine of 1454.

If the whistles were associated with Ehecatl or the wind, the sounds of the whistles may have also been required to simulate the sounds of the wind, because a strong wind cannot simply be summoned whenever the occasion requires, as in a ritual or ceremony.
Ehecatl and Mictlantecutli are very important in Mexican mythology and iconography, as shown in the dual representation of the Borgia Codex (pic 5).
The only reference to the possible ancient use of this type of whistle comes from the following text: The most remarkable festival in connection with Tezcatlipoca was the Toxcatl, held in the fifth month. On the day of this festival a youth was slain who for an entire year previously had been carefully instructed in the role of victim... He assumed the name, garb, and attributes of Tezcatlipoca himself... [as] the earthly representative of the deity.... He carried also the whistle symbolical of the deity [as Lord of the Night Wind], and made with it a noise such as the weird wind of night makes when it hurries through the streets. (Lewis Spence, Myths of Mexico and Peru, London, 1913, pp. 69-70).

Several papers on the death whistle have been requested in various academic forums. The latest was presented at the 2nd Pan-American/Iberian Meeting on Acoustics, Cancún, Mexico, 2010. Its Lay Language Paper was posted (in Spanish) with other Mexican resonators in the ASA Press Room of the American Institute of Physics.
A few models of Mexican ancient noise generators and of other kind of resonators with their sounds are posted on the internet in videos such as “Mechanical Engineer Recreates Sounds of his Pre-Columbian Ancestors” (on the web site of Associated Press since 2008 - link below).
The dynamics of the sound system of the Mexican noise generators is very complex. It could not be simulated with computerized mathematical models.

This short article is a summary of the study of a ceramic fragment of a ‘death whistle’ from the surface of the Mazatepetl (deer hill, south of Mexico City) - pic 6, left. It probably dates from the Early Postclassic (1250-1380) era. It was found in an archaeological dig led by Francisco Rivas Castro. Since 2006, the consultation document of the study has been openly available (in Spanish) on my web site and it has been presented at other conferences and in several journals.
The sounds of the whistle could be analyzed, because its sound mechanism is still in working order. Though not ‘musical’ (in the modern western sense), they are similar to those of the winds. Their frequencies - the strongest of which come within the maximum range of hearing sensitivity of humans (1kHz-6kHz) - are shown in this spectrogram (pic 6, right).

Several effective procedures for the construction of the death whistle were tested and many experimental models were produced (pic 7) to test hypotheses and to be used in conferences and demonstrations, because clearly the original ancient resonators cannot be used for those purposes.
For example, an experimental model made without the tubular wind path does not change the produced sounds. The models with a wind path can be used to free the hand for other purposes, because they can be held firmly between the teeth and lips.

It seems that the death whistle might have been used in the sacrifices of slaves, because chichtli (in Nahuatl) was an instrument that could produce a chich sound and it was used in the banquets of Aztec merchants where slaves were killed: according to the Florentine Codex, chich was the signal to pull out the hair from the middle of the slave’s head. After comparing the spectrograms of the chich sound made by a human voice with that of the death whistle model, and bearing in mind the connection with Ehecatl the wind god, the death whistle could aptly be named Ehecachichtli in honour of the deity.

The ancient designs of Mexican resonators may be used to recreate the beautiful and extraordinary art of sonorous jewellery, such as this beautiful silver death whistle (pic 9).
Although ancient “music” has been lost, the sounds of death whistles can be used to create new compositions. For example, Enrico Chapela used several of my “skull whistle” models to create a composition Trio Cadensa (Encrypted Poetry), inspired by the poem “The Raven” by Edgar Alan Poe, but special instructions for the player had to be invented, because normal musical notation cannot cope with the complex sounds of these whistles!

