Ethnomusical Study on the Ancestral Sound Produced by Capolin

Abstract

The spontaneous and traditional art represents one of the most important aspects in the culture of a town because it is the worldview manifestation that shows cultural reality in areas that are considered socially subaltern. This is the case of the Ecuadorian Andean region, where the ancestral sound of capolin leaves shows a historical experience and a particular sensitivity. Capolin is a leafy tree native from America. It has simple, alternate, oblongo laceolate leaves that are 6 to 14cm long by 2 to 4 cm wide. It has 3 to 5 prominent nerves from the base of the leaf. This musical technique is part of the Ecuadorian culture and has been inherited and transmitted from a remote past and at the same time is a resource with high cultural vulnerability. When talking about the research work it is worth adding that a descriptive study was carried out. It encompasses the representative cultural features of the plant in the population and the fundamental dendrolgical characteristics. The study also goes through the frecuency and the decibels created by the sound of the plant, the intonation and the human effect caused by this sound. The research concludes that the transversal axis of music is creativity and that boosting this type of manifestations can be a motivation for the dynamization of the touristic activity because it is part of the intangible heritage of a town.

Keywords

• capolin
• leaf
• ancestral sound
• tourism