Oddity Central – by SumitraThe Aztec death whistle produces a sound so horrifying, it will chill you to the bone. Described as the ‘scream of a thousand corpses’, the death whistle sounds like the cry of the un-dead, or the torment of a human being burned alive.
Interestingly, the skull-shaped whistles were discovered 20 years ago by archaeologists, but were dismissed as mere toys. Most studies focused on how they looked, but no one really thought to blow into them. Now that the fearsome sound of the whistle has been discovered, it is attracting the attention of scientists, musicians and historians alike.
According to 66-year-old mechanical engineer Roberto Velazquez, who has spent several years recreating the sounds of his pre-Columbian ancestors, the Aztecs played the mournful ‘Whistles of Death’ just before they were sacrificed to the gods. Some historians believe that the Aztecs used to sound the death whistle in order to help the deceased journey into the underworld. Tribes are said to have used the terrifying sounds as psychological warfare, to frighten enemies at the start of battle.
Archeologists have also discovered the existence of other types of noisemakers that were used by the Aztecs, made of clay, turkey feathers, sugar cane, frog skins and other natural materials – each one served a specific purpose. Conch shells, for instance, were sounded at the beginning of ceremonies, while hunters used animal-shaped ocarinas to produce grunts that lured deer. Medical doctors believe that the Aztecs may have used sounds to cure illnesses. But it is the death whistle that generates the strongest reactions, because of the creepy sound it makes when blown into.
Chances of getting your hands on a genuine Aztec death whistle are pretty slim, but luckily, you can hear its unique shrieks in the YouTube videos of musician Xavier Quijas Yxayotl. “I want to share with you this very unique instrument,” he says before starting his macabre solo. “We call this the ‘death whistle’ that the Aztecs used for special ceremonies – for day of the dead celebrations, and also they use when they have a war, when they fight with other tribes. They play over a hundred instruments, a hundred death whistles marching to cause a big psychological effect to the enemy.”
He then proceeds to blow into the whistle, and let me tell you, it isn’t recommended for the faint of heart ! Just don’t use it as your ringtone unless you want to give someone a heart attack.
DAAAM! Never heard anything like that before. WEird, scary…where can I get one?
don’t know where to get one. Can you see 100 million of us blowing on those things, and then opening fire??
You don’t need one record this video and edit it then loop it for hours of fun on loud speakers, that will get them rocking!!
The first video seems creepy enough and looks real but the second video of the jade skull looks fake and brand new and doesn’t make a scary sound. I’m going with door number 1 .
Aztecs didnt have horses. Just saying.
Sorry, but I think I’ve heard scarier sounds in Scooby Doo cartoons.
The gentleman performing with the Death Whistle is very talented. He is an artisan and a Shaman. He carves flutes and whistles. His hands are always busy. For those that don’t know him he wrote and performed the music for the movie Apocalypto . Look on Xavi’s site and hear his music, I promise he is a Blessing!!!
I am a specialist in this area since 1975, so I’ve studied these intensely, along with my good friend Quijas. It must be known that not all these instruments sounded the same, there are others that sound simply as the wind, as a scholar in this area, I tend to not call them all “death whistles”, hence an even better name “Ehecatl” (wind)…these instruments are not all associated with being scary or death, our instruments are adaptable to various ceremonial and sonic situations, I have many in my collection that are truly scary and others, it is the same with the archeological existing instruments, they dont all sound the same. They all have the basic same same construction method with variations in where the sound emanate and exit, the size of the exit hole and more considerations. There are those that sound merely as a calming wind, our instruments are were used in a variety of scenarios.
I hope this helps clear up a generalization about our Mexican instruments!