Elements of Folk Psychology: Outline of a Psychological History of the Development of MankindWundt, Wilhelm Max
Science
Elements of Folk Psychology: Outline of a Psychological History of the Development of Mankind
Wundt, Wilhelm Max
Ethnopsychology
As is clear, we have here simply observations, descriptions of that
which the Semang has seen when watching the lemur in the forest. This
description, of course, serves only as the material for the music of
speech; that which is really musical is the refrain, which in this case
consists simply of the word _kra_. This music of speech exalts and
supplements the dance; when all parts of the body are in motion the
articulatory organs also tend to participate. It is only the modern
art-dance which has substituted an instrumental accompaniment for the
voice and has thus been able to suppress the natural expression of
emotions. But, even in our culture, the emotions receive active, vocal
expression in the folk-dances of our villages.
Musical instruments, in the strict sense of the word, are almost
unknown to primitive man. Where somewhat complex forms occur, they
appear to have been imported. Such, for example, is the bamboo
nose-flute, occasionally found among the inland tribes of the Malay
Peninsula. The nose-flute is similar to our flutes, except that it
is blown from above instead of from the side, and is not played by
means of the mouth, but is placed against one of the nostrils, so
that the side of the nose serves as the tone-producing membrane. It
has from three to five holes that may be covered with the fingers.
This instrument is a genuine product of Melanesia, and was doubtless
acquired from this region by the Malayan tribes. Of earlier origin,
no doubt, are _stringed instruments_. These are to be found even
among primitive peoples. The forms that occur in Malacca have, in
this case also, obviously come from Oceania. But, on the other hand,
an instrument has been found among the Bushmen and the neighbouring
peoples which may be regarded as the most primitive of its kind and
which throws important light on the origin of musical instruments
of this sort. A bow, essentially similar to that which he employs
in the chase, affords the Bushman a simple stringed instrument. The
string of the bow now becomes the string of a musical instrument.
Its tones, however, cannot be heard distinctly by any one except the
player himself. He takes one end of the bow between his teeth and sets
the string into vibration with his finger. The resonance of the bones
of his head then causes a tone, whose pitch he may vary by holding
the string at the middle or at some other point, and thus setting
only a part of the string into vibration. Of this tone, however,
practically no sound reaches the external world. On the other hand,
the tone produces a very strong effect on the player himself, being
powerfully transmitted through the teeth to the firm parts of the skull
and reaching the auditory nerves through a direct bone-conduction.
Thus, then, it is a remarkable fact that music, the most subjective
of the arts, begins with the very stringed instruments which are the
most effective in arousing subjective moods, and with a form in which
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