{"id":33770,"date":"2023-05-30T17:24:00","date_gmt":"2023-05-30T23:24:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/marlon-magdalena-presents-in-great-kiva-at-aztec-ruins\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T02:13:35","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T08:13:35","slug":"marlon-magdalena-presents-in-great-kiva-at-aztec-ruins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/marlon-magdalena-presents-in-great-kiva-at-aztec-ruins\/","title":{"rendered":"Marlon Magdalena presents in Great Kiva at Aztec Ruins"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Marlon
Marlon Magdalena performed and lectured in the Great Kiva, Aztec Ruins National Park. (David Edward Albright\/Tri-City Record)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Marlon Magdalena, an artist, educator and performer from Jemez Pueblo, appeared at Aztec Ruins in the Great Kiva Saturday. He discussed and demonstrated a wide array of Native instruments, most of which he made<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Marlon Magdalena\u2019s Jemez name, \u00c6lu\u2019\u00e6ki, translates to \u201cYoung Elk.\u201d<\/p>\n

Magdalena said that taking photos and recording performance is usually not allowed in Kivas because of their sacredness and because ceremonies only belong at \u201cthat certain point in time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Magdalena said that since there had not been a cleansing or purification ceremony at the Great Kiva, photography could be allowed.<\/p>\n

Growing up in the Jemez Pueblo, Magdalena said, his father would always sing to them. He sang the Hopi Harvest song that he learned 30 years ago. The words described the Hopi spirits coming from Hopiland in Arizona and, arriving in Jemez, bringing the rain.<\/p>\n

\u201cSinging is still a large part of my life,\u201d Magdalena said. He said he had modified several flutes and other instruments for his own use. He demonstrated the use of a simple drum made in a style which likely preceded a wood or leather drum. It was made from a piece of deer or elk leather wrapped around a folded tablecloth, then bound by rope.<\/p>\n

Early on, Magdalena learned how important it was to train the voice by singing from his diaphragm in a \u201cbig round voice.\u201d Singing, not from the throat, but \u201cfrom the guts,\u201d is the key to projecting the sounds and preventing losing the voice from injury or tiring.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have to be really fit,\u201d Magdalena said about dance performances that can last for hours.<\/p>\n

He said they usually had about one week to learn a song before a ceremony. He created some of his own Hopi dance songs performed at traditional feast days.<\/p>\n

Some songs are long and complicated, while others are simple and may incorporate older songs. Magdalena played the drum and sang a song about \u201cspirits coming out of one of their sacred mountains,\u201d Redondo Peak in the Jemez Mountains. Beautifully-dressed spirits arrive in the village when it\u2019s raining, he said.<\/p>\n

Every song tells a story \u2013 often about fields or rain \u2013 and they come in two parts, Magdalena said.<\/p>\n

Singing outside is very different from singing outdoors, Magdalena said, explaining the subtlety of projecting the voice when standing or sitting.<\/p>\n

He said learning proper breathing while singing and dancing is the key to gaining endurance. He performed a Buffalo Dance song he wrote, which is typically sung to welcome and say goodbye to people at a feast day celebration.<\/p>\n

A large gourd, carved out to act as an amplifier, was placed under the simple padded leather drum by Magdalena. It increased the volume in the historical space.<\/p>\n

A small, grooved wooden instrument called a rasp produced sound when stroked with a wooden stick \u2013 simulating the sound of grinding corn, Magdalena said. The men used this to celebrate the women who performed this task to prepare food for the family.<\/p>\n

\"Marlon
Marlon Magdalena played the \u2018Rasp\u2019, amplified significantly by the large gourd. (David Edward Albright)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

He played the rasp, gradually increasing the speed and volume, as he sang a Gourd Dance song.<\/p>\n

Magdalena said all instruments are \u201cinanimate objects until you start using them.\u201d We animate them when we play them and begin dancing, he said. At one point they were all living, as plants, trees \u2013 even sea and turtle shells.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe drum has it\u2019s own life \u2026 the beats that we give it become the heart beat of the song,\u201d Magdalena said.<\/p>\n

He said a lot of songs are about water because it\u2019s so vital for growing crops and farming. \u201cEven the winter songs, when we talk about the snow,\u201d Magdalena said.<\/p>\n

Shells come from places of abundant water, as do parrot feathers, which come from jungles and rain forests. \u201cWe\u2019re using these things in hopes of bringing that moisture they represent,\u201d Magdalena said.<\/p>\n

Picking up a large conch shell with a hole to allow playing it like a trumpet, Magdalena said he was lucky to find his Queen\u2019s Helmet Conch at a flea market in Albuquerque.<\/p>\n

Magdalena blew into the conch, producing a foghorn-type sound. He said it was used by the Aztecs to begin a ceremony or to call spirits.<\/p>\n

Magdalena showed a turtle shell rattle with attached deer hoofs, worn by dancers to represent raindrops hitting the ground.<\/p>\n

Discussing the role of a dancer, he said \u201cWhen we go out into the plaza to dance, we are not ourselves \u2026 we become these spirits\u201d like actors in a play, he said. \u201cWhen I perform I\u2019m giving life back into these beings.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a young boy, he fell in love with the sound of a flute, even before seeing one. He has spent years playing and studying their history.<\/p>\n

Magdalena said flutes were once considered a valuable asset and used for trading. Some have been found that date back to the 600s. Last month, he visited the University of Arizona at Yuma and saw flutes found in archaeological sites, including one found at Pueblo Bonito, Room 33, that date to the 850s.<\/p>\n

\"Marlon
Marlon Magdalena discussed the history a flute that featured the traditional paint and pattern. (David Edward Albright\/Tri-City Record)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Magdalena demonstrated two flute playing techniques<\/a>, oblique (side) and interdental, using both four- and six-hole flutes.<\/p>\n

Bird bones, being hollow, were used to make flutes. Magdalena said archaeologists found eagle bone flutes in the 1930s when they excavated in Pecos Pueblo.<\/p>\n

Eagle parts, including bones, feathers and claws, can be ordered<\/a> by Native Americans to be used for religious purposes. He made his first eagle bone flutes in 2013, by utilizing traditional resin glue, made by mixing pi\u00f1on sap with ashes or charcoal. The glue is then applied to the inside of the bone and heated.<\/p>\n

Some whistles are made to mimic sounds, such as songbirds, while others are used for calling in prey for hunting. He demonstrated whistles made from bald and golden eagle bones and from turkey bones.<\/p>\n

When asked to play a full song on the flute, Magdalena played a melodic tune called \u201cSpirit Path.\u201d Songbirds sang along through the open Kiva windows.<\/p>\n

Magdalena said their tradition after a performance, prayer or speech, is to open arms and hands, bringing them toward the heart, and to \u201cbreathe it in so it comes inside \u2013 into our hearts and our memories.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tradition also includes leaving an offering, such as cornmeal, corn pollen or turkey feathers. \u201cThen it\u2019s up to the spirits to do as they wish,\u201d Magdalena said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

American performer informs, entertains<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":33771,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[363,1240,3480,2007,559,561,443],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-33770","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-arts","tag-aztec","tag-aztec-ruins-national-monument","tag-culture-general","tag-music","tag-native-american","tag-san-juan-county-new-mexico"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33770","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33770"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33770\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":82335,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33770\/revisions\/82335"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33771"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33770"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33770"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33770"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=33770"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}