Description In 1999, a 20-year-old sacrificial victim was discovered by archaeologists, clutching a small ceramic skull-shaped whistle. He was found in a temple to the wind god Ehecatl at Tlatelolco, suggesting to some scholars that the whistles were meant to evoke the howling wind. In any case, modern musicians and anthropologists have grown more interested in the role the whistles played in the ongoing indigenous history of Mexico. The only known reference to the potential ancient use of this type of whistle comes from this excerpt in Lewis Spence’s 1913 book Myths of Mexico and Peru: “The most remarkable festival in connection with Tezcatlipoca was the Toxcatl, held in the fifth month. On the day of this festival, a youth was slain who for an entire year previously had been carefully instructed in the role of victim… He assumed the name, garb, and attributes of Tezcatlipoca himself… [as] the earthly representative of the deity…. He carried also the whistle symbolical of the deity [as Lord of the Night Wind], and made with it a noise such as the weird wind of night makes when it hurries through the streets.” A common misconception is that this whistle produced a sharp shriek-like sound. However, these sounds credited as the Aztec death whistle are actually produced by much larger reproductions of the whistle. Music archeologist Arnd Adje Both, who has tested the original excavated whistles, reports that the actual sound produced is far softer, describing it as similar to “atmospheric noise generated by the wind.” This little skull is technically not a whistle but a mini multi hole flute I just thought since it was inspired by death whistles we should just call it that. �� You will receive 1 hand crafted pottery whistle