More research remains to be done in the future on the effects of their sounds. For example, we know that when two or more similar ancient whistles or their models are played at the same time special effects can be produced, due to the vibrations generated or ‘phantom’ sounds. If the beats are ‘infrasonic’ (too low for the human ear to detect) they may alter states of consciousness. Several death whistles played at the same time can generate very complex vibrations, because their noisy signals are produced in a range of frequencies and the effects on humans is significant due to the intensity and range of their main frequencies, but their effects on health have not yet been analyzed formally. An experimental dual model of the death whistle with the faces of Ehecatl and Mictlantecutli (pic 10) has already been used to test the possibility of the two whistles found at Tlatelolco being played at the same time. The sounds generated are similar to those of a storm. The produced frequencies are more complex and of greater intensity than those of single whistle models.

NOTE: For detailed academic references, please contact Mexicolore.

Pictures supplied by Roberto Velázquez, except Pic 8 (photo by Ian Mursell/Mexicolore) and Pic 5 (scanned from ‘The Codex Borgia: A Full-Color Restoration of the Ancient Mexican Manuscript’ by Gisele Díaz and Alan Rodgers, Dover Publications, New York, 1993).

Learn how a Mexican composer today is incorporating the death whistle into her compositions “‘Death whistle’: cremated example (re)discovered”‘The History of the Death Whistle’ video by Roberto, November 2016

Comments (14)

Jim

28th Jan 2025

I have two aerophone , Palaeolithic whistles, carved in flint. The air passes through the hollows left by fossils remains in the flint.
I’m keen to hear from others with knowledge of aerophone stone artefacts

Corinne

16th Jun 2023

This “death whistle” sounds like a near-perfect imitation of the screech of a barn owl. Listen for yourself:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_J1VCCC_So&ab_channel=VizonRok
So were they put into tombs as a decoy to help the deceased cross over by summoning a barn owl as a guide? Were the barn owls considered portents of death, but also psychopomps in old Mexico as they have been in plenty of traditions?

Mexicolore

Many thanks for this. The similarity in sound is remarkable! You could well be right and it’s an intriguing idea. Yes, the barn owl was very much a portent of death (see our short feature on this here -
https://www.mexicolore.co.uk/aztecs/aztec-life/superstitious-10)
Though mentioned in this context in the Florentine Codex, there’s no reference to barn owls being psychopomps (that we know of).

rocko

30th Mar 2023

Interesting theories for sure.
My first thought upon reading about these is psychological warfare. How terrifying it might have been to hear “screaming” - either a single scream or many - prior to warriors bursting onto the scene. Many people panic by “freezing”, This would make them easy to subdue/kill.
I’m no historian and I have no evidence, but seems like a potentially intriguing theory.

Mexicolore

You’re right, it does sound effective (though presumably enemies would likely be familiar with/forewarned about this tactic and so ‘expect’ it); the real problem is, as you say, there’s just no evidence that that’s what happened...

Hali Ann3 i5duh

26th Dec 2022

Okay so this might be a stretch, but ii think that the whistles were meant to summon something tangible, ii doubt the young lad was sacrificed so much as he probably just had a bad tooth abscess and died. Accidental or natural cause... tho one whistle alone causes horrifying shrieking two or more n likely 3 blown tandem will create a harmony... Many different things occur to animals including human when affected with resonance...is it out of the realm of possibility that a strong wind being or something that causes that particular sound might be drawn to the noise...? Calcasieu is a name of a Louisiana parish derived from the native American Indians that inhabited this place long before we lived here, it stands for screaming/crying eagle...ii have been very attracted to whistles harmonica flutes n the like more n more this past year...there’s something very interesting trying to come up n debut here guys n gals .. just uu wait n see

Mexicolore

Coooool ideas...!

Barry Hall

21st Oct 2022

I’m delighted to see an ongoing discussion here on these fascinating instruments. I was friends with Roberto years ago when I was writing a book on clay musical instruments and am saddened to hear of his passing. I have made many of these “death whistles” and you can get many different sounds from them besides “screams.”

Mexicolore

Thanks for sharing this, Barry. We miss Roberto very much...

Kye Grahama

7th May 2022

I am fascinated by the architecture of these death whistles. I cannot imagine the pure fear instilled by the screaming from these instruments of death. Where can I buy some?

