The siku, also called sicu or sicus, is a traditional Andean panpipe. It is the main instrument used in a musical style known as sikuri. This instrument is found throughout the Andes, but it is most closely linked to music from the Kollasuyo region, which includes areas where the Aymara language is spoken, such as around Lake Titicaca. In the past, because of the difficult mountain terrain and other factors, different communities created their own versions of the siku, each with unique tuning, shape, and size. Each community also developed its own way of playing the instrument. Today, the siku has been made uniform to match modern Western music styles and has moved away from its traditional origins.
History
The siku (panpipe) comes from the Aymara people of Peru and Bolivia. A woman would play her siku as she traveled down from the mountains. The largest siku has all the notes from A to G, but it was too large for the woman to carry. To solve this, they often used two smaller sikus. These were played together with another person, allowing them to play the scales continuously. When women partnered, they formed a special musical connection as part of their religion. Once bonded, they could not play the pipes with anyone else for the rest of their lives.
Women also gathered in groups as they came down the mountains. Each group played different tunes. When they came together, they blended their melodies into one complete song. The women also used the siku to attract wild goats. They would then hunt these goats for food.
Design
Sikus are usually made from bamboo shoots, but have also been made from materials like condor feathers, bones, and others. Different kinds of bamboo are used to change how the instrument sounds. Songo, which is bamboo with shallow walls, creates a louder and more resonant sound than regular bamboo with deep walls. However, Songo is less common because it is more fragile.
Antara are traditionally made from a type of cane called chuki or chajlla (Arundo donax), which grows in a region known as ceja de la selva, meaning "the eyebrow of the forest." The pipes are held together with one or two strips of cane to form a shape like a raft. Antaras come in different sizes and produce a variety of sounds.
The siku has two rows of pipes. To play a full scale, a musician must alternate between the two rows with each note. Traditionally, two musicians played the siku, each using one row. One part of the instrument is called ira, and the other is called arka. Spiritually, ira is associated with the male principle, and arka with the female principle. When many musicians divide into two groups, with one group playing ira and the other playing arka, it creates a distinctive stereophonic sound.
Today, it is more common for one musician to play both rows of the instrument at the same time. However, traditional ensembles still use the older method of having two musicians play the siku.
Varieties
The most common type of siku, called siku ch'alla, has 13 pipes—6 in the ira section and 7 in the arka section. Other types of siku may have more or fewer pipes. Some siku instruments use extra reeds attached to the front to change how the instrument sounds. The tabla siku has all its pipes cut to the same length, making the instrument rectangular in shape. Inside the tubes, stoppers are used to adjust the length of the air chambers, which changes the sound produced.
Scale and tuning
The siku uses a diatonic scale. The siku ch'alla is tuned in E minor/G major, with arka notes: D-F-A-C-E-G-B and ira notes: E-G-B-D-F-A.
Some modern versions of the siku use a chromatic scale with three rows. These versions have a pitch arrangement similar to that of a chromatic button accordion.