Various forms of flutes and fifes, made of reeds, of bone or of pottery, were called by names derived from the word pitzaua, to blow (e.g., tlapitzalli, uilacapitzli), and sometimes, as being punctured with holes, zozoloctli, from zotl, the awl or instrument used in perforating skins, etc.  Many of those made of earthenware have been preserved, and they appear to have been a highly-esteemed instrument, as Sahagun mentions that the leader of the choir of singers in the temple bore the title tlapitzcatzin, “the noble flute player.”

Large conches were obtained on the seashore and framed into wind instruments called quiquiztli and tecciztli, whose hoarse notes could be heard for long distances, and whistles of wood, bone and earthenware added their shrill notes to the noise of the chanting of the singers.  The shell of the tortoise, ayotl, dried and suspended, was beaten in unison with such instruments.

Recent researches by competent musical experts conducted upon authentic specimens of the ancient Mexican instruments have tended to elevate our opinion of their skill in this art.  Mr. H.T.  Cresson, of the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, has critically examined the various Aztec clay flutes, whistles, etc., which are there preserved, and has reached the following conclusions:—­

“I.  That upon the four-holed clay flageolets the chromatic and diatonic scales can be produced with a full octave.

“II.  That the clay whistles or pitch pipes, which may be manipulated in quartette, will produce an octave and a fourth.

“III.  From the facts above shown, the Aztecs must have possessed a knowledge of the scales as known to us, which has been fully tested by comparison with the flute and organ."[34]

This result indicates for the instrumental accompaniment a much higher position in musical notation than has hitherto been accepted.

Sec. 7. THE POETIC DIALECT.

All the old writers who were familiar with the native songs speak of their extreme obscurity, and the difficulty of translating them.  No one will question the intimate acquaintance with the Nahuatl language possessed by Father Sahagun; yet no one has expressed more strongly than he the vagueness of the Nahuatl poetic dialect.  “Our enemy on earth,” he writes, “has prepared a thick woods and a dangerous ground full of pitfalls, wherein to devise his evil deeds and to hide himself from attack, as do wild beasts and venomous serpents.  This woods and these pitfalls are the songs which he has inspired to be used in his service, as praises to his honor, in the temples and elsewhere; because they are composed with such a trick that they proclaim only what the devil commands, and are understood only by those to whom they are addressed.  It is well known that the cavern, woods or depths in which the devil hides himself were these chants or psalms which he himself has composed, and which cannot be understood in their true significance except by those who are accustomed to the peculiar style of their language."[35]