Mexicolore

People are tending to get a bit carried away with the idea that Aztec death whistles were, in your words, ‘instruments of death’. There isn’t any evidence for this, whereas we DO know that these whistles were buried with people who had died as a reminder of the challenge to be faced on the long four-year journey to the underworld from hurricanes that could slice through you ‘like an obsidian blade’. The sound, in other words, was not a semi-human shriek but an imitation of a very powerful wind...

Nigel Coxon

12th Mar 2021

I am running some experiments with 3D printed death whistles, trying to convert an existing skull design to use a different exterior shape.
The design I have has three slots in the rear of the whistle and I wondered if anyone knew how they change the sound? I can provide pictures if anyone thinks they can help.

pyrocolada

28th Jul 2020

Here is a video of Joe Rogan blowing the whistle 2 weeks before COVID19 hit the USA. https://www.instagram.com/p/CCua4V6l7Ap/

Mexicolore

Poor old Aztecs, get blamed for everything!

Ernst von Bezold

14th Jul 2019

Thank you for this fascinating exposition. The double chamber of the cross-section image reminds me of the double chambered Peruvian whistling bottles and the pronounced changes of consciousness reported (J. Transpersonal Psychology, ca. 1970) to be associated with several blown together (besides hyperventilation, perhaps assisted by body cavity resonance, e.g., sinuses, chest, heart, skull) The article refers to sound quality attributed to beat frequency effects produced with two whistles playing together. Have you identified beat frequency(ies) produced by blowing a single whistle, as the spectogram illustrated in the article, evidently showing three main frequency domains, may indicate?

Mexicolore

Thanks for writing in. We’re sure Roberto would have gladly looked into this for you; sadly since his death this is unlikely to happen...

Frithjof Grude

12th Jun 2018

Allow me to share a few thoughts I have around the fascinating death whistle:
The death whistle is supposed to emulate the sound of a human scream.
It’s usage was likely to make insignificant, or ridicule, the screaming of pain of a sacrificed criminal or enemy?to further incite futility and enhance their punishment.
The design has likely been arrived at by cutting up the neck area of corpses to replicate the larynx in clay.
To find out for the first time that the larynx is responsible for the human voice, they may have actually blown through various parts of the neck of a corpse.
The sound of the aztec death whistle is so haunting that it’s reasonable to imagine it was considered magical and even possessed by the soul of the victim it was modeled after?thereby having available a posthumous punishment as a preemptive measure.

Mexicolore

Wacky ideas! But do you have any evidence at all for them?
Far more plausible - backed up by our knowledge of ancient Mexican beliefs in the nine levels of the underworld and the challenges souls would face on the journey down to the bottom - is the now well established idea that death whistles were buried with corpses to remind journeying souls of the fierce winds that could slice through you ‘like obsidian blades’, just one of the challenges. Your idea of ‘posthumous punishment’ strikes us as fanciful, to say the least...

Leila

18th Dec 2014

The internal shape of the whistle, in pic 3, reminds me a bit of a laryngeal cross-section near the vocal cords; no wonder the whistle sounds so eerily like a scream! Thanks so much for this fascinating information!

Mexicolore

Thanks, Leila, for this intriguing piece of information...

Cristina

22nd Oct 2013

Roberto Velázquez is one of the most important researchers in Mexico. I am proud to read him in this beautiful place. Thank you very much to Ian Mursell and to every person that works hard to make this possible. My best wishes!

Luigi Romero

21st Apr 2012

Thanks for the information, I bought one off eBay a couple days ago and wanted to read more information on it. Thanks

Kritzia LaRose

5th Feb 2012

Thank you so much for such an in depth background on these fascinating whistles. I’m an art teacher whose infusing the chamber whistles into my curriculum as part of the precolumbian era in my curriculum. I can’t begin tell you how much Roberto’s research has been inspiring me. I’ve added this to my curriculum as the musical part of my masters studies of multiple intelligences in education. Thank you again for the wealth of information on your site.
Sinceramente,
Kritzia

Mexicolore

Thank YOU, Kritzia, for this very positive feedback. This is precisely what our website - and Roberto’s experimental work - is for, to inspire and encourage others. Good luck with your own research, and let us know how you get on...!

Roberto Velázquez Cabrera, Mexicolore contributor on ancient Mexican music