Tarka

The tarka (in Quechua: tarqa) is an instrument native to the Andes. It is usually made of wood and has 6 finger holes and an extra hole at the bottom.

Origin

The origin of the tarka dates back to pre-Columbian times, more specifically to the period of lordships or kingdoms, in the Aymara settlements of Carangas, Qhapachata and Pampa Aullagas, important settlements of the Aymara Kingdom of Carangas, in the current Bolivian department of Oruro. After the disintegration of Tiahuanaco, its musical expressions dispersed throughout the lordships, one of these being the Pinkillo or Pincullo, thus giving regional variations of pinkillos in various lordships of the Bolivian Altiplano.

In the region of the Carangas lordship, the Qhapachata pinkillo is presented as a variation, this being the basis of construction of the tarka, this pinkillo would evolve to the tarka, having similarities but with a different musicality, the evolution of the pinkillo to the tarka, would occur in the towns of Pampa Aullagas (Borrás, 2010) and Curahuara de Carangas, places where until today, it would continue to be called "Pincullo", this is reflected In the words of the natives, such is the case of the Chipayas, who until today call the tarkas "tar pinkayllu" according to some documents from Bolivia from the year 1930, in the southern regions of Oruro (Qhapachata, Pampa Aullagas, etc.) cane tarkas would continue to be built, while the characteristic construction material in the North of Oruro, more specific in Curahuara, would become wood, thus hinting at the evolution of the pinkillo in these places.

Overview

The tarka (from the Aymara language, tarqa), is a one-piece vertical orthohedral wooden flute. In the middle sector it has six holes for the fingers, without a mouthpiece. It has a length of approximately two octaves, and its length ranges from 20 to almost 60 cm. Its dispersion covers Bolivia, Peru, the north of Argentina and the Norte Grande of Chile.

González Bravo says that: «The timbre of the tarka, velvety and tender, so eloquently expresses the melodies in pentatonic mode that we could well call them Tarka melodies.»

The instruments that are built for tourist purposes, as souvenirs, usually have beautiful carvings and paintings rich in colors, and this type of work is also usually seen on the instruments manufactured to be played, although it is also very common that they do not carry any ornament...

Celebrations

It is a very important instrument of the Andean anata and the Bolivian carnival - there is a very similar Argentine version, called anata, which is usually played in the Jujuy area, although in recent years, As a result of the important cultural influence that Bolivia exerts on Andean music in the area, it has lost ground at the hands of the more widespread tarka—being one of the most used in these festivals due to its voluminous sound. and happy.

Groups are formed to play tarkeadas in different tunings with intervals of fourths, fifths and octaves, which gives a very particular sound to the tarkeada, since the same fingering is repeated by the normally two or three groups of tarkas. To this we must add the particular style of interpretation that the tarka has—the tarka must "cry" when it plays—, and the small tuning differences common between the different handcrafted instruments gathered in any tarkeada.

Musicality

The most used tunings are A, C and E flat. There are also copies in C sharp.

The execution of the tarkas is carried out in groups called "troops of musicians" which can reach 30 or 40 members, who accompany with percussion instruments such as bass drums, snare drums or cymbals, depending on the dance they perform. Generally the tarka troops accompany groups of dancers in the patron saint festivals, although to a greater extent they accompany the dances in the carnival festival, being one of the most used instruments in several regions of the Andes of southern Peru, western Bolivia, the Chilean north and the Argentine north.

Variety

In Peru there are three types of tarkas according to their length. The longest one is called licu or tayca, the medium-sized tarka is called mala or malta > and finally the smallest tarka is called ch´illi or anata.

Popular culture

The progressive flock rock group Los Jaivas, in their self-titled album from 1975, has a very recognized instrumental single called "Tarka y Ocarina", where they take their rock music to a very high symphonic and progressive level. The album is considered one of the best in the history of Latin American rock.