Jawbone (instrument)
Quijada: a jawbone used as a musical instrument | |
| Percussion instrument | |
|---|---|
| Other names | quijada de burro, charrasca, jawbone |
| Classification | idiophone |
| Hornbostel–Sachs classification | 112.211 (indirectly struck idiophone; scraped sticks without a resonator) |
| Related instruments | |
| Güiro, güira, reco-reco | |
The quijada, charrasca, or jawbone (in English) is an idiophone percussion instrument made from the jawbone of a donkey, horse, mule, or cattle, producing a powerful buzzing sound. The jawbone is cleaned of tissue and dried to make the teeth loose and act as a rattle. It is used in music in most of Latin America, including Mexico, Peru, El Salvador, Ecuador, and Cuba. It was also historically used in the early American minstrel show